Did I put well or badly? Can't quite decide!

[JezzE]

Morning all,
Played a Medal yesterday and overall it was pretty good with a late double on 16 scuppering any handicap cut chances.
My dilemma is this - did I put well or badly?

The evidence is as follows
Total no. of putts - 28
Total no. of putts including those from off the green - 35

5 putts holed from 7 to 10ft
1 25-footer holed from off the green
1 45-footer holed from just off the green (6ins)

2 uphill right-to-left 7ft birdie chances missed + 1 10-footer
4 three to four-footers missed (3 out of the 4 were tricky left-to-righters)
2 three-putts from long range on the green, one more from just off

Felt like I putted well, but it was also the putter that cost me a really good round. What does the forum jury think?

 

[Sneds]

If you felt like you putted well then I would say that you did putt well. They don't always drop even when you put the best stroke on it. Maybe it was just one of those days!

 

[JustOne]

Even with your putts from off the green you had less than 36 putts, that's a good day in any book.... plus you holed some decent 'footage'. Try and get your approach shots on the green next time

 

[USER1999]

I'm with you Jezz, can't decide either. Sounds like you putt like Michaelson. Not sure if that's a good thing either. Thing is with golf, you always remember the misses, and not necessarily the long ones you maybe shouldn't have got. Anything under 30 has to be good though, unless you are missing all the greens.

Maybe JOUK is right and it's your iron play which is the problem?

 

[jammydodger]

I'm afraid i'm of the opposite opinion on this one. It sounds like you missed too many from short range for it to be considered a good putting round imo.

Longer putts holed are a bonus but your bread and butter putts from inside 10 feet are what counts. Especially from 3/4 foot which turn good rounds into very good ones and make the difference between a buffer or a cut.

 

[JezzE]

JOUK - you're right, I don't hit enough greens, or hit it close very often which is probably the real issue.

Jammy - you may be right. I can forgive myself a couple of slippery left-to-right 3-footers but there were too many 'makeable misses' in this round

Here's another frustrating thing - the majority of those 7-10 footers I did hole were to save par, yet when I gave myself a handful of similar, no more difficult chances for birdie I spurned them. Why is that?!

 

[Paul_Stewart]

Here's another frustrating thing - the majority of those 7-10 footers I did hole were to save par, yet when I gave myself a handful of similar, no more difficult chances for birdie I spurned them. Why is that?!

Answer to that question currently being resolved by the Deep Thought computer now that it's finished finding the answer to the life, the universe and everything

 

[thecraw]

You sound as though you had a similar sort of round as me on Saturday.

I holed a 30 foot birdie putt on 13.
I left a 10 foot birdie putt on the lip at 14.
I then miss read a left to right 4 foot birdie putt on 15 which was criminal.
I lipped out from 8 feet at 16 for birdie.
On 17 I hit a "tram liner" from 40 feet dead weight which shaved the edge and finished about a centimetre directly behind the hole for birdie. How that didn't drop I still do not know!!!

I was happy with my putting stats to be honest. I had 28 putts with a 3 jab, however I also left a few out there, but I guess you will always say that.

Take the positive and as James says, its not the putting that let you down, your approach play was more of an issue.

 

[bobmac]

when I gave myself a handful of similar, no more difficult chances for birdie I spurned them. Why is that?!

I think that when some people have a birdie putt, they often lag it up there, making sure if its missed it's a tap in par. Hence the lack of commitment to actually hole the putt.
When putting for par, they at least give the hole a chance and often if the line is good it drops even if it would have gone 3 feet pssed if missed.
So really, some people are more desperate to hole a par putt than one for birdie.

 

[JezzE]

I think that's it Bob. I was just about to answer my own quesion by suggesting that for some strange reason the desire to not make bogey from the middle of the fairway is somehow stronger than the desire to make birdie... which is pretty much what you're getting at

 

[bobmac]

I think that's it Bob. I was just about to answer my own quesion by suggesting that for some strange reason the desire to not make bogey from the middle of the fairway is somehow stronger than the desire to make birdie... which is pretty much what you're getting at

Exactly.
Which I feel is daft.
If a player misses a 10 ft putt for birdie at a short par 5 he/she may think, "well its still a par"
If however the 10 footer is for par at a tough par 4 and its missed, it's "bummocks, a bogey"
You've still missed a 10 footer and the par of the hole should never influence how hard you try and make the putt.

 

[JustOne]

You've still missed a 10 footer and the par of the hole should never influence how hard you try and make the putt.

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Wot he said.