November 11, 2024
Think you are a good putter?
How many times per 18 holes do you have a three putt? You are probably happy to not have more than two a round. Luke Donald went 3 ½ months without a three putt and the PGA record is 541 holes by Freddie Jacobson without a three putt. On average, a PGA Tour professional has one three putt every two rounds. Most amateurs would love to lower their scores, but will spend countless hours on their full swings and neglect the most important aspects of golf, which is what happens inside 100 yards.
For this discussion, I will center on putting. A Tour professional averages 29 putts a round, which equates to 11 two putt greens and 7 one putts. On average the Tour pro hits 13 greens in regulation, which means he or she has 5 pitching/chipping situations along with par five opportunities to hit short wedge shots close to the hole and therefore one putt. The average putts per round can be very misleading, because it doesn't take into consideration the total length of putts that you made to hole-out on each hole. You could have a great ball striking day and hit (hypothetically) 18 greens and average 40 feet from the pin. In that case, 36 putts would be good. But another day you missed a lot of greens, but your short-game was stellar and you wedged close and your one putts were from one and two feet and have only 26 putts. Therefore, to assess if you really had a good putting round, add up the made putts lengths for a better valuation.
Surprisingly, the Tour average on a 50% made putt is only a little less than 8 feet, while the 90 shooter makes just over 25% from the same distance. The higher handicap 50% make is 5 feet. As the length increases the difference between professional and higher handicap amateur gets larger with the three-putt average jumping dramatically. At 20 feet the Tour average is only a 15% make. But when Jordan Speith in 2015 to 2017 was putting unbelievably, he seemed to make 20 foots like they were tap-ins. His putting beat Tour averages by 2 shots per round, which was a huge advantage. He has cooled off since that time, but he still one of the best putters on the Tour and gets surprised when a twenty-footer misses. Good putters expect the ball to go in.
If you want to lower your scores, first start with your putting. Having statistics will be very helpful in pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses. Mark down the length of the last putt you made on each hole and add that total up at the end. Note the number of three putts and the length that you missed trying to two putt. This will give you a starting point. I wrote many articles on putting on my Golf Blog. Two that would be especially helpful to review are my "Speed or Direction" article on June 5, 2016 and the "Improve your putting feel", that was written on September 12, 2019. You can access the website at www.earlsgolfblog.com and go to the Library tab.
Putting is an art form. Mechanics are important, but feel and imagination are much more important. The first thing you should figure out with every putt is the speed or distance that you want to go. Based on speed, that dictates the amount of break. When over the ball the focus is feel for the putt according to distance, then direction. Think you are a good putter? Retief Goosen went the entire Champions Tour season in 2023 only missing one a putt inside five feet! Everyone can lower their scores and being a better putter is one of the easiest way to pick up shots.
