How do you measure your putting ability?

[sawtooth]

I came across an interesting article online which talks about measuring your putting ability. This is something I want to do because to get better I need to first establish a proper baseline (more than just really really cr*p) and then a good way to measure improvement.

I was just going to start keeping a tally of the putts taken in a round until I read about the putting quotient measurement which I never heard of until now. What do you guys/galls think of such a system? Have you ever used anything like it?

Heres a summary of how it works below. I may give it a go tomorrow, I know that my score will not be above 10 thats for sure!!


"A newer measurement, called the Putting Quotient, combines the affect of putts sunk and the distance missed putts remain from the hole. It works like this: divide the total length of all the putts you hit in the round by the total length of all putts hit after the first putt on each green.

Example: On the first three greens, say you had putts of 23 and 2 feet, 8 feet, and 47, 6, and 1 foot - a two-putt green, a one-putt green, and a three-putt green. The total length of all putts is 87 feet. The total length of all remaining putts is 9 feet (2+0+6+1). The ratio is 87 divided by 9, or 9.67. If you had made that 6-footer on the third hole, the ratio would have been 10.75. Anything over 10 is good putting."


Full article here....

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Measure-Your-Putting-Ability&id=4458773

 

[brendy]

Your head is full of sweetie mice if you think that much about it.
If it goes in from a distance you believe you should have a chance of holing from more than 5/10 then job done, if not, practice.

 

[JustOne]

It sounds like a good system in the sense that anything that can help you focus on the PACE of your putts and the distance you are going to be leaving them from the hole will help. It would be the same as your mate suddenly running down to the holeside and spraying a 2ft circle arond the hole with white paint and showing you a crisp £5 note.

I think I'd get over 10 every time as I lag every putt just inches short of the hole

Didn't do the maths but does it pay to leave yourself a longer first putt??????

 

[sawtooth]

Didn't do the maths but does it pay to leave yourself a longer first putt??????

I have no idea but for the hell of it I will record how many putts I take tomorrow and try to keep a note of the distances as well for this quotient calculation.

 

[JustOne]

You'll have to do it 2 or 3 times so we can tell if you're getting any better!!!!!!

 

[sawtooth]

I'll see if I can be arsed , who knows I might start putting the putting quotient on my signature - if it actually means anything that is. If a score greater than 10 is a good one then whats a bad quotient? 5? We'll soon see.

 

[Hobbit]

Whilst I like the idea of total distance of putts its skewed by whether or not you are firing into the green from 200yds or 20yds...

For me there are two different measures, 1) getting up and down from missed greens and, 2) putts per GIR. If your up and down ratio is good, along with a less than 2 putt % for GIR you're playing good golf.

 

[upsidedown]

I'm happy using my stats as a measure of performance, 1.6 per hole and 1.9 per GiR

 

[JustOne]

If a score greater than 10 is a good one then whats a bad quotient?:

Erm,....below 10?

 

[Fish]

I'm happy to just look at my SkyCaddie and HDID stats knowing I'm around 1.72 currently. My putting stats are good because I don't hit many greens in regulation so I chip close to the hole, get some decent sand saves, up & downs etc. If I can improve on my 2nd shots with long irons/fairway woods and get a better ratio of GIR then my handicap would drop like a stone.

 

[Robobum]

There's 3 parts to putting IMO.

1. The ability to put a good roll on the ball
2. Pace
3. Green reading

You can be a good putter technically, but hole nothing outside 5' by being a useless green reader.

Stats can be a waste, if viewed in isolation and should be viewed alongside a brutally honest self analysis - IMO

 

[bobmac]

There's 3 parts to putting IMO.

1. The ability to put a good roll on the ball
2. Pace
3. Green reading

You can be a good putter technically, but hole nothing outside 5' by being a useless green reader.

Stats can be a waste, if viewed in isolation and should be viewed alongside a brutally honest self analysis - IMO

Totally agree.
I would also like to add....

4. The ability to start the ball on the line you've picked.

There's absolutely no point in reading the green perfectly, picking a perfect line, perfect pace and perfect contact if you then pull it/push it.

If you're not holing the easy putts, you need to improve.
Anyone can miss the hard putts
Stats can be a help and a hinderence

 

[Imurg]

Putting is a difficult thing to measure as it depends on so many things.

A good short game leaves you close to the pin so you 1 putt every green from 2 feet - are you a good putter? From 2 feet - yes
You have 60 feet to the pin and the putt breaks 3 ways - you leave it 2 feet short and right - are you a good putter? I'd say yes but you could still end up taking 36 putts in a round.

GIR or fairways hit is easy - putting stats can mislead.

 

[pokerjoke]

Im definately not a stat man.
I know i used to be a poor putter,purely because i missed too many close range putts.
Now i dont miss so many short range putts im a better putter than i used to be.
One thing that would make me a better putter is to get every putt to either go in
or at least past the hole.
I have a tendancy to leave too many short,as the saying goes "never up never in".

 

[Oddsocks]

There's 3 parts to putting IMO.

1. The ability to put a good roll on the ball
2. Pace
3. Green reading

You can be a good putter technically, but hole nothing outside 5' by being a useless green reader.

Stats can be a waste, if viewed in isolation and should be viewed alongside a brutally honest self analysis - IMO

I've never agreed with anything this man has said until now. Well put!:cheers:

 

[duncan mackie]

Piggy backing Robobum and Bob's contribution -

1. The ability to put a good roll on the ball
2. Control of Pace
3. Green reading
4. The ability to start the ball on the line you've picked.
5. All unaffected by pressure, of any sort.

All viewed alongside a brutally honest self analysis

 

[Robobum]

......
4. The ability to start the ball on the line you've picked.

There's absolutely no point in reading the green perfectly, picking a perfect line, perfect pace and perfect contact if you then pull it/push it.

........

I like to use a "line em up" mark on my ball which helps me set the ball off on the starting line I want. See the line go end over end feeds back whether it was a good roll....?

Bob - I'm thinking that a push or a pull will make the line appear to wobble?? Is that right??

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I would rather work on drills and be confident of holing out rather than worrying about using applied mathematics to work out if I am doing ok. My pro has recommended this site http://www.mygripzone.com/ which has some great drills. Set a score and then try and get a personal best next time out. Makes practice more productive and structured

 

[MadAdey]

I do not look into how many putts I have a round as like has been said it can be very misleading. I could go round the course and 1 putt every green and not have a birdie. All that means is I could not hit a green in regulation and I was chipping it dead everytime.

For me the best way to measure your putting ability is to be honest with yourself. I think you have to look at it like this and see which one you are........

Does your putting cost you shots by 3-putting and missing 3 foot putts.
Is you putting just steady and solid never really making a lot of long putts but never missing your short ones.
Does your putting pick you shots up by very rarely 3 putting and making plenty of 6-10 foot putts.

 

[upsidedown]

Before i started keeping stat via golfshot I always thought of myself as a pretty poor putter, but as the putting stat has come out as one of my better ones, it's changed my mind set to be more confident on the greens. Where as before if I was out of position off the tee I'd go for the miracle recovery shot now I'm more likely to take the conservative route and trust myself to make a par saving putt.
I agree you do have to view the stats, per hole and per GiR as otherwise you can read too much into them.
Also you do have to be self critical but the only way you can do that is by knowing how many putts you have had, so therefore you already have a putting stat to hand , whether it be how many 3 putts, lag putts or putts made over 10 foot.
For me I'm missing too many GiR putts by being bold and ending up 2-3 foot behind the hole, still make them coming back but when they drop I'm on for a good round