what is officially counted as a putt?

[gills]

My friend and I have this discussion everytime we golf together and we always end up forgetting to find out the exact answer.

My gut tells me that you only count a putt if your ball is on the green and, obviously, you use the putter. However, if your ball is not on the green and say maybe 2" away from the green on the fringe and you use your putter, does that count as a putt?

I'm thinking no because you can use any club you desire from that location. I've only been counting the putts that i make when my ball is clearly on the green, but perhaps i'm mistaken.

[Harry Longshanks]

If your ball is on the green, it's a putt.

Use of the putter is irrelevant.

[MellowYellow]

ONLY when it's on the green. If it's on the frindge even only 10 feet away from the pin AND you use your putter... it's not a putt.

What I wonder though is.. WHat happens when you are on the green a LONG down hill putt.. You miss and it rolls OFF the green.. You use your putter to putt BACK onto the green, then putt it down in the next shot.. is it a 2 putt still??

[x-forged]

I count it as a putt if I'm just off the fringe using the putter, a few inches at most. But if your writing stats down, do you count a ball just off the green as a GIR? If not, your stats would become innaccurate right?

Think about it. If you putt off the fringe, count it as a putt, but not as a green in regulation, then according to your stats, your score is one shot higher on that hole. So if you count putts just off the fringe, then you should count it as a green in regulation also, even though your not on the green yet. I dont know, just thinking out loud.

[MellowYellow]

I count it as a putt if I'm just off the fringe using the putter, a few inches at most. But if your writing stats down, do you count a ball just off the green as a GIR? If not, your stats would become innaccurate right?

Sure you can DO whatever you want.. but if the question is "What is TRULY counted as a putt" the answer isnt 'when you use your putter just off the green on the frindge' right?

Im not saying this in a mean way, I'm saying he asked what OFFICIALLY counts as putts when taking true stats, because I understood it to be only when the ball is entirely on the green... is that right?

[Dent]

Its not a putt if you are not on the green, so if you take 1 putt off the green and 2 putts on, it would only be a 2 putt.

[x-forged]

I get what your saying, and your probably right. I would assume that a putt is official only when its on the green, but when your stats are just for personal use of stat tracking, I don't think its wrong to count a putt slighty on the fringe as a putt.

[Harold]

Only when your ball is on the green is it "officially" considered a putt. Yes the difference of less than 1" can change it from a putt to a chip and vice versa. However the same could go for a fairway hit or not. I blieve a ball in the first cut is not a fairway but I'm not sure there is anything "official" like putts. On many courses I play though it can be difficult to determine. Then I go by with how I really felt about the shot or if I have a clear shot or not coming up.

I count it as a putt if I'm just off the fringe using the putter, a few inches at most. But if your writing stats down, do you count a ball just off the green as a GIR? If not, your stats would become innaccurate right?

There's two reasons why I think one should count putts only on the greens as putts.

1) I believe more golfers who do keep track of their stats do it that way and it's much easier to compare and contrast when tracking stats the same way. 2) More importantly when faced with the "Do I chip or do I putt?" shot players are more likely to put the club in their hands that is best suited for the shot. They should not be comtemplating which club to put in their hands that will impact their stats good or bad. Very early on I used to count putts with the putter no matter where they were and I found I was playing to the stats and not the shot. I bet most golfers that do/did keep track of stats but count putts with a putter off the green are doing what I used to do to some degree. Probably more often than not it's apparent which club is the best. However when it's not is when a shot could be wasted because a player could be playing to the stats but with the lesser effective club.

[gills]

How you guys are conversing is exactly what my friend and I start talking about.

I'd say the majority of people who golf recreationally that i've played with, but are serious enough to keep stats of their game, count the putts when they are not on the green. But usually they would also count it as a GIR so in that respect it works out.

IMO though, i'd like to keep myself as honest as possible and keep stats the official for as long as i play. I think the most important part is to keep consistent with your own game.

[Craig Mac]

IMO though, i'd like to keep myself as honest as possible and keep stats the official for as long as i play. I think the most important part is to keep consistent with your own game.

I would strongly disagree with...

I'd say the majority of people who golf recreationally that i've played with, but are serious enough to keep stats of their game, count the putts when they are not on the green. But usually they would also count it as a GIR so in that respect it works out.

I can see(and

was of the same frame of mind) that if you are just off the green and putting it should count as putt... However , it is not considered a putt unless you are on the green, nor is it considered a GIR if you are on the fringe. If you are serious about keeping your stats then you should only count putts that are on the green, and never count a ball on the fringe as a GIR....same way stats are kept on the professional level. There was a similar conversation recently in another thread that helped me with this same issue but I am too lazy to find it for you.

[iacas]

To answer the question about putting off the green: every stroke made at a ball (except penalty strokes) after you register your first putt is also a putt.

It's not like you can get a GIR, putt the ball off the green, and chip in for an up-and-down. It's still a two-putt par, even if you chipped the ball in with your sand wedge or 7-iron.

[MellowYellow]

Ok cool, I always wondered how to score that... I guess that means Michelle Wie had about a 5 or 6 putt the other day :D

[iacas]

Ok cool, I always wondered how to score that... I guess that means Michelle Wie had about a 5 or 6 putt the other day :D

She two-putted. She used a putter, but it was from the rough, remember?

[Harry Longshanks]

Ok cool, I always wondered how to score that... I guess that means Michelle Wie had about a 5 or 6 putt the other day :D

EDIT: iacas beat me to it.

Here's the video

[Stacey_E]

Iacas was spot on at defining putts. When it comes to stats there will always be those anomollies like a GIR missed by 6" or a three put on a hilly green that is 100 feet deep. One thing I've noticed as I've begun to get more GIRs is a rise in 3 putts and a decrease in 1 putts, many of which came after a putter or hybrid off the fringe. Long term you still get a fairly accurate picture. As an older friend of mine is fond of saying, "It all comes out in the wash".

[MellowYellow]

Wow I cant believe you guys remembered it that accurately, I wasn't even sure if you would remember what hole i was refering too

Stacey_E

I know what you mean, 2 rounds ago i had my best ever 12 putts on the front 9. The only problem was I only had ONE GIR. So i was constantly chipping from about 6 feet out, even sinking one from the fringe, so really it wasn't as amazing as it seemed to me at first.

[Garthmo]

I dont get what the discusion is about? What to call a putt, Geesh if the ball is on the green then it is a putt, if it is off the green it isn't, what's to discuss? If it is off the putting surface even by an inch then what ever you use to hit the ball towards the hole a putter or a driver it isnt a putt it's a chip. period.

[Chief Broom]

I'm starting to compile more data about my rounds besides just my score. I'm wondering about counting the number of putts one makes on a hole. Is it considered a putt if you use your putter but you aren't technically on the green/putting surface? At what point does a putt become a putt?

e.g. If you chip in from off the fringe you record zero putts for that hole. If you putt in from the same location should you record one putt or zero?