Putts/GIR, How Useful is It?

[billchao]

I know Putts/Round isn't a great stat, but how much better is Putts/GIR?

On its own, it doesn't seem like it really amounts to much. If your first putt length tends to be higher, you're going to have a higher P/GIR than if it was shorter. You can't really tell by looking at it whether you need to work on your putting or you're just hitting the green too far away from the pin.

I started thinking about this today and worked it out over my last 10 rounds, my P/GIR is 2.18 vs P/R of 1.92. I'm not sure that tells me much about anything.

So what would be the point of tracking it, or what other states are needed to make it better? Do you need to average out your first putt lengths and factor that in? Then you're basically getting an average of X strokes taken from Y distance,  which seems like if I'm going to do that, I might as well figure out the rest of my make % by distance data.

Just trying to decide if any of this stuff is worth looking into, what do you guys think?

[Shindig]

I think it's one of those old timey stats from before things like SGP or SLP.  If anything, it might be comparable to strokes gained scrambling, maybe, because putts per GIR is a combination of both approach shots and putting, except on par-4s where driving plays a role in it, and on par-5s where short game shots can come into play for a GIR.  ... 

[iacas]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

I started thinking about this today and worked it out over my last 10 rounds, my P/GIR is 2.18 vs P/R of 1.92. I'm not sure that tells me much about anything.

I doubt your P/R is 1.92. 😉

PP/GIR is a good stat, still. Strokes Gained is the best, but PPGIR isn't bad at all. It gives you another piece of information: are you hitting the ball close to the hole when you hit greens, or leaving yourself longer putts?

If you hit 30 PPR but 2.2 PPGIR, your scrambling might be pretty good but your longer distance putting might be problematic because your GIR first putts are probably 30-40 feet.

[DeadMan]

I tracked it when I used to do a spreadsheet of my golf stats (now that I have a GG, I'm just relying on their strokes gained data). I thought it was the most useful putting stat I had. It tells you both how close you hit it to the hole (anything under 2 means you had a good ballstriking day, most likely) and how good your lag putting is.

Strokes gained putting is much better, but putts per GIR is still useful.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Shindig said:

I think it's one of those old timey stats from before things like SGP or SLP.

The problem is both of those are harder to calculate and apply for amateurs. I know Game Golf has it, but I don't trust Game Golf's putting database. It's fine if I'm using it to compare my own rounds, but I'm not sure other people are as diligent at editing as I am.

27 minutes ago, iacas said:

I doubt your P/R is 1.92. 😉

Putts/Hole

28 minutes ago, iacas said:

PP/GIR is a good stat, still. Strokes Gained is the best, but PPGIR isn't bad at all. It gives you another piece of information: are you hitting the ball close to the hole when you hit greens, or leaving yourself longer putts?

If you hit 30 PPR but 2.2 PPGIR, your scrambling might be pretty good but your longer distance putting might be problematic because your GIR first putts are probably 30-40 feet.

That kind of makes sense. If I average 35 PPR and 2.18 PPGIR, that would suggest I suck at scrambling.

17 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

I thought it was the most useful putting stat I had. It tells you both how close you hit it to the hole (anything under 2 means you had a good ballstriking day, most likely) and how good your lag putting is.

I always judged my ballstriking quality by GIR %, but you and I are different skill levels. If my PPGIR is below 2, it just means I made a birdie or two, could have been dumb luck. In my last 10 rounds I had 2 rounds below 2 PPGIR. While both rounds had 2 birdies, each had one lucky birdie, not necessarily indicative of superior ballstriking.

[Buckeyebowman]

Iacas makes a great point. A little while back we played Windmill Lakes in Ravenna, OH. The course has absolutely huge greens! You can make a GIR and still be a mile from the hole. There can be a 2, even 3 club difference in your approach depending on where the hole is cut. I had all kinds of GIR there, and usually 3 putted for a bogey!

[dennyjones]

This makes me curious.  I may spend some time looking at my P/GIR.   

[Missouri Swede]

6 hours ago, billchao said:

I started thinking about this today and worked it out over my last 10 rounds, my P/GIR is 2.18 vs P/R of 1.92.

Yours are pretty similar to mine:

[DeadMan]

3 hours ago, billchao said:

I always judged my ballstriking quality by GIR %, but you and I are different skill levels. If my PPGIR is below 2, it just means I made a birdie or two, could have been dumb luck. In my last 10 rounds I had 2 rounds below 2 PPGIR. While both rounds had 2 birdies, each had one lucky birdie, not necessarily indicative of superior ballstriking.

Yeah, it probably doesn't mean as much as a stat if you don't hit many greens. It will probably be best as a measure of your lag putting.

[dennyjones]

I just looked at my last 10 rounds

P/GIR: 2.01  69 GIR 139 Putts

P/Hole: 1.87  337 Putts

makes me wish I'd put more effort into some of the shorter missed putts and learn how to scramble.