Putts Per Round - Overrated Number?

JB

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I have always battled the putts per round number as a telling statistic. On one hand it tells you clearly how many times you are using your putter. But in my game of golf, I think that is the only thing it does. Why dont I keep a Drives per round, or wedges per round? Let me explain ( my weird thinking anyway).

PPR does not tell me if I am making good putts or bad putts. It does not take into factor any type of scoring whatsoever. I decided to do a little study. My last 5 rounds out (clearly a small sampling), the rounds that I had less putts per round, I had a higher score than the rounds I had more putts per round. Why?

Because in the rounds with less putts, it did not mean I made more birdies. It in fact meant I missed more greens and was chipping on close rather than having a 12-20 foot putt for birdie or par.

To me it is a very misleading statistic. On one hand we all want to make more putts, but on the other hand, someone could quite easily have 18 putts total if they missed every green and chipped on. GIR is a far more telling number and maybe the two combined give some players some semblance of what their round is going to end up or what they have to work on, but I just dont get it.

I think its another number that we worry far too much about when playing rather than just hitting greens and 2 putting. Maybe this is more of a thought than a thread, but I just do not see how the total putts per round plays that much role in score unless you are hitting every green and 3 putting. Because if you miss the green, odds are you are going to have less putts per round, thus rewarding the statistic for taking away from another one.

Thoughts on my rambling?
 
You are absolutely right. I've been observing the same for a while now and come to the conclusion that while I do try for 30 putts or less per round, the more compelling stat is putts/GIR as this takes the scrambling twist out of it.
 
I've always thought the same thing. You could be the worlds worst putter but the worlds best chipper and have very few putts in a round. But if you are hitting every green but are 30 feet away every time, you are going to have very few, if any, one putts.
 
I think you're right, I think can PPR can contribute to a solid round but it isn't the only factor and sometimes seems fairly irrelevant. I think fairways and greens hit are much more important for me. The other day I went and looked at my last 10 rounds and without fail when I hit more fairways and greens I scored better.
 
I agree it is not always a "true" stat, but as a person trying to improve my putting, I find it to be usefull. Case in point, on the Palmer at PGA National I had my best round of putting ever. But that may be due to the fact that I was actively keeping track of it as a PPR basis. But I find I do post lower scores when my PPR is lower. (Usually)
 
I think knowing the "feet of putts" made is more important, or proximity to the hole once on the green. You correct that the stat is misleading if you are missing greens but chipping tight to the hole then making a short putt. To me it is important to know that I am not 3 putting holes.
 
I agree, this statistic can be very misleading. I think a much better one that they do use on the PGA tour is Putts per green in regulation. If you took that stat, and coupled it with your up and down %, you are going to come away with a much better indicator of how you are faring with your short game.
 
I agree, this statistic can be very misleading. I think a much better one that they do use on the PGA tour is Putts per green in regulation. If you took that stat, and coupled it with your up and down %, you are going to come away with a much better indicator of how you are faring with your short game.

:confused2: gotta check that one out.
 
:confused2: gotta check that one out.

The LPGA's putting stats is total putts per round. The PGA Tour only counts putts on greens they reach in regulation. A year or two ago they were talking about some other method (feet per putt made or something).
 
I agree, this statistic can be very misleading. I think a much better one that they do use on the PGA tour is Putts per green in regulation. If you took that stat, and coupled it with your up and down %, you are going to come away with a much better indicator of how you are faring with your short game.

So what happens if you miss the GIR? Then what happens?
 
:confused2: gotta check that one out.

Yeah, they sometimes quote that on their broadcasts, and I think if you go to the PGA site you can look at those numbers. It's a ratio, for example 1.78 PPGIR
 
So what happens if you miss the GIR? Then what happens?

You calculate as a ratio, so it is a little more work to figure out. On my scorecard, I mark an X for every GIR, and I always mark how many putts I take on each hole. At the end of a round, you add up the putts for each GIR and divide by the GIRS.

You'll end up with a number like 1.89 or 2.13 (or worse if you are not putting well).
 
Then those holes don't count in the putting stats.

But then you could still one putt for a DB. So your putting is good, but your short game sucks. Shouldn't that senario affect the short game stats more?
 
I was just discussing this with my buddy yesterday. When you can see all your stats in a single view for a round and then aggregated over time is the best for me. I use oobgolf.com for stat tracking which I've been able to see what areas of my game I need to improve on.
 
I think that putts per round is overrated. Back in May I was playing a round on a course with some very challenging greens. I had a 4 and a 5 putt on a couple of tiered greens. I finished 18 holes with less than 35 putts. So it looked like I putted poorly, but in reality other than two holes, I putted fantastic.
 
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But then you could still one putt for a DB. So your putting is good, but your short game sucks. Shouldn't that senario affect the short game stats more?

You could but they have a scrambling stat too, if I'm not mistaken it keeps track of how many times the player gets up and down after missing the GIR. This stat with PPGIR would give you an indication of the players' short game ability.
 
I was just discussing this with my buddy yesterday. When you can see all your stats in a single view for a round and then aggregated over time is the best for me. I use oobgolf.com for stat tracking which I've been able to see what areas of my game I need to improve on.

I use oobgolf.com as well and they have a stat tracker for putts for GIR as well as for GIR +1. I find those stats to be much more telling than just PPR total.
 
I quit tracking putts this year when I realized the same thing. Two putts after putting one from the fringe is still not good, even though it showed as two on the scorecard.
 
It is a bit overrated, but maybe not a much as some might think. It is true that someone can shoot par with 18 putts or shoot par with 36 putts, or any number in between. So in that sense, for an individual round, the total putts can be a little useless. That is using an extreme example though. Putts per round as an individual number isn't very helpful, but average putts per round can be very helpful.

If you play 10 rounds and notice that your average putts are 36, that can be looked at as a place for improvement. Sure that could mean that you hit par most times and had 2 putts every hole, but again, that would be an extreme example assuming that you hit 100% GIR, which typically isn't true. What it would tell me is that there should be an opportunity to eliminate 4-5 putts per round, which should lower your scores in the long run. Regardless of where those putts are coming from, you are just looking to eliminate a few. That could mean chipping closer when you miss a green, not 3-putting so often, making more 1-putts, etc.

Are putts per round a telling statistic on a person's putting abilities? Yes and no, but it can be a great indicator to an individual who is looking for areas to improve. Depending on your overall skill level, a I would think that a 'good' player/putter, should probably average 29-33 putts per round, at least somewhere in that neighborhood. That doesn't mean they have to have 30 putts each round. There will be extremes in each direction, but as long as the average is there, it is something to work to. In 2008 my putts/round was just over 32, in 2009 it was 31, in 2010 it was 29. I saw it as a way to improve and lower my scores, and sure enough my scoring average went down a little each year as well. It doesn't really matter how it got there, just that I took 3 less strokes (on average) with the putter each round.

I do agree that putts/GIR is a much accurate putting stat since it measures a result from a specific instance. Although you can have the extremes as well. You could shoot par and have a '0' or shoot par and it be at '2'. The last 3 years my average went from 2.02, to 1.94, to 1.78. That tells me I made a lot more birdies and didn't three putt that often. Both keys to me scoring lower.
 
It is a bit overrated, but maybe not a much as some might think. It is true that someone can shoot par with 18 putts or shoot par with 36 putts, or any number in between. So in that sense, for an individual round, the total putts can be a little useless. That is using an extreme example though. Putts per round as an individual number isn't very helpful, but average putts per round can be very helpful.

If you play 10 rounds and notice that your average putts are 36, that can be looked at as a place for improvement. Sure that could mean that you hit par most times and had 2 putts every hole, but again, that would be an extreme example assuming that you hit 100% GIR, which typically isn't true. What it would tell me is that there should be an opportunity to eliminate 4-5 putts per round, which should lower your scores in the long run. Regardless of where those putts are coming from, you are just looking to eliminate a few. That could mean chipping closer when you miss a green, not 3-putting so often, making more 1-putts, etc.

Are putts per round a telling statistic on a person's putting abilities? Yes and no, but it can be a great indicator to an individual who is looking for areas to improve. Depending on your overall skill level, a I would think that a 'good' player/putter, should probably average 29-33 putts per round, at least somewhere in that neighborhood. That doesn't mean they have to have 30 putts each round. There will be extremes in each direction, but as long as the average is there, it is something to work to. In 2008 my putts/round was just over 32, in 2009 it was 31, in 2010 it was 29. I saw it as a way to improve and lower my scores, and sure enough my scoring average went down a little each year as well. It doesn't really matter how it got there, just that I took 3 less strokes (on average) with the putter each round.

I do agree that putts/GIR is a much accurate putting stat since it measures a result from a specific instance. Although you can have the extremes as well. You could shoot par and have a '0' or shoot par and it be at '2'. The last 3 years my average went from 2.02, to 1.94, to 1.78. That tells me I made a lot more birdies and didn't three putt that often. Both keys to me scoring lower.

I don't agree. One can have 36 putts, shoot 125 and not have a single GIR. Or they can shoot 125, have 18 putts and not have a single GIR. They had 18 putts because they could chip well (however, they couldn't do anything else well!)

You might also have less putts playing on smaller greens, but if you play courses that you could possibly have a 70 or 80 foot putt on nearly every hole, you are going to walk away with more three putts (or worse!)

I think GIR is being used in the wrong context here. On a Par 4, someone who is a low handicap wold have a GIR for them if they get there in two shots. Someone who plays bogey golf, their "GIR" on the same hole would be getting there in three.

I think the best way to determine putting skills would be average distance of putts made. Although that would penalize the people who hit near the green and then chip it close. They wouldn't have the opportunity to drain as many 30 footers to boost their average. Perhaps someone can come up with a formula for Average Putt Made minus Average Putt Missed divided by Distance To The Hole On The First Putt.

I call that my APM-APM2/DTTHOTFP formula. But then you will have everyone pulling out a measuring tape for every putt. Then we have the slow play issue.

But wait, that formula penalizes people who chip in a lot. Or get a hole-in-one. Oh my. haha
 
I don't know, I think over the course of a season your PPR stat would matter. Sure some rounds you're missing greens so you're chipping it closer but over the course of a season a high # of PPR would tell you that you need to cut down on putts. I mean it's not going to shave 5 shots off your score but if could help shave a stroke or two, hell think about it this way. You record stats, find you need to improve your PPR so you practice putting and eventually start getting better, some of those 10 footers to save a tough par or for birdie that might have missed before start going in you're going to get an instant kick start to your round and that could lead to you going on a good run where you might shave off 5 shots that round. So in short, while the PPR stats over a short collection of rounds might not really mean much I don't think it should be ignored or not be practiced.
 
or not be practiced.

I never would suggest that. I think practicing putting is one of the most important parts of the game. But I can tell you over the course of this year (and I try and play a lot of golf), I dont think my PPR would be any indication of my game. None whatsoever.
 
I've struggled with this a bunch this year for two reasons: 1. Starting out the year I was missing greens like crazy, but my chipping was crazy good. My putting started out really good as well, but seldom was I needing to putt very far because I was getting it close with the chip shot. So, I couldn't really feel great about my putting, it was my chipping that created the silly low numbers for PPR. 2. Just the opposite, lol. The second half of the season found me hitting greens, but nothing close to the flag. Mostly two putts, but rarely any 1 putts.

As a result I seldom track my putts anymore. It dawned on me that I already know where my game is, or is not. It never changed how much I practiced my putting anyway, though I did spend a lot more time working on my mid to short irons.
 
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