From Sluggish To Sunk: Best Tips for Putting On Slow Greens

After spending nearly three decades in this wonderful game and coaching for 16 years as a PGA Professional, I’ve seen my fair share of players three-putting their way to frustration on slow greens.

We’ve all stood over what should be a simple 15-footer only to leave it woefully short, then ramming the next one six feet past. Slow greens can be absolute momentum killers but they don’t have to be.

The truth is that most amateurs struggle more on slower surfaces than faster ones. Why? Because they never adjust their approach. They’re still putting like they’re at Augusta National when they’re actually playing on greens rolling about half that speed.

Let me share some hard-earned wisdom that’s helped my students conquer those sluggish surfaces and start making more putts when the greens aren’t exactly lightning fast.

Four tips for conquering slow greens

1. Hit it, don’t tap it

The biggest mistake I see golfers make on slow greens is being too tentative. They baby the putt, decelerating through impact, which causes inconsistent contact and unpredictable results.

On slow greens, you need to be assertive.

I tell my students to make a positive stroke with -good acceleration through the ball. Think about striking the putt rather than just nudging it forward.

Your follow-through should be longer than your backswing on slower greens. This promotes the acceleration you need to get the ball to the hole.

Remember the old truism: “A putt that doesn’t reach the hole never goes in.”

Sounds obvious but you would be amazed how many golfers forget this fundamental truth when faced with slow greens.

2. Adjust your read, not just your pace

Slow greens don’t just affect distance control—they dramatically change how much putts break. A ball traveling slower will take more break than one moving quickly over the same line.

When I’m reading a putt on slow greens, I’ll typically play about 20-30 percent more break than I would on faster surfaces.

The slower the ball travels, the more gravity affects its path. This is where I see so many amateurs go wrong. They adjust their pace but stick with the same line they would use on faster greens.

Get comfortable playing more break than feels natural. Trust me, it’ll save you strokes.

3. Grip down for better control

Here’s something not enough teaching pros talk about: grip length affects your feel on slow greens.

When putting on sluggish surfaces, I recommend gripping down about an inch on your putter.

This simple adjustment gives you more control and helps promote that pendulum-like motion you need. It subtly increases the weight of the putter head relative to your hands which helps you deliver more consistent energy to the ball.

I’ve seen this small change make immediate improvements in my students’ distance control on slow greens.

4. The mental game: Embrace aggression

Putting on slow greens requires a different mindset. You need to be more aggressive, both in your read and your stroke. I tell my students to “think tap-in speed past the hole” rather than “die it at the hole.”

This aggressive mindset prevents deceleration and helps overcome the natural tendency to leave putts short on slower surfaces. Most amateur golfers miss on the low side (not enough break) and short (not enough pace). Being more aggressive solves both problems.

Try this drill

Here’s my favorite drill for adapting to slow greens. I call it the “Clock Face Drill” and it has transformed many of my students’ putting on slower surfaces.

Place five balls in a circle around a hole, each about five feet away. Think of them as sitting at 12, 2, 4, 8, and 10 o’clock positions. Your goal is to make all five consecutively but here’s the key: each putt must go at least 18 inches past the hole if it misses.

This forces you to hit your putts with proper pace for slow greens. If you miss but the ball doesn’t go past the required distance, you start over. Once you can complete this drill consistently, you’ll have developed the positive stroke needed for slow greens.

Final thoughts

Slow greens don’t have to be your nemesis. With these adjustments—a more positive stroke, playing more break, gripping down and adopting an aggressive mindset—you’ll start seeing immediate improvements.

Remember that putting well on slow greens is often more about adaptation than technique. The fundamentals remain the same but your application changes. The players who adjust the quickest are the ones who walk away with the fewest putts.

Next time you’re faced with greens that feel like you’re putting through molasses, embrace the challenge rather than fighting it. Make these adjustments, commit to your line and pace and watch more putts find the bottom of the cup.

After all, they don’t ask how on the scorecard—they just ask how many.

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