Why you don’t need to read the uphill 2nd putt

If you’ve read Dave Pelz putting or short-game bible, there are pictures showing water on the green flowing to the lowest point, and that’s where your ball will go. I’ve searched quite a bit online, and I can’t find any references to the second putt when the first was a downhill putt. Lots of google links for the difference in break between an uphill an downhill putt, but nothing regarding what I have observed.

If you have a downhill putt, and after the hole the slope is the same as above the hole, if you miss with the ball rolling relatively slowly, the come-back putt MUST be straight. Why? The ball has to find the lowest point below the hole, Newton made sure we know that. So regardless of the speed the putt went by the hole, excluding hammering it 30 feet by, the law of gravity will ensure the ball finds the lowest point, and therefore it is a straight putt back to the hole. Caveat? No weanie putts back up the hill will do, they need to be firm. Remember around the cup will be lower due to foot traffic (Dave Pelz’ lumpy doughnut, or my “new cut holes” blog a couple weeks ago), so it can’t be stopping at the rim of the cup. Hit it firm and hit the back of the cup, it’s almost always a straight putt. I’ve experimented quite a bit on practice greens as shown below. There is probably an angle above the cup that really becomes a side-hill putt, and there’s probably a green slope where this fails (almost flat green), but it’s better than a rule-of-thumb.