Week 14: How to read greens

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You may spend hours working on your majestic drive at the practice range, but cutting down on your putts will save you more strokes. Properly reading how putts will break on a green can take years to master, but here are a few simple tips to get you started.

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Look from behind the hole -- The softer you hit the ball, the more likely your putt is to break along with the contour of the green. If a ball is going to break, it usually does so at the very end of the putt, as the ball is slowing down. By looking from behind the hole, you get a better look at that area closest to the hole to consider how much the green is sloped and how the ball may break.

Read high to low -- Is there a landmark in the area that is the low ground? It may seem rudimentary, but that is often a quick way to determine which way a ball will break. Balls always tend to break toward the lower ground, thanks to gravity. If the course has a drainage system, that can also serve as a quickly identifiable low point. Conversely, you can also find the high point and work away from that. Courses generally build their clubhouses on the high ground, so most putts tend to break away from the clubhouse.

Observe the grain -- Take a look at the grass. Does it look shiny and soft? You are likely putting with the grain, which means you can hit the ball more softly, as it will travel faster with the grain. In that case, the break could be considerable. Now take a look from the other side of the hole. Does the grass look a bit more coarse and dark? You're likely putting against the grain, and you will need to strike the ball more firmly toward the hole. The harder you strike the ball, the more directly you can aim toward the hole.

Consider moisture -- How wet is the green? A damp green will slow your ball down considerably. That means you will have to hit the ball harder and the break will not factor in as much. Many golfers will allow for less break in the morning, when the course still has morning dew on it for this reason. A drier afternoon course means a lighter putting stroke and more break.

Compensate for the wind -- Is it so windy that you have to wait for the gusts to die down before you use your irons? This can also affect the speed and direction of slower putts. If your putting into a heavy wind, you will need to hit it firmly to get less break on the ball. If you are playing with the wind, a lighter stroke is in order and you should allow for more break.

Mastering the greens will not help your golf game if a debilitating knee condition is holding you back. If knee pain is preventing you from performing at your best, you might be suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Various treatments for OA do exist, such as ORTHOVISC®, which provides up to six months of knee pain relief. Made from ultra-pure natural hyaluronan, which is found in healthy joints, ORTHOVISC® is injected into the knee joint where it acts to replace your natural joint fluid, to help cushion, protect, and lubricate your knee. ORTHOVISC® is a proud sponsor of PGATOUR.com. Talk to your doctor to see if ORTHOVISC® is right for you. Or visit our Web site at www.orthovisc.com for more information on how to maintain your knee health to help you keep playing the game you love.

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

ORTHOVISC® is indicated in the treatment of pain in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conservative nonpharmacologic therapy and to simple analgesics, e.g., acetaminophen. In clinical studies, the most commonly reported adverse events were arthralgia, back pain and headache. Other side effects include local injection site adverse events.

ORTHOVISC® is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to hyaluronate formulation or known hypersensitivity (allergy) to gram positive bacterial proteins. ORTHOVISC should not be injected in patients with infections or skin diseases in the areas of the injection site or joint. Strict aseptic technique should be used. The effectiveness of more than 1 course has not been established.