Putting on Maui Greens
by Tim Mitchell

Aloha! During your next golfing vacation to Maui, I’d like to place a friendly wager on the fact that you may experience some difficulties putting the greens on our island. Let’s try and minimize those frustrations with the following tips.

The first thing to know about Maui greens in comparison with much of the mainland is the type of grass utilized…it’s Bermuda.  Bermuda greens have a few additional factors for golfers to consider while deciding about where and how hard they need to strike the putt to hole it. The major difference is leaf overlay, commonly referred to as grain. Grain is the common direction the blade of grass grows due to the direction of the setting sun and drainage of water on the greens. Grass needs sunlight to grow and stay healthy. Each blade of grass leans towards the setting sun, seeking its last source of daily nourishment. Because each blade of grass is growing in the same direction, the golf ball will be influenced significantly by this directional force. Therefore, putts down grain will be faster than you think...putts into the grain will be slower than you think…cross grain putts will modify the break pending on the prevailing direction of the grain.

You might be asking yourself, “How do I know where the grain is growing?” There are two primary factors. First, ask any golf course staff member, “Where’s the sun setting today?” That piece of information will give you the general direction of where the grain is growing. To find the more specific direction of the grain, look closely at the hole. Find the brown, less cleanly cut, sunburned side of the hole. This side of the hole is the direction of where the grain is growing. If you are putting directly into the sunburned side of the hole, you are putting directly into the grain. Do not be alarmed if this direction is different from the general grain direction…there are some inconsistencies to grain due to drainage of the greens. Keep the general rule in mind for longer putts, and keep the more specific rule in mind for the last three to four feet of the putt.  Grain will have a larger effect on a putt during the last few feet of roll.

Hopefully these tips will give you the knowledge to understand how grain will affect your putts during your Maui golfing vacation. Apply this information correctly, and you’ll see lower scores. Good luck!

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