How Many 30-Foot Putts? (with Poll)

[Elrey Desol]

happy Friday ya'll. 

i'm currently having a "discussion" with some non-golf people and i'm looking for some data. the question was posed: how many 30' putts can you make in 20 attempts? (see poll question). not trying to establish a correlation between index and putting prowess or anything like that,  just honest feedback from golfers. 

for the sake of the poll, let's assume: 
- above average green condition on the local muni
- Stimp reading around 8
- less than 2' break in either direction
- less than 1' overall elevation change between where the ball is putted and the hole
- basically, a flat-ish, straight-ish putt on a decent surface

TIA for all replies. 

[No Mulligans]

I might make only one of twenty 30' putts on the course.  But you give me twenty fairly flat putts in a row from the same spot, after a couple of putts I should have the distance down and the aiming results within two feet from farthest right to farthest left..  Given that and a bell shaped standard deviation aiming curve 4 or more should go in I think.

I answered 4.

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by No Mulligans

[Golfingdad]

I voted 2.

[billchao]

I voted 1, but it was before I read the post. On stimp 8 I might not get a single ball to the hole 

[Golfingdad]

7 minutes ago, billchao said:

I voted 1, but it was before I read the post. On stimp 8 I might not get a single ball to the hole 

LOL, that's exactly why I voted only 2.  I'm thinking it would take me only 1-2 putts to get the read down, so I have 18-19 legit shots to make a few.  But at stimp 8, I have to swing so hard that the speed is going to be hard to get right.

[RandallT]

For your discussion with your friends, PGA pros average about 2putts from 32'.

That includes 1putts and 3putts that even out, of course, but I doubt they 3putt often from there.

And of course if you gave a pro the same putt 20 times in a row, they'd likely get the pace and line  nailed pretty soon into their 20. They'd probably scare the hole a lot but 30' still seems a long way to make regularly.

i voted 1 for me.

[iacas]

PGA Tour players make, what, 7-8%? On better greens? 1-2 is the right answer. 3 could be believable. 4+ no.

[Hardspoon]

I voted 2...assuming it is the same exact putt each time.  If it's a different 30-foot putt...probably none.  I'm a poor putter.

Again, I assume the OP is asking about the SAME 30' putt, twenty times in a row.

[Golfingdad]

Anecdotal, but I went outside and did a small version of this experiment just now.  My putting green is small, though, (first world problem, I know) so the longest putt I could get was 18'.  Obviously that is a far cry from 30' but I was able to make 8/20.  (Using my old, light, non-Edel putter) :P

[billchao]

30 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

Anecdotal, but I went outside and did a small version of this experiment just now.  My putting green is small, though, (first world problem, I know) so the longest putt I could get was 18'.  Obviously that is a far cry from 30' but I was able to make 8/20.  (Using my old, light, non-Edel putter) :P

Well the PGA Tour make % drops by 2/3 from 18' to 30', so using that we can estimate that you'd make between 2 and 3 putts from 30', just as you wrote earlier.

[saevel25]

I voted two

[David in FL]

Yeah, 2ish, maybe 3?  20 from the same spot could let you get pretty well dialed in.

[boogielicious]

I voted one for many of the reasons above. Stimp 8 greens will also have lots of imperfections I think.

[Shindig]

I voted one, and it might be optimistic, but I figure eventually I'll adjust for whatever is happening.  Give me the same number of 30' putts, but not the same putt, and the expected number is closer to 0. 

[WUTiger]

Given same putt 20 times, I voted 2. I probably make more 30-footers than 20-footers because I'm more relaxed, have lower expectations.

[The Hook Meister]

I made one putt that was at least 30 ft. My fiend said it was one hell of a putt. In truth it was one hell of a good miss, I was trying to get it close enough to save bogie. 30 footers are in some ways easier to make than 10 footers becuse you don't have high expectations to make them, you are only trying to get close enough to 2 putt.

[klineka]

12 minutes ago, The Hook Meister said:

 30 footers are in some ways easier to make than 10 footers becuse you don't have high expectations to make them, you are only trying to get close enough to 2 putt.

But you shouldnt have high expectations to make 10 footers either... 

The best player on the PGA tour at 10' putts last year only made 66% of them. (Rafa Cabrera Bello)

Spieth only made 46%

Justin Thomas only made 48%

Rickie Fowler only made 34%

These are guys that most people agree are pretty decent putters, and they arent even making half of their putts from 10'

You shouldnt have high expectations to make 10' putts.

 

30 footers are by no chance easier to make than 10 footers. Never. Ever. 

[Golfer gal]

On 7/28/2017 at 2:52 PM, Elrey Desol said:

happy Friday ya'll. 

i'm currently having a "discussion" with some non-golf people and i'm looking for some data. the question was posed: how many 30' putts can you make in 20 attempts? (see poll question). not trying to establish a correlation between index and putting prowess or anything like that,  just honest feedback from golfers. 

for the sake of the poll, let's assume: 
- above average green condition on the local muni
- Stimp reading around 8
- less than 2' break in either direction
- less than 1' overall elevation change between where the ball is putted and the hole
- basically, a flat-ish, straight-ish putt on a decent surface

TIA for all replies. 

I was going to vote zero or one, but thought I would just go see what really happened.  So.  Good conditions, not much left/right break, but more maybe more than a foot elevation change.  I don't know about Stimp reading... is 8 pretty slow?  I made the first putt, got the next 18 pretty damn close, and made the 20th.