POLL: Do you read the grain on greens?

Most of us play on Bermuda grass greens ... and I only just found out that the direction of the grain can have a profound impact on our putts, chips, pitches!

For putts it can impact the distance by as much as 25%!

For chips/ pitches, the difference between a ball landing and biting or running on forever, could be due to the grain!

Who else knows about this? and actually cares!!?

yes I do try to read the grain whenever possible.
Whether I read it correctly or not that is a different matter entirely..

Not really. I just feel the Green to see how wet/dry it is, see the gradient of the Green, figure out a putting line and off I go.

Yes. Not exactly 'reading' the Green there but just seeing the speed and the sloping. That prolly explains my 4 to 5 putts per hole.

How to read grain? Are u referring to the direction the grass grows? Does it really affect the path of the golf ball that much?

Yup. The direction the grass bends/grows towards
. If against your line Of putt, gotta putt a bit harder. If with your line of putt, then ease up a little.

Derek wrote:

How to read grain? Are u referring to the direction the grass grows? Does it really affect the path of the golf ball that much?

I got surprised myself, makes a significant difference on bermuda greens

Greg Norman, one of the all time great putters:
http://www.shark.com/sharkwatch/instruction/tip58.php

So 23 votes, 13 read the grain and 10 dont ... I was expecting the difference to be much greater , but then again the sample size is really small ... 500+ ppl have read this post but not cared to vote, odds are they dont care much about the grain!
In future i will be wary of the grain , and see if it pays any dividends ...

Yes. I am learning how to read now..

Do we have bermuda greens in Singapore?

Bermuda grass suits the weather here .. far more than bentgrass does.

According to their website ... SICC - Sime & New Course are BermudaGrass ... but their isn't much information available for the other courses here ...

Which grass has MBGC used?

But the question has more to do with grainy vs non-grainy grass!

I think all golfers do read the grain of the green.

its just a matter of how does one read the green.

for those with poor eyesight. then it would be a struggle.

for those who have 20/20 vision. They can see the geometry of the grain flow

I know paspalum is used but i am not sure which exact strain

I had not ...but now I think I should.

I'm barely able to read the breaks on the green, you want me to read the grain too?

Ha ha ... the goal is to sink the putt ... and one will try to do absorb as much information as possible so that they have the best chance to achieve the desired result ... some do it consciously , others sub-consciously ... and better yet ... some begin consciously and it becomes second nature over time!

But yes ... reading the breaks on the green is FAR more important! But there comes a time when you feel you've misread the amount of break, whereas actually its the grain that got you!

TourSwing wrote:

From a PDF on the Internet wrote:

Although the leaf structure of the Seashore
Paspalums is more coarse than the ultradwarf bermudagrasses, its ability to be mowed
and sustained at a low mowing height (.120” down to .10”) should make any concern for
putting speed not an issue. Unlike the bermudagrasses, Seashore Paspalum does not
produce grain.

No wonder ....

if only all that info will help me i cannot putt straight consistently. The best chance for birdie is anyhow putt...at least 1/50 will accidentally be the right line and weight..ok lar joking but surprise to know that there is a 25% affect.

No wonder some of my putts turn (when i aim straight) and why some go straight ( when i aim to turn)..all in one game

just curious, does type of ball affect it..some have more surface area contacting the green, some have very little (Callaway Hex design ball), in theory if i am correct, more contact = more friction..also does different dimple design cause the grass to 'grab' the ball differently?

Haha same... If I can read all the breaks properly I happy liao

Technospaz wrote:

I'm barely able to read the breaks on the green, you want me to read the grain too?

Me too .. Hehehehe