THE IMPORTANCE OF THE UPHILL PUTT "GOLF SECRET #1"

I see golfers of all skill levels talk about putting as if its good or bad from day to day. Not often do I hear a golfer say "I just didn't have enough uphill putts today to keep my score down." The truth is uphill putts go in more way more often then downhill or side hill putts. It's been proven with science and PGA statistics reaffirm it.

So when you have a bad day of putting, take a look at your yardage book. Did you have a lot of side hill or downhill putts? The answer will probably be yes.

Why do uphill putts go in more often?

1. Most importantly the golf ball is losing speed at a rapid pace as it approaches the hole. Gravity will pull a ball down in the hole a lot stronger if the object is losing pace at a significant rate. Think of a bike coasting on its own at a slow pace. If the bike hits a incline it falls over immediately. (Gravity beat centrifugal force). If the bike coasts to even the smallest decline it rolls quite a bit more forward because centrifugal force keeps it up before it loses the speed necessary to fall.

The same thing happens when a golf ball approaches the hole and passes the lip. If it is losing speed rapidly like an uphill putt , it will fall into the hole. If its downhill and rolling at a continual slow pace it probably will lip out, because it wants to keep rolling.

On your yardage book you should always putt a long arrow on the green pointing to the absolute zero, or straightest uphill put you can have. Most greens do not slope back to front, but back to front at an angle of some sort. 

Try and leave yourself the straightest uphill putt you can when approaching the green. I promise you will have more days when you think your putter was red hot!

I always tell my players, a 10 foot uphill putt is better than a 5 foot side breaker. Try it for yourself.

Sean Duttry