The Great Equalizer: Why Putting Rules the Scorecard

When it comes to lowering golf scores there are many areas of our game we can improve on. Some of these areas have more impact than others and today we are going to go over, in large, the most influential area of golf scoring, the putting game. Looking at what we know, professional golfers are automatic when it comes to making putts. At just 3 feet the pros on average make around 99.4% of their putts. That is insane considering how much golf they are playing throughout the year. In contrast an average amateur golfer with a 10 handicap makes the same putt about 90% of the time, and that is not even the difference maker. From about 5 feet out, the pros are making their putts about 80.7% of the time, and in comparison, the same 10 handicap amateurs numbers drop dramatically to about 63% of the time for the same 5-foot putt. And finally, when a 10-handicap amateur attempts a putt from around 10 feet their completion numbers fall even further to around 16% of the time. The pros make 10-foot putts on average around 40% of the time.

Now some may ask, what makes us think that putting is so important when it comes to lowering our scores in golf. Compared to other areas in golf such as strokes off the tee, our mid game, and our game around the greens, putting makes us for 40% to 50% of all strokes made on our scorecard. For example, lets say you are a 10 handicap when playing 18 holes, you shoot your handicap on a par 72 and score an 82. In this instance lets say you had 32 putts that round, assuming you recorded your total putts per hole on your scorecard. This equates to 2 putts per hole. How many of these two putts could have been successfully holed in 1 putt, a lot more than you realize. It only takes you to sink half of those putts in 1 rather than 2 (9 strokes) and just like that you went from shooting an 82 to a 73. This type of structure even works better for golfers who have a higher handicap such as someone who is over a 20 handicap. Most of the time, a 20+ handicap golfer typically has at least 1 or 2, three putts on their scorecard, which gives the improvement level to be high. In some cases, there are many 3 putts and even a 4 putt here and there and just eliminating a few strokes on the putting green is easier than trying to perfect other areas of the game such as full swing driver and irons which has minimal impact on your scorecard than putting does. Instead of going to the driving range and trying to perfect that 300+ yard drive, take that time to go to the putting green. Even a 30-minute structured training drill on the putting green will help you become more confident and have more consistency with your putting.

When it comes to what a “structured” putting plan looks like to improve the putters’ consistency, there are some key factors we need to implement. One being, is the drill or session going to improve your game or is it just a small band aid on an abundance of inconsistencies. Two, am I adding the proper amount of time dedicated to the number one factor in a successful or unsuccessful putt, starting the ball on-line. And three, am I understanding what I am doing wrong that hinders our improvement and full engaging on what is working and what is not working. The best way for understanding proficiencies and imperfections is to take notes on all of our training sessions for proper feedback. We also have to understand why perfecting putting rather than our driver or irons has more of an impact to our game. When it comes to putting, there are only 4 major factors we need to focus on when gaining skill on the green. In comparison, there are over 200 influences with our driver and irons to get that perfect outcome. Therefore, training on putting is easier to dial in and putting accounts for more strokes than any other area in our game. In conclusion, when you are serious about lowering your scores and becoming the golfer, you had imagined you can be, the first place to look is on the putting green. See where you can eliminate 3 putts on the scorecard and turn a lot of 2 putts into 1 and you will see the results that you had imagined they would be.