Golf Stats: The Number of Putts Per Round

/ The Grateful Golfer

I know how much everyone loves golf stats. Many players live by them and others don’t give a care. Personally, I think that some stats are helpful and others are useless. And then there are a few stats that are in the middle; like the number of putts per round. This stat is miss leading and can easily draw you down the rabbit hole into the abyss.

I tracked my putting stats over the years and I found that when I am putting well, I score well. Poor putting generally results in a score not worth remembering. I asked this question earlier and here is what most players said:

My putting average over 20 rounds last year was 28.9. I fit into the 24% category. My best putting round was 23 and worst was 36. Interestingly, 28.9 putts a round means that I averaged 11 – 2 putts and 7 – one putts. This is not really a great stat in my mind; I would like to drop the 11 – 2 putts to 10 or 9. Just dropping 1 or 2 putts a round would do great for my scores, which in turn would drop my handicap by 1 or 2 points. It is all connected.

Moving forward, I have to figure out a way to improve my putting. Of course I will have to continue practicing; but more importantly I need to figure out if my process of putting needs to be improved. Or, do I need to work on my chipping so I have shorter putts to start with. Or, do I need to work on my course management skills to set up my approach shots better.

I am not exactly sure which area of my game I need to focus upon to improve my putting average. I do know that I will be examining everything before I make my plan for this upcoming season. Fixing my golf game is always a fun journey of discovery.

What are your thoughts on putts per round?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

14 thoughts on “Golf Stats: The Number of Putts Per Round”

  1. Jim,

    I have never really kept close track of my putting stats, although once in a while I’ll be curious how many putts I have in a round and tally them up. I don’t think the putting stats will help me all that much…I already know I need to make more putts 🙂

    Cheers
    Josh

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  2. Yeah, putts per round can be deceiving. We now and again have a special prize for the lowest putts per round, but that is where tactics come into play.Some players will deliberately play just short of the green, then putt up to,or into the hole from there. Using the putter from off the green does not count as a regulation putt.

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  3. Jim, I’ve been tracking putts per round for years and am not sure of the value of this stat. I’ve had several good rounds (close to or at even par) where the number is 32 and above. That’s a result of hitting a lot of greens but not particularly close, and two-putting. Perhaps a better stat would be putts per green in regulation. PPR is more a function of proximity than anything else. What do you think?
    Brian

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      • Brian makes a good point. PPGiR sounds like a much more telling stat to keep for tracking our overall putting progress. Another thought I had after reading that is to track number of putts inside a certain radius from the flag. Say 10 feet and in. Putts we should make more often than not. That would give us a great look at how we progress. I had a one putt yesterday that I missed from around 7 feet and since that’s the distance I practice most from home, missing those is something I always notice. Extending that out to 10 feet and tracking them should tell me a story I can use.

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      • Kevin

        Anika Sorenstan used to track the distance of putts. I have often thought of doing that because it does provide a more accurate understanding of your strengths and weaknesses on the green. It is an interesting topic that offers many possible answers. Thanks providing your view.

        Cheers
        Jim

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  4. HI Jim, long time. I personally think that putts per round can be a very misleading stat. here’s why.
    One golfer regularly has fewer putts per round than another and in isolation that stat would indicate they are better than their playing partner. In reality, the one with lower putts per round is much shorter and hits very few greens in regulation so chips on to the green regularly and gets quite close, whereas the other player hits many greens in reg and more often than not takes his regulation 2 putts. so who is the better golfer?
    Unless we are elite amateur or pro level golfers then measuring putts per round is not as valuable as other measures.
    2 alternatives could be:
    1. Measure the percentage of times you follow your full putting process as you should and putta good stroke on it, irrespective of whether it drops or not.
    2. Measure average putts per hole but only for the ones you hit in regulation (your net regulation including handicap that is) any hit in more than net regulation should be ignored.
    I personally judge my putting by the first example.
    Just my humble opinion.
    All the best
    Paul at Team Blind Apple

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  5. It’s a fact that, no matter how well you play tee to green, it’s the putting that decides how good your score will be. I reckon the ability to consistently get it close when chipping is key. I observe this in one of my friends with whom I play fairly regularly: he keeps his scoring tight and consistent by doing that very well. I wish I could say I do the same! Cheers, Rob.

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