Brad Faxon reveals his secret to reading greens

Brad Faxon has long occupied rare ground in golf — revered not just as one of the finest putters in PGA Tour history, but as a modern-day whisperer of the craft, a coach whose influence stretches across today’s game.

When he spoke with Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch in 2019, Faxon traced his brilliance on the greens to something deceptively simple: a mind unburdened by fear.

“I was able to dumb it down,” he said. “I never allowed myself to worry about missing, never putted like I was afraid. Fear is death for putting.”

That clarity didn’t come by accident. Early in his career, Faxon worked with famed sports psychologist Bob Rotella, whose philosophy became foundational: hold tight to success, release failure just as quickly.

“One of his tenets was, ‘Long-term memory of your successes and short-term memory of your failures,’” Faxon said. “I had the ability to forget about my misses. I cared if I missed, but I was able to forget that stuff.”

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It’s a mindset that helped define his career — and one he still imparts today.

Recently, at a Florida event, Faxon shared a collection of his best insights on the art and psychology of putting. We’ll roll those out in a series, breaking down the lessons of one of the game’s true masters, and offering a roadmap to better greens for players of all levels.

We start with the basics of reading a green:

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Brad Faxon's putting secrets to master the greens