This article is the second of two on using statistics to improve your game.
Last week we reviewed hitting greens in regulation (GIR).
This week we look at putting Determining your weaknesses is the first step to improving your game.
Once you know your weaknesses, you can eliminate them by taking golf lessons, reading golf tips, and/or practicing on the range.
And the best way of finding your weaknesses is by tracking your stats.
So if you're serious about becoming a great golfer, start with your stats.
Tracking your putting, like keeping tabs on greens in regulation, is a good place to start with your stats.
Good putting lowers golf handicaps.
At least 30 percent of your shots during a round are putts.
So even if you're a great ballstriker, you can still have a high golf handicap, if you're a poor putter.
That's how important putting is.
But tracking your putting stats is only half the battle.
The other half is interpreting them.
Knowing how to read your stats provides vital performance information.
Below we'll discuss not only how to track your putting stats, but also how to read them.
Tracking Total Putts Tracking total putts is as good a way of judging putting performance as any.
For clarification, putts are strokes taken from the putting surface.
So if you're not on the putting surface and you hit the ball, the stroke doesn't count as a putt even if you use a putter to make it.
Begin by keeping track of the number of putts you take on each hole.
Many weekend golfers do this already.
If you don't, start now.
At the end of the round, add up the total number of putts you take.
Then, create a spreadsheet and write down the totals over all your rounds.
Those numbers tell you just how much your putting influences your score and how well you putt.
For comparison, golfers shooting in the 90s average about 37 putts per round.
Golfers shooting in the 80s, about 34 putts per round.
And golfers shooting in the 70s, about 31 putts per round.
The pros average about 29 putts per round.
Keep Tabs on Lag Putting In addition to tracking the total number of putts, keep tabs on lag putting.
You want to track how many putts of 30 feet or more you get within thee feet of the hole.
That stat tells you if your lag putting is hurting your overall putting performance.
When you write down the number of putts you take on a hole, circle the number if a lag putt left you within three feet of the hole.
Then total the circles up and keep track of them on your spreadsheet.
That stat also tells you how important first putts are.
Creating More Short Putts Practicing your putting, reading golf tips, and taking golf lessons improves putting performance and your golf handicap.
But another good way of cutting down on the number of putts you make is by improving your chipping.
Getting the ball closer to the hole by improving your chipping leaves you with shorter, more makeable putts.
Hence, you'll one-putt more and three-putt less.
In golf, it's called getting up and down.
Tour players get up and down within 10 feet of the hole more than 90 percent of the time.
But they don't do it just because they're better putters.
They do it because they chip close enough to the pin to one-putt.
Weekend golfers chip to about 10 feet away, then miss the putt, adding strokes to their scores.
Put a check mark next to the number of puts you take next time you play.
Circle the check mark when you chip to within three feet of the hole.
As the circles increase, the total number of putts decreases.
Tracking Total Putts Tracking total putts is as good a way of judging putting performance as any.
For clarification, putts are strokes taken from the putting surface.
So if you're not on the putting surface and you hit the ball, the stroke doesn't count as a putt even if you use a putter to make it.
Begin by keeping track of the number of putts you take on each hole.
Many weekend golfers do this already.
If you don't, start now.
At the end of the round, add up the total number of putts you take.
Then, create a spreadsheet and write down the totals over all your rounds.
Those numbers tell you just how much your putting influences your score and how well you putt.
For comparison, golfers shooting in the 90s average about 37 putts per round.
Golfers shooting in the 80s, about 34 putts per round.
And golfers shooting in the 70s, about 31 putts per round.
The pros average about 29 putts per round.
Keep Tabs on Lag Putting In addition to tracking the total number of putts, keep tabs on lag putting.
You want to track how many putts of 30 feet or more you get within thee feet of the hole.
That stat tells you if your lag putting is hurting your overall putting performance.
When you write down the number of putts you take on a hole, circle the number if a lag putt left you within three feet of the hole.
Then total the circles up and keep track of them on your spreadsheet.
That stat also tells you how important first putts are.
Creating More Short Putts Practicing your putting, reading golf tips, and taking golf lessons improves putting performance and your golf handicap.
But another good way of cutting down on the number of putts you make is by improving your chipping.
Getting the ball closer to the hole by improving your chipping leaves you with shorter, more makeable putts.
Hence, you'll one-putt more and three-putt less.
In golf, it's called getting up and down.
Tour players get up and down within 10 feet of the hole more than 90 percent of the time.
But they don't do it just because they're better putters.
They do it because they chip close enough to the pin to one-putt.
Weekend golfers chip to about 10 feet away, then miss the putt, adding strokes to their scores.
Put a check mark next to the number of puts you take next time you play.
Circle the check mark when you chip to within three feet of the hole.
As the circles increase, the total number of putts decreases.
Compare GIR and Putts If you've been tracking greens in regulation, you can use that as an indicator of putting performance as well.
The more greens you hit, the few putts you'll take.
Compare GIR with total putts.
As the total number of greens in regulation goes up, the total number of putts goes down.
In other words, good iron play improves your average score and golf handicap.
The secret to keeping your stats is watching the trends that develop over the long haul.
These trends tell you what your weaknesses are and what areas you need to improve.
Once you know that, you can develop a program designed to lower your golf handicap.
So start track putting performance now.
It's worth the time and effort.
Compare GIR and Putts If you've been tracking greens in regulation, you can use that as an indicator of putting performance as well.
The more greens you hit, the few putts you'll take.
Compare GIR with total putts.
As the total number of greens in regulation goes up, the total number of putts goes down.
In other words, good iron play improves your average score and golf handicap.
The secret to keeping your stats is watching the trends that develop over the long haul.
These trends tell you what your weaknesses are and what areas you need to improve.
Once you know that, you can develop a program designed to lower your golf handicap.
So start track putting performance now.
It's worth the time and effort.