How to Measure Your Putting Ability
To get better at something, it helps to be able to measure it to see where improvement can be made. One aspect of golf that can be quite precisely measured is putting. Here are some ways you can assess your putting, from simple to complex.
The simplest way to measure your putting is to count the number of putts per round. While this is not a refined measure, it shows you the general level of your putting. It is best used over the space of five or more rounds, so exceptionally good or poor days on the green average out. The demands of par allow you 36 putts per round, but 32 is a good target and below 30 represents a good day on the green.
Total putts per round gives the advantage to a player who is not too accurate from the fairway, but has a very good short game. It's easier to have a one-putt green hitting your first putt from four feet after a good chip than from 25 feet after a reasonable iron shot.
To make up for that inequity, you can count the number of putts per green in regulation. This is an advanced metric regularly used for professional tournament players, and really only makes sense for players who do hit a lot of greens in regulation during a round.
A newer measurement, called the Putting Quotient, combines the affect of putts sunk and the distance missed putts remain from the hole. It works like this: divide the total length of all the putts you hit in the round by the total length of all putts hit after the first putt on each green.
Example: On the first three greens, say you had putts of 23 and 2 feet, 8 feet, and 47, 6, and 1 foot - a two-putt green, a one-putt green, and a three-putt green. The total length of all putts is 87 feet. The total length of all remaining putts is 9 feet (2+0+6+1). The ratio is 87 divided by 9, or 9.67. If you had made that 6-footer on the third hole, the ratio would have been 10.75. Anything over 10 is good putting.
It would be helpful to record the length in feet of every putt you hit for at least a few rounds, even if you don't wish to compute a Putting Quotient. The data would let you know for sure where you are losing strokes on the green. You can step off the length of your first putt unobtrusively when you first get to the green. Step off the length of the second putt when you walk to the hole to get your ball.
Putting is about forty percent of your total score. It pays to know how you're doing so that you can work on bringing that score down to where you know it should be.
Bob Jones is dedicated to showing recreational golfers the little things, that anyone can install in their swing and game, that make a big difference in how they play. See more at http://www.therecreationalgolfer.com