I regularly miss 3 ft putts after trying my best to read the break but on these two occasions I could just "see it'. It was very weird, waking up to the ball, hitting it, and watching it trickle in time after time. I can't explain it, and as soon as I missed it was gone.
The time I hit the 100 ft putt (I think its was the third of 4) my friend an I were playing with an older gentleman who joined up. I think he either almost had a stroke, became convinced that we were witches, or figured he was on candid camera. I still remember the look on his face.
I wonder why it was 4 putts on both occasions. Is there a time limit on these mystical experiences?
Putting is one of my favorite parts of "the game." When I go to the course not to play but to practice I always start by putting, probably over 1/2 hour, then hit some balls (not a whole lot because my body will hurt... when I took it up at ~22 I would hit a large bucket 7 days a week), then have another good putting session before heading home.
I keep my putter in the kitchen and will sometimes (when I'm playing) just practice my stroke. You want a good feel with your putter.
The pros have their problems reading greens. You watch a pro tournament and it happens frequently, the announcers explain that they've been watching the players hit a certain put all day and it invariably misses left (or right). You might see the one guy who reads it right. You can usually tell if the ball behaves as "expected" by the putter.
Of course, I know a lot about the greens on my home course. But that doesn't negate for a second the overarching importance of reading the putt in the moment.
One of my best putting days ever was when I went with my brother and played a course I'd never seen. I had 27 putts total. My brother bragged for me at a party later that day about it. I obviously had to read the green/putt, never having played there. I suppose my short game, chipping were a big part of it. My brother used to say if he had my short game he would be playing in the 70's. I haven't played for around 6 months. I think the local courses are "open," but don't know how they're doing things with the pandemic going on. I will wait at least a month before even considering hitting a ball.