How can you tell when someone is a good putter?

JustOne

JustOne

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What's the benchmark for someone to be a good putter?

Is it less putts or does that mean that their chipping/approach shots are better?

How many putts are you supposed to make to be good at putting? Is it 9/10 from 10feet? Does that include break, and on what speed greens?

What if your technique is good but you are crap at reading the line... or the pace OR perhaps you are good at reading one but your technique sucks... what's the standard? Indeed is there ANY standard to putting?

Penny for your thoughts....
 
What makes someone a good putter?

It's when the ball ends up in the hole.

You do ask some funny questions

But more importantly :
[*]There are no 3 putts
[*]You sink more than 50% of 6 footers
[*]Most putts reach the hole


I think the way you are thinking of it is a bit unbalanced : If you are good technically, but can't read a line, then you can't be a good putter. And Vicky Versa.

With putting, stats can lie - it's a subjective judgement. But I think most people know if they are naturally a bad putter ( I know I do ). I wonder if good putters know it instinctively, or do they observe it compared with the rest of us.

PS. I also believe that putting technique isn't as important as some believe. As long as the clubhead accelerates at impact, I think a flawed technique will be disguised as long as the set up is reasonable.
 
What's the benchmark for someone to be a good putter?
Click to expand...

Have you ever helicoptered your putter?
Have you ever broken the shaft of your putter smashing a ball into the trees as you've walked off a green?
Have you ever buried the head of your putter into the rough as you've walked back towards your bag?
Have you ever dragged your putter all the way home by tieing it to the back bumper of your car?
Have you ever lobbed your putter into a lake by the side of the green and had to carry on the game putting with your driver?
Have you ever broken your putter over your knee?
Have you ever had to say "sorry" to a mate because your putter nearly took his ear off as it whistled past his head?
Have you ever done a John Cleese impression on the green with your putter?
Have you ever dragged your spikes along the green as you've walked off it with your putter?
Have you ever thrown your ball into the lake as you've removed it from the hole whilst nearly having a cardiac arrest?

If you can answer "no" to all of the above you are a reasonable putter.

If you answer "yes" to any of the above....

:) :) :)
 
Greg Norman wrote in his book that in putting the ends justifies the means and so technique is unimportant if you can get round in under 30 putts per round.
But of course your approach shots and chipping game will effect your putting stats.
If you feel you are a good putter and have confidence over putts then you probably are.
Everyone could improve and so my tip (for what its worth) for anyone who wishes to improve their putting is to buy a cheep home putting mat and practice hitting three footers until you can get 100 on the trot, the four footers, then five and then six, when you can hit 100 six footers you will find that on the course you will be so much better and confident at short putts that your scores will fall, it will also take pressure of your long putting and chipping so you wont feel you have to get them stone dead.
Short putts (less than say 6 feet) are the most common shot in the game and so the shot that should be practiced the most.
Now let me tell you all about the splendid offer I have on putting mats……….
Cheers

Cookie
 
Everyone could improve and so my tip (for what its worth) for anyone who wishes to improve their putting is to buy a cheep home putting mat and practice hitting three footers until you can get 100 on the trot, the four footers, then five and then six, when you can hit 100 six footers you will find that on the course you will be so much better and confident at short putts that your scores will fall, it will also take pressure of your long putting and chipping so you wont feel you have to get them stone dead.
Click to expand...

Have been doing just that with my new Scotty :-. Practice a couple or three times a week to do 100 putts without missing - just move a foot up or back each shot. Each time I miss, start again. Doesn't take long, and my on course putting has become so much better. I can just walk up to a putt inside 8ft now, say to myself "it's a lounge putt" and sink it without any further thought process.
 
A good putter is one that will threaten the hole almost every time. Their pace and line is very good on nearly all putts and will hole 75%+ inside 10ft.

When you play against a good putter they make you feel under pressure because you know they are going to hole a large share of the ones they get.
 
On the short ones, definately holing lots of them makes you a good putter, and practice makes perfect.

But a truly good putter can lag putt from almost anywhere. If you can really putt, the downhill 50 footer with a treble break holds no fears.

If you can say that, you can putt.
 
What's the benchmark for someone to be a good putter?
Click to expand...

Have you ever helicoptered your putter? YES
Have you ever broken the shaft of your putter smashing a ball into the trees as you've walked off a green? YES
Have you ever buried the head of your putter into the rough as you've walked back towards your bag? YES
Have you ever dragged your putter all the way home by tieing it to the back bumper of your car? NOT YET
Have you ever lobbed your putter into a lake by the side of the green and had to carry on the game putting with your driver? NO
Have you ever broken your putter over your knee? YES
Have you ever had to say "sorry" to a mate because your putter nearly took his ear off as it whistled past his head? MANY A TIME LOOK OUT DANNY WILLETT!!
Have you ever done a John Cleese impression on the green with your putter? NO COMMENT
Have you ever dragged your spikes along the green as you've walked off it with your putter? NO
Have you ever thrown your ball into the lake as you've removed it from the hole whilst nearly having a cardiac arrest? YES

If you can answer "no" to all of the above you are a reasonable putter.

If you answer "yes" to any of the above....

:) :) :)
Click to expand...

Guess I must be in the poor putter bracket then! :mad:
 
[*]There are no 3 putts
[*]You sink more than 50% of 6 footers
[*]Most putts reach the hole
Click to expand...

I'll go with this. With "putts that go past the hole don't go more than a foot past" added.
Click to expand...

I think if youre looking for a stat Putts per Green in Reg is a good one to also look at. anything around 2 or less to me would indicate a good putter
 
A good question and reading some of the replies on this has only confirmed to me that there are massively unrealistic expectations out there. Saying things like 50% or 75+% from 6 or even 10 feet is the standard is really so wrong.

Check this out:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068219/1/index.htm

A bit wordy but worth the read and OK, it's from 1989 but the pro's haven't got that much better since then. I think Langer/Faldo/Seve could all putt a bit.

As for OP, I'd agree with all the posters who said it's about getting it to the hole and not 3 putting even from a longer distance. Obviously if you get 100% to the hole you have a better chance of more going in and no 3 putts is effectively playing to scratch on the green.
 
I consider myself a good putter but ohhh can I have bad days on the putting green. Much the same as with long game I have good and aweful days as well. Why do I rate myself good?

First I have fewer then 1 threeputts per round but that may be because the greens at my homeclub are comparatively small and consequently I don't hit that many AND I don't have to face 60 feet putts.
Second I am better then most inside 6 feet.

When I compare my golf with peers I am much inferior with driver and woods but I take fewer putts
 
That is a good article, and backs up what I have previously thought about putting.

Now all we need to put to bed is the 350 yard average drive bunch.
 
You're all square after 17 - you're both on the 18th green for two - you've got a 6 foot putt, your oppo's got a 30 foot putt - he holes it. He's a good putter!!! :rolleyes:

I'm a rubbish putter - too many three/four putts so I set myself the following goals per round:

NO three/four putts
I must two putt every green

unless

I've chipped to less than six feet

My handicap is 10 so I know that in order to get to single figures I need to be holing everything from six feet in.

If I do all of the above more times than I three/four putt then I'll consider myself a good putter...... :o
 
It is a completely unrealistic comparison though.

Put us on greens that are 12+ on the stimp with lots of break, a couple hundred thousand dollars at stake and a few thousand people staring at you whilst you try and it would be carnage.

Similarly put a decent pro on our "normal" club greens at 8 or so on the stimp with minimal breaks and they will be knocking the back of the cup out all day long.
 
A good question and reading some of the replies on this has only confirmed to me that there are massively unrealistic expectations out there. Saying things like 50% or 75+% from 6 or even 10 feet is the standard is really so wrong.

Check this out:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068219/1/index.htm

A bit wordy but worth the read and OK, it's from 1989 but the pro's haven't got that much better since then. I think Langer/Faldo/Seve could all putt a bit.

As for OP, I'd agree with all the posters who said it's about getting it to the hole and not 3 putting even from a longer distance. Obviously if you get 100% to the hole you have a better chance of more going in and no 3 putts is effectively playing to scratch on the green.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that article. Very interesting reading.

Very surprised that 6 footers are only around 50%, really would have thought tour pros would be up around the 75 - 85 mark.
Interesting bit about par putts too.
Given me something good to think about.



I think I'm a good putter but have the habbit of my eyes wandering to the hole at variours times during the round. Seems to happen mostly on short putts and costs me a few shots but when I do things right from short range i'm never too far off.
 
Swinger, you must be one of the most talented golfers out there, I see from your signature that you play off of 4 yet you only carry a 3 wood, 7 iron and a putter!

Awesome shot manufacturing and ability by yourself!
 
I think a good putter is someone that has a confident stroke beleives they are going to hole the putt and has a good rythym to their putting.

I dont think technique really matter when you are putting it is what works for you personally.

I dont see myself as a good putter but seem to hole my fair share.

So with putting could it be we think we set our sight to high with the putts we think we should hole???
 
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