More Putts Than Shots?

[trackster]

Is this common for anyone?  I played a par 28 course today and shot 36.  I had 14 shots and 22 putts.  This makes sense since it is a par 3 (one par 4) course.  Has anyone ever had more putts than shots on a real course.  I think my closest is about 22 shots and 20 putts for a 9 hole round.

[mikelegacy]

Originally Posted by trackster

Is this common for anyone?  I played a par 28 course today and shot 36.  I had 14 shots and 22 putts.  This makes sense since it is a par 3 (one par 4) course.  Has anyone ever had more putts than shots on a real course.  I think my closest is about 22 shots and 20 putts for a 9 hole round.

So you were playing a Par 3 Championship course?

[k-troop]

It would require a horrible putting day by any measure.  I don't think this could possibly be "common" for anyone, because if you're averaging 40+ putts per round (and apparently a great ballstriker), then you'd likely rapidly quit the game.

[Timothy Voyles]

I've had bad putting days and come kinda close ie. 40 putts 50 strokes... My scores above 90 are typically due to bad driving.

[Kyle Cannot Putt]

Just shot a 41 (par 35) with 21 putts.  I found this page because I Google'd "more putts than shots".  Surprisingly, my putting wasn't so bad, I had mostly tap-in 2-putts with a couple 3-putts. I blame my short(ish) game (from 50-80 yd) and large greens with a couple pin locations on the side of hills.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Kyle Cannot Putt said:

. I blame my short(ish) game (from 50-80 yd)

I’m curious if you had so many 50-80yd shots to large greens why you don’t think your ball striking was more the problem? Approach shots? Tee shots? Or were you playing a short course where your drives left you only 50-80yds to the green?

Edited November 9, 2021 by Vinsk

[Kyle Cannot Putt]

10 hours ago, Vinsk said:

 Or were you playing a short course where your drives left you only 50-80yds to the green?

I'm pretty long off the tee (290-300yds).  5 of the holes were 300-400.  One hole says 420, but I was 100 out after my drive.  I happened to chunk that approach (downhill lie out of the rough), then chip it up to 30' with a downhill putt, well turned into 3 putts.

I attached a picture of the scorecard.

[klineka]

12 hours ago, Kyle Cannot Putt said:

Just shot a 41 (par 35) with 21 putts.  I found this page because I Google'd "more putts than shots".  Surprisingly, my putting wasn't so bad, I had mostly tap-in 2-putts with a couple 3-putts. I blame my short(ish) game (from 50-80 yd) and large greens with a couple pin locations on the side of hills.

There are 3 main parts of putting. Bead (starting the ball on your intended path), Read (reading the green properly), and Speed. 

You need to figure out which one of those you are the worst at right now and start practicing that.

Read this topic it should help

Also what program/tool are you using to measure your driving distance? Simply subtracting how far you have left for your 2nd shot from the yardage listed on the scorecard isn't accurate enough and can easily be skewed by 20-30+ yds on a given day depending on where the tee boxes are placed and where the flag is on the green. If you truly do average 290-300 yds that is further than plenty of guys on the PGA tour and right up there with the tour average for driving distance. 

 

Also in regards to you 3 putting from 30 feet, that's not THAT bad or uncommon for someone who shoots 85. Scratch golfers 3 putt from 30 feet 9% of the time, and a 90s shooter 3 putts from 30 feet 18% of the time which is over 3 times per round. So yes 21 putts in 9 holes is a lot, but 3 putting from 30 feet isn't the end of the world and is perfectly reasonable for someone of your skill level. Whenever you 2 putt from 30 feet you putted better than a scratch golfer on that hole.

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by klineka

[SG11118]

Theoretically, on a typical par 36/ par 72 course, if you hit every green in regulation and two putted every green, your number of putts would match your number of swings and you would shoot even par.  As unlikely as this is, it shows how it could be pretty easy to have at least as many putts as swings - especially if you are hitting a lot of greens in regulation, but not putting it close to the hole.

[WilliamB]

On a course that was set up very difficult, for a Pro-Am event, the pins were tucked in the most difficult portions of the green. I shot an 84 that day, but 42 were putts and 42 were other shots.

[Golfingdad]

On 6/28/2012 at 5:34 PM, k-troop said:

It would require a horrible putting day by any measure.

 

19 hours ago, Kyle Cannot Putt said:

... and large greens ...

 

4 hours ago, SG11118 said:

.... especially if you are hitting a lot of greens in regulation, but not putting it close to the hole.

I imagine this is the way it could happen for me; striking it decently on a course with large greens and not having a great putting day.  If I'm putting for birdie from 30, 40, 50 feet I'm sure I'll average over 2 putts per.

By this same token, I played a good round of golf a few weeks ago with 19 total putts (my record by a long shot - usually good putting days are 28-30 ish I think).  I putted well, mind you, but it was really the fact that I was playing a short course with tiny greens that allowed this to happen.  Few GIR, but mostly just missing on the fringe or light rough and getting up and down from there.

[Kyle Cannot Putt]

10 hours ago, klineka said:

Also what program/tool are you using to measure your driving distance?

Mainly scorecard distances and GPS (track shot) feature when available on the course.  I just got a new driver and the simulator said I was flying it 280 (I think). I'm not trying to brag on length, I was simply trying to explain why I had so many <100 yd approach shots.  It is pretty common on all the courses I play.

Thanks for the putting resources and charts.  It's really interesting.

[Bernie Fay]

Nowadays I'm bad at putting and scores are low and those golf swing are not that good. 

[GolfLug]

I think for mediocre putters on large slick greens 40+ putts are not that uncommon.

Theoretically on a par 72 course, if you hit all 18 greens and routine 2 putt every single one of them then it's a 50/50 split by design. If you have a decent ball striking day and a reasonably poor putting day, it's not that much of an anamoly to have more putts than shots leading up to greens. 

[AdTravi]

21 hours ago, Kyle Cannot Putt said:

I'm pretty long off the tee (290-300yds).  5 of the holes were 300-400.  One hole says 420, but I was 100 out after my drive.  I happened to chunk that approach (downhill lie out of the rough), then chip it up to 30' with a downhill putt, well turned into 3 putts.

I attached a picture of the scorecard.

If I read the scorecard right, your total strokes come to 42, not 41.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, AdTravi said:

If I read the scorecard right, your total strokes come to 42, not 41.

Yep.

I count by "level 4s." Treat everything as a par four, and then it's par 36…

So you ignore any 4s and in your mind you'd read that as: "+1, +2, +3, +5, +7, +6". 6 over 36 (level 4s) is 42.

[max power]

Yep, my best ballstriking and worst putting day. I played 9 on a par 36 and hit 9/9 greens and shot (I think) 8 over. That makes it about 26 putts vs 18 shots. Unbelievably frustrating day.

[dennyjones]

1 hour ago, max power said:

Yep, my best ballstriking and worst putting day. I played 9 on a par 36 and hit 9/9 greens and shot (I think) 8 over. That makes it about 26 putts vs 18 shots. Unbelievably frustrating day.

It's a great accomplishment to hit every GIR but that's only part of the whole picture.   What was the distance of each first putt?  The professional golfers only make about 50% from 8'.   Your expectations may have been excessive.