Director of Golf Operations

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF GOLF OPERATIONS Make Putting Fun

Jeff Hochman

Director of Golf Operations One of the most important elements to lowering your scores is to be a better putter. I am sure that you have heard of the old adage, “Drive for show and putt for dough.” If you can improve your putting, you can generally improve your round/score. How many putts should you take per round? That is a very difficult question to answer and there are many factors that are involved; such as how many greens in regulation you hit or what your average score is. My suggestion for the average golfer is to try and stay under 36 putts which is 2 putts per hole. According to the PGA Tour yearto-date statistics through July 2021, the number 1 ranked putter that has the least number of putts per round is Cameron Smith with an average of 27.74. The 200th ranked putter is Bubba Watson with an average of 29.84 putts per round. Practicing putting can become boring for some and that is why more golfers prefer to hit a driver on the range versus hitting putts on the putting green. One way to practice putting is to make it fun. A great way to do this is to practice with another person and play putting games. Below are two very common putting games that people play. Stroke Play

This is a good multi-player game, but it's hard to recover from a bad hole. n Flip a tee to determine starting order. n Play 9 or 18 holes with one or more competitors. n Count your strokes. (Par is two) n Fewest strokes wins the competition. Seven/Eleven

This is a two-part game, where the first to eleven wins. There is one set of rules for getting to seven, another for getting to eleven. n Flip a tee to determine starting order. n Leadoff player picks a hole and a starting position. n From zero to seven, you can score on sinks and closest to the hole: • Score +1 for closest to the hole • Score +2 for a sink • Score -1 for a three putt • You have to get to seven points exactly. If you go over, you start over (from zero). • Player who was closest to the hole (or was the last one to sink) has the honors for the next hole. n From seven to eleven, you only score on sinks: • Score -1 for a three putt. • Score +1 for a sink--even if you have less than seven as a result of three-putting. • If you are closest to the hole: n You get no points. n Neither does anyone else n You have the honors for the next hole. Strategy Notes:

n When your opponent is at 6, putt from close in. To get to 7, they have to putt closer without sinking. n When your opponent is playing sinks, putt from farther away, because three putts are costlier.

If you need help with your putting or any other elements of your game, we have a team of qualified Golf Professionals that can help you shoot lower scores.

Jeff Hochman–PGA (Specialized in Teaching & Coaching) Kevin Reagan–PGA Cassidy Stevanov–PGA Kirk Hanaway–PGA Kim McCann–PGA Jennifer Johnson–LPGA Matt Bohrer–PGA Associate Art Nelsen–PGA Associate Eric Swobody–PGA Associate