Reading Putts: Perceiving the Fall Line Orientation
Reading Putts: Perceiving the Fall Line Orientation
The fall line is the straight uphill-downhill line thru a cup. Perceiving the orientation of this fall line accurately is one of the most critical skills for reading the break of putts.
FALL LINE ORIENTATION
Five methods to perceive this orientation are:
1. find the highest point on the hole's rim -- the line from center across highest point is the direction uphill;
2. find the lowest point of the rim where filling the hole with water would first leak out and drain straight downhill;
3. find the orientation for placing both hands down left and right of the hole when facing generally uphill in order to do a push-up so that neither hand is lower on the slope than the other, with the spine then indicating the fall line;
4. walk in a circle around the hole the same distance out and note the first step that changes from heading uphill to downhill, as this is crossing the fall line;
5. stand near the hole on the same flatness with feet flat to the surface, legs in an A shape, putter suspended by thumb and index fingertips at the belt buckle to hang the hosel between the balls of the feet, and then press the shaft back to midway between each ankle and let it swing freely -- the hosel will circle at first and then draw a line back and forth along the fall line.
GENERAL BREAK PATTERN
If the fall line is imagined as a clockface's 6-12 line, all balls located on the 3 o'clock side break from right to left, and all balls located on the 9 o'clock side break left to right, off a straight "base line" from ball to hole. The closer the ball position nears the sidehill of 3 or 9 o'clock, the greater the break, and the more the position nears the 6 or 12 straight uphill-downhill fall line, the less the break.
This 8-minute video illustrates two of the above methods (seeing the highest point on the rim as the direction straight uphill plus seeing the perpendicular axis of tilt thru the hole where the elevation is constant left and right) in more detail:
(For more videos on reading putts and using the fall line, visit this PuttingZone YouTube Channel.)
APPLICATION
These different methods overlap but probably differ somewhat. The golfer makes a “best guess” or consensus view of the different perceptions. The actual fall line can then be tested in practice by putting straight at the hole from about 3-4 steps below the hole. If the putt breaks away near the hole, moving the starting position of the ball the same direction straightens out the putt and gets a better sense of the actual fall line.
Over time, golfers can see the fall line with good accuracy in about 15 seconds. Once learned for a specific flat area on a green, the entire flat area as a collection of parallel fall lines is thenceforth known.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Coach and Theorist
Golf's most advanced putting instruction -- 16 Academies and 77 Certified Coaches in 15 Countries Worldwide.
