Tour Stats

Use These to Become a Short-Game Master

by Rob Krieger

You are on the green with a 15-foot putt for par or birdie, and it doesn’t go in. You begin the process of analyzing what went wrong. Was it the pressure? Did you not follow your routine? How did you miss reading the break? Why didn’t you get the speed correct? How do you keep your clubface square? This self-analyzing can go on and on. I am not saying that any of these could or could not have been the reason for not making that putt. But here are some numbers that should put things in perspective and help you practice your short game properly so you can finally start shooting lower scores and performing better on and around the green.

TOUR PUTTING STATS | One-PUTT AVERAGES

This information may vary a little from year to year, but it is a great guide to work from.

Distance - 1 Putt

1 foot - 100%

2 feet - 99%

3 feet - 96%

4 feet - 88%

5 feet - 77%

6 feet - 66%

7 feet - 58%

8 feet - 50% 9 feet - 45%

These stats are for the best golfers on the planet who are playing on the most perfect greens that money can buy, and they are getting paid to get the ball into a tiny 4 ¼-inch hole. You, on the other hand, play in less-than-ideal conditions, so please keep that in mind.

From one–three feet, success is pretty much automatic. At four feet, which isn’t really that far, they fall below 90%. But nine out of 10 is still excellent. When they get out to eight feet, they only have a 50-50 shot of making it. For a putt at 15 feet, only one in four is going to fall. That is only five paces from the hole, and they can only get 25% of shots in the cup. At 30 feet, which is 10 paces from the hole, it's not very likely they are going to make it—maybe one in 10 do if they are lucky. Yes, we see players make longer ones all the time on TV, but producers are only showing you the putts that players are making, or they are showing players that are doing well that week. The other 120 players aren’t having as much success.

How can we use this information? First, look at the one to four-foot range. Inside four feet, skilled players perform really well, and there is no reason why you can’t, too. It doesn’t take any more strength, flexibility, or distance to make more putts inside this range. ANYBODY CAN DO IT. It will take some practice, and the more you practice at this range, the more your scores will start to fall. Start tracking how many putts you make inside four feet, and then practice from this range with different drills. You will start making more putts when you are on the course.

Second, for anything outside of 15 feet, you should really be looking to just get your ball inside four feet. This means working on your lag putting to get inside that range. Then you can make your next putt. When trying to get close, it is more about controlling your speed and distance than it is about accuracy.

Who cares if you are two feet left of the hole—realistically, you weren’t going to make it anyway, but you are still inside four feet. Just get the ball close so you make your next putt. Stop beating yourself up for not making a putt that is hard for everyone. The stats show how challenging it can be, so take your 2-putt and move on; you did great. Minimizing three and four-putts will go a long way toward lowering your scores.

If you want to start getting more 1-putts, then simply start hitting every shot to within four feet if you can. Here are some other stats for you to think about, too:

Fairway Distance to Hole Result to Hole Tour Stats

Under 10 yards - 2.5–4 feet

10–20 yards - 3–6 feet 20–30 yards - 5–8 feet

50–75 yards - 8.5–15 feet 76–100 yards - 10–18 feet

You have some work to do. Be realistic. Good luck practicing these important shots, and as always…Fairways & Greens!

Rob Krieger, PGA

by Donna Eads