LPGA Restricts Use of Green Reading Materials By Mitch Moon A new rule that the LPGA implemented this year, which players and caddies are still getting used to, is the restriction on green reading materials. The LPGA was one of the last professional tours to do adopt the rule. Greens Books are no longer allowed, while the drawings of any green in yardage books have been stripped down to the bare necessities. You no longer see a player on the green pull out a book and study how the putt will break, which is bringing the essential skill of reading greens back into the game. The greens reading books had become so detailed that a player would locate the nearest sprinkler head to their golf ball in their book and find their exact spot, knowing how the putt would break down to the tenth of a percentage point. In the new books, sprinkler heads and other identifying objects have been removed and only showcase the slopes that are more than four percent in grade. Contour lines have also been taken away and directional arrows are the only source of information available to the player. Another caveat to this is that LPGA players are no longer allowed to use any devices on the tournament putting greens throughout the week and any notes taken in their book must have been seen by their own eyes, either through putting and rolling golf balls on the green, or watching a telecast. Will this lead to more missed putts on the LPGA Tour, probably, but it has made the golfers rely on their skill at greens reading to identify the best overall golfers every week on the LPGA. Indiana Golf Journal
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