The speed of a green is measured by a stimpmeter . In essence, a stimpmeter is a chute placed on one of the flatter sections of the putting surface and the ball is rolled down this chute and a measurement is taken of how far across the green the ball has rolled. The further the ball has rolled, the faster the green is.

Stimpmeter readings are given in feet, corresponding to the average roll. The USGA defines a reading of 8 slow, 10 as medium and 12 as fast for a typical course.

So how does this speed affect the reading of putts? Well, the slower a ball travels across a surface, the more time there is for a sideways slope to affect the direction of the ball. You may like

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