Rory McIlroy’s two tips for reading greens that could help amateur golfers make more putts

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Rory McIlroy is better known for his powerful driving, but he is also a world-class putter.

McIlroy has developed into one of the best putters on the PGA Tour recently, which certainly helped him achieve so much success this year.

Golf fans will always remember him making a 28-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole of the Irish Open to force a playoff.

Here are the two tips McIlroy once gave amateur golfers on how to read greens and hopefully make more putts with breaks.

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Rory McIlroy’s two tips for green reading

McIlroy once explained the process behind his putting from the moment he walks onto the green to when he swings the club.

While many pro golfers use AimPoint nowadays, McIlroy still uses his eyes to determine which line to start the ball on.

McIlroy advised: “What I like to do when I’m reading a putt is, if I know that it looks like a constant slope and there are not two different slopes within the putt…

“I like to visualize, if I start this ball straight at the middle of the hole, how far left (or right) of the hole would it miss?

“I think if I started this straight at the hole, the ball would miss somewhere around here, so that means to me, if I want the ball to go in the middle of the hole, I should go for the [same] difference on the other side.

“If it’s just one constant slope, that’s how I read a putt.”

McIlroy then chooses a point on his target line that is much closer to the ball than the hole and aims for that instead.

“Then what I’ll try to do is pick an intermediate target, so I can aim at that,” he said. “Then I’ll go in, and I have my spot right there.”

Rory McIlroy’s putting improved significantly in 2025 season

McIlroy’s putting was never one of his biggest strengths until the 2025 season, when he ranked inside the top 10 for strokes gained.

The Northern Irishman averaged fewer putts per hole and made more of his birdie or eagle opportunities this year than in 2024.

The 36-year-old’s improvement can probably be attributed to working with Brad Faxon, as well as his own hard work.

McIlroy’s driving actually let him down at times this season. If he can fix that and maintain his improved putting, he could play even better.