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Buttitta: Use your feet to help read the green, too
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More from Golf TipsSimply put, if you can't read a green, you can't make a putt.
Reading a green is usually done with the eyes, but let your feet do some of the reading, as well.
With your eyes you can "see" obvious slope and grain. But with your feet you can "feel" the not-so-obvious undulations.
I learned this technique from former U.S. Open champion Tommy Bolt, one of the legendary players of the 1950s and 1960s.
He would always appear to be stalking his putt, walking to and fro and all around his line.
Most observers simply thought he was looking for a path. He said he was "feeling" for the slope he couldn't see, using his sensitive feet to feel pressure points in his shoes.
I'm not advocating slowing the game by always using Bolt's technique.
But the next time you are looking for hard-to-see slope, try using your feet along with your eyes.
Truth is, no green is absolutely flat. Even if it appears to be.
— Joe Buttitta is a PGA professional at Westlake Golf Course. He can be reached at 208-1467 or by e-mail at igolfsopaw@roadrunner.com.
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