Another Short Game Thread

[Deleted member 16999]

Early hours this morning I was flicking throught the TV Channels and caught a one hour “Wedge Special” on the Golf Channel with Dave Pelz.

He started the programme with 14 Clubs laid out on the ground, Putter, 3 Wedges, Driver and 2 Woods then 6 Irons, he then claimed over the last 10 years the average score in America (using PGA Data) 95.

He then took 95 Golf Balls and laid them out

Broken down as follows:

40 Putts
19 Wedge Shots
14 Drives
20 Woods/Irons
2 Random/Errors

Whether his stats are 100% I don’t know but he claimed it was.

Seeing it laid out this way really emphasised how important short game is to your score.

Of course all shots matter, but in terms of quick improvement at the average level, short game I would suggest is vital.

 

[duncan mackie]

I've said it before, and I'll no doubt say it again.....putting, putting, putting.

It's the easiest to practice anywhere, anytime and when you can putt like a pro move to the next bit.

Short game means too wide a range of shots to master them all (in a life time of social golfing).

 

[PJ87]

Early hours this morning I was flicking throught the TV Channels and caught a one hour “Wedge Special” on the Golf Channel with Dave Pelz.

He started the programme with 14 Clubs laid out on the ground, Putter, 3 Wedges, Driver and 2 Woods then 6 Irons, he then claimed over the last 10 years the average score in America (using PGA Data) 95.

He then took 95 Golf Balls and laid them out

Broken down as follows:

40 Putts
19 Wedge Shots
14 Drives
20 Woods/Irons
2 Random/Errors

Whether his stats are 100% I don’t know but he claimed it was.

Seeing it laid out this way really emphasised how important short game is to your score.

Of course all shots matter, but in terms of quick improvement at the average level, short game I would suggest is vital.

oh definitely

I havent played that amazing recently but have scored well due to short game and putting being on

yesterday had 2 x 3 putts which ruined my stats

 

[AMcC]

40 putts seems a bit high though ??

 

[PJ87]

40 putts seems a bit high though ??

no gimmes lol

 

[AMcC]

no gimmes lol

Ah well that will be the difference.

It is amazing how small the hole becomes in a medal round after having played for weeks and been given 2 - 3 footers regularly as gimmes

 

[Orikoru]

I can't putt to save me life. Reckon my handicap would be at least 3 lower if I could, if not more. My last round was a half-decent 91 (exactly to my handicap as the par is 68) but that included 38 putts. The greens were having work done, but it still took me far too long to get used to that - I three-putted the first THREE holes, then one-putted the next three because my chipping was really good, then three-putted the 7th and 8th as well. Only one more three-putt on the back nine but that's still ridiculous.

My long irons are the other poor part of my game, but that's not costing me anywhere near as much as putting I shouldn't think.

 

[PJ87]

I can't putt to save me life. Reckon my handicap would be at least 3 lower if I could, if not more. My last round was a half-decent 91 (exactly to my handicap as the par is 68) but that included 38 putts. The greens were having work done, but it still took me far too long to get used to that - I three-putted the first THREE holes, then one-putted the next three because my chipping was really good, then three-putted the 7th and 8th as well. Only one more three-putt on the back nine but that's still ridiculous.

My long irons are the other poor part of my game, but that's not costing me anywhere near as much as putting I shouldn't think.

I hit 35 putts or under a round.. however its easier to do this as a high handicapper than a low one.. my approach shots dont reach and im say 20 yards short of green or left.. chip close 2 putt .. low cappers land on the green and have longer putts

in the summer when my irons were spot on I was finding greens in 2 then hitting 3 putts because I was much further away

 

[Yant]

I consider myself to be a poor putter, but if i'm over 30 putts for my round i'm disappointed. Anything under 30 is decent IMO.

 

[PJ87]

I consider myself to be a poor putter, but if i'm over 30 putts for my round i'm disappointed. Anything under 30 is decent IMO.

30 putts a round is 6 x 1 putts a round

that isnt poor ...

anything under 36 is below par

 

[AMcC]

I hit 35 putts or under a round.. however its easier to do this as a high handicapper than a low one.. my approach shots dont reach and im say 20 yards short of green or left.. chip close 2 putt .. low cappers land on the green and have longer putts

in the summer when my irons were spot on I was finding greens in 2 then hitting 3 putts because I was much further away

Have to agree with you there, probably as your gir figures improve your putting stats will get worse in the short term until you work on getting the longer putts to within a reasonable distance of the hole

 

[Orikoru]

I hit 35 putts or under a round.. however its easier to do this as a high handicapper than a low one.. my approach shots dont reach and im say 20 yards short of green or left.. chip close 2 putt .. low cappers land on the green and have longer putts

in the summer when my irons were spot on I was finding greens in 2 then hitting 3 putts because I was much further away

That is true to be fair. My mid and short irons were pretty good on that round so for a lot of the three putts I was very far away on the first one. Was still disappointing though as it means I'm not taking advantage of the times when my approach shots are actually better and finding greens.

 

[Orikoru]

I consider myself to be a poor putter, but if i'm over 30 putts for my round i'm disappointed. Anything under 30 is decent IMO.

30 putts a round is 6 x 1 putts a round

that isnt poor ...

anything under 36 is below par

Was gonna say.. under 30 is extremely good. I think I've only been under 30 putts once this year!

 

[Imurg]

Stats don't always paint the right picture.
Hitting lots of GIR and taking a few three putts or missing the green, chipping on and two putts.....no difference, same score.
Improving your putting is an obvious one but getting those chips closer so you have a good chance of a single putt is just as important.
Try to get your shots as close as you can to make the next one as easy as possible.
Whether they're chips or putts doesn't really matter

 

[Yant]

Stats don't always paint the right picture.
Hitting lots of GIR and taking a few three putts or missing the green, chipping on and two putts.....no difference, same score.
Improving your putting is an obvious one but getting those chips closer so you have a good chance of a single putt is just as important.
Try to get your shots as close as you can to make the next one as easy as possible.
Whether they're chips or putts doesn't really matter

Exactly. Stats can be misleading if looked at in isolation. The reason i think 30+ putts is a lot for me is because i hit a high % of greens in regulation, so i expect my total putt count to be below 30.

 

[Sports_Fanatic]

Exactly. Stats can be misleading if looked at in isolation. The reason i think 30+ putts is a lot for me is because i hit a high % of greens in regulation, so i expect my total putt count to be below 30.

Surely, it's typically the other way round for most golfers - if you hit a lot of greens your potentially 3 putting more as others have suggested. If I miss but only slightly then I expect most chips to give me a chance of a 1 putt, 2 at worse lowering total putts but not the overall score.

I get what they mean about short game important, but I do find that if I drive well then score plummets as I hit greens being a reasonable iron player. If it's spraying about then suddenly you get the big scores or hack out sideways scenario than perhaps just taking an extra couple of putts if short game isn't on song.

Basically, all shots are important, so you should improve everything

 

[Dasit]

I average about 33 putts a round

But 10 of those are taps in from within a foot

So I am only actually have 23 meaningful putts a round

Maybe 5 of those are 3 or 4 feet, vital putts, got to practice that heavily, should be close to 100% on these in a round.

10 from 10 to 25 feet, don't expect to make many of these, happy to put within a tap in and try make a few depending on green, uphill downhill break etc.

10 feet to 5 feet, something the pros make a lot which I don't. Worth a lot of practice.

The rest are from bad irons and chips usually where on wrong part of green. Worth practising getting within 3 feet.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I lost a scratch matchplay game a couple of years ago against a scratch golfer (he'd been off +4 in his younger days).

We compared games afterwards, as he wanted to help me improve. We hit a similar number of fairways and greens in reg'.
The biggest difference was number of putts. But not because he was a much better putter than me. But because I had much longer 1st putts more often. Sometimes I might 3 putt from very long range and he'd 2 putt from mid-range, or he'd hole a short one when I missed a mid-range putt.

So I have worked more specifically on my iron approach play and wedges since that day, and come down to 4 from 6 because I'm getting closer, and trying to turn those potential 3 putts into likely 1 putts, or easy 2 putts.

 

[chrisd]

After a really good long game lesson and now hitting the ball, on average., the best ive ever hit, it shows up how poor, in comparison, my short game and putting is.

This winter and spring I intend to work 80% on pitching, chipping, bunker play and putting to try and improve those areas to achieve a 3 shot reduction in handicap which, if I stay physically fit should get me to single figures.

I've just finished watching Ged Waters and Andy Gorham on Utube with a 5 part putting series and I really see all the sense that Andy talks helping me

 

[spongebob59]

After a really good long game lesson and now hitting the ball, on average., the best ive ever hit, it shows up how poor, in comparison, my short game and putting is.

This winter and spring I intend to work 80% on pitching, chipping, bunker play and putting to try and improve those areas to achieve a 3 shot reduction in handicap which, if I stay physically fit should get me to single figures.

I've just finished watching Ged Waters and Andy Gorham on Utube with a 5 part putting series and I really see all the sense that Andy talks helping me

You going to go and see Ged @ Manston then ?