Putts Gained

[dcell]

So I was looking around to see how Putts Gained is calculated. I found the baseline probablities from 2010 (not sure how much changes year to year, but probably not much).

www.pgatour.com/r/strokes-gained-putting-baseline/index.html

Putts expected is subtracted from the number of putts it takes you to find the hole from a certain distance. So, from 7'10" you make a 1 putt, you've gained .5 putts on the field. You two putt from anything outside 33', you've gained on the field.

Actual pretty simple, if I understand this. Just need to know the first putt distance and the number of putts to get in the hole.

Anyway, I'm going to keep better track of my starting putt distance to see how I stack up against this table. And I think you can make up your own table, because putts expected appears to be equal to (1*pct 1-putt)+(2*pct 2-putt)+(3*pct 3-putt). I made an excel chart too, but I'll upload that if anyone wants it later.

I'm also wondering if you can guesstimate someone's putt's gained by knowing their average first putt distance and their putts per round average. Or vice-versa, guestimate how close you hit it by knowing your putts per round and putts gained. Or I guess more succintly, can you start more easily comparing a poorer ballstriker with an above average putting game to an above average ball striker with poor putting (say with more putts gained it is equivalent to hitting it this much closer).

[Richie3Jack]

You would have to figure out what the rest of the field is doing and using that as a baseline. You will probably do far worse at your home course, using that against Tour averages becasue the greens at your home course are probably not PGA Tour quality. Tougher for anybody to make putts on slower, bumpier greens.




3JACK

[dcell]

Yeah, I realize comparing myself to those 2010 baselines is a little unrealistic, but it's a start. I usually play some slow greens (I'm guessing 7-8 on stimp). However, the 2013 US Public Am is being played close to home, so I have to remember to play that course in the weeks around the tourny. Should open my eyes to how slow my regular course usually is.

I grew up playing in CT on CC greens, they were much truer and faster than what I play now. I've played with my Dad last year on a green they say stimped at an 11, I think it was probably high 9's to 10. Had a lot of fun and confidence putting that day.

However, it'll be fun to see where I stand, and to create my own baseline for certain courses. Just need to remember to keep note of the week to week variances in the greens (dry, wet, bumpier).

Yesterday at the putting green I usually go to, you could see a huge difference because of a few good storms lately (probably kept the traffic down and let the grass get healthy and it was cut recently).

Anyway, just another thing to keep track of in my game.

[teeace]

Richie, sorry if this has been somewhere, but have you found any connections between longer putters and putts gained statistics?

[Richie3Jack]

Yes, I have. I mentioned in briefly in 2011 Pro Golf Synopsis.

Essentially, the Tour players tend to improve their putts gained metric right around their 4th year with the long putter. Their first 3 years there's typically not much improvement, if any. However, that's improvement from what they were putting like before the switch. Adam Scott was ranked #1 in Putts Gained in '04. But by 2010 he was one of the worst putters on Tour. Now he's a much better putter, but more or less below average to mediocre. I think if he sticks with it he can wind up being an above average putter, but I doubt he'll ever reach the heights he did in '04 with his putting.

Belly putters haven't seen that, but they do not have as much history of use. They were popular about 10 years ago, then became extinct and now have a resurgance in popularity.

Jury is still out.



3JACK

[teeace]

Aug 31, 2012 11:42:50 GMT -5 Richie3Jack said:

Yes, I have. I mentioned in briefly in 2011 Pro Golf Synopsis.

Essentially, the Tour players tend to improve their putts gained metric right around their 4th year with the long putter. Their first 3 years there's typically not much improvement, if any. However, that's improvement from what they were putting like before the switch. Adam Scott was ranked #1 in Putts Gained in '04. But by 2010 he was one of the worst putters on Tour. Now he's a much better putter, but more or less below average to mediocre. I think if he sticks with it he can wind up being an above average putter, but I doubt he'll ever reach the heights he did in '04 with his putting.

Belly putters haven't seen that, but they do not have as much history of use. They were popular about 10 years ago, then became extinct and now have a resurgance in popularity.

Jury is still out.



3JACK

Thanks Richie.

For me that mainly tells that those who have had problems with their putting has get it better with longer putters, but what I really asked was if they are usually high or low in these stats. I guess no no can say for sure if it's advantage or not.

We are heading to ET Q-school in about two weeks and it seems we will have three different putters with us. It's crazy situation when you putt great and badly with all of them depending of the day. Should make the decision for next years I think at next winter and that's why I try to get all available information to get the player believe to his decision, whatever it is.

[Richie3Jack]

A few weeks ago I spent almost the entire day with Bobby Dean from Edel Golf at the Faldo Institute. I came away with thinking how important it is to get the right putter in a golfer’s hands first.

Before then, what I noticed with my own standard Edel putter was that golfers typically have an aim bias and then will alter their stroke to counter that aim bias.

For example, I aimed my putter right of the target. I would then use a cut-across stroke in order to get the ball from not missing right of the target.

A few months after I got my first Edel putter, I noticed that I would aim correctly, but still fought the cut-across stroke because I had ingrained it for so long. Also, I went to an AimPoint clinic hosted by John Graham and I would see other golfers do the same type of thing. I remember John going over the read with a golfer to aim 8-inches right of the hole. The golfer would aim at the hole and then make an inside-to-out stroke and actually get the ball going initially right of the 8-inches.

When I was at the Faldo Institute, I thought David Graham said it best when he mentioned that he didn’t even want to give a putting lesson without looking at their putter and how it fits the golfer, first.

But what surprised me at the Faldo Institute was all of the crazy things GOOD golfers would do in order to compensate for a poor putter. One of David’s students is an excellent junior golfer who will go on to a D-1 scholarship soon. He had some serious putting issues.

He was using a long putter. He also had a standard putter, but ‘could not make a thing’ unless he used the left hand-low technique.

Bobby surmised his problems fairly quickly. His standard putter he aimed left of the target about 4-10 inches. By going left hand low, he would close his shoulders…big-time. Essentially left hand low was his counter to his poor aim. But another problem would occur, his hands would accelerate too fast going into impact because that would also help him open the putter blade so he wouldn’t miss left.

I suspect that he will still have some putting issues early on when he gets his Edel putter. But, now that he’s aimed correctly with a standard putter and with his right hand low, he now can start to make progress to eliminate that inside-to-out, over-accelerate the hands thru impact.

That’s also where other stuff comes in with Edel putters as well. When looking at fitting putters, you have to consider how you aim different head and hosel models along with the alignment lines and sight dots. The length, lie angle and loft of the putter can play a role in your aiming ability, too. But, there are other considerations to fitting the putter to the golfer like head weight versus handle weight along with what type of shaft.

I have talked to some people who were fitted for an Edel putter and found that they aim their current putter at the target. They don’t understand why they putt poorly and then they mistakenly think that aim is not all that important. I think what they are forgetting is the shaft length, head weight vs. handle weight, etc are factors that affect the stroke and quality of touch. And the other putter companies do not fit for that either.

What I have seen from my statistics research is that AimPoint green reading has a great impact on just about every user. Furthermore, my research shows great improvement on Tour in Putts Gained by AimPoint users in their 2nd year of AimPoint. The latest case is Bo Van Pelt, a career mediocre to below average who has been in the top-10 in Putts Gained for most of the season. He started using AimPoint in 2011.

While I think AimPoint and the Edel marriage provides accurate information and increases the golfer’s odds of accurately executing putts, I think what it does best is rapidly reduce the compensations a golfer will make in their putts.







3JACK

[cwdlaw223]

I had the exact experience Richie! I used to aim left 2* and pushed the putter face into impact slightly open. Now I'm trying to have the putter face close slightly with my Edel. 26 putts the other day with a three putt! Much better distance control with my Edel and love it. Best feeling putter I've ever had. I think Edel would do better if the fitter gave a little lesson.

[ernesto]

Hi, do you have that excel spreadsheet with the formulas for putts gained? Could you send it?

[Richie3Jack]

Putts Gained is calculated by taking the average # of putts the field makes from a certain distance vs. the amount of putts the golfer actually takes.

So, if you are putting from a distance of 58 feet and the average # of putts for the field is 2.2. If you 1 putt, you gained 1.2 strokes on the field. If you 2-putt, you gain 0.2 strokes on the field. If you 3-putt, you lose 0.8 strokes on the field.

I'm not exactly sure if this is correct, but if you have a 58-foot birdie putt and miss and leave it to 5-feet, then they have to calculated the putts gained on the 5-foot putt as well. I could be wrong.


The problem with trying to do Putts Gained for amateurs is that you're not playing against a field. And the level of handicap would change if you were to take all of the golfers on the course and how they putted from certain distances.

IMO, I think for amateurs the better way to split this up is to figure out a few things:

1. Average distance to the cup on your 2nd putts (helps determine you speed control)

2. % made from 3-5 feet

3. % made from 5-10 feet

4. % made from 10-15 feet

5. % made from 15-25 feet

6. % made from 25+ feet

I would focus most of my efforts on #1 thru #4. And I would start off by trying to increase my percentage of putts made from 3-5 feet. Once that improves, focus more on 5-10 footers. Then move onto 10-15 footers.

As I discussed in 2012 Pro Golf Synopsis, one should probably spend more time on downhill and sidehill putts when practicing because they have the most break. The ball also travels at a slower rate of speed, so the ball is more likely to wobble off line. Putting straight uphill is good as well as I think that is working on basic 'fundamentals' of putting. And of course, the best way to not have to worry about downhill and sidehill putts is to never leave yourself with those putts.

From what I've discovered from my research, the toughest greens to putt on are the ones with the most undulation. And this is where good putters have a good advantage over the field. Pebble may be the toughest course on Tour to putt on.

I used to think it was due to the slow stimp, but Riviera is still one of the most difficult courses on Tour to putt on and they have greatly improved their greens and stimp over the years. It just has some of the most undulated greens on Tour. And that's why I feel putting downhill and sidehill is good practice. Those are the most difficult putts and the best putters on Tour usually putt those the best.







3JACK