To those of you averaging 30 putts or less?

[jbw749]

How did you get there? And how bad were you before it turned around?

[Forewood]

Drills....drills....drills....

Putting seems like a simple thing but it honestly deserves the same
Amount of respect and attention as your full swing. To be completely honest with the right practice and drills....there's no excuse to have more than 30-32 putts a round.

Well unless you hit 18 greens...lol

[Santiago Golf]

I was before my last tournament then I decided have 40 putts all 3 rounds. I say practice, no 3 putts, and understanding the green complexes your putting on

[pinhigh27]

controlling speed

[iteachgolf]

[quote name='pinhigh27' timestamp='1432043801' post='11585396']
controlling speed
[/quote]
Bingo

[juststeve]

The only way you can average less then 30 putts per round is by learning to chip and pitch. Its a rare thing for someone to hit 18 greens and take less than 30 putts during the same round.

Steve

[exgolfpro]

[quote name='jbw749' timestamp='1432041249' post='11585158']
How did you get there? And how bad were you before it turned around?
[/quote]

Here is a little guide to see if 30 putts per round is possible. You need to hit about 8-12 greens in a round. You need to get 50-60% of your chip shots inside of 6 feet. And you need to average way less than 1 three putt a round.

There is no way for anyone on this site to know what you need to work on to make you a better putter. Do you hit your putts solid? How is your distance control? Do you miss short putts to the left/right? If your answer to any of these questions is "i don't know" then you don't put in enough time on your putting.

[jafstar]

Can you putt the ball straight for 3', 5', 7', and 10' multiple times in a row?

Start there.

When you get to a course, understand how fast the ball rolls on flat surfaces, downhills and uphill.

Adjust speed accordingly and work on those 3' and 5' putts before teeing off.

I also use a reverse overlap grip (right handed) and it helped tremendously to remove tension and overuse of my right hand.

[Rodabodem]

Speed. Speed. Speed. Speed.

[wmblake2000]

Not that I average 30, but I also think the key range to practice is 3-10 feet. Those are the ones where you can improve make/miss.

[tatertot]

Just for reference, Loren Roberts - who some pinpoint as the best putter on Tour for a number of years - averaged over 28 putts per round. So under 30 is a pretty high standard.

[alittleoverpar]

As many have said, speed is everything. Course design can also play a role. I play two courses regularly. One have very small greens and one has very large greens. It's pretty easy to come in with less than 30 putts on the course with small greens as your GIR % is much lower. On the larger greens I have to have a good putting day to count less than 30.

[xrt99]

[quote name='juststeve' timestamp='1432044767' post='11585484']Its a rare thing for someone to hit 18 greens[/quote]

Quoted for truth

[hbear]

depends on how many GIR....30 isn't low if you are only hitting 4 GIR!

I prefer to track average putts/GIR in addition to total putts as it gives a little more colour to the putting stats.

But back to the OP. Lots of practice, drilling 3-6' putts until they feel automatic (the better you are at those, the less stressful the lag putts are). Then working a lot on those "makeable" 10-14' putts (play a game where anything left short is -1, 2 putts are 0, 1 putts are +2, and 3 putting is -3...see how quickly you can get to +10, move starting point every 1st putt)....then just getting a feel for speed on longer putts.

Like anything, no quick fix, practice, practice, practice.

My keys to scoring well with the putter are pretty simple. Eliminate 3 putts, make all your 3' putts and make a high %age of 3-6' putts.

And if you are wanting to get to that next level, understanding where to hit your ball on the green, where you leave you putt is also key.
Tough to score well when you are on the wrong side of the hole all day.

[oregongolfguy]

I may look at it differently....but putts per round is a very ambiguous stat to me. It doesn't have a whole lot of meaning as to your scoring unless you are correlating it with other parts of your game such as GIR, up and down percentage etc. Are you hitting a lot of greens, but further then 15ft from the pin, if so then you probably have a lot of 2 putt pars, which is pretty good in my book. Do you chip and pitch well and just barely miss greens, then maybe you have a lot of 1 putt pars which is the same score but less putts. Are you wayward off the tee and end up 1 putting for bogies...etc etc etc....
I do agree that Speed might be biggest key to improving on the greens. If you get the speed right, even if your lines are off you are going to leave yourself a easy next putt almost every time. Getting those lag putts In close for a easy second putt.
Really, to get around 30 putts a round you need to constantly be well inside 15ft for your first putt....but that doesn't tell a lot about how many shots it took to get to that point.

[MB Dirtyy]

Again. Controlling speed. Honestly, after reading Geoff magnum's putting zone book on distance control, my putting literally changed overnight. Slow greens, fast greens, ultra fast greens. It doesn't matter. I'll get the speed down in one practice stroke.

[stuboy]

We are talking about for a 9 hole course right?..

[ebk]

For me, when I'm at ~30 putts, it's because I missed 12 greens...

[Mudguard]

It's easy. Walk in after the 15th.

[ezpz]

to prevent 3 putting, speed control is essential. Also the # of putts/round doesn't say all that much, a guy who only hits 4 greens will likely have less putts than a guy who hits 15 greens, if he has remotely decent chipping. So keep analyzing all parts of your game especially GIR, putts/gir and up & downs to see where you are leaking shots.

[Shambles]

Putting, for me, is reduced to learning to putt a straight line and learning to control the distance. The rest is reading, and there is nothing simple about reading. You can learn the general break but must always measure the actual unless you are willing to settle for a two putt. You just have to read the green every time you get there even on your home course.



Shambles

[justasgood]

It seems that GIR's are irrelevant. Once on the green, regardless of whether it's in regulation or not, distance control is the key to lower putting averages.......GIR's reduce strokes overall..........Drops microphone ?

[RBImGuy]

[quote name='jbw749' timestamp='1432041249' post='11585158']
How did you get there? And how bad were you before it turned around?
[/quote]

analysing golf allowed me to go from 34 or so putts to 30 under.
you should be able to have 24-28 putts as a consistent average.
in one competition last year I had 27 putts and that included a 3putt.
Since I study putting and those that did it the best I created the best green reading system in the world along the way that makes an amatuer able to become tour pro level in minutes with superb distance control.
The guy I coach had 28 putts in his recent competition.

[Fade to Black]

I would think putts/GIR would be a more meaningful Stat than total number of putts?

[Maddog10]

[quote name='Fade to Black' timestamp='1432126084' post='11592702']
I would think putts/GIR would be a more meaningful Stat than total number of putts?
[/quote]

This. As I've become a better player, it has becoming increasingly more difficult to average <30 putts per round but my scores have improved tremendously. The bottom line is that the more GIR's you MISS, the better chance you have of achieving a low Putts-per-round statistic. Once you learn to do both, you have become a serious + handicapper, but that gets into proximity to hole which is more of an iron-play statistic.

[pinhigh27]

[quote name='RBImGuy' timestamp='1432125901' post='11592686']
[quote name='jbw749' timestamp='1432041249' post='11585158']
How did you get there? And how bad were you before it turned around?
[/quote]

analysing golf allowed me to go from 34 or so putts to 30 under.
you should be able to have 24-28 putts as a consistent average.
in one competition last year I had 27 putts and that included a 3putt.
[b]Since I study putting and those that did it the best I created the best green reading system in the world along the way that makes an amatuer able to become tour pro level in minutes with superb distance control.[/b]
The guy I coach had 28 putts in his recent competition.
[/quote]

lol ok flopper

if you should be able to average 24-28, why is 27 with a 3 putt notable? that would be average. anything sub 30 with hitting a decent amount of greens for an average is damn solid.

[bladestriker]

My number has always been 25 putts per round. If I can get under that, I know I will be putting up a respectable number.

Two recommendations I can make are speed control and get a "Truth Board". The board will give you confidence on those 3-5 footers and teach you how important face angle is on those putts.

[Mcaesq]

[quote name='Maddog10' timestamp='1432127135' post='11592812']
[quote name='Fade to Black' timestamp='1432126084' post='11592702']
I would think putts/GIR would be a more meaningful Stat than total number of putts?
[/quote]

This. As I've become a better player, it has becoming increasingly more difficult to average <30 putts per round but my scores have improved tremendously. The bottom line is that the more GIR's you MISS, the better chance you have of achieving a low Putts-per-round statistic. Once you learn to do both, you have become a serious + handicapper, but that gets into proximity to hole which is more of an iron-play statistic.
[/quote]

Agreed, I've had the same thing happen to me.

IMO, the best thing to do is practice 3-8 footers. Working on anything else is kinda like being a crappy wedge player and spending all your time practicing 3 wood stingers. Set up on a green with a fairly straight putt (inside the hole) and hit 20 putts from 4 feet. Are your misses low, high, firm, short? Is there a predominant miss?

And just like anything in golf, commit to your line and speed. Don't ever adjust what you're going to do over the ball. The other reason I like practicing short putts is that I make a lot of them. It builds confidence and helps me stay loose in the choke zone.

[Emthree]

A) Hit the ball closer.

B) Putt on better greens.

The main thing was not leaving myself 40ft putts for birdie. Before i joined a decent club, the greens i putted on were a joke, a 15ft putt would have 50% air time.

[wmblake2000]

[quote name='RBImGuy' timestamp='1432125901' post='11592686']

analysing golf allowed me to go from 34 or so putts to 30 under.
you should be able to have 24-28 putts as a consistent average.
in one competition last year I had 27 putts and that included a 3putt.
Since I study putting and those that did it the best I created the best green reading system in the world along the way that makes an amatuer able to become tour pro level in minutes with superb distance control.
The guy I coach had 28 putts in his recent competition.
[/quote]

How much you wanna bet I can't throw a football over that mountain.