Understanding Putting More Clearly And The Role It Plays In Scoring

Putting is the most crucial skill in golf, impacting nearly every aspect of a player’s game.  Since close to half of a golfer’s strokes happen on the green, putting has a significant influence on scoring.  Being a proficient putter provides a great opportunity to lower one’s score. An effective putter also needs to understand green contouring, learn to read slope,  and judge pace.  Speed in itself is the most important component to putting as it influences the amount of break we decide to play.

Being a good putter builds confidence, which boosts the overall mental game, reducing the pressure on long shots and helping the player approach the game more strategically. When a player knows they can consistently putt well, it eases tension in other parts of their game, especially with approach shots, because they feel they can recover or finish strong even if they miss greens. The focus and precision required in putting develops mental strength and patience. These traits are invaluable when managing high-pressure situations.

In competitive settings, putting is the difference maker.  It often decides whether a player wins or loses a tournament.  Three-putting is a backbreaker and surely will take a player out of contention.  This is why speed needs to be practiced constantly.  The better your speed becomes the more comfortable you will feel on the greens.  

Also, understanding metrics is very important so you don’t get too down on yourself when you miss putts.  On the PGA Tour, the make percentage for an 8ft putt is only 50%.  A coin flip basically.  From 30ft the make percentage is 4%!  That means the best players in the world are only making 4 for every 100 putts taken from that length.  Keeping this in mind should tell you how hard and precise putting can be.  

Practice putting equal to the amount of time you practice your full swings.  This is not nearly done enough.   It is the one club in the bag we have in our hand most often in every round of golf we play.  Our suggestion is to practice long lag putts for speed and putts 6 feet and in for accuracy and confidence. Doing this will surely improve your putting and provide more fun on the links!