SECRETS OF SPIDER CLOCK PUTTING

When you are trying to get your students to learn how to read putting greens better I use a method that I have discovered that works great!   Try to get your students to imagine the putting green like the face of a clock with the hole as the center of the clock. Imagine that the ball is on a point on the clock, like the numbers of the hour hand. Now we have to figure out what time the ball is at in relation to the clock.   To determine this, the student must find 6 o’clock which is defined by a straight up hill putt.  All hole placements should have a straight up hill putt.  This can be checked by watching others putt and noticing where their putts break or by finding what looks like a flat area below the hole.   Once 6 o’clock has been found, a player can then find their time based on where their putt is in relation to 6 o’clock.   Now here is where it gets fun!  Once you know your time it is easy to read any putt.  Any putt coming from 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 o’clock will break right to left.  Any putt coming from 11, 10, 9, 8, 7 o’clock will break left to right.  If you were to draw the break of the putts from these times, the lines would resemble the legs of a spider. Thus the name Spider Clock Putting!   The biggest break will be at 9 o’clock left to right and 3 o’clock right to left respectively. 12 o’clock will be straight down hill and the other spots will break somewhere in between these times.  As students learn to use this method they will become much more proficient on reading greens.   By Arlen Bento Jr. Arlen Bento Jr. is a USGTF Master Teaching Professional, former Head Golf Professional of the PGA Country Club and PGA Village and Director of Golf at Eagle Marsh Golf Club in Jensen Beach, FL.  He is the Director of Junior Instruction at the Stuart Yacht and Country Club in Stuart, FL and He can be reached via his website at www.abjgolfsales.com.