Fourputt
Head Rules Official
A few stats to think about:
The highest Tour player in Fairways hit is only at 71%; You have to go down under 70% before you get to any "household" names.
The best GIR is 72%. Tiger, Phil, and Mahan are at 67%, and Spieth is at 66.5%.
The point is that none of them is "lights out" in the long game. They are quite good, but they still miss the entire target area in 25% of their long shots. I see guys spend hours on the range because they are "only" 55 or 60% on GIR, yet they would be in or near the top 5% of all casual players. If they put that time into short game practice, it would make a much more significant difference in their scoring.
Now that that information and tell me if the short game isn't more important than any other facet. And I don't see how you can separate putting and chipping/pitching, as those skills must support each other if you are going to score.
The highest Tour player in Fairways hit is only at 71%; You have to go down under 70% before you get to any "household" names.
The best GIR is 72%. Tiger, Phil, and Mahan are at 67%, and Spieth is at 66.5%.
The point is that none of them is "lights out" in the long game. They are quite good, but they still miss the entire target area in 25% of their long shots. I see guys spend hours on the range because they are "only" 55 or 60% on GIR, yet they would be in or near the top 5% of all casual players. If they put that time into short game practice, it would make a much more significant difference in their scoring.
Now that that information and tell me if the short game isn't more important than any other facet. And I don't see how you can separate putting and chipping/pitching, as those skills must support each other if you are going to score.