Putting is so hard that it’s one of the only parts of golf where professionals can’t distance themselves from regular golfers that much compared to tee shots/approach shots
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Is there any data available that shows percentage of makes at different distances for pros and ams of different hdcps? I’d love to see it because I’m one who believes putting is where pros pick up the most strokes on amateurs - at least low hdcp ams.
I’m a +1.6. I’m not an elite ball striker, but I can hit a high percentage of greens and keep it inside 35 feet and often much closer. I don’t shoot in the mid-low 60s very often because I’m not dropping the 15-25 footers the pros are. I make 1-4 of the inside 15 feet birdie putts per round, but rarely anything outside of that.
You need to read Every Shot Counts then, it’s not even close 
Approach shots are the biggest differentiation in scoring, then tee shots. Broadie found (definitely) in his research that putting does not separate players as much as we always thought.
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According to this I’m a scratch golfer who putts like a bogey golfer…
BRB calling Sieckmann and Club Champion.
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I’m going to take a wild guess that the reason you are a +1.6 is the following:
- you hit the ball much farther than most golfers
- you keep it play off the tee
- you hit a lot of GIR
- you rarely hit those “oh sh*t” shots
Am I close?
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Seems like you need a new putter! That will fix everything.
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My way sounds better! 
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Dead on. I’m not a terrible putter. I’m just not a good one.
You’re probably better than you think you are. Every plus handicap I know says the same thing
Suggest using your natural pace, count steps for 10’; should be ~ 4 steps. A bit of practice, you’ll nail it. Then simple math.
Interestingly, I use a combination. During practice I pace off 5, 10 footers for clock drills, 20, 25, 35 footers for lag drills, etc. Purpose is to 1) get my eye dialed in to what those distances look like and 2) develop a touch for those distances. My goal here is to hone a general putt/speed feel.
For pre-round warmup I usually only pace 10’ to verify my eyeballs. I’ll hit a few 10’ for green speed only. At this point I’ll expand or contract my speed feels (relative to practice) using athleticism only.
On the course I don’t bother with pacing (unless I happen to read from the hole), relying on my eyes which should be calibrated from warmup.
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Bingo - when you watch the pros on the tv you’re watching a highlight reel. They show you the holes putts and rarely the missed ones. It’s one of the reasons I was quite happy that they would show every shot Tiger hits. You got to see how often he misses putts too. It’s quite something to watch a guy go out on a PGA tour setup, hit it to the safe side of the hole virtually all the time. Miss a bunch of “makeable” putts and wind up shooting 68. Tiger at his best would put up season average strokes gained approach in the 2+ shots per round. He was often around +1 off the tee (although he missed a lot of fairways he was rarely dead and he hit it miles). +0.7 putting and +0.5 short game. That’s really how you dominate. 3-4 shots per round better than the field adds up.
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