On fast greens and slick putts of any kind (such as sharply sloping "killer downhillers"), there are two ways to reduce the energy transferred from putter to ball. The conventional method is to strike the ball out on the toe of the face; this will roll the ball more slowly, but also slightly off-line because the face rotates open at impact.

An alternate technique for reducing the power of putts is to grip down on the putter shaft, effectively shortening the club's length. Just as choking down on a full-swing club produces a shorter shot, grasping the putter at the bottom of the grip, even down on the metal, will produce slower rolling, shorter putts. And you still get to make contact on the sweetspot, so the ball starts and stays on-line and has a better chance of going in the hole.

Why so fast?

It's fall again, and the greens at your course are rolling faster than a runaway train. Why? A few reasons. Lower humidity in September and October can increase green speeds up to 30 percent, says Dick Stuntz, vice president of Golf Course Facilities for Alvamar, Inc., which runs two golf courses in Lawrence, Kansas. Also, the cooler weather means greens don't need as much water, making them firmer. "When it's hot and humid, the grass blades are limp, meaning the ball has to plow through them rather than stay on top. But as temperatures lower, the grass blades become more [swollen]. The result is the ball stays higher on the grass, which increases green speed," Stuntz says.