The Wisdom of Lou....

[Banchory Buddha]

He's popped up recently in another thread, seems I'm not alone in questioning the validity and real world implications of some of his stats. However this isn't a stat, and it's a doozy....


The first can be true without the second, it always matters if it's short, this isn't a stat, it's just a bad opinion

 

[Slab]

No idea who this fella is but I'd agree with you that it isn't a stat, although I'd agree with his opinion that it doesn't matter if its short/wide/long by an equal margin of error.

It just feels worse when its dead on line and short, but 6" short on perfect line is exactly the same scale of error as 6" past & missed right edge

 

[RichA]

Yep. I've heard them talking (sniggering) about the "Never up, never in" philosophy, but they take it to an extreme that assumes people are hitting 30 footers to go 50 feet, just in case it's on target. Their arguments tend to be pretty simplistic.
Makes more sense to be lag putting to a visualised dustbin lid size area with the hole at the nearest point, rather than the middle, surely.

 

[bobmac]

If the ball reaches the hole, it's got a chance to go in. The odds of it going in vastly decrease if it doesn't reach the hole.

 

[AussieKB]

But if it is wide....no chance
hate the saying missed it on the pro side......
hey it missed

 

[bobmac]

But if it is wide....no chance

And if it's straight and short, no chance.
A putt that reaches the hole can go in if it's straight or miss if it's not straight.
A putt that doesn't reach the hole will NEVER go in.

 

[PJ87]

He's popped up recently in another thread, seems I'm not alone in questioning the validity and real world implications of some of his stats. However this isn't a stat, and it's a doozy....


The first can be true without the second, it always matters if it's short, this isn't a stat, it's just a bad opinion

View attachment 50900

He is spot on. If you leave 1 foot short from 50 feet it's a great putt.

Doesn't matter if it's 1 foot short ,1 foot past , 1 foot left or right. Having a tap in from a lag putt is a good result

 

[Deleted member 1147]

And if it's straight and short, no chance.
A putt that reaches the hole can go in if it's straight or miss if it's not straight.
A putt that doesn't reach the hole will NEVER go in.

A putt that misses will always miss

 

[bobmac]

A putt that misses will always miss

Especially if it's short

 

[Albo]

I think it’s an over simplified statement which loses some of its nuanced meaning as a result.
From outside a certain range, for the sake of argument let’s say 30ft, a player should try to centre their speed around the hole not past it. From those ranges it’s tough to control distance accurately, so to try and centre speed around the hole would mean that some come up short and some go past but your average should be hole high. At shorter distances there is a better chance of speed control and therefore you should try and centre speed slightly past the hole.
At least that’s my take on it

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I think we need to think about specifics:

If you have a 50ft uphill putt and leave it a couple of feet short, leaving an uphiller, you would probably be happy enough with that.
Whereas if you knock it long and have a nasty downhill knee-knocker, you may wish you left it under the hole.

 

[sunshine]

The key word here is LAG. Regardless of distance, if you are trying to lag it and it finishes 6 inches short that is a good putt.

"Never up never in" applies if you are looking to hole it.

There's a school of thought that you should be looking to hole every putt, but acceptable outcome and intention are not the same.

 

[IanM]

He's right. But it depends on the context of the putt.

 

[Imurg]

A ball travelling fast enough to go 3 feet past is shrinking the hole to the size of the ball..so a ball going 6 feet past has little chance of going in even if it's bang on line.
A lag putt that finishes within tap in range is a good putt.
Don't forget that your chances of holjng a 20 footer are pretty minimal so to get it to a foot is fine...Nice if it goes in but you can't expect to hole many from that range.

 

[bobmac]

He's right. But it depends on the context of the putt.

Good point, especially if its a putt for a half in singles match play or a 'free putt' in 4 ball match play.
No prizes for being short

 

[bobmac]

A ball travelling fast enough to go 3 feet past is shrinking the hole to the size of the ball..so a ball going 6 feet past has little chance of going in even if it's bang on line.
A lag putt that finishes within tap in range is a good putt.
Don't forget that your chances of holjng a 20 footer are pretty minimal so to get it to a foot is fine...Nice if it goes in but you can't expect to hole many from that range.

True, but I think most of us at sometime has ''been robbed'' when a 30 footer lips out

 

[BiMGuy]

A putt that misses will always miss

This will blow some peoples minds.

 

[BiMGuy]

Good point, especially if its a putt for a half in singles match play or a 'free putt' in 4 ball match play.
No prizes for being short

No, but how many times do you see those putts miss at a pace the ball would never go in at as it goes past the hole?

 

[bobmac]

No, but how many times do you see those putts miss at a pace the ball would never go in at as it goes past the hole?

Depends who I'm playing with

 

[TheDiablo]

If you are a 10 handicapper and hit 5 putts from 40 feet to tap in distance you will save yourself 2 shots that round compared to an average 10 handicapper.

If you have the mindset of 'I must get it there' and you have a 20% margin of error distance wise, the chances are you are knocking a couple of those putts 4-7ft past. Whereas with the same error margin but aiming to drop it in the hole pace wise, you'll have everything within 3 feet.

That's what he is saying, but he lacks nuance.