At what distance to you begin to "expect" to make putts?

[whip_it_out]

I don't really expect anything. I visualize the putt dropping behind the ball, then let my fingers do the rest from there.

[MiniMoe]

Speed control is the most important factor in putting. From closer distances, it is easier to control your speed, so it is a little easier to predict the amount of break you should play. If you hit it harder, you play less break. Longer putts are all about speed. you want to make sure you don't run them 4 feet by, because it is more difficult to predict how much less break you should play when you hit it that hard.

I expect to make every putt. After all, I'm not putting to miss. In reality, the percentages of tour players are the best we can hope for. I don't know the number off hand, but over the course of a year, the best players in the world only make 25-30 % of putts inside 10 feet. That takes into account a lot of 2 footer that they don't miss very often, and a lot of 10 footers they don't make very often, but those numbers don't lie. The guys that win on tour are hot that one week out of the year where they make all the putts inside 10 feet.

[IcemanYVR]

6-foot putts are tap-ins?? Dave Peltz accumulated data that show pros only make 50% of 6-foot putts! At 10-feet his data shows pros only making 10%.

My feeling exactly as I've been following this thread. I don't make many 20 foot putts and I don't expect to make them. I know I'm an excellent putter an that if I read it right and out a good stroke on it, it's got a chance but I don't get upset if it doesn't go in.

Golf TV coverage is focused on the leaders -- the pro's who are playing & putting well that week -- but Pelz's data includes the players that don't make it on TV on a given week & these guys aren't making 'em.

I wish I was as good as the players who are missing the cut every week. I'm sure they make their share of 6 rooters as well.

[Three Putt]

Putting is an adventure for me, the courses I usaully play don't have the best greens, so a lot of it is the little bounce or little kick you get. On good greens I putt decent, usually expect to make 8 footers and less.

[Stacey_E]

6-foot putts are tap-ins?? Dave Peltz accumulated data that show pros only make 50% of 6-foot putts! At 10-feet his data shows pros only making 10%.

Six foot putts are not tap ins by any stretch of the imagination.

The thread was titled "expect" to make putts. I believe the golfers on this forum are better on a whole than the general golfing population. I also think they are realistic in their expectations of from what range they can sink a putt. But more than anything, when it comes to putting, attitude does matter. Granted we may not hit those six footers. But to accept defeat before addressing the ball is beyond the realm of a successful player. So maybe we have unrealistic expectations. However, this game is all about getting the ball in the hole. If we can't do that with a putter, it is virtually impossible to get the ball in the hole, ever. Since we don't hit that many approaches inside 6 feet, I suppose it would also be unrealistic to ever expect a birdie?

[iacas]

The 6' putts a tour player faces are nothing like what I'm up against at our muni, where the greens are realtively slow & the putts much easier to make -- except for the bumpiness this time of year.

I've always found it easier to putt on Tour-like greens rather than the "muni-like" greens. Just FWIW. If you get the putt online, it'll go in. Slower greens, eh. All too easy to have the putt go offline.

[mirv]

like iacas just said, on slow muni-style greens it's really easy for the ball to veer off. there's one course here that has just the slowest greens i've ever seen, and i don't expect anything outside of 5 feet to go in. and even those are iffy at times. but there's another semi-private course up the road a bit where i have total confidence over putts that are upwards of 10-12 feet. the greens there are well taken care of and have just the right speed for my style. course, then there's yet another course where the greens are so fast, i don't expect a single putt to go in from any distance. you look at the ball wrong and it starts rolling. super fast greens scare me a lot more than slow greens.

[1dayIllBaPro]

If I'm using my putter, I expect to make it.

That's how I do it. If you don't expect to make it, how could you make it .... and I don't get lucky in golf that often :P

[DavidFehertysBike]

I dont really 100% expect to make any putt, but 15 feet and in is a "make range" in stead of "tap in" range. If i have more than a one footer in front or either side of the hole from 15 feet i feel i have hit a really horrible putt.

[Zeph]

Tap ins are the only ones I expect to make. I do my routine and treat every putt the same. I know I can easily miss a 3 foot putt, so I have to give it my undivided attention. I'm pretty good at length control, but still have lots to work on when it comes to reading the green. The course I normally play on has got high grass, and playing it often makes it easy to read. But when I visit other courses with really fast greens I struggle with the line.

[TMO]

I know it doesn't actually happen but at 20 feet I think I should make the putt. At that length I feel I should be able to read the putt and I should be able to figure out the speed. It's all on me to make the right stroke.

[allin]

When putting I never even think about what I expect. I just focus on my routine and hit it. I would say I think I have a chance at anything under 50 feet if I get the speed right. I wish I could think the same way with the rest of may game. Much more mental baggage with full shots.

[FortAsel]

15 feet. That's about 5 meters right. 5 meters is nothing for me, but for some reason these past few months, I can't seem to have one drop in the hole. Anyway, I am still used to make just about every putt inside 15 feet

[HytrewQasdfg]

6-foot putts are tap-ins?? Dave Peltz accumulated data that show pros only make 50% of 6-foot putts! At 10-feet his data shows pros only making 10%.

I was thinking of Pelz's stats while reading. This thread is starting to remind me of the 300 yard drive rant thread.

[ryohazuki222]

If I'm using my putter, I expect to make it.

So, just for the sake of a good debate, by that logic it seems you "expect" to putt only 18 times per round of golf?

[allin]

So, just for the sake of a good debate, by that logic it seems you "expect" to putt only 18 times per round of golf?

I would see this as striving for perfection, managing your attitude. Annika was famous for this kind of outlook, her instructor I believe Pia Niilson?, talked about birdie's on every hole being possible. I think greats in every field expect themsevlves to be great, and when they aren't they quickly move their focus to being great next time, shot, job, election, song, etc.

[mirv]

there was a story i read once that jimmy demaret was leaving the course after a tournament one night, flips on his headlights, and there in front of him on the range is ben hogan, bashing balls into the darkness. jimmy walks up and asks ben "why are you still here? you had 11 birdies today! you clearly don't need any extra practice."

"jim, if a man can make 11 birdies in a round, there is No reason why he couldn't make 18 birdies in a round." jimmy laughed, but ben just glared at him, clearly dead serious about what he'd just said.

point being that i think it's pretty healthy to have that kind of seeking-perfection attitude. i personally am not going to be happy until i'm hitting 15 or 16 greens in regulation every round. do i really think i'll ever get there? maybe, but probably not. but that's not going to stop me from trying, same as iacas isn't likely to back down from his "if i've got a putter in my hand, i expect it to go in" attitude.

[TN94z]

I would say that I "expect" to make all 3 footers. I am frustrated when I miss 5 ft putts, but anything outside of that could go either way. I feel like I can make any putt at any time but I don't expect them to drop.