flaccus:If it counts as a drive, it doesn't count as a putt, right? So, does it keep yr putt stats low too?
So, after completing a 9-hole control round at Kiawah, I am reporting back with my findings.
I took a total of 16 shots on the greens: 11 putts with the putter and 5 tap-ins using the punched driver (all were successful).
The "scorecard" for the round counted each of those strokes on the green as a putt. Total putts: 16.
The "stats" for the round counted as putts only the strokes on the green taken with the putter. Total putts: 11.
For purposes of categorization into putts-per-green, significantly, out of 9 holes I was credited with one-putts: 2, and two-putts: 2. The holes in which the tap-in was made using the punched driver were ignored for this purpose, suggesting that no putts at all were taken on those holes (like a "no-putt" hole, i.e. a hole-out from off the green).
I cross-checked for purposes of the Bottom of the Cup 9 Award. Thanks to this round, based on the stats figure of 11 total putts, I was indeed credited with an additional 9-hole round with 12 or fewer putts, moving my number from 143 such rounds to 144.