I'm Only Putting Well on Slow Greens…

[barnum1]

Hi,

recently I've played two rounds on normal greens (as good as they get where I live) and two on slow greens (just topdressed and aereated).
On the two rounds on "good" greens, I putted terribly. 35 putts and 3-putts each of the rounds. Both length and direction were off.
On the "bad" greens, I had 29-30 putts and no 3-putts. 

Now, is this just me or a "law of nature"?
 

[mcanadiens]

To me, it's just about what I'm used to.

My old home course had the slowest greens in town. I putted ok on them, but looked stupid anytime I played somewhere else.

The new home is closer to average and the putter is traveling better. Unfortunately everything else has gone to hell.

 

[dennyjones]

My question.. What was the difference in your lengths of putts.    On the days you had 35 putts did you have more GIR and longer putts?  On the days you had 29-30 putts were your misses just off of the green so your initial putts were closer to the hole?

I play many different courses and see all different green speeds.   It makes a big difference to take the time to get the green speed down before you play.    

[barnum1]

@dennyjones

That's a very good and valid question, and I did have very good GIRs the rounds I putted badly.

But it doesn't account for the bad putting. Only two of the six 3-putts could be explained by being far from the pin (or difficult pin position). And I did have some long putts the rounds I putted well (in spite of bad GIRs - my long game was really off those rounds).

[woodzie264]

I generally putt better on slower greens - maybe the faster greens highlight our flaws and so, as you put it, it’s the “law of nature” that we putt better on slower greens. For those who are better with the flat stick, I would guess it’s the opposite as faster greens afford a smaller stroke with less opportunity for technical mistakes?

[iacas]

Counting putts is not the best way to know if you putted well or poorly.

[woodzie264]

25 minutes ago, iacas said:

Counting putts is not the best way to know if you putted well or poorly.

Obviously the goal is to make the putts, but I definitely recommend understand that statement...the results are always a reflection of the process/execution.  
 

With that, what criteria do you use? How do you tell tour team to evaluate their own putting?

[iacas]

31 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

With that, what criteria do you use? How do you tell tour team to evaluate their own putting?

SG:Putting.

[Bonvivant]

Something most people don't take into account when playing on faster/slower greens is the amount of break that a given similar putt has. Faster greens have a lower friction coefficient, so gravity gets to play its role a little (sometimes a lot) more than normal. If you find yourself missing low-side on fast greens, this tip could save you loads. If it's a distance thing, you just have to work on it pre-round and should be ok.

[woodzie264]

9 hours ago, iacas said:

SG:Putting.

that’s makes total sense in competitive play with others, and I can see where that is a better indicator of putting performance. 

But what about the recreational golfer? I think that’s why the OP (and I think a lot of us) assume it comes down to number of putts...which I guess is SG putting against par

[iacas]

4 hours ago, woodzie264 said:

But what about the recreational golfer? I think that’s why the OP (and I think a lot of us) assume it comes down to number of putts...which I guess is SG putting against par

The same.

Again, a guy who has 32 putts from an average first putt distance of 40' likely putted better than a guy who took 28 putts from an average first putt distance of 15'.

You can use PGA Tour-level SG:Putting data to figure out how well you putted, especially if you're comparing one round of yours to another round of yours.

And all you have to note is: the distance of your first putt and how many putts it took to complete the hole.

Or use this:

Strokes Gained Calculator

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Use this tool to calculate the strokes gained metric for any round of golf. Track your putting improvement.

 

[woodzie264]

23 minutes ago, iacas said:

The same.

Again, a guy who has 32 putts from an average first putt distance of 40' likely putted better than a guy who took 28 putts from an average first putt distance of 15'.

You can use PGA Tour-level SG:Putting data to figure out how well you putted, especially if you're comparing one round of yours to another round of yours.

And all you have to note is: the distance of your first putt and how many putts it took to complete the hole.

Or use this:

Strokes Gained Calculator

---

Use this tool to calculate the strokes gained metric for any round of golf. Track your...

 

thank you sir! That’s cool