Are You Tracking These Putting Stats?
Putting is an easy area of the golf game to improve. Much easier than the golf swing. In fact, amateur players can become just as good at putting as the professional golfers.
In order for the amateur golfer to better understand how well the best players in the world actually putt, let’s take a look at the putting statistics on the PGA Tour.
5 Putting Stats to Analyze Your Game
The following key putting statistics will give the amateur golfer perspective about how good or bad the pro’s actually putt in reality. Track these putting stats in your own golf game to see how you compare.
- Putts per round
- Putts from 3 feet
- Putts from 6 feet
- Putting from 10 feet
- Putts made from over 20 feet per event
Putts Per Round
The PGA Tour keeps record of basically every putting stat that can be tracked via their Shotlink system.
One of the most common stats that most golfers, even high handicap amateur golfers, know about are putts per round.
Wesley Bryan was the leader in this category for the 2017 season with an average of 28.13 putts per round, 190th on the list was JJ Henry with an average of 30.42 putts per round.
Looking at these stats will make the average golfer realize that having 30 putts or less per round is a very solid goal to strive towards.
Putts from 3 feet
Normally during a round with friends most amateurs are very quick to give each other 3 and 4 foot putts, calling them good and letting the putt be picked up, rather than putted out to finish the hole.
If your playing partner is Paul Casey then yes you can go ahead and give those putts to him, but on average social golfers don’t make nearly as many short putts as they should.
Paul Casey made every single 3 footer that he had on the PGA Tour in 2017. That’s 770 3-footers to be exact.
You don’t have to make every single 3 footer that you have, but it will definitely improve your monthly medal score if you can at least make 8 out of 10, 3 footers on average.
Before you give yourself that 3 footer, ask yourself, is this going to benefit me by skipping the putt or will it help me get extra practice under pressure by making myself putt out?
Putts from 6 feet
Paul Casey having a 100% record on 3 footers is very impressive, but the human aspect in putting begins to show from the 6 foot mark.
Charles Howell was the leader in this category with a success rate of 84.75%.
On the other end of the spectrum Brad Fritch only made 53.06% of the 6 foot attempts that he had.
Remember this statistic the next time you play and you only make 2 out of 4 putts from 6 feet.
Don’t set unrealistic expectations on yourself to sink every 6 foot putt. It takes many hours of practice to get as good at 6 footers as the professionals. They have earned a 75% make percentage from 1000’s of reps during practice.
Putts from 10 feet
At the 10 foot mark, the percentage of putts made decreases considerably.
Rafa Cabrera Bello lead this statistic in 2017, Rafa holed 66.67% of the 10 footers that he attempted.
Bubba Watson ranked 190th in this statistic only making 32.68% of the 10 footers that he attempted.
Amateur golfers can learn a lot by looking at this statistic, having perspective about what realistic expectations are to have of yourself is a great start.
If a major champion in Watson only makes 3 out of 10 of his 10 foot putts then you definitely can’t get mad at yourself for missing them out on the course.
Putts made from over 20 feet per round
We all remember that long putt we made to save par or better yet that 30 foot birdie putt to win the money game against your friends.
No surprise that Jordan Spieth is right up there at the top of the leaderboard in this statistic.
Patrick Cantlay is technically the leader in this category with 2.3 putts made over 20 foot per round.
Spieth ranked 2nd in this category with 2.2 putts made over 20 foot per round, Spieth achieved this feet in 85 rounds, while Cantlay only played 52 rounds in comparison.
This stat is significant if you consider that the 190th ranked player, Retief Goosen, only made 0.4 putts over 20 foot per round over the course of the season.
In comparison to Cantlay and Spieth, Goosen loses almost 2 shots per round to them purely in the putting over 20 foot category. If you think about this stat over the course of a tournament, that is 8 shots total lost to the great putters who are sinking putts from 20 feet.
Final Words on Putting Tips
To some these putting stats might sound confusing, but if you take the time to read through it and process what they are portraying then they might actually give you perspective to use with your own putting skill level.
It is important to have realistic goals and expectations of your golf game, as having unrealistic expectations will only add pressure and anxiety to your mental game, causing worse performance.
These statistics can also add value to your practice regime. Knowing how many putts the best players in the world make from a certain distance can provide you with a good goal to work towards.
And don’t forget to download my 10 best short game drills, you’re also giving us permission to add you to our email newsletter and send you weekly golf tips to your inbox you can use to improve your golf game.
Golf Drills & Practice Routines
If you want to take your golf game to the next level, see your scores drop, your drives get longer off the tee, less 3 putting, more up & downs, then you need to check out these resources below.
The 2 Hour Short Game Practice Plans
Build your putting and chipping skills by advancing from Level 1 all the way to Level 10. These practice routines take roughly 2 hours if you don’t have long to practice, perfect for high school golfers, college golfers, and those with a few hours after work at night. Print the worksheets and try to pass each level in the program.
The Indoor Improvement Program
For 21 days, I walk you through practice drills and practice routines to build your putting skills, chipping skills, and golf swing indoors while the weather is keeping you off the golf course. Plus you get an 8 week workout plan to build golf strength and stability so you can drive the ball further and straighter. See all other bonuses we’ve thrown in.
The Outdoor Improvement Program
This 36 day training plan is easy to follow with step by step drills and routines that challenge your putting, chipping, and golf swing. You’ll work at the golf course on the practice range and practice green and it comes with worksheets to fill out after each practice to monitor your growth in each statistical category. See all other bonuses we’ve included.
