Golfer2112
Assistant Pro
If approx 40% of my shots on the golf course are putts, should I spend 40% of my practice time on the putting green?
Discuss...
Discuss...
Time spent practicing
- Thread starter Golfer2112
- Start date
PaulOHagan
GM Staff
Good question- I'd say at least 40%- if you’re like me and only practice for about an hour every few weeks 40% isn't a lot!
NEWQUAYTR7
Hacker
I try to play once a day be it 4,9 or 18, if i don't play i'm on the range. Maybe pratice putting for about ten minutes on the putting green before a round, played nine holes today, shot 42..........24 were putts 57%, makes you start thinking.
knottynoonoo
Hacker
Hi Gary Player made an valid statement recently when he said that 75% of shots in a round of golf are played within 100 Yards of the green including putting.
I would have thought that putting would have been between 50% and 75% of that.
if you can reduce that number by a few it will make all the difference to a score. I therefore practice more pitching chipping and putting than anything else.maybe as much as 3 times a week.
I still believe that with plenty of practice anyone can be as good as a pro around the greens, the big difference is doing it under a bit of pressure.
knottynoonoo
I would have thought that putting would have been between 50% and 75% of that.
if you can reduce that number by a few it will make all the difference to a score. I therefore practice more pitching chipping and putting than anything else.maybe as much as 3 times a week.
I still believe that with plenty of practice anyone can be as good as a pro around the greens, the big difference is doing it under a bit of pressure.
knottynoonoo
B
birdieman
Guest
With the long game it's very repetitive and robotic, so once you can swing quite well that takes care of itself to a degree as you should hit the same swing over and over, brilliant advocate of that is Annika Sorenstam. Short game is all touch and feel so you have to rely far more on intuition which will only come from practice and more practice. Getting the ball up and down from around the greens is the crux - if you cant do it you'll never be good at scoring even if you can rip it off the tee. The difference between a 12 handicap and a 4 handicap is all in the short game -chipping and putting. 90% short game, 10% long game. Dont listen to that John Daly crap on the Golf Channel trying to sell Maxfli powermax drivers and balls! Although he's famous for hitting it long when he's good he has a short game second to none!
Dave3498
Q-School Graduate
Two things that I now do have improved my putting considerably. Firstly, I have decided that I will only play with one type of ball. I bought 2 dozen of them with a voucher from a Medal win and I now have only that one type of ball in my bag. This means that I now know how far the ball goes from a set effort, and helps with my second action, which is a tip I took from a GM teaching Pro article. When faced with an approach putt, I think only of distance. Obviously if there is a vicious swing on the putt, then I have to allow for it, but otherwise it is only length that concerns me. Taking these two actions has virtually eliminated the three putt from my game. If you find a ball that suits you then stick with it. You will, after a time, get used to it's length of travel and you will find that by concentrating on length only you will always be only a short putt from the hole.
Dave3498
Q-School Graduate
I should add to my reply above, that two putting every green means that you have taken 36 putts for the round, which is far too many, so time spent on chipping closer to the pin and practising the 10 - 12 footers is well worth while.
Junior
Tour Winner
Agreed Dave, Once you have a repeatable golf swing that you can rely on (most of the time!) practising short game is far more important than blasting away on the range. Getting up and down saves so many shots !
Coopsarama
Club Champion
I don't spend nearly enough. Must try harder
F-!
F-!
Golfer2112
Assistant Pro
I asked the original question because I bought Scoresaver 2 earlier this month ( Scoresaver website and amongst other things it allows you to store the time you spend practicing split into ten different categories, from Driver, though "full shots 100-150 yds" to putting. Having logged all my practice time over the last 2 weeks (including the odd 15 mins putting in the living room) I am now asking "what should I be practising"? OK, 40% of my shots in each round are putts and between 0 and 5% are bunker shots but does that mean those percentages should equate to practice time ?
The 10 practice categories in Scoresaver 2 are as follows (my current practice %s are in brackets)
Driver (8%)
Other Woods (4%)
Full shots 200-250 yds (2%)
Full shots 150-200 yds (8%)
Full shots 100-150 yds (8%)
Full shots < 100 yds (15%)
Half/punch shots (0%)
short approach shots (20%)
Bunkers (0%)
Putting (35%)
Any comments on my apportionment of practice time? OK, my percentages are only based on 2 weeks data but it does give a rough idea of what I am practising.
The 10 practice categories in Scoresaver 2 are as follows (my current practice %s are in brackets)
Driver (8%)
Other Woods (4%)
Full shots 200-250 yds (2%)
Full shots 150-200 yds (8%)
Full shots 100-150 yds (8%)
Full shots < 100 yds (15%)
Half/punch shots (0%)
short approach shots (20%)
Bunkers (0%)
Putting (35%)
Any comments on my apportionment of practice time? OK, my percentages are only based on 2 weeks data but it does give a rough idea of what I am practising.
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
An interesting take on this would be:
I play off x as a handicap. I am expected to have 36 putts if I hit the greens in regulation. Who ever hits all greens in regulation?
Now I could spend my time putting and chipping, so that I can recover more shots from around the green. This means I may be able to rescue some near disasters.
On the other hand, I could practice my Driving more (poor driving often cannot be salvaged around the greens), and my approach shots, since if these hit the green in the first place I wouldn't be chipping.
Playing off a handicap of x, I am expected to waste single shots on holes stroke index 1 to x. Now assuming I always two putt (requires a bit of imagination, I know), this means that I am not wasting x putts on the greens (normally there is no reason why stroke index 1 to x are harder to putt than any other hole), I am wasting them getting there.
As a result, if I want to reduce my handicap, then it is the extra shots I am wasting getting to the green that are the problem, not chipping and putting, which can only hope to reduce the damage.
Moral of the story, if you can't putt, practice that, if you can't drive, practice that, if your irons are a mess, practice them. If you log where you mess up, ie: fairways hit, greens in regulation, up and downs, etc, this will tell you what you should practice. No point practicing what works, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And this will be different for everyone.
Nuff said.
I play off x as a handicap. I am expected to have 36 putts if I hit the greens in regulation. Who ever hits all greens in regulation?
Now I could spend my time putting and chipping, so that I can recover more shots from around the green. This means I may be able to rescue some near disasters.
On the other hand, I could practice my Driving more (poor driving often cannot be salvaged around the greens), and my approach shots, since if these hit the green in the first place I wouldn't be chipping.
Playing off a handicap of x, I am expected to waste single shots on holes stroke index 1 to x. Now assuming I always two putt (requires a bit of imagination, I know), this means that I am not wasting x putts on the greens (normally there is no reason why stroke index 1 to x are harder to putt than any other hole), I am wasting them getting there.
As a result, if I want to reduce my handicap, then it is the extra shots I am wasting getting to the green that are the problem, not chipping and putting, which can only hope to reduce the damage.
Moral of the story, if you can't putt, practice that, if you can't drive, practice that, if your irons are a mess, practice them. If you log where you mess up, ie: fairways hit, greens in regulation, up and downs, etc, this will tell you what you should practice. No point practicing what works, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And this will be different for everyone.
Nuff said.
Golfer2112
Assistant Pro
Good answer Murph, thanks.
I agree that everyone will have a different set of priorities for practising. I am going to aim for a simple three way split between putting, chipping/short irons and the long game.
I agree that everyone will have a different set of priorities for practising. I am going to aim for a simple three way split between putting, chipping/short irons and the long game.
John_Findlay
Tour Winner
I'll definitely have to practice the parts of my game that I'm worst at more, namely bunkers, putting and scrambling for par around the greens.
Out of interest I've also been logging my last 9 rounds on Scoresaver 2. Has confirmed what I thought I knew. I hit lots of fairways and greens for my handicap but I can't get up and down from bunkers; don't scramble for par often enough when I do miss the green; and take way too many putts....because I don't chip close enough often enough.
My stats show that I score best when my par scrambles are better than those expected for my my handicap, regardless of my other stats.
It's down to our par 3 course for me to practice, practice, practice everything from 30 yards and in ...and a little less time on the range. And hopefully I'll be able to tell from Scoresaver 2 whether it's making a difference later in the year.
Out of interest I've also been logging my last 9 rounds on Scoresaver 2. Has confirmed what I thought I knew. I hit lots of fairways and greens for my handicap but I can't get up and down from bunkers; don't scramble for par often enough when I do miss the green; and take way too many putts....because I don't chip close enough often enough.
My stats show that I score best when my par scrambles are better than those expected for my my handicap, regardless of my other stats.
It's down to our par 3 course for me to practice, practice, practice everything from 30 yards and in ...and a little less time on the range. And hopefully I'll be able to tell from Scoresaver 2 whether it's making a difference later in the year.
oasis90
Hacker
A very interesting fact that I was told by a pro was that only 14% of the round constists of iron play.. Surprising considering most spend half of their time bashing 7 irons up the range...
John_Findlay
Tour Winner
Yeah, but they account for 40-70% of my greens in regulation, which, as long as you 2 putt, means 8-12 pars a round.
