Lesson 3: Patterns on the Greens
A golf green is not flat. It has slopes, ridges, and contours that make the ball curve as it rolls toward the hole. When a ball curves because of the slope of the green, golfers call it breaking — the putt breaks to the left or to the right.
Understanding how water would flow across a green helps you understand how a golf ball will roll. Water always flows downhill. A golf ball rolls downhill too, unless it has enough speed to overcome the slope.
Golfers look for patterns when they read a green. Does the green slope from left to right across the hole? Does it slope toward them or away? Is the hole on the high side or the low side?
Reading these patterns is a combination of observation, geometry, and experience. The best putters in the world are also the best pattern-readers — they can look at a green and predict exactly how the ball will move.
Golf greens have slopes that make the ball curve as it rolls. Reading these slopes is called reading the green.
Water always flows downhill — and so does a golf ball. Understanding slope helps you predict where your putt will go.
Find a gentle slope on the practice green. Roll a ball slowly from the low side to the high side — what happens? Now roll a ball from the high side to the low side — what happens? What does this tell you about slope and ball movement?
Choose three different putts on the practice green — one uphill, one downhill, and one that breaks from left to right or right to left. Before each putt, predict: which direction will the ball curve? How hard do you think you need to hit it? After each putt, write in your math journal whether your prediction was right and what you learned about that type of putt.