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

[clarky75]

I think many people myself included here, spend more time trying to crush the driver and long irons in practice as opposed to spending more time chipping putting etc, the short game is crucial and I think we dont spend as much time on the putting, learning speed, how to read the greens etc.  I don't think hitting 10 putts before your round can be considered ample practice time

This is what my main focus is for 2012, more short game practice, and my own personal goal, no 3 putt's :)

[zipazoid]

Originally Posted by clarky75

I think many people myself included here, spend more time trying to crush the driver and long irons in practice as opposed to spending more time chipping putting etc, the short game is crucial and I think we dont spend as much time on the putting, learning speed, how to read the greens etc.  I don't think hitting 10 putts before your round can be considered ample practice time

This is what my main focus is for 2012, more short game practice, and my own personal goal, no 3 putt's :)

Agreed, agreed, agreed!

A good rule of thumb is, spend the same amount of time hitting shots as on the practice green. If it takes you, say, 45 minutes to hit a bucket, back it up with 45 mins putting. If you don't have an hour & half, hit a smaller bucket. But don't scrimp on the putting time.

Lacing a drive 280 feels great. Running in a 15-footer on the last hole feels great too...and will likely put some money in your pocket.

[BirdienFool]

Guys,  Yes, its true that they practice much more than we do.  And they have the best feeling putters available - A Cameron with genuine German Stainless Steel costs in excess of $5K.

But, also remember that they play EVERY WEEK on outstanding greens that are almost always running at the same speeds, double cut, double rolled, smooth as silk, so it does get easier when your green speeds are ultra consistant all the time.  As for the rest of us, unless you belong to an elite club,  we face different speed greens every week, sometimes they have not been rolled for a few days,etc.  Given this, I agree with the other guy who said they arent as good as we all think, and the stats show it.

[colin007]

Originally Posted by BirdienFool

And they have the best feeling putters available - A Cameron with genuine German Stainless Steel costs in excess of $5K.

this really has almost next to nothing to do with weather or not they make a putt...

[Kieran123]

They make more 20 footers, and if they miss, they leave themselves inches or a foot.

I hardly make 20 footers, and sometimes, my next putt is still 5-6 feet - which I miss too.

[Joe Sandbagger]

I blame TV. All the replays, discussion and analysis comes from the 20'+ puts that a pro drained. Pros are human and miss all the time. Its just not as exciting to watch.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by BirdienFool

Guys,  Yes, its true that they practice much more than we do.  And they have the best feeling putters available - A Cameron with genuine German Stainless Steel costs in excess of $5K.

And then there is the Yes! Sophia putter Jim Furyk paid $39 for out of the used bin, and used it as-is to win a paltry $11,350,000.00 FedEx Cup payday........

[Kieran123]

What do I call my overspin putter? MONEY!

We all need one of them

I don't know if anyone else has noticed it, but the last putt they show on the advertisement is digitally edited. The edit the ball in falling into the cup.....TERRIBLE.

[saevel25]

For me, all that matters is what putter your are comfortable with. My dad's friend won a new putter at an outing. Tried it on the green, he took it into the pro shop and asked, "Can i trade this in for a different club." He drains more putts with his bulls-eye putter that is older than i am. He is a good putter. No special insert, just a knicked up bulls-eye putter.

APPROACH PUTT PERFORMANCE
	PGA Tour	0 Handicap	10 Handicap	20 Handicap	30 Handicap
Average 2nd putt length	2'5"	6'7"	7'11"	6'5"	9'6"

This was from an article in 2007 on Golf dot com. shows that pro's are great at speed control. When they do miss, they leave themselves putts they can make 99% of the time.

[WWBDD]

Quote:

When they do miss, they leave themselves putts they can make 99% of the time.

That's what impresses me. Second putts are almost always gimmes ... not to mention chip shots that leave 2 footers.

[steventimothy]

Putts go offline with (bad putting) amateurs probably most often because their left wrist breaks down at impact, causing pulls (and then later all kinds of bizarre compensations). If you're a poor putter, particularly with short putts, you're definitely doing this. Left hand low putting is one fix for that.

Cadence is the other big problem for amateurs. Pros always have the same tempo (usually a 1-2 count on backswing and followthrough). They just vary the length of the stroke depending on the length of the putt, but if you put a stopwatch on the stroke, it would always take, say, two seconds. Poor putters are all over the place, and so have no distance control.

[ohiolefty]

How about the plain truth(s) -

• Most people can't read a putt worth a damn, playing only a fraction of how much break they should
• Most amateur putters have flaws in their stroke that either excessively add loft to the putter or deloft it, leading to bad roll. Most amateurs roll the ball terribly.
• Most amateur putters are playing on greens that are horrible compared to what tour pros play on
• Most amateur putters haven't put in the time and haven't played on enough different styles of greens and golf courses to always know what they're doing on the green
• Most of us suck at golf, and if we didn't we'd play on TV for money