33 putts today with one three putt (it was in the acceptable 3 putt range, but I hit a terrible putt)…
My putting is definitely getting where it needs to be… my next step is improving my misses to be PAST the hole… left a birdie putt 6 inches short from 15 feet and was very frustrated.
Would you still be frustrated if you missed it 6" past the hole? A miss is a miss. Trying to make sure you hit it past the hole is a downhill slope that doesn’t have a reward at the end.
I’m only frustrated because my miss pattern has been consistently short, which IS a problem, especially on putts shorter than 20 feet. Basically, it’s the equivalent of missing front pins short… I should be aiming further back.
I’m REALLY happy with how I’m actually rolling the ball / making my stroke, I just need to move my aim back 12-24 inches and all will be good.
Really dont buy into those stats, they seem to be being used to prove a (dubious) point. The full stat for 20-24 feet is that by far the majority of putts finish just past the hole (49%) and below that the percentage is well over 50 (73% at 6 -7 feet). So this table shows that the best miss long but not by much.
The old adage ‘never up, never in’ is dangerous, especially for longer puts where you can end up hammering it 8 feet past. But to answer your question, I would be less frustrated if I miss 6" long rather than 6" short as at least I know I gave it a reasonable chance.
Tour average make rate from 15-20 feet is less than 20%. To get frustrated over that is doing a disservice to yourself.
I am assuming the putt was left 6" in the center of the hole. To get that putt 6" past the hole you have to hit it on a different line than the one that was short, unless it is dead straight. It’s not just a simple I should have hit it harder.
I’m not frustrated that the putt didn’t go in… I’m not even frustrated with the singular putt, I’m frustrated that I haven’t adjusted my aim to past the hole.
This putt was just the culmination of me hitting my intended line but misjudging the speed to the point where it came up short.
It requires correction from my putting it I also need to make sure I don’t over correct.
I get it, I get frustrated all the time. My point was only to be careful trying to get everything past the hole. It is an old adage that just doesn’t help.
And if you hit it past the hole your intended line would have had to change to make the putt. Getting into the weeds a little bit but almost every putt has at least 2 factors speed and line. Same putt with a foot of different speed will have to be on different lines to finish on the same line. I just see a lot of people get frustrated or have such unrealistic expectations, especially when it comes to putting. I contend that for most everyday golfers if you don’t 3 putt more than once a round and make putts inside a 5 feet, you can spend your time working on something that will have more benefit to your game.
You are correct on this for the most part… I’d argue with better speed the putt would have still gone in, but that’s neither here nor there…
I started this thread and this quest because I was a below average putter. I was missing 5 footers, three putting multiple times a round. More than anything, I was walking on to greens with no confidence and a bad mental attitude. I expected to miss putts.
We are 5 months in to me actively working on improving, and it’s definitely been successful. I’m very happy with where my putting is overall, and while I can still make some adjustments, I’m in a far better place than I was.
I made plenty of decent putts yesterday, and was happy with my performance other than one putt that was more a shank than anything… I do think my putting can be improved overall by making sure I’m not consistently leaving the ball short, but I’m also actively tracking my putts, the results and how I feel…
My final step is some more confidence overall… I still have a tendency to “dink” short putts and not swing with a confident tempo… I also worry about blowing the ball past the hole, as that was a major problem last year. I had 0 speed control and would swing wildly on distance… my speed control is much improved, which means I can move my target to behind the hole, as a long miss won’t be 4 feet past like it was in the past.
I’m not trying to never miss short, I’m simply trying to move my miss pattern a foot back… and trust my stroke that I can do that. A major step for me.
I’d like to see the “missed by <30” cut a little finer on how far past the hole a missed putt actually went. On the surface, this is some piss poor putting. Some of these ‘miss by’ numbers look a bit hinky. A third of missed 5’ putts 2 1/2’ too long? 
I’m mostly happy with my stroke and my aim, but putts aren’t falling (yet)… had 18 putts in nine today with one three putt… hit 6 greens and most of my putts were in the 10-20 foot range. Three putted a thirty footer where my speed was good it just slid a solid 6 feet (terrible read on my part here)
I think I’ll be making more putts once I get some confidence, but my confidence comes from making putts… I’m hoping if I get lucky one day I can turn it on for the rest of the season. We will see.
I guess I’d ask what your expectations are. Even for tour pros and scratch golfers, the average number of putts for 10-20 footers is 1.6 to 1.9…and make percentage is less than 40% for pros at 10 feet.
2 putting is pretty normal for 10+ footers. Am I missing something?
You aren’t missing anything… but if I have 6 10-20 footers in a round, I expect one to drop… statistically, at least one should go in, but it’s also possible to miss them all and still be in the 40% make range.
I’m definitely rolling the ball better, but can still improve.
So I’ve finally started tracking my SG putting… something I should have always been doing… I lost 3+ strokes to a tour pro on my 83 the other day… which is both not great, while also being not bad… The average pro would have shot an 80 from the positions I left myself on the green… Obviously I have other areas to work on, but this was a nice reminder that all of my remaining gains are going to be marginal.
I’m still not MAKING a ton of putts… I’m off statistically, even for a higher handicap… My hole proximity is decent and I’m consistently leaving tap ins, so it’s just a matter of dropping more putts… Adam has talked about improving your line and hurting your putting, and honestly, I think this is a large part of my problem… I think my brain is adjusted to my “old” putting and thus my reads are all slightly off because I expect to pull the ball slightly… If I want to get further into the weeds, I could start tracking if I’m missing consistently… instead, my goal is to just stay focused and grind it out on the greens. I THINK I’m close to being a decent putter… I just need some confidence and some putts to drop.
Right now, I’m going to keep tracking Strokes Gained Putting, and see how it goes.
So, personally, I don’t really track strokes gained or lost, I track Putting Average, I am exactly at 1.7. or 30.6 putts per round. Considering they give you 36. Which is not bad if I was hitting 11 GIR, I am only hitting 6-7 GIR per round. That’s what has to improve. I don’t know what your GIR are but get that up and the score will come down. 14 of our greens are so small, you never really have putts over 20-25 ft if you hit them if you hit center of green. Because my up & downs are SOOOO BAD from 40-50 yds to 10-20 yds, I have to pray I make alot of those because I’m always leaving 8-10 ft of meat on those bones and that’s alot of pressure to put to your game consistently…Also make sure to at least get the ball to the proper level on the green from the fairway. Yea, we all want to be Ben Crenshaw, BUT, it looks to me that you are well above average, don’t be so hard on yourself…CONGRATS!
So I played the best round I’ve played in 20 years today… and my putting was fine… overall, I “lost” 1.32 strokes with my putter (per DECADEs SG…)
What I did well: I made everything inside 6 feet, except one slider and my eagle putt, which lipped out… that was more nerves than anything.
What i did poorly: Green reading. I’m just off on this… I think I need to renew my focus on it now that I’ve gotten my starting line and my speed under control. I’m not sure if my body just naturally adjusts for my old misses or if I’m just not great at reading greens… but my reads were mediocre… It might also just be an adjustment to better speed control…
I’m happy with where my putting is, but it could still be improved! A few more one putts in my round today, and I would have been even.
I found this flipping online this morning. I’m going to give it a try. Very simple calculator… https://golfreporter.com/strokes-gained-calculator/
So I used that calculator using Sundays tournament round, Works pretty good :
Your Handicap: 9
| Distance from hole | Putts | Expected Avg Putts | Strokes Gained | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 2 | 1.97 | -0.03 |
| 2 | 14 | 2 | 2.04 | 0.04 |
| 3 | 22 | 2 | 2.20 | 0.20 |
| 4 | 14 | 2 | 2.04 | 0.04 |
| 5 | 18 | 2 | 2.13 | 0.13 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 1.32 | 0.32 |
| 7 | 24 | 2 | 2.23 | 0.23 |
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1.57 | 0.57 |
| 9 | 84 | 3 | 2.74 | -0.26 |
| Distance from hole | Putts | Expected Avg Putts | Strokes Gained | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 15 | 2 | 2.08 | 0.08 |
| 11 | 18 | 2 | 2.13 | 0.13 |
| 12 | 34 | 2 | 2.32 | 0.32 |
| 13 | 17 | 2 | 2.12 | 0.12 |
| 14 | 16 | 2 | 2.10 | 0.10 |
| 15 | 3 | 1 | 1.22 | 0.22 |
| 16 | 15 | 1 | 2.08 | 1.08 |
| 17 | 7 | 1 | 1.67 | 0.67 |
| 18 | 12 | 2 | 1.97 | -0.03 |
| Total Strokes | 32 |
|---|---|
| Expected Strokes | 35.93 |
| Strokes Gained | 3.93 |
Really happy with where my putting was today and yesterday. I sunk one 20 footer and had one dumb three putt… my overall SG:Putting was -2.12 vs the pros… but more than anything, I felt CONFIDENT when I was walking to the green that I’d have a look at making birdie and knew I’d make the second putt.
A big help has been pacing off all the putts before I hit them, which is one of those little silly things that makes a ton of sense, but I didn’t think to do… Whether or not it gives my brain more information to hit a better putt is an interesting question, but I’ve had less three putts than ever and most of my second putts have been tap ins. If I have a day where some of those putts fall, it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Shout out to @SeeMorePutters as always… the RST and center shaft stuff are a wonderful fit for me and help keep my focused on the other stuff… The fitting in Nashville was probably the best money I’ve ever spent, and I will recommend it to anyone who will listen.
Putting is no longer the obvious flaw in my game… it’s not a strength yet, but I’m working on it!
