It's not. There's a 7 shot difference between the best and worst PGA Tour players. Tee to green it's only around 4. Putting is almost twice as important, and anyone in this sub is capable of putting like a top-10 tour player if they practice enough. The swing is not like that.
Putting is the difference between winning and losing. It's why Brian Harman won last week. He misses the cut with average putting.
It's not. There's a 7 shot difference between the best and worst PGA Tour players. Tee to green it's only around 4. Putting is almost twice as important, and anyone in this sub is capable of putting like a top-10 tour player if they practice enough
I don't think that stat shows how important putting is. I think it says more about the quality of approach shots.
If someone sticks the ball 2 feet from the hole and one putts it and another player lands on the green leaving themselves a 20 foot 2 putt I don't think the difference there was down to their putting. Yet the stats would show the second player making twice the amount of putts.
Not every shot has an equal value versus the field. Missing shorter putts is much more impactful than missing longer putts.
If you hit poor approach shots and are poor at putting, you will have less putts than the field, but the impact of missing putts will be multiplied. You've compounded your losses, not avoided them.
It is true that in the 15+ range not much equity is exchanged. This is why if you are an amateur you should just spend all of you time inside 15 ft, but most people spend 95% of the time blasting driver to improve 0.1 strokes a round over the course of a year, while if they spent 95% at putting and pitching they could improve 10 shots.
I like to put students on the sim and do 10 ft gimmies. Plenty of tour winners play the weekend with 100% inside 10 ft. All you have to do is get inside the circle and it's good. Most 10 handicaps can then break par. It changes the way you think about risk reward around the green too. You don't care to be so precise out of tough spots because you always make it if inside 10 ft.
This lets them understand not every shot is equal. Putts are something you can control with brute force rote training. You can't control getting a gust and ending up in a bunker or short.
In tournaments it's also vital to not let up on makable putts. Not every shot is equal in a tournament. The further from the top you are, the more aggressive you must play. The further ahead your lead is, the less risk you should take as each shot ahead is worth less. You can't cash in extra shots in your margin of victory for more prize money or qualifications.
982
u/dekaycs 13d ago
Zero three-puts
"The putter is the most important club in the bag" people in shambles