2020-05-01_Golf_Digest

issue 4. 2020 | golf digest 41

Tour Tech Play

I

f your green-read-
ing skills aren’t
as sharp as you’d
like, perhaps it’s time for
a fresh method. Jeongeun
Lee6, the defending U.S.
Women’s Open champion,
uses an unusual tech-
nique, but it’s based on
common sense. She reads
putts with her body facing
perpendicular to her
target and her head turned
to the side (left).
“Putting is a stroke
from the side, not from
behind the ball,” Lee6,
of South Korea, told Golf
Digest through a translator.
“Reading it like I do
reduces misconception.”
Lee6, who has a number
on the end of her name to
differentiate herself from
several other players with
the same name on the Ko-
rean LPGA Tour, has aver-
aged fewer than 30 putts
per round since qualifying
for the LPGA Tour in 2019.
Golfers who stand
behind the ball to read
greens might not realize
how much their perspec-
tive changes when they
set up to hit the putt, she
says. Seeing the line from
different viewpoints can
create doubt about which
is correct.
Lee6 also will confirm
her “sidesaddle” read by
straddling the putting line,
noting the pressure in her
feet. If she’s favoring one
foot more than the other,
which is usually the case,
she knows the putt will
david cannon/getty images break in that direction.

A Different Perspective

Green-reading is not a science,

but it helps to use logic

by keely levins

“The more

confident

you are in

your line, the

better your

chance.”