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Why can't amateurs make 20ft putts as often as pros?


Jasonbolt
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Why can't we make the 15-25ft putts as often as pros?

Is it because we can't read greens?  Is it because we can't start the ball on line with the correct pace?  Is it a mental thing?  All of the above?

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You can.

You don't for a few reasons, not the least of which is that the greens you play on aren't as good, you tend to have poorer speed control, poorer green reading, and poorer start-line control too. Those are the three commonalities of good putters - reading the greens, starting the ball online, and having good speed.

There's no reason you can't do those things as well as or better than a PGA Tour pro.

Note: I'm using the general "you" as "amateurs" here.

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Originally Posted by Jasonbolt

Why can't we make the 15-25ft putts as often as pros?

Is it because we can't read greens?  Is it because we can't start the ball on line with the correct pace?  Is it a mental thing?  All of the above?



Practice it at least an hour every day, like pros do, and you'd get as good as they are...or at least closer.

iacas is correct as to the reasons. But again, they spend an inordinate amount of time practicing.

They do this for a living. It's their 8-hour-a-day job. They should be good at it.

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Most pros dont make 20 footers all that often.  Even on 10 footers they only make about 7 out of 10 putts.  The answer though, is thats why theyre pros and the rest of us are amateurs.  If you worked on your putting for hours every day, youd be able to make a lot more long putts than you do.

Touch isnt something that a person is born with, touch is something that is developed from hitting thousands of balls.  Its the same with reading a green.  It takes practice and someone who just plays golf for fun on the weekends simply doesnt put in the time and the work to be that good.

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Had a year, about 2005-6 when I made a number of even longer putts, 30ft+ on the practice green, that year — that was before I even started playing courses. All I did was practice. with a rather long shafted STX that I got from a church sale. I used the look-at-the-hole technique when putting then. But didn't have much technique, or even a sound mental routine for short putts —- mostly issues due to inexperience, technique and approach.  I also though the polymer insert on the STX was a difficult thing to be consistent with with short sensitive putts.

Changed putters for a better fit for 3-12 foot putting, and haven't made any really longer ones since, but my putting avg. is generally much better. I'm more concerned now with making sure lag putts get as close as possible, and realize those long putts were probably some kind of fluke.

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Originally Posted by TitleistWI

Most pros dont make 20 footers all that often.  Even on 10 footers they only make about 7 out of 10 putts.


7'10" is the mid-point. They make less than 4 out of 10 from 10 feet: 38%.

From 15 feet: 22%

From 20 feet: 14%

From 25 feet: 10%

http://thesandtrap.com/t/51757/pga-tour-putts-gained-make-percentage-stats

I will also say this: people tend to over-estimate how well PGA Tour pros putt. You'd be surprised. There are good ones, and bad ones, but overall they're a lot more "average" than many would think.

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From the PGA Tour website, so far in 2012 the #100 PGA tour player makes just a fraction above 10% of their putts from between 15 and 20 feet. Not very often.

From 10 to 15 feet, it only increases to 23.5% for the #100 player. From 5-10 feet, it increases to over 50%, but you've got to figure that the majority of those are closer to 5' than 10'.

So even the best players in the world don't make anywhere close to a quarter of their 20 footers. As amateurs, we should be elated any time a 20 footer drops! It's a rare occurrence.

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In my normal weekend game one of our trash bets we call a "poley" (sp?), it's basically a putt from outside the length of the flag pole made for a par or better. The most I've made in a round is 4. Since I started playing with this group last year my putting has improved, I think because of the putting bets. A couple others we have are named after a couple of the guys in the group, the "Forte" is when you have a birdie putt from outside the length of the stick, if you don't make it, you must leave your lag inside the length of the stick, or you pay everyone $1. The "Kent" is a birdie putt from inside the length of the stick, leave it short and you pay everyone $1.

But to answer your question, I think a lot of making putts has to do with the greens. I do find that when I play more upscale courses with fast green, I'll make more putts. Fast, smooth greens means it takes less of a stroke and a better chance to get the ball started on the right line.

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Originally Posted by Harmonious

From the PGA Tour website, so far in 2012 the #100 PGA tour player makes just a fraction above 10% of their putts from between 15 and 20 feet. Not very often.

From 10 to 15 feet, it only increases to 23.5% for the #100 player. From 5-10 feet, it increases to over 50%, but you've got to figure that the majority of those are closer to 5' than 10'.

So even the best players in the world don't make anywhere close to a quarter of their 20 footers. As amateurs, we should be elated any time a 20 footer drops! It's a rare occurrence.



Id be pumped even if a 10 footer drops.  Amateurs shouldnt hold themselves to the standards of tour players.

Whats in my :sunmountain: C-130 cart bag?

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In recent months, I have been practicing 2-3x/week for 40 minutes or so on the practice putting green.

I am making more putts than ever. If pros are making 20 footers 14% of the time, I am not far behind.

My lag putting and distance control is the best it has ever been. I am making many 5-12 footers compared to the past.

When inside 5 feet, I feel very confident, which is new for me.

The single biggest flaw of most putters, they can't aim the putter where they think they are aiming.

Have you played with ball position, slightly forward, further forward, etc...

Vary your ball position from center forward in one ball increments till you find what you like.

Have you played with eyes inside ball 2-3", inside 1-2", inside 1", or directly over ball?

Some folks suggest our eye dominance plays a big role in which is best for us.

Research this if you want to improve your putting.

Are you using the best grip for you and your stroke?

I used to use oversized softer grips.

When I switched to Pingmans and midsize Iomics, my distance control and feel improved immediately.

Are you using the right type of putter for your stroke?

Is your stroke true and founded with good mechanics in the first place?

Have you done a SAM putting evaluation to identify what you are doing right (and wrong). Can't fix what you don't know is broken.

When is the last time you took a putting lesson?

Sounds like a lot of questions?

Child's play compared to what a touring pro does to play at the level they play at.

Geoff Mangum has a website with tons of putting info. Be sure to read the "Tips" section on his site.

The guy is amazing. He has an e-book "Optimal Putting" for you guys wanting deeper info.

He also has a download video "Secret's in the Dirt" he made with a student of his, Steve Elkington.

There are tons of great putting books, many of which are in the book section on this forum.

Point of typing all this?

Good putters are good because they spend time and energy becoming good putters.

-Dan

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zipazoid has the right idea.

Of the amateurs I know and that are members at my course, of the ones that actual practice at all , 95% of their time is spent banging out balls.

On a personal level, I used to be a pretty crappy putter from outside of 10'. Last year, while recovering from a wrist injury, I took the time to plot out a practice routine, and put myself to work. My routine takes two hours to get through, and for a solid two month I went through it four times a week. I can't tell you how much more confident I am standing over 10', 20', 30' putts. I can honestly say I feel like I will hole everything.

Practice and hard work is why the pros can do what the weekend golfer can't

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I think the problem is that when the TV is focusing on a player, other than a big name player, they just show them making good shots or a putt. The only players they show missing putts are big name players, people we know. They tend to show them making more putts than not. Yesterday would be a great example, of course they would show Tiger's group all day, but Phil was making everything left and right. I think putting displays like that overestimate how good they are at putting. Stats don't lie, but TV can skew our perception.

You want to improve your putting. Make 95% of your putts from four feet and in, and focus on distance control outside of that. Most people end up way short or to long, and they can't make the short ones. So they end up three putting. The closer you leave your putts to the hold the more likely you will have one fall in, and have a shorter 2nd putt.

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Mindset and focus are another important factor in putting.  When your mind is clear it is easier to get in the zone and see lines better, feel the distance better, etc.

I find that i putt the best when my mind is set only on scoring.  But if i am golfing badly and worrying about my swing then i can't seem to make very many putts...just can't get into the same zone.

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This is like asking an auditor why he is able to find inconsistencies in a corporation's financial numbers but I can't.

The answer: Because that's what they do for a living.

I get the level of frustration though - a 15-foot putt 'looks' easy; it's just rolling a ball along the ground into a hole. But, as stated, it's not that easy, even for a pro. They miss it 4 out 5 times. They're failing 80% of the time.

So take solace in that. If it were easy they would be better at it.

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I agree that it's reading greens, start lines, and speed that's the difference between Pros and AMs.

Speed is something you get better with over time if you (1) practice and (2) know how far you're hitting your putts.  I pace off every putt and visualize the distance, taking in uphill/downhill/flat, green speed, wind, etc.  I might have a 35 foot putt, but right before I hit it I'll say to myself:  "35 feet, slightly downhill and downwind.  Greens are running a little fast today.  Hit it 25 feet."  I can't really tell you how my body hits a putt 25 feet, but I've been doing this little drill for about 4 years every time I putt, and my speed has gotten much, much better.

Reading and start line are tougher.  The key to these is to know--really know--whether or not you got it right.  It's hard to tell from over the ball whether you really started the putt online.  It's hard to tell whether you misread the break, hit it too hard, or pushed/pulled it.  This is where a caddy really comes into play, I think.  Caddy should be helping the player assess whether or not he read the break wrong (the ocean is pulling more than we thought), or whether he just missed the line.  Every time I play, I see people miss putts and say "Where's the break?"  I'm watching them putt, and I can clearly see that they started it too far outside the hole, or pushed it, or whatever.  These people are not getting better at reading greens--they're getting worse, because they're drawing the wrong conclusions about what just happened.  Reading greens is an acquired skill that takes a lot of reps and feedback.  If you can't consistently assess what line you started your putt on, which way it broke, and how far, you'll never learn how to read greens.  And I think it's exceedingly difficult to do this without help, especially while playing golf.

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i think the thing is, it seems like almost all the putts i see on TV have a decent chance, and are right near the hole.  whereas when i play with the local hacks like me, there are putts that have no chance even if the hole was as large as a garbage can lid.

Colin P.

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