The Wisdom of Lou....

[bobmac]

Scott Fowcett does a very good job of explaining why hitting every putt past the hole is a bad idea.

As mentioned, the ball has effectively less hole to drop in if it’s travelling too fast.

In short. If your front to back dispersion on a putt is (for example) 5’ on a 25’ putt. If you centre the dispersion on the hole the max 2nd putt will be 2.5’. Most of us will miss very few of those.

If every 25’ putt goes past the hole, you’ll have a lot of 4’ or 5’ putts for your 2nd putt. You’ll 3 putt a lot more.

And if all your putts are short, you'll never single putt.
I'd say from 25ft, everyone would be trying to lag it and leave a tap but if you're putting from half that distance, if I miss, I'd rather be a a foot long than a foot short at least it had a chance.
One tip, if you do hit it 5 feet past the hole, watch how it breaks after the hole, it will show you how it will break coming back.

 

[BiMGuy]

And if all your putts are short, you'll never single putt.
I'd say from 25ft, everyone would be trying to lag it and leave a tap but if you're putting from half that distance, if I miss, I'd rather be a a foot long than a foot short at least it had a chance.
One tip, if you do hit it 5 feet past the hole, watch how it breaks after the hole, it will show you how it will break coming back.

Agreed. The distance one should be thinking about holing a putt will be different depending on skill.

Even from 10ft 2 putts for most of us is a good result, yet there will be many a player throwing a tantrum if they miss.

It would be interesting to know whether more 3 putts come from leaving the first putt short or going long

 

[D-S]

It would be interesting to know whether more 3 putts come from leaving the first putt short or going long

Now that would be an interesting stat.

 

[bobmac]

Even from 10ft 2 putts for most of us is a good result

Maybe. I'd settle for 2 putts, but I wouldn't say 2 putts from 10ft is a good result

 

[Backache]

Now that would be an interesting stat.

It would be, I wonder if for many it would be different at different lengths of putts? Over say 25 feet leaving it short and under that putting them long.

 

[BiMGuy]

Maybe. I'd settle for 2 putts, but I wouldn't say 2 putts from 10ft is a good result

At your skill level, maybe not. But it is the most likely outcome.

For my son who plays off 51. It’s a great result.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And if all your putts are short, you'll never single putt.
I'd say from 25ft, everyone would be trying to lag it and leave a tap but if you're putting from half that distance, if I miss, I'd rather be a a foot long than a foot short at least it had a chance.
One tip, if you do hit it 5 feet past the hole, watch how it breaks after the hole, it will show you how it will break coming back.

Lass in my club who’s at college in the states and really making a go of the game is good to watch on putting green and when putting on the course. On putting green she will often use just one ball - no second goes with a second ball. Read it once and that’s her lot. Other times she’ll have her gadget and alignment aids set up and will repeat from same length (ad nauseam and for quite some time). But she rarely seems to practice putts of longer than say 6ft, maybe up to 10ft. On the course when playing a practice round or holes and focussing on her putting, if she misses a putt, of any length and no matter how close she was to holing it, she puts the ball to 3ft and that is the putt she then must hole.

And back to me, and my mates criticism. It wasn’t that I wasn’t getting the ball 18” or whatever past the hole, it was that I wasn’t getting the ball to the hole.

 

[bobmac]

And back to me, and my mates criticism. It wasn’t that I wasn’t getting the ball 18” or whatever past the hole, it was that I wasn’t getting the ball to the hole.

Every single putt in the entire history of golf that comes up short will never, ever go in.
If you keep coming up short, lengthen your backswing an inch but keep the same tempo

 

[chrisd]

Lets be sensible.
No one hits a series of 10ft putts and comes up short every time, not all putts that have the pace to go in the hole drop in, and not all putts that miss are made on the return. So, if a player can lag putt from any distance of about 30 foot, or less, i reckon they will score very well on putting.

The PGA Tour players make around 45% of 10 foot putts, they are the best in the world with the best equipment, premium balls, top quality tuition and on the best manicured greens, yet only sink about half the 10 footers on average. So, imo, if a 10 (say) handicapper can make a couple of 10 footers, lag all the rest from say 10 to 20 foot distance, and 3 putt a couple of long putts they've done pretty well, any long one that drop are a bonus.

I'd say that where a player could improve their putting is from 3 foot where the pro's rarely miss and with practice they could be pretty much as good.

 

[Backsticks]

Maybe. I'd settle for 2 putts, but I wouldn't say 2 putts from 10ft is a good result

Its a good result if it happens 6 times out of 10.

Putting must be looked at as a probability.

There is nothing wrong in itself with missing a 3 foot putt - actually, thats great if you do that once per thousand 3 foot putts.

 

[Backsticks]

Lets be sensible.
No one hits a series of 10ft putts and comes up short every time, not all putts that have the pace to go in the hole drop in, and not all putts that miss are made on the return. So, if a player can lag putt from any distance of about 30 foot, or less, i reckon they will score very well on putting.

The PGA Tour players make around 45% of 10 foot putts, they are the best in the world with the best equipment, premium balls, top quality tuition and on the best manicured greens, yet only sink about half the 10 footers on average. So, imo, if a 10 (say) handicapper can make a couple of 10 footers, lag all the rest from say 10 to 20 foot distance, and 3 putt a couple of long putts they've done pretty well, any long one that drop are a bonus.

I'd say that where a player could improve their putting is from 3 foot where the pro's rarely miss and with practice they could be pretty much as good.

Dont have the stats to hand, but I think bad long putts leading to 3 putts is where bad putter lose their shots to good putters. The difference in shots gained isnt as big on 3 ft putts. Its the feeling that we shouldnt miss a 3ft er that deceives us, rather than where we really fritter away the shots.

 

[BiMGuy]

Putting Probabilities

There are two goals that every player should focus on while working on their putting: One-putting more often from the statistical distances that makes sense to your level of play. Eliminating three...

www.tomfieldinggolf.net

 

[Steve Wilkes]

Given that the tour pro's from 12ft make less than 50% of putts on their quality greens, I'm just happy if the odd few drop in and that I have a tap in for a 2 putt.

I Think you'll find that they miss more from 8.5ft than they hole

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Every single putt in the entire history of golf that comes up short will never, ever go in.
If you keep coming up short, lengthen your backswing an inch but keep the same tempo

His pointed words of wisdom hit home…I still leave putts short, though not consistently, but I don’t consider a putt left short to be anything near good - unless its from a good distance or serious borrow involved. Often adequate if I want to avoid three putting, but never or rarely great.

 

[Backache]

Its a good result if it happens 6 times out of 10.

Putting must be looked at as a probability.

You haven't seen me putt, the other 4 are three putts.

 

[bobmac]

Its a good result if it happens 6 times out of 10.

I agree... if the other 4 are holed.
If the other 4 are 3 putts, Id be straight on the putting green.
And in general, pros are putting on very fast greens and often with huge slopes.
So your 10 footer, down the hill, left to right at Augusta, 2 putts is good.

 

[Orikoru]

If we accept that it hasn't gone in - I'd rather be six inches short than two foot past, because the next putt is easier. So he is correct.

Personally I don't go for the "never up never in" thing, or the attitude of having a "free go at it" when it's for a point or a half in matchplay.. usually those statements precede somebody pelting it ten foot past with absolutely zero chance of dropping. Just try and play the correct speed to reach the hole no matter what. Even at 6 inches short you were closer to getting it right than 2 foot long.

 

[RichA]

As a 15 handicap there's a very high probability I'll 3 putt from distance, even if I try to just get the first putt close, so I may as well make certain it has a chance.
I'd rather take away the memory of that 40 footer I drained last year than the ten 40 footers that would have gone in if I'd hit them a bit harder.
But I'm not playing golf for the stats, I'm in it for the rare moments of adrenalised joy.
Horses for courses innit.

 

[Backache]

As a 15 handicap there's a very high probability I'll 3 putt from distance, even if I try to just get the first putt close, so I may as well make certain it has a chance.
I'd rather take away the memory of that 40 footer I drained last year than the ten 40 footers that would have gone in if I'd hit them a bit harder.
But I'm not playing golf for the stats, I'm in it for the rare moments of adrenalised joy.
Horses for courses innit.

The logic of putting suggests this may be the wrong approach even when playing for the sunk putt.
Firstly at 40 feet even the pros have a mere 4% chance of holding it.
But importantly at 40 feet your distance dispersion as a handicapper is going to be large.
In order to ensure your ball goes beyond the hole you probably have to centre your distribution around six or seven feet past the hole. When the ball is traveling at this pace you have effectively shrunk the hole quite dramatically, so your accurate putt is as likely to lip out as it is to drop, so ensuring you get to the hole makes you miss a lot of putts with a good line.
I am not suggesting you should aim to leave them short but trying to centre your pattern around the hole gives you a decent chance that a putt on line will drop.

 

[Orikoru]

If we accept that it hasn't gone in - I'd rather be six inches short than two foot past, because the next putt is easier. So he is correct.

Personally I don't go for the "never up never in" thing, or the attitude of having a "free go at it" when it's for a point or a half in matchplay.. usually those statements precede somebody pelting it ten foot past with absolutely zero chance of dropping. Just try and play the correct speed to reach the hole no matter what. Even at 6 inches short you were closer to getting it right than 2 foot long.

I sent this quickly before going underground on the tube, but to expand upon it... Lou only talks on a statistical level. 'Never up never in' is an emotional statement. If you feel better putting one foot past than six inches short, because of that phrase, then that is an emotional response, but statistically you are not better off doing that - you still missed either way, and the end result is that you are further away from the hole. Those are the facts.