Golf ScoutStrokes gained putting: how good is your putting really?
Strokes gained putting is the average number of putts a benchmark golfer needs from the distance of your first putt, minus the putts you actually took. Tour players average 1.50 putts from 8 feet, so holing an 8-footer gains 0.50 and two-putting loses 0.50. Add it up over a round and you have a putting score that, unlike putts per round, allows for how far away you started.
How it works
Every putt starts from a distance where golfers of a given standard average a known number of putts to hole out. Strokes gained putting for a green is that average, from the first putt, minus the putts you took. In Mark Broadie's original words: putts gained = average putts to hole out minus actual putts to hole out. Each putt can also be scored on its own, using the strokes gained formula.
The PGA Tour adopted it in 2011 as strokes gained: putting, built on Broadie's work at Columbia Business School.
Expected putts on the PGA Tour
From Broadie's analysis of PGA Tour ShotLink data:
| First putt | 2 ft | 3 ft | 4 ft | 5 ft | 6 ft | 8 ft | 10 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average putts | 1.01 | 1.05 | 1.14 | 1.24 | 1.34 | 1.50 | 1.61 |
| First putt | 15 ft | 20 ft | 30 ft | 40 ft | 60 ft | 90 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average putts | 1.78 | 1.87 | 1.98 | 2.06 | 2.21 | 2.36 |
Notice the shape. Tour players hole about half their 8-footers, but the average rises steeply up to about 10 feet and then flattens: from 20 feet it's 1.87 putts, and from 40 feet only 2.06.
Expected putts for club golfers
Club golfers putt less well than tour players, so against your own handicap the benchmark is gentler. Broadie compared tour players with golfers who average 90:
- One-putts: tour players hole half their putts from about 8 feet; 90-golfers from about 5 feet.
- Two-putts: tour players average two putts from 33 feet; 90-golfers from 19 feet.
- Three-putts: tour players have 0.55 a round; 90-golfers about 2.3, four times as many.
Here are the expected putts our strokes gained calculator uses by handicap:
| First putt | Scratch | 10 hcp | 18 hcp | 28 hcp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 ft | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.02 |
| 6 ft | 1.31 | 1.36 | 1.39 | 1.44 |
| 10 ft | 1.63 | 1.72 | 1.79 | 1.88 |
| 20 ft | 1.94 | 2.08 | 2.19 | 2.33 |
| 30 ft | 2.06 | 2.21 | 2.34 | 2.49 |
| 50 ft | 2.22 | 2.40 | 2.54 | 2.72 |
Golf Scout's model, fitted to published tour and handicap figures.
Why putts per round misleads
Counting putts rewards you for missing greens. Miss the green and chip to 3 feet, and you one-putt; hit the green 40 feet away, and you two-putt. The first looks like better putting, but it was the chip that did the work. Broadie's examples from the PGA Tour show it: one player took 26 putts in a round, three under the tour average of 29, yet lost 2.8 strokes to the field on the greens, because his putts started closer than average and included two three-putts. Another took 32 putts and gained 2.3 strokes, because his first putts averaged 32 feet.
A worked example
Five greens for a golfer off 18, measured against an 18 handicapper:
| First putt | Expected | Putts taken | Strokes gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 ft | 2.34 | 3 | −0.66 |
| 8 ft | 1.64 | 1 | +0.64 |
| 20 ft | 2.19 | 2 | +0.19 |
| 5 ft | 1.26 | 2 | −0.74 |
| 45 ft | 2.49 | 2 | +0.49 |
| Total | 10 | −0.08 |
The three-putt from 30 feet cost 0.66, nearly cancelling the holed 8-footer, and the missed 5-footer cost 0.74. Ten putts on five greens sounds ordinary; strokes gained says which putts were the problem.
Using it to practise
Split your putting by first-putt distance. A common approach is to look at putts inside 6 feet and putts over 20 feet separately:
- Losing strokes from inside 6 feet points at your stroke and start line, so practise short putts.
- Losing strokes from over 20 feet usually means three-putts, so practise distance control on long putts.
To get the distances, pace off or estimate your first putt on each green and note it beside your score; how to track your golf shots covers what else is worth recording. For your approach play, see strokes gained approach.
Work out strokes gained for your putts
Related guides
- Strokes gained explained
- Strokes gained approach: how good are your approach shots?
- How to track your golf shots
Sources
Golf Scout Pro works out strokes gained putting for every round, with putts taken from your scorecard, against a scratch golfer or a golfer of your handicap. Get Golf Scout on the App Store, free for iPhone and Apple Watch.