Why putts per round misleads
Tour players average around 29 putts a round and amateurs around 32 to 36, but the count depends on where the approaches finished: eighteen first putts from 10 feet with 30 putts is -0.73 strokes gained against the tour table, while eighteen from 40 feet with 31 putts is +6.04. The golfer with more putts putted better.
The expected putts table
Every putt has a tour average from its distance, and strokes gained putting is that average minus the putts taken. The table shows what a one, two and three putt is worth from each distance.
Expected putts and what each result is worth
| Distance | Expected putts | One putt | Two putts | Three putts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 feet | 1.053 | +0.05 | -0.95 | -1.95 |
| 5 feet | 1.256 | +0.26 | -0.74 | -1.74 |
| 8 feet | 1.515 | +0.52 | -0.49 | -1.49 |
| 10 feet | 1.626 | +0.63 | -0.37 | -1.37 |
| 15 feet | 1.784 | +0.78 | -0.22 | -1.22 |
| 20 feet | 1.878 | +0.88 | -0.12 | -1.12 |
| 25 feet | 1.931 | +0.93 | -0.07 | -1.07 |
| 30 feet | 1.984 | +0.98 | -0.02 | -1.02 |
| 40 feet | 2.058 | +1.06 | +0.06 | -0.94 |
| 50 feet | 2.135 | +1.14 | +0.14 | -0.87 |
| 60 feet | 2.211 | +1.21 | +0.21 | -0.79 |
The paradox, computed
Take two rounds. In the first, every green is missed, every chip finishes 10 feet away, and the golfer takes 30 putts. In the second, every green is hit to 40 feet and the golfer takes 31. From 10 feet the tour average is 1.626 putts, so 30 putts from there is -0.73. From 40 feet it is 2.058, so 31 putts is +6.04. The second golfer took more putts and putted 6.78 strokes better.
Putts per round rewards missing greens. That is not a quirk; it is what the count measures, and it is why the number is worthless as a measure of putting and why the tour replaced it with strokes gained putting in 2011.
What to track instead
The distance of every first putt and whether it dropped. From those two facts strokes gained putting, three-putt frequency and make rate by distance all follow, and putts per round can still be printed for anyone who wants it.
In PinFlag
On the green you place the leave in feet for every putt, so each is priced from its own distance. Insights shows strokes gained putting per round and season, three-putt frequency, make rate by distance from your recorded makes, and a heat map of where your leaves finish, so a lag problem and a short putt problem show up as different numbers rather than one count.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good number of putts per round?
How many putts should you take from 20 feet?
Why is putts per round a bad stat?
What is strokes gained putting?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- PGA TOUR statistics
- Mark Broadie, Columbia Business School (Wikidata entity)
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: The expected putts figures are the published tour table; the two example rounds are arithmetic on it with stated first putt distances.
Get PinFlag for iPhone
PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.