You can't score if you can't putt?

[iacas]

On 10/10/2016 at 9:09 AM, p1n9183 said:

So.. if you can`t putt you can`t score. Still think that "Drive For Show, Putt For Dough" prevails.

We have enough data right now that I think we can all pretty much agree that this is false. Not just a difference of opinion, but actually, factually wrong. The relative importance of any part of the game based on how people play clearly shows how important, relatively, driving and approach shots are to scoring in golf.

I don't like to (or, honestly, need to) pimp my book, @p1n9183, but you should buy a copy. At least get "the other side" of the argument.

23 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I'd say 99% of the players in the world would say that shooting even par counts as "scoring,"  and you did that with a worse-than-average putting day. You were 2 under par net, and 4 or 5 under your average, I'd bet 100% of the golfers in the world (other than you) would call that "scoring."  Yeah, its hard to go REALLY low if one facet of your game isn't up to snuff, but you DID score well.  

I bolded the round.

You "scored" pretty darn well relative to your handicap… despite a slightly below average putting day. Great putting could have turned a very good day into a very good day, but to have had a truly great day you'd have wanted to hit the ball closer to the hole more times… because the odds of making a bunch of 30 footers in a single round is slim to none.

25 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

Well rephrasing myself... if you can´t putt, scramble and have a solid ball striking you can´t shoot under par.

And the ball striking is the most important.

Most players don't have to scramble much when they shoot under par.

Take a look at this round…

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/iacas/round/1074402

18 pars. Birdie putts of about… 18, 19, 20, 23, 30, 12, 35, 17, 6, 24, 27, 17, 19, 37, and 33 feet.

I made par putts of 9, 11, and 3 feet.

I lost less than two strokes putting compared to a PGA Tour player in that round, but the feeling was that I putted not great. Fortunately, I know the stats. I could only really expect to have made one or two more putts on the whole, because I made two par putts that counted in my favor (gained over half a stroke with each of them).

[CarlSpackler]

56 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

Take a look at that and you are rigth (like a few more that said the same). A tour pro from my distances espects in average 33.5 putts. 2,5 strokes less than what i did. So my putting wasn´t that bad after all. I could be better thou.
Like DaveP043 said, it was a worse-than-average putting day. Just that.

To clear up the "scoring" thing... I was pretty happy to shoot even par and i´ll be happy to shoot everything under 4.5+ (my scoring avg). Shot 82 (10 over) the day before!! so don´t get me wrong, shooting par was scoring to me.

What i meant is that i spected to shoot lower hitting 16 GIR (moreover I hit two Par 5 in two). A tour pro average 12 GIR and a score of 71 (i guess in par 71 courses). So spected to shoot under par after an unrrepetible long game day for me. If i cant shoot under par after my best day ever, then when ???

Found the stats of the round i shoot 3 under:

0 penalties - 14 GIR - 3/7 up/down - 29 putts.

3 of those GIR where on par 5 i go for it in 2 a miss the green.

Well rephrasing myself... if you can´t putt, scramble and have a solid ball striking you can´t shoot under par.

Whenever I see someone go low, it seems that their approach shots give them a lot of 8-10' putts. To me, the key to scoring is tight approach shots. The key to close approach shots is having shorter iron shots resulting from greater driving distance. Accuracy certainly helps some, but length off the tee sets your potential unless you are playing a par 3 course. Finally, you do have to be able to read and make putts to finish out.

Hopefully you will have many more great rounds. 

[dave s]

O.P. is obviously a player with very good ball striking skills.  An improvement area tour players work extremely hard at is proximity to pin on approach shots.  Pretty sure if you do some research, you'll find a results table that shows proximity to hole in terms of feet from different yardage ranges.  IIRC, from 150 yards it's like 16 feet is tour average.

Look it up and see what you can.  Would be interesting to see if I were as solid a ball striker as the guy who posted about not being able to putt very well.  Get it close, knock 'em in.  Pretty good strategy.

dave

[iacas]

Just now, dave s said:

O.P. is obviously a player with very good ball striking skills.  An improvement area tour players work extremely hard at is proximity to pin on approach shots.  Pretty sure if you do some research, you'll find a results table that shows proximity to hole in terms of feet from different yardage ranges.  IIRC, from 150 yards it's like 16 feet is tour average.

From 125 to 150, and from the fairway, the BEST is 17'4".

The average (median, anyway) is just over 23'.

And that's from about 137.5 yards or so.

Bit off topic, but… Golf is Hard® and… from any distance, PGA Tour players are often not as good as people think.

[Wally Fairway]

Couple of things related to the OP:

A) Your driving and GIR are exactly why you were able to score well for this round. You didn't need to save shots around the green with pitches or chips. 16 GIR is a great stat and allowed you that many looks at birdie/eagle.

B) The putt is the last shot on a hole, so in many way it is over-rated because it is what people remember the most. If you were to make 2 20'+ putts for birdie that you would certainly remember; but if you hit 4 greens from 160+ yards away and get the ball to inside 15' and make a couple of those putts, do you remember the great approaches or the putts?
Putting is more of a glory/highlight thing; that is why it is overly exposed on TV, it is where the scoring is finalized. Also, those bad drives and approaches that give away scoring chances can be overcome by a great recovery shot , or by making a 25 footer to save par; miss a 6 footer and there is nothing left to save you.
This holds true in other sports as well: in football where they will show every scoring play be it from 2 yards or 20 yards, but get a 40 yard pass to the 25 yard line and it is just a stat in the box score; in basketball there are no "highlight:" rebounds, but make a spectacular dunk or a 40-footer and it is shown on sportscenter.

[RH31]

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 9:09 AM, p1n9183 said:

That`s what i learned yesterday after checking my stats for the round against my final score.

Played at my home course from the tips (6550 yards, par 72, 71.8, 22 miles/h winds ). My hándicap is 2, score average is 4.5 and GIR avg is 10.

Hole 1: hit water with my iron tee shot. From 180 yards hit Green, 15 feet for par.
Hole 2: hit Green from 120 yards to 33 feet for birdie.
Hole 3: hit Green from 155 yards to 24 feet for birdie.
Hole 4: 2nd shot on par 5 from 230 yards rests 2 yards short of Green, front pin 21 feet yards away.
Hole 5: hit Green from 70 yards to 6 feet for birdie.
Hole 6: hit Green from 110 yards to 10 feet for birdie.
Hole 7 hit Green from 140 yards to 10 feet for birdie.
Hole 8 hit Green from 180 yards to 20 feet for birdie.
Hole 9 hit Green from 140 yards to 25 feet for birdie.
Hole 10: hit Green with 2nd shot in par 5 from 220 yards, 25 feet for Eagle.
Hole 11: hit Green from 200 yards to 45 feet for birdie.
Hole 12: hit Green from 110 yards to 15 feet for birdie.
Hole 13: hit my tee shot to the tres, lay up sideways and hit Green from 90 yards 12 feet for par.
Hole 14: Hit Green from 110 yards to 12 feet for birdie.
Hole 15: Hit Green from 155 yards to 20 feet for birdie.
Hole 16: Amazing recovery shot from behind a tree into a dry water hazard to hit the greeen from 150 yards to 20 feet for birdie.
Hole 17: Hit Green from 150 yards to 15 feet for birdie.
Hole 18: Hit Green from 110 yards to 30 feet for birdie.

As you can see ball striking was amazing. 16 GIR, 2 par 5 reach in 2. A lot a birdie chances. Don`t had to chip/pitch in the hole round because i hit every Green i attempted, never happened to me.
Long game did it`s job, it all depended in holing a few putts and i will sing a round of 3.. or 4 under. well... I`ll shoot Even Par. :(

Holed the birdie on 5th hole. 3 putted on the par 5 4th. And then 2 putts the other holes. 36 putts.
Shoot 3 under a couple of times this years and all of them where because of good putting day`s.

So.. if you can`t putt you can`t score. Still think that "Drive For Show, Putt For Dough" prevails.

 

You putted very well from long range. Depending on how much break there was, I would've been disappointed to not hole 2 or 3 of those putts inside 15 feet. Some days is just hard to match up the line and the speed, other days it seems almost everything goes in.

Now if you're misreading or consistently short or off your line, then you need to work on it.

For me, I probably hit good putts on 14-15 holes on a good putting day. I consider it a good putt if I match my intended speed and line. Obviously, all good putts don't go in.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Whenever I go low (for me) I sink a few putts I normally wouldn't, and my chipping is better than usual. But none of that would matter if I weren't getting the ball onto the green quicker than usual. That's what allows me to go low.