Putting as You Age

[iacas]

The chart, in larger form:

I think two things:

• Though there's a definite trend, those are some pretty small numbers.
• What Dave said is important, I think:

A 40+ year old on the PGA Tour has made his money, has a family, is content, etc. They're less motivated, they don't practice as often, and so on.

P.S. I putt better now than ever.

[chspeed]

If all I had to worry about was worse putting as i age, I’d take it!

I assume this is for pros right? What about amatuers? We get better. Right? Please?

[Club Rat]

Probably true in sense, most golfers play and practice less.
Unless one is passionate about improving, statically the over all perspective includes a broad spectrum of players.
I would like to see stats in handicap margins per age group for a comparison.

5 minutes ago, chspeed said:

What about amatuers? We get better. Right?

Of course we do...  LOL

[Patch]

As an amateur, I putt better now, than I did 20-30 years ago. Not by much mind you, but a fraction of a stroke better on average.. 

As other parts of my game have deteriorated due to injuries/age, I have to rely on my short game more these days to shoot decent scores. Putting is a major part of my short game. 

[saevel25]

I would say I putt better now than I did 10 years ago. 

I know some older guys who are fantastic putters. I do think it's probably a bit of the finer motor skills decreasing and lack of practice. 

[jamo]

I wonder if it just comes down to old -> back problems -> harder to hunch over practicing putting -> less putting practice -> worse putting. 

Putting is the last thing I want to do when my back is sore. 

[iacas]

43 minutes ago, jamo said:

I wonder if it just comes down to old -> back problems -> harder to hunch over practicing putting -> less putting practice -> worse putting. 

Putting is the last thing I want to do when my back is sore. 

At 40?

[Zengolfer]

I know that Im a worse putter now in my late 30s than I was in my 20s but for me, I think its more a matter of lack of practice.  With my work schedule and social life, I simply dont practice like I used to.

I used to have one of those little practice putting cups (the ones that shoot the ball back at you) and a house with carpeting that was well beat-down and very similar to a slower putting green and I would practice putting for 20-30 minutes a day.

[RBImGuy]

at age 55 I putt consistently under 30 putts.
its 8 on average better than in my 40´s

Putting is the easy game.
 

[dennyjones]

Seniors have enough to worry about...now this...

 

[Wally Fairway]

Not really a relevant chart as it would have to have many more columns to the right to determine the show the impact on my generation.

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Wally Fairway

[jamo]

18 hours ago, iacas said:

At 40?

I don't have any data on typical back problem onset, but 40 seemed about right.

Too old? Too young?

[iacas]

1 hour ago, jamo said:

I don't have any data on typical back problem onset, but 40 seemed about right.

Too old? Too young?

I dunno. I'm 40. But I'm not a PGA Tour player, either, with 25 years of super-competitive golf in my rear-view mirror.

[Piz]

My problem isn't putting as I age so much as it is aging while other people putt.  

[Double Mocha Man]

Good one!  Post of the Day.

[p1n9183]

I putted great as a young player, around my teen ages. Practice a lot on those days.
When i returned to play at ages 25 and 32 i was awful! now at 35 with a little of practice i´m a decent putter but not even close from my teen years. 

[Lihu]

On 1/20/2019 at 7:55 AM, RBImGuy said:

at age 55 I putt consistently under 30 putts.
its 8 on average better than in my 40´s

Same, the last 2 years, I’ve improved my putting from 34-36 down to 30-31. I just started marking my off green putts correctly 🤪

 

On 1/20/2019 at 12:05 PM, dennyjones said:

Seniors have enough to worry about...now this...

Yeah, I saw the plots then noticed 0.21 strokes at 50. No big deal. I’m past that...lose another stroke when I turn 70 and I’ll start playing Bocce or Croquet  🤪😂🤪

[Double Mocha Man]

Be careful when counting total putts per round... that can be very misleading.  Do what the pros do... calculate "strokes gained".  That is a far better indicator of how well you are putting.  

Strokes Gained Calculator

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Use this tool to calculate the strokes gained metric for any round of golf. Track your putting improvement.