Evolution of Green Speeds

Average green speeds, and the ranges of green speeds, have been increasing for nearly a century. Just 24 years ago the stimp (green speed) at the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 was 10.5-11. Today, many courses across the country are able to maintain that same green speed, with high-end speeds at courses sometimes hitting 12-13. For reference, a billiards table has a stimp speed between 15-16.

These speeds and variation of speed have substantially increased the level of difficulty for golfers, and has opened the door to various teachings and methods intended to assist golfers in reading greens and improving putting.

40 Years to a Perfect Read

In 1984 H.A. Templeton released a groundbreaking book titled “Vector Putting.” It explored the break on the greens and how different green speeds impacted the amount of break. This book was the forerunner to the different approaches used today to give you an estimated amount of break.

In 2001 A.R. Penner published “The Physics of Putting”. This paper is the basis for most, if not all, of the green reading estimators in existence. Various other app-based estimators use these algorithms to build a predictive model for putting, including the TV-based programs that show you the putting line while the professional golfer is about to stroke a putt.

Predictive models do not consider the interaction between the putter and the ball or the interaction of the ball and the turf immediately after the putt is struck. When a golf ball rolls off a stimp-meter, it rolls perfectly off the base and toward the target. When you strike a putt the ball bounces and skids a certain amount, altering the perfect path of a computer algorithm.

A Search for Smarter Golf 

As we tirelessly worked to become better putters, a few issues kept coming up with current methods of green reading. First, there is a lot of math, and it is complicated to work out on the green. Second, it is extremely difficult to accurately ascertain what is 23 inches from the center of the hole from 20 ft away. Other systems require players to use their arms or fingers to get these estimates, and these are not uniform. 

Perfect Read went old-school with our break development. 1000s of puts, many courses, and a lot of math. Yes, we know what the computer says the break should be, and usually it is very accurate.  But sometimes it is not. We set out to find a process so simple and accurate at predicting break.

The Perfect Read 

We went through many iterations of this system in our quest for improvement and never had the intention of sharing system this with the golfing world. But one day that changed. It has been said that the best putters in the world are “spot” putters. When the putt is lined up, they will pick a spot about 6 inches ahead of the ball and try and roll the ball over the spot. We said, “what if we got the spot behind the ball?” Perfect Read was born.

A couple of days of intense mathematizing later, the concept of the angular method of alignment was born.  The math simplified our playing notes down to adjusting a lined ball to our marker and the ball is aimed perfectly. No need for a spot 6 inches beyond the ball, no need to estimate the number of inches from the hole. In fact, the math works with exact precision whether you are 2 ft from the hole or 20 ft from the hole. 

We confirmed we had truly found the Perfect Read when faced with a downhill  putt with a lot of break during a putting assessment with a teaching professional specialized in putting. Using the Perfect Read system the first attempt on this putt was tracking within inches of the hole. The teaching professional said this putt has only been accurately read by 5 of his thousands of students. Our old-school work led to this new-school system that gives all golfers the ability to accurately read like greens, allowing golfers to laser focus on pace like never before.