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Never Up, Never In?

If you've played more than a handful of rounds, someone in your group has said it after you left a putt short. Maybe you've said it to yourself. But is that how the best putters in the world putt? I dug into 5 years of PGA Tour putting data to find out.

But First…

I get a lot of emails from subscribers. I wish I had time to answer all of them but I do read each one. Earlier this year my friend at P4S golf started sponsoring this newsletter and I have been writing about my journey towards better fitness.

I am guessing many of you are like me (not as young as we used to be and sit behind a desk all day). I have had A TON of emails from people asking me about training with P4S. It seems that my journey to get in better shape has resonated with many of you.

If you want to get serious about your golf or just your overall fitness in general, I can’t recommend P4S golf highly enough. I never thought I would want a trainer to help me with my fitness, but it has made a world of difference. I am down 19 pounds, I am way stronger, and my mobility is so much better. I feel great. Not just when playing golf, but all the time.

Check out their free assessment here and see where you are at.

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Even the Pros Leave It Short

Inside 10 feet, almost nothing finishes short (3.4% or less). Then it climbs. Fast.

• 20-24 feet: 26% short (about 1 in 4)

• 30-34 feet: 40%

• 45-49 feet: 49%

• 70+ feet: 59%

From 45 feet and out, the best players on the planet leave about HALF their putts short. That's normal.

The best putters (top 20 in strokes gained putting) leave a few less short than the worst putters (ranked 160+). From 15-16 feet it's 11% vs 15%.

So getting it to the hole matters a little. As you move farther from the hole, the bigger difference is speed control.

Speed Control

Here's how to read this chart. Each bar shows where about 68% of missed putts finish (for the math nerds, that's plus or minus 1 standard deviation from the average “North/South” miss).

Where the bar sits shows where the misses are centered. From 20 and 30 feet, the bars sit mostly PAST the hole. As the putts get longer, the average miss moves back toward the hole. By 50 feet, the bar is centered right over it.

How long the bar is shows how good the speed control is. The number on the right is the length of that “speed control” zone. The shorter the bar, the tighter the distance control.

The best putters have the shorter bar at every distance, and the gap grows the farther back you go. From 50 feet, their zone is about 8 feet long. The worst putters' zone is almost 10 feet.

Tighter distance control means a shorter next putt. Shorter next putts mean fewer three-putts.

My Thoughts

"Never up, never in" is technically true. A putt that comes up short has a 0% chance of going in.

But from 30, 40 or 50 feet, you aren't making many anyway. Your job is to leave yourself the shortest possible next putt.

Judge your lag putts by how far from the hole they finish. Short or long matters a lot less than you think.

See you next week!

 Finally...

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  Have a great week!