GIR is king?

[inthehole]

Iacas ... thx for the info on putting above ... all of this high level input helps !     I will make a concerted effort to keep proper stats this year (GIR and # putts), so I can determine my weaknesses and where improvement is needed.

[iacas]

Iacas ... thx for the info on putting above ... all of this high level input helps !     I will make a concerted effort to keep proper stats this year (GIR and # putts), so I can determine my weaknesses and where improvement is needed.

Could you answer the questions I asked? To the best of your knowledge.

[inthehole]

Iacas - here's my response to your questions ...

You won't improve if you're not practicing the right things. Answer these questions, please:

How do you practice your putting? Please describe it. How do you gauge success

- Don't have a public chipping or putting facility where I live.   I practice in the living room - set 4 round coasters at various distances.    Focus is distance control and backswing tempo and not accelerating, just moderating tempo both back and through, without excessive follow through.   Won't usually quit until I hit all 4 in a row - adds a sense of "pressure".

How do you practice your chipping? How do you gauge success?

- Again, I practice in the living room (with real golf balls ... what you can't see is a 55" flattie to the left of the recliner)  - have 5 targets set up in the recliner - pretty good at hitting each one of them on demand with various lofted wedges (my wife is an understanding woman ).

How many GIR do you hit per round? How many nGIR (within about 20 yards with a reasonable chance of getting up and down for par)?

- As I said, I haven't kept stats to date, but I'd say I'm in reasonable shape for up and down at least half the time (meaning, its within my ability and I feel I SHOULD get up and down more times than not ... executing that up and down is another story).

How many putts per round? How many putts per GIR?

- I don't have a feel for the number of putts per round yet ... I can tell you that I THREE putt a heckuva lot.    It's not misreading breaks so much, its distance control.   Running it ridiculously far past or leaving them way short, and then choking on the 5-6 footer.    I play on a different course practically every time I play, so I'm always adjusting to the vastly different green speeds - seems like I just have no touch & have a harder time with that than the guys I play with.

What would you estimate is your average leave (distance) after an nGIR and a short game shot?

- My chipping is pretty good (at least from a solid contact perspective & getting it reasonably close) - I can tell you I don't get it to the 4-5 range nearly often enough ... I realize I need to tighten it up to take some of the pressure off my putter.

[iacas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthehole

- I don't have a feel for the number of putts per round yet ... I can tell you that I THREE putt a heckuva lot.    It's not misreading breaks so much, its distance control.   Running it ridiculously far past or leaving them way short, and then choking on the 5-6 footer.    I play on a different course practically every time I play, so I'm always adjusting to the vastly different green speeds - seems like I just have no touch & have a harder time with that than the guys I play with.

If you three putt that often, it really doesn't have as much to do with your "touch" as you think, nor does it have to do with the different green speeds. I can show up at any course, take a little time to warm up, and out-putt you lefty by the sounds of it.

"Touch is overrated." I think it's a chapter title in the book. Here's a snippet.

Quote:

Our findings show that most 10-, 15-, and 25-handicap golfers have as good an innate touch as the great Seve Ballesteros. In fact the great basketball player LeBron James surely has better touch than most of the golfers on the PGA Tour today, but if asked to pick up a wedge and hit a flop shot over a greenside bunker he would have little or no chance of stopping it close to the hole. That’s not because he couldn’t picture the shot he needed to hit, and it’s certainly not because he couldn’t toss the ball to within a couple feet if asked (heck, he drains 25-foot jump shots with regularity).

Touch comes from having the proper technique. Your putting technique probably sucks. Your equipment, too. Your putter is probably too light and may even need counterweighting.

Your putting - specifically, the "speed" part of Read, Bead, and Speed - is a glaring weakness.

[dfreuter415]

What do you think? Jordan Spieth said during his post round interview that gir's are what is keeping him near the top of the leaderboard.

I agree. I've been keeping stats on my game since 2009. In 2014 I hit more greens in regulation and had my lowest average score over that period of time, even though my putting stats ranked as 4th worst in the last 6 years.

Of course it's king.  I've never heard of a bogey golfer who's problem was 3-putting every single hole.

True. But even on the best days it seems like the putter is a foreign object. Around ten years ago I hit 15 greens in regulation, and, on the three greens that I didn't hit in regulation, I got up and down twice. On the 15 GIR's, I three-putted 6 times, and ended up shooting an 79. Normally, for me, any time I break 80, it is a day to celebrate. However, on this day I could only dream what might have been.

[eaglevision]

There certainly is a high correlation between GIR and scoring.  Unfortunately, it takes a lot of work to move the needle on GIR.  Most of us are not missing greens because we are too aggressive hunting pins.

I agree but find your miss and adjust and then maybe scores will improve!

[inthehole]

Quote:

Your putting is a glaring weakness.

agree 100% - I've put a lot of time in on it over the winter, will be interesting to see if it pays any dividends...

[inthehole]

But even on the best days it seems like the putter is a foreign object.

I never heard anyone say it like that ... Exactly how I feel most of the time when I walk onto a putting green! BTW, was hoping to hear what iacas thinks of my (albeit unusual) winter practice routine ... Or if there's something better I could do with the living room practice routine ...

[iacas]

BTW, was hoping to hear what iacas thinks of my (albeit unusual) winter practice routine ... Or if there's something better I could do with the living room practice routine ...

I thought I said above. I'd work on speed.

[dfreuter415]

A number of years ago I changed my putting philosophy from trying to make every putt, to being strictly a lag putter on anything over 8 feet.  I have eliminated quite a few three-putts by doing this, but I also come up short on a number of birdie and par putts. The redeeming factor is that I know that I have saved myself strokes because the three-putts in a round that are longer than 8 feet outweighed the one-putts that I made.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfreuter415

True. But even on the best days it seems like the putter is a foreign object.

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthehole

I never heard anyone say it like that ... Exactly how I feel most of the time when I walk onto a putting green!

A number of years ago I changed my putting philosophy from trying to make every putt, to being strictly a lag putter on anything over 8 feet.  I have eliminated quite a few three-putts by doing this, but I also come up short on a number of birdie and par putts. The redeeming factor is that I know that I have saved myself strokes because the three-putts in a round that are longer than 8 feet outweighed the one-putts that I made.

That has been my philosophy, too, more so on downhill putts.

Back to OP, if GIR is king, putting is queen .

[Tat14]

More support for GIR and "nears" -

Played nine last Saturday, shot a 44. Missed five GIR, had two GIR plus two near. Of those four, three pars and a bogie. This saved my round and kept the score right at my index.

Had only a single one-putt for an up & down on one of those near GIR's. Biggest impact on my score card was the fairway mistake or water hazard that led to double bogies; i.e. the approach shot separation value.

[Lihu]

That has been my philosophy, too, more so on downhill putts.

Back to OP, if GIR is king, putting is queen .

Then is chipping is the "Jack"?

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

That has been my philosophy, too, more so on downhill putts.

Back to OP, if GIR is king, putting is queen .

Then is chipping is the "Jack"?

An unintended bastard sired by king with one of the ladies in waiting.