2-Putt or not 2-Putt

Why green reading & speed control should be prioritized in practice.

I recently had the pleasure of watching the great short game coach James Sieckmann teaching. Something he said really stuck with me.

After driving, lag-putting is the most important part of scoring. I may have heard that before but it resonated much more coming from him. I took a dive into the stats and found the following numbers (from PGA Tour players).

From 30 feet, tour average is a two putt. So zero strokes gained from 30 feet. From 40 feet, its a little over two putts but not much. Basically from 40 feet they should two-putt every time.

Do you have the same expectations? I think every golfer should. The reality is there is huge variability as to whether you do or not. If you use gimmes this doesn’t apply to you! If not, read on….

*Thanks to Decade Golf for the above information.

As we can see, a 15 handicap golfer averages 84% of putts from 3 feet. However this drops dramatically to 50% when putting from 5 feet. So, if we are rolling our 30/40ft birdie putt somewhere between 3 and 5 feet we are in danger of the dreaded 3-putt. Even tour players miss 25% of 5 foot putts. How many times would a club golfer face a 30/40ft putt during a round of golf? I think a reasonable assumption would be 11-13 times. Thats huge.

This is where we can dramatically reduce our scores. Leaving our lag putt inside that 3-foot zone is crucial. This is why great green reading and speed control are so important. Do you practice these? Aim line should be the last consideration from this range!

Next time you go to the putting green focus your attention there. Play a game. Drop 3 balls around a hole at varies distances (25, 35 & 45 feet). Go through your full routine with each one (reading the line and feeling the distance). See what your total proximity is after 3 putts. (For example, 1st putt lands at 2 foot, second at 3 feet and third at 4 feet - Total is 8 feet). That is your baseline. Next time you practice try beating your score.

Happy Golfing.