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5'-10' putts

• godelescher 636 Posts

  Sun, Mar 4 2012 12:22 PM

  I keep a close eye on my putting stats. I usually check them at the end of each ranked round to gauge any progress.

  There's always room for improvement, but overall, I'm pleased with the numbers.

  I set goals for specific stats like getting three-putts under 3% or one-putts over 50%. Lately, I've been draining the 10'-25' putts like nobody's business. That stat shot up from around 5% to 6.3%.

  My problem is the mid-range putts. 5'-10'. It's been hovering around 10% for months and, no matter how much my putting improves, I can't make any headway there.

  I use the Redwood putter and I'm happy with it. I might upgrade to the Rossa based on other glowing reviews, but I won't switch to the ghost/spider putters or Nike until the highest end versions are unlocked.

  So, is it me? Am I just not good from that range? Is it the putter? Would a different putter help, and at what cost? Would I be less accurate from 10'+?

  I'm seriously confused on this one.

• BolloxInBruges 1,389 Posts

  Sun, Mar 4 2012 12:35 PM

  I wouldn't read too much into those putting stats, they are really completely irrelevant.  Ideally you would not want a very high % for 10-25 range because that would mean you aren't getting your approaches inside 10ft.   People have explained what those numbers really represent before, and it doesn't have much correlation to how well you're actually putting.

  And as far as what putter to use, its really personal preference depending on your putting style (dinging vs mishitting), scale preferences, etc.

• godelescher 636 Posts

  Sun, Mar 4 2012 9:04 PM

  BolloxInBruges:

  Ideally you would not want a very high % for 10-25 range because that would mean you aren't getting your approaches inside 10ft.

  Maybe I don't understand the stats I'm looking at then.

  As I read them, it's saying that I'm sinking x.xx % of all of my putts at that distance, but it doesn't include putts outside of that distance.

  Are you saying that my 10% from 5'-10' is actually 10% of my total 6000+ putts?

  If that's true, then it's a wildly misleading statistic.

  In regard to getting my approaches close to the hole. I'm limited in my accuracy until I can level up to appropriate irons. If I can't drain more long putts than others, I won't be competitive. That's why I'm focused on the putting stats.

   

• zagraniczniak 1,984 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 2:41 AM

  Godel,

  The putting stats are indeed bogus (or at least counter-intuitive and unhelpful). The percentage given for each distance is the percentage of all your putts that are successful putts at that distance. Thus if you add up the arithmetic sum of those percentages you will get the total percentage success rate for all putts. What the statistics do not tell you is the percentage of putts you took from that distance that were successful or unsuccessful.

  Indeed, the statistics do not provide any information about unsuccessful putts except the fact that they were unsuccessful (because this is reflected in the total number of putts when generating the other statistics). It is as if the system "forgot" where you took the unsuccessful putts from.

  A corollary to what Bollox said is that a high percentage at 0-5 feet could be a good sign (suggesting that you are putting lots of approaches within 5 feet and making the putts) but is probably not a good sign (more likely suggesting that you make lots of putts at 0-5 feet because those are second putts, i.e. you have missed a makeable birdie putt of, perhaps, 8 - 15 feet). The latter is my problem, anyway.

• godelescher 636 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 6:51 AM

  At the end of each round, I take a sack full of numbers and plug them into a spreadsheet I made for my game. It gives me:

  • Course averages (64.5 at BPB, 65.78 at RSG...),
  • Individual hole averages (3.25 at BPB #1, 3.90 at KIA #4...)
  • True overall average (63.93 for my entire run through Tour Master, 65.45 as legend...)
  • Chronological list of scores in total and by course.

  I use this spreadsheet because these data show me where my strengths are and where I need to focus on improvement. The data also show trends, like over reliance on one course vs. another, ready-go vs. SP, etc.

  It's cumbersome to do this after every round, but I think it improves my game, or at least tells me where I should try to improve my game. I also do it because the WGT scoring stats are sadly lacking in this regard.

  Until this thread, I had given the benefit of the doubt to putting stats, after all, how could I misinterpret "% of putts made from 5'-10' "?

  Now that I realize the putting stats are essentially worthless, I'll have to log my individual putts and create a new spreadsheet if I want to know anything telling about my game.

  I'm not happy about this.

   

• mkg335 5,491 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 10:23 AM

  godelescher, the problem might be that you left out Bach.

  (obscure Hofstader reference for those not familiar with the book)

  ;-)

• LeonDelBosque 1,551 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 3:54 PM

  Yes, the putting % stats are very nearly worthless -- and I'm kind of in the same boat on 5-10 footers. I feel like I'm pretty good from that range, but my percentage is really low ... I finally figured out that it's low not because I miss, but because I just don't have that many putts of that distance, compared to other players (with different games)

• oneeyedjohn 9,577 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 5:39 PM

  I record every SP round with total putts, and screenshot the scorecard 'stats for putting' on each round.

  But how do you analyse this :-  6 under STA front with 14 putts

                                                          1 under Congress back with 14 putts

  Also the fact that putts from the fringe don't register must skew the stats a bit, not that I ever putt from the fringe.

• zagraniczniak 1,984 Posts

  Mon, Mar 5 2012 10:53 PM

  oneeyedjohn:

  But how do you analyse this :-  6 under STA front with 14 putts

                                                          1 under Congress back with 14 putts

  6 under STA front with 14 putts: If you hit every green in regulation you could get a -6 with 12 putts. The reason you had 14 putts is that you hit two greens in under regulation and took an extra putt there. Probably you reached the par 5 in two and drove the green on the 9th.

  1 under Congress back with 14 putts: If you hit every green in regulation you could get a -1 with 17 putts. The reason you had only 14 putts is that you missed some greens in regulation but got up and down, with one pitch or other shot from around the green followed by one putt.

• Infinito3010 3,689 Posts

  Tue, Mar 6 2012 2:51 AM

  The only numbers that are relevant are the percentages of 1 and 2 putts.

  You can keep track of how well you progress by creating a reference point.

  Keep track of the following.

  Aces, Double Eagles, Eagles, Birdies, Pars, Bogeys, Double Bogeys, and Others, Total number of Putts,  then from the award section use "Down the Drain" {Number of 1 putts}, "Get Down" {Number of Two Putts}.

   

  Sum the following {Aces, Double Eagles, Eagles, Birdies, Pars, Bogeys, Double Bogeys, and Others} this will give you the number of holes played.  Name this variable Hr.  "Down the Drain" {Number of 1 putts} P1r, "Get Down" {Number of Two Putts}, P2r.

  Thus using the reference point the percentage of 1 putts can be calculated as follows.

  [P1-P1r]/(H-Hr)*100;   For these values to have any statistical meaning the difference in the number of holes should be about 750.

  You can also use the Number of putts (Nr) in the same fashion to calculate number of putts per hole.

  (N-Nr)/(H-Hr)

  Hope this helps