How Far Are You Willing to Putt It?

[Marty2019]

The other day we were playing, and my friend, who often putts from the fairway, had about 40 yards to the green, and I had about 30, and I jokingly said, "Putt it."   And he says, let's try it both ways, putting and pitching.  No one was behind us, and all we had was smooth, mowed fairway between us and the flag, and a slight rise around the green, so we both tried it both ways.   His putt was slightly better than his pitch, and my pitch was slightly better than my putt.  But the results were surprisingly good.  So, since I had chili-dipped a couple of chip shots on earlier holes, I decided to putt the rest of the round if I had a clear putt from within 30 yards of the green.  I putted from all over the place.  The results were actually not bad. 

So my question is, assuming you have no obstacles between you and the flag, how far are you willing to putt it? 

[Patch]

With a manicured, level fairway onto the green, I can probably get 40-50 yards. Uphill less. Downhill more.

That said, I will chip just about everything over 10 yards with a fairway lie. It's a confidence thing for me.  

I have in the past, made some 100 +/- foot putts, when on the green. 

[Piz]

Years ago...short par 4.  My 4 iron drive fetches up right behind a decorative sapling.  In the pine straw, no swing, etc...I whack it with my putter, from 40 yards out.  It's winter and the grass is on vacation.  The ball bounces, trounces, and ends up a foot from the cup.  Since then...I'll putt from the tee if it looks like a good idea.

[DaveP043]

I putted once from about 60 yards, in Scotland.  With the turf conditions, it was the smartest play.  At home, however, the fairways are not nearly so tightly mowed.  I generally wouldn't putt through more than 3 or 4 yards of fairway grass in northern Virginia, up to maybe 10 yards in the Pinehurst area.

[HJJ003]

I talk myself out of the puter from the tight fairway lies near the green too often. I have chunked too many chips from tight lies....

[Foot Wedge]

I don't trust myself to adjust my speed correctly enough on more than about 10' of grass off the green to result in a putt that's better than a chip.  

[soupy1957]

3 hours ago, Marty2019 said:

So my question is, assuming you have no obstacles between you and the flag, how far are you willing to putt it? 

I remember back in the 80s when I was playing golf on a semi regular basis, which for me was about a couple times a month just because of budgetary constraints, one of my favorite shots was a pitching wedge, when my ball was about 100 yards or so from the cup.

Now that I’m over 60 and taking the game back up again, I have placed certain expectations on my game.

 

 Now that I’m over 60 and taking the game back up again, I have placed certain expectations on my game:

 

1. Be bolder with my initial Drive

2.  Unless it’s required that I keep score keep the scorecard in my back pocket.

3.  Look for opportunities to pull out the wedge to pitch up to the cup. 

4.  Play around of golf at least three times a month. 

5. Resist the temptation to buy a new club, if the one I have isn’t working for me, because it’s probably my own fault.

6.  Look for opportunities to pull out the wedge to pitch up to the cup. 

7. Look for opportunities to pull out the wedge to pitch up to the cup.

 

My second most favorite activity on the golf course is putting. And I’m willing to put from the fringe. Even the light rough.

 There’s nothing more exciting, In the golfing world, than taking your best shot from way the heck out there, and having it accidentally go in the cup!!

 

Edited February 8, 2018 by soupy1957

[David in FL]

It depends on the lie, what obstacles are in the line, and the contour of the entire line, including the green itself.  I've putted from 40+ yards, and I've actually chipped from on the green...

[iacas]

If it makes sense and your putting stroke still feels like a putting stroke, then the higher the handicap, the more likely you should be to putt it.

I've putted from off the green 40 yards or so in Scotland. Here, with "fluffier" (i.e. slower) turf, I've done it from 15 or 20. Rarely. If I'm within 5 yards, though, I'm almost always looking at putting as my first option, and encourage my college team to think similarly. (People often over-rate their pitching/chipping a little relative to their putting - "your worst putt is better than your worst chip.")

At Streamsong with @kpaulhus, I hit the stick on a 75-yard putt (it stopped two or three feet away) and hit a 100-yard putt to two feet.

[NM Golf]

Normally no more than a couple of yards off the green. I will putt from the fringe of the green to a pin thats in the middle of the green or closer. If the pin is on the far side of the green I will often chip with something like an 8 iron. 

When I played at Pinehurst no 2 I putted from 10 yards off the green a couple times.

[Kalnoky]

I will putt from the fringe only. I find the speed change tricky from the fairway to green, and especially in the Pacific Northwest where I play, it's damp half the year & drainage can be unpredictable. So, I don't practice this type of shot at all. 

 

[kpaulhus]

Like @iacas said, it was pretty awesome at Streamsong to be able to putt from so far out. Ideally, if the first hole or two are not super wet around the green and its a fairly straightforward putt with no rough in the way I'll try the putt. Erik got to see me use a lot of 8/9 iron chips that were similar to the putt but really was to get the ball rolling on the ground a lot quicker. I love one hop and stop chips just as much as the next guy, but you have to play the shot that the course gives you most of the time. If its possible with a putter, I'll do it from anywhere. 

[billchao]

It really depends on the situation. I'm more likely to do it if the pin is close to the front edge of the green and I don't have a lot of green to work with if I play a pitch or chip. Most of the time I don't putt if I have more than a few yards of fairway to get through because the fairways aren't mowed that tightly where I usually play so they can be really slow.