| This is something that was a bit of a mystery to me | | | | acts as a prod as it were to stopthe ball rolling. |
| in my earlydays. | | | | Hence the ball will be held up a bit and will notroll as |
| I would hear people talking about the grain on the | | | | far. |
| green and howthe ball would go fast if the grain was | | | | This prodding effect is called the grain. |
| leaning towards the holeand how the ball would not | | | | It represents the direction in which the grass is |
| reach the hole if one was puttingagainst the grain | | | | growing. |
| unless this factor was taken into account. | | | | One way to determine which way it is growing is to |
| Well here is a bit about grain in case you, like I did, | | | | look at thegrass. |
| find thissubject a bit of a mystery. | | | | If it has a slight sheen, or looks light then it is |
| When the grass grows, it grows in a particular | | | | growing away from you. |
| direction. | | | | If you hit a ball along this path it is called hitting with |
| The grass on greens is a special type of grass and | | | | the grain. |
| lies flat on the surface. | | | | If it is dark, then this is because you are looking at |
| There are bent grasses that lie flat because it is the | | | | the tips of thegrass and the dark part between the |
| nature ofthe grass to bend at ground level and grow | | | | blades of grass and the ground. |
| horizontally, hence thename. | | | | This means the grass is growing towards you. |
| There are other types of grass are cut very short | | | | Hitting a put along this path is called hitting against the |
| and tend to grow a bithorizontally. | | | | grain. |
| Luckily all the grass grows in the same direction. | | | | Certain things determine in which direction the grass |
| If you can imagine the grass a little longer but still | | | | will grow,and these can be taken into account if you |
| lying horizontally, youcan see that if it is lying towards | | | | are in doubt. |
| the direction of the put, thatthere will be very little | | | | Most grasses will grow towards the nearest water. |
| resistance to the roll of the ball. | | | | They will also grow in the direction of drainage, |
| However, if it is growing towards you and away | | | | Often they grow towards the setting sun. |
| from the directionof the put, every blade of grass | | | | |