Putting is the scourge of many an amateur golfer, who often read too much into the greens.

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Every time I play, I see amateur golfers peering at their intended line on the greens as if mysterious symbols were written on the grass. Don’t get me wrong: Studying break is an important part of putting, but getting wrapped up in it at the expense of distance is a mistake.

How hard you hit a putt determines how much break you need to play. Reading break without thinking about distance leads to frustration. If you read the line perfectly on a 20-footer but hit the putt too hard or soft, you could be left with a four- or five-footer on your next putt. But get the speed down, and you can miss your read by a foot and still have an easy putt to finish.

The next time you play, approach your mid- and long-range putts thinking about a line behind the hole more than the break. This is the more important line in putting, and I visualise it a foot and a half behind the cup, like a little backboard (above, left). Try it. If you don’t make it, you’ll have a tap-in.

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