I’ve had a couple questions recently on finding where the 3 and 9 o’clock positions are in the AimPoint Golf Green Reading Model.  Many are confused and think that 3 and 9 fall directly between 12 and 6.  That is only true on a clockface or a green that has a consistent slope percentage and direction.  So since we know that almost all greens are not like that, let’s find the real 3 and 9.

AimPoint Golf Green Reading - Planar

Let’s use this picture here.  This is a contour map of green that has a planar pin location and is basically a planar shaped green through out.  The red line represents the Zero Line where the putts are straight aimed.  The contour lines represent places of equal elevation.

The key to remembering 3 and 9 o’clock is that they are level with the hole.  When I say that, I mean they are directly across the slope.  They are neither uphill or downhill putts.  They are at the same elevation as the hole.  In this example, you can see the hole is right on that contour line.  This means that 3 and 9 o’clock are also on that line.  Hopefully, you can see that 9 o’clock is closer to 6 o’clock than it is to 12 o’clock.  This means that the putts from 6 to 9 o’clock are more volatile. The amount of break changes quickly.

Now, here are some real world tips.  You can see that the 3 and 9 o’clock line also curve. This means the green is changing elevation.  If I had my golf ball at the end of the 9 o’clock line, that would break a little less than the same length putt on the 3 o’clock. Why?  The answer is because the contour lines on the 9 o’clock side are spaced farther apart. That means the area is flatter. Now the 7 and 8 o’clock areas are real volatile and have more slope farther from the hole than at the hole.  I would generally play the 7 and 8 o’clock areas leaning toward the highest amount of break.  For example, if I feel like I am at 7:30 I’m going to figure out the estimate and add a couple to deal with the volatility.  In either case, these putts will be very hard to make because of the slope and speed sensitivity. You’d also have to estimate the slope % here because it is changing on the way to the hole. It goes from steeper to shallower.

I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have questions.

JG

I hear this question often during AimPoint Golf Green Reading Clinics. “How do I make my own green map and what should be on it?”  While surfing around the AimPoint Golf Forum, I found this discussion and thought it would be nice to share.

Let’s start with an example Mark posted:

AimPoint Golf Homemade Green Map

Here’s Mark’s answer to the question of how should it look.  “The first most important thing is slope %, then anchor points, then zero line directions if you have time. The reasoning is that you can find anchor points and zero lines while playing if you need to, but measuring the % slope is going to get your read as accurate as possible. Mark (H)igh and (L)ow anchor points, which will show you where crowns (between 2 low points) and saddles (between 2 high points) are and also where your zero lines will be running from and to.”

Here are a couple of thoughts of my own based on my experience making green maps while competing in the NJCAA National Championship.  I always, and I mean always, carry an Exelys Breakmaster

Exelys Breakmaster

and a 9″ digital level every time I go to map a green.  You need to make sure you are measuring the direction of the slope and amount of slope in that direction correctly.

I think most of us are comfortable knowing that the green is not a constant slope event.  For this reason, after I measure the area where I think the hole may be, I hit or roll 10 footers to see if it plays that.  You will run into instances where it’s 3% where the ball is and 1% where the pin is. After you hit one, you will have a good idea how it ‘plays’.  It’s the ‘play’ number you want to record on the map.

It’s also important to remember you don’t have to measure the entire green.  There will be places on the green that are unpinable. Focus your time on the areas of the green most likely to contain the pin.  I would also focus on areas that look like ‘run off’ areas and see how severe they are.  Mark them correctly on the map if they are false areas where the ball won’t stay put.

Now, if it is your home course, the first thing I would do is go out on the course and take some pictures right after a very fast and heavy rain.  This will give you low anchor points and other clear fall lines that capture water flow.  Keep adding measurements to data you already have until you have a very complete mapping.  This will take quite a while.  Know that going into it and accept it.  When done, you will have a distinct advantage teamed with your AimPoint Green Reading skills.

I hope you find this helpful. Please leave comments or questions about this post or any post in the blog.