Skip to content
    • Tour Homepage
    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
    • Equipment Homepage
    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
    • Instruction Homepage
    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine
National Club GolferNational Club Golfer Logo
  • TourHas submenu items

    Tour Homepage

    • PGA Tour
    • LIV Golf
    • DP World Tour
    • LPGA
    • LET
    • The Masters
    • The Open
    • The Players
    • US Open
    • PGA Championship
    • Ryder Cup
    • Solheim Cup
    • WITB
    • Betting
    • News
    • Features
  • EquipmentHas submenu items

    Equipment Homepage

    • Reviews
    • Drivers
    • Fairway Woods
    • Hybrids
    • Irons
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Golf Balls
    • DMDs
    • Apparel
    • Shoes
    • Trolleys
    • Features
    • News
  • Buying Advice
  • ClubHas submenu items
    • Rules
    • WHS
    • Features
    • News
  • InstructionHas submenu items

    Instruction Homepage

    • Driving Tips
    • Long Game
    • Iron Play
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Learn from the pros
    • Course Management
    • Fitness
    • Mental Game
    • Nutrition
  • Giveaways
  • CoursesHas submenu items
    • Top 100 Rankings
    • Travel
    • Top 100s Tour
    • Society Guide
  • PodcastsHas submenu items
    • NCG Golf Podcast
    • NCG Top 100s Podcast
    • Your Golf Podcast by NCG
  • Digital Magazine

Sign up here for our newsletter and you'll never slice a drive again. Promise.

Newsletter sign up

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
National Club Golfer Logo

© 2026 National Club Golfer | 2 Arena Park, Tam Lane, LS17 9BF

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy
  • Meet the NCG Team
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
Country: gb Page generated at: Wednesday, 1 April 2026 at 3:40:49 British Summer Time
golf-tips
Putting
How to read greens: Putting performance principles

published: Nov 24, 2017

|

updated: Feb 25, 2024

How to read greens: Putting performance principles

Paddy WestLink

FacebookXInstagramYouTubePodcast0 comments

Let’s take a look at five steps to take to read greens when putting

Reading greens

Table of Contents

Jump to:

  • How to read greens
  • About gary and karl
  • gary nicol’s short game secrets: mastering the flop shot

For our first episode, we’ll be looking at how to read greens. In this series as a whole, you will be asked to consider the ‘art of putting’. This will involve ensuring that your mind is in the best place to allow your putting stroke to come out on a more natural basis. The ultimate aim of the series is to help you to hole more putts, shoot lower scores and have more fun on the golf course.

How to read greens

You may be confident about line and pace when it comes to putting but another important aspect to holing a putt is reading greens. Often people struggle to read greens because they don’t know what they are looking for.

Here are the 5 steps to read greens:

Step 1: Read from the low side. You can gather a lot more information about the green, by reading from the low side, than you can from any other angle.

read greens: Read from the low side

Step 2: Ensure that both hole and ball are in peripheral vision. Stand back because the closer you get to the line, the less you can see.

Read greens: Hole and ball in peripheral vision

Step 3: Survey the putt from a good distance. As a rule-of-thumb if you’ve got a 20 foot putt, move 20′ back.

Read greens: Survey from a distance

Step 4: Use your eyes and your feet to look for clues. As you walk up to the putt, use your eyes and your feet to find bumps and changes in elevation.

Read greens: Use your eyes and your feet to look for clues

Step 5: Stand close to the hole for better depth perception. If you only judge the putt from down the line, your perception of the depth can affect your concept of the distance from the ball to the hole.

Read greens: Stand close to the hole for better depth perception.

About Gary and Karl

Gary Nicol is a European Tour coach and co-founder of T-PEGS

Renowned European Tour coach, TrackMan Master and Certified Mind Factor coach Gary Nicol is available for private coaching at Archerfield Links. Gary has successfully coached golfers of all abilities over a 25 year period and spent 16 years traveling around the world. He has worked with over 30 Tour Pros including numerous tournament winners and Ryder Cup players.

Advertisement

Gary offers a range of private coaching programmes including individual one hour lessons. He also offers playing lessons, half day programmes, full day programmes and on-course coaching experiences. Personalised video lessons and analysis can be delivered direct to your email address and smartphone. From there you can watch and learn from, wherever and whenever you want. Contact us for more information and bookings.

TPEGS uses Trackman to provide you with essential detailed clubhead and ball flight data. Read more on Performance Principles Coaching Experiences at TPEGS and why Gary Nicol chooses to work with Trackman. “Trackman is without question, the finest teaching and club fitting tool I have used in 25 years of coaching golf.” – Gary Nicol.

Dr. Karl Morris is a mind coach and P.G.A consultant.

Dr Karl Morris is one of Europe’s leading Mind Coaches, delivering cutting edge methods of peak performance and goal achievement to a range of clients across sports and business.

From the world of golf, he has worked with players such as Darren Clarke, David Howell, and Lee Westwood.

A consultant to the PGA of Great Britain and Europe he has presented seminars all over the world.

Gary Nicol's short game secrets: Mastering the flop shot

Gary Nicol’s short game secrets: Mastering the flop shot

Read full article - Gary Nicol’s short game secrets: Mastering the flop shot

About the author

Paddy West

<a href="http://youtubeembedcode.com/en/">Quickly embed a YouTube video onto your website or blog!</a><a href="https://googlemapsgenerator.com">Let your customers know where you are!</a>

Comments (0)

Leave a Comment

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

What's Popular

An image from LIV Golf Dallas | Source: LIV Golf

Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?

By Matt Chivers | Mar 25, 2026

Read full article Big DP World Tour events still allow LIV Golfers to compete, but how?

Golf Giveaways: Win a full TaylorMade custom fitting experience at The Kingdom at The Grove

By Paul Miller | Mar 20, 2026

Read full article Golf Giveaways: Win a full TaylorMade custom fitting experience at The Kingdom at The Grove
Akshay Bhatia

Who is Akshay Bhatia?

By Matt Coles | Nov 8, 2024

Read full article Who is Akshay Bhatia?
Jordan Spieth walking on a golf course with a club, at the 2025 Hero World Challenge

Jordan Spieth could lose his PGA Tour card. Where on earth did it all go wrong?

By Matt Chivers | Feb 13, 2026

Read full article Jordan Spieth could lose his PGA Tour card. Where on earth did it all go wrong?
Ganton Golf Club

The overlooked coastline offering some of the best-value golf in Britain and Ireland

By Max Mcvittie | Mar 11, 2026

Read full article The overlooked coastline offering some of the best-value golf in Britain and Ireland
golfers private jets

Which golfers own private jets and how much do they cost?

By Matt Coles | Oct 16, 2025

Read full article Which golfers own private jets and how much do they cost?
highest paid caddies

Who are the highest-paid caddies in golf? The figures might shock you…

By Samuel Neale | Oct 21, 2025

Read full article Who are the highest-paid caddies in golf? The figures might shock you…
Jon Rahm playing for Legion XIII | Source: Getty Images

Why we could be watching the beginning of the end for LIV Golf

By Matt Chivers | Mar 23, 2026

Read full article Why we could be watching the beginning of the end for LIV Golf
Golfers on a driving range | Source: Adobe

Why aren’t we getting any better at golf?

By Steve Carroll | Mar 2, 2026

Read full article Why aren’t we getting any better at golf?
foursomes Golfers at a green | Source: Adobe Stock

Why do club golfers hate foursomes?

By Steve Carroll | Mar 16, 2026

Read full article Why do club golfers hate foursomes?
Brian Gay retrieves his ball from a penalty area on the first hole during the third round of the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf and Country Club on May 14, 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Why are penalty areas marked red or yellow?

By Steve Carroll | Mar 25, 2026

Read full article Why are penalty areas marked red or yellow?
Bryson DeChambeau at LIV Golf Korea | Source: LIV Golf

Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?

By Matt Chivers | Mar 26, 2026

Read full article Show me the money! How much has each LIV player made since signing up?