Never Leave A Putt Short!

As anyone who knows from my posts here, my putting clinics, my Twitter feed @Putting_Doctor or my copyrighted lesson plan my mantra is "Never Leave A Putt Short!" #neverleaveaputtshort!

I had some conversation via email this past week with the Shot Link folks regarding tour stats on putts left short. The initial information indicates they aren't tracking this stat though for the most part the data is there.

Both of the major green reading methods speak to "foot by pace" and maximizing the capture diameter of the cup.

We know that 100% of all putts left short don't go in and the combination of speed and line are essential for successful putting.

So here goes. Would you like to spend your time watching the PGA Tour tracking via your laptop the data provided on http://pgatour.com - shot tracker? My thought is that if you would volunteer to watch your favorite player or at least to review that player we might actually be able to assemble some significant data on each in terms of % of putts long / short.

The date is in there and easier to see in the "on the green" but if you look you'll see distances and the obvious and often expensive putts left short.

If you like the numbers it wouldn't take too much time to do a review on your player. You can post here with what you find. So Tiger in round #1 this week went ..... i =in, 0=chip in/ace, p=past, s=short.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

i i i 0 p p i i i p i i pp? i i i p i looks like zero putts left short.

So the only real question on that particular round looking at the info on Shot Tracker is on 13 where it looks like they all went past the hole or in.... and you can see some of the thought process coming back from the Shot Link guy as to being able to track this info.

Tiger has been putting so well this week it makes this look easier than it may be.

So the question, is anyone interested in farming the details or watching a particular player to assemble some data?

You can go to the active event and pick the player then in live scoring click on shot tracker and then pick the round or watch the active round as it happens.

It could get interesting. Part of the interest in doing this is that I feel we are all blinded by the highlight reel of Golf Channel and the major broadcast networks in their coverage of golf. Too many of us are just unrealistic regarding the miss or make percentages and in this regard to hard on ourselves.

So there it is. Join me?

So I tracked Tiger's 4 rounds and I think it interesting that his GIR% was dismal this week yet he make everything he looked at.

In total, the data I can see on Shot Tracker shows only 2...TWO holes ....where he left putts short.

We can see that he made putts from distances not known for high percentage of make on the PGA Tour but I stand by the topic of this thread ....

100% of putts left short never go in. Ask Steve Stricker who left a birdie putt short on one of the closing holes how much cash that may have cost him.

I'm not sure how long the Shot Tracker data stays up but it might be very interesting data mining for someone who enjoys that kind of thing.....

This is literally the biggest problem with my game but I already knew that; literally leave 10 short per round. If you ever gather some more data together I'd love to see it. It would be very interesting.

I used to have this mantra, and found myself both making more putts, and having more 3 jacks. There has to be a balance based on the first putt distance and difficulty.

When I talk to my instructor about putting, he tells me I should categorize putts into green, yellow, and red putts as far as how aggresive I should be. This gives me a new view to putting, with new expectations.

When we consider the "make average" from distance all my students feel like they can make 80% of putts inside six feet. That doesn't mean they make all of them but that they aren't afraid of the comeback putt that goes we past the "foot by pace" area.

Over the 4 days in Miami Tiger demonstrated my point to a fault. He was way ahead of his make percentage from distance and the hole got in the way of the ball a large number of times.

When we train the brain to best react to the speed and distance we see the outcome is impressive. How much time we dedicate to this process is the real question. Practice speed and distance. Do you know how many paces it takes to cover 10'-20'-30'? It's just part of the information input that comes out during play if you've used a focused practice approach. From the address position the pivot of the head on the spine should input kinetic feel and connect with the visual as your eyes move up and back on the line. Access the experiential memory of the practice done prior to play and you may have winning distance control.

I took the winner this week and was surprised that he left only 2 putts in 4 rounds short. I may or may not have the ability to do this next week but you all may feel free to copy this method and post your results for any player in the event next week.

Let's have some fun!

Oh, I may have mentioned..... Never Leave A Putt Short!

Amateurs have to have a different tactic than the pros. Pros are almost automatic from within 4 feet. Ams are not. So in an attempt to not leave a putt short will result in more 3-jacks.

Add to that that most ams unread putts means that hitting a ball past the hole will result not just in being that far past, but also offline.

I will say that if you're playing in a scramble there's no reason to leave a putt short!

100% of putts left short don't go in is a true as 100% of putts hit past the hole didn't go in. Some thought needs to be given for the putt that is left after the short one or long one was missed.

Steve

[quote name='juststeve' timestamp='1363020638' post='6589843']
100% of putts left short don't go in is a true as 100% of putts hit past the hole didn't go in. Some thought needs to be given for the putt that is left after the short one or long one was missed.

Steve
[/quote]

But at least the 100% that went past were given the chance, that's the difference.

How about this .... A putt left short or one that tracks low of the hole never had a chance. A putt that tracks past the hole with "foot by pace" had a chance if it passed on the high side. A putt that has "foot by pace" and enters the hole has a full 4" diameter capture open.

Steve, I think it should be obvious but the farther away you are from the hole on your approach putt the more slack you have to cut yourself as to judging the distance exactly.

Putting past the whole opens the door to more eagles, birdies and pars.

Doc:

My problem is with the "Never" in never leave a putt short. I can take you out to my club and show you putts which you will either make, leave short or three putt. I just don't think there is a never here.

Steve

i think Haney noted this in his book about Tiger and how aggressive he putts which lead to him 3 putting more than he should. another post also said that its easy get on someone for not putting past the hole when they leave a 10ft putt just short, but then you have to be willing to allow for the occasional comeback 4footer.

i definitely see this as a issue on short putts with amateurs, myself included. how many times have i seen guys leave it on the edge short of hole from a 4 foot putt. how frustrating. one of the things i want to work on this year is not coming up short on short putts.

McDowell on Saturday rammed that eagle putt on 10 or 12, 6 feet past. 3 putt par. . he lost his mind for the next 4 holes.

It's easy to "never leave a putt short". Everyone could step up and ram one off the green every time. That's really not what you mean.

The question is what the best distance to hit a putt.

First, imagine a guy with PERFECT distance control. He hits it exactly the right distance past the hole every time. The first question is this: what distance past the hole would you recommend that guy hit the ball? As has been written about. . .you want a speed fast enough to minimize the effects of minor irregularities in the green an get there often enough, while being slow enough to "widen the hole" (Pelz, Mangum and others have studied this).

Say that perfect distance is 12 inches. Now, back in the real world. . .I'm not perfect so when I try to hit a putt 12 inches past the hole, sometimes it is going to come up a couple inches short. Sometimes it going to end up a couple feet long. 12 inches might be a good number for me.

If you're a teacher, and now you tell me, "stop leaving some of those putts a couple inches short", now what happens? I start trying to hit it 18 inches past the hole. Sure, I get everything to the hole, but now I have 3 footers coming back instead of 2 footers. Now, I have putts that have too much speed at the hole, so they don't drop in the sides when I'm a couple inches off center.

The question we should be asking is this, "given that a player is not perfect at controlling his distance, what is the optimal speed to hit a putt?"

It's further complicated by the fact that the variation in the distance you hit your putt is larger the further you are from the hole. So, it might make sense that for a long putt that you don't expect to make, you want to give it "die at the hole speed". But, for a putt from a shorter distance, you know you're not going to ram it way by if you make sure you get it there.

Unless it's not clear, it gives you a lot more leeway in going past the hole if your distance control is better because the ones you hit lightly are still going to get there, and the ones you hit heavy aren't going to be too too long. So, work on touch.

This is certainly something that we could study statistically. . .take a player out on a green. Try to get him to hit putts of specific distances on different stimps, different slopes. We could get an estimate of his variation, and give him a recommendation for how far past the hole he should aim. But, I think that most pros have this pretty well figured out by the time they're pros.

I realize that I am out of my league here and should probably be lurking instead of posting. But I am a not so good golfer who frequently leaves putts short (or even very short). I "learned" many years ago that good distance on a putt was more important than good direction. Thus I concentrated on trying to control my distance.

Lately I have discovered that my attempts to control distance have, themselves, been a big cause of my leaving putts short. If I think about distance control as I putt, I am using conscious thought processes in an attempt to control an action that takes place too quickly for conscious control. As a consequence, my tendency is to say "oh no, out of control, pull back to get in control ... oh crap, another decel!"

Or, "now control this" with a resulting lack of acceleration.

Lately, I have just been looking at the putt from behind the ball, imagining rolling the ball with my hand to the hole to get a picture of both break and distance, waving the putter a couple of times to get the feel of the distance, addressing the ball, and just giving it a whack with the only conscious thought being a picture of the hole in my mind. This is hard to do, for me at least. But my distance control has really improved. I left two long putts an inch short today, but most missed putts went by the hole a foot or two. I think my subconcious knows distances and distance control better than my conscious control efforts. And for you that think this results in slow play, my playing partners and companions now act surprised at how I just get up to a putt and putt it.

I really do believe that distance control is better left to what others have labelled "the central nervous system" as opposed to the "thinking brain". If you toss a golf ball to a friend, you don't analyze it; you just toss it. If you roll a ball to the hole by hand; you just roll it. Your CNS, or your subconsious, if you will, knows how far.

All this having been said, I do believe that it is possible that all the foregoing is better applicable to amateurs than to scratch or pro golfers. I really REALLY believe that a 12 hcp or above golfer would score better by trusting his stroke rather than modulating his putt. And there is a side benefit --- much faster play.

My belief -- the more you think about your putt, the worse you are going to miss it, for us AM's anyway.

[quote name='honketyhank' timestamp='1363037859' post='6591893']
I realize that I am out of my league here and should probably be lurking instead of posting. But I am a not so good golfer who frequently leaves putts short (or even very short). I "learned" many years ago that good distance on a putt was more important than good direction. Thus I concentrated on trying to control my distance.

Lately I have discovered that my attempts to control distance have, themselves, been a big cause of my leaving putts short. If I think about distance control as I putt, I am using conscious thought processes in an attempt to control an action that takes place too quickly for conscious control. As a consequence, my tendency is to say "oh no, out of control, pull back to get in control ... oh crap, another decel!"

Or, "now control this" with a resulting lack of acceleration.

[b]Lately, I have just been looking at the putt from behind the ball, imagining rolling the ball with my hand to the hole to get a picture of both break and distance, waving the putter a couple of times to get the feel of the distance, addressing the ball, and just giving it a whack with the only conscious thought being a picture of the hole in my mind. This is hard to do, for me at least. But my distance control has really improved. I left two long putts an inch short today, but most missed putts went by the hole a foot or two. I think my subconcious knows distances and distance control better than my conscious control efforts. And for you that think this results in slow play, my playing partners and companions now act surprised at how I just get up to a putt and putt it.

I really do believe that distance control is better left to what others have labelled "the central nervous system" as opposed to the "thinking brain". If you toss a golf ball to a friend, you don't analyze it; you just toss it. If you roll a ball to the hole by hand; you just roll it. Your CNS, or your subconsious, if you will, knows how far.[/b]

All this having been said, I do believe that it is possible that all the foregoing is better applicable to amateurs than to scratch or pro golfers. I really REALLY believe that a 12 hcp or above golfer would score better by trusting his stroke rather than modulating his putt. And there is a side benefit --- much faster play.

My belief -- the more you think about your putt, the worse you are going to miss it, for us AM's anyway.
[/quote]

I think you've definitely got something there. Tossing a ball to a friend's hand from maybe 5-10 yards is usually very accurate and instinctive. It's arguably harder to roll a ball into a hole (by hand) from similar distances but you will almost always be there or there abouts and probably hole a fair share, and again is instinctive. So, you need to transfer the feeling of 'force' exerted by the hand/arm into the putter head.

Hank.... +1 Genius! " No Stinkin' Thinkin' " is certainly the key to putting from the non-conscious. Focused practice is one of the keys to being able to "play" the game vs. thinking about distance control. Oh, and have we met? I use the ball toss all the time to illustrate just what you've said.... thanks!

Steve... I've heard the issue with "never" in the past but back in the early 1990's when I copyrighted the lesson plan from my teaching it just worked with my students and is always said with a smile so has limited negative connotation. Certainly stronger than "Try not to leave a putt short."

City.... pace is learned by working on specific exercises that allow the brain to be programed to react to specific distance ranges. That training is both kinetic (movement related) and visual. It is learned and for over two decades I've used a two foot circle behind the hole as a mind's eye "big picture" worthy of consideration. If you allow yourself the big picture target from distance you again open the door just as Tiger did last week, to more eagles, birdies and pars.

Now back to the task at hand y'all. I'd like to have this group and more attempt to track different players this week at Tampa. Let's see who leaves 'em short and what it does to their overall score and bottom line. And then perhaps we'll also see a wire to wire winner who only leaves 2 out of 72 holes behind with an approach putt short. Anyone care to join me in a little research?

Leaving them short is not the culprit to poor putting, although it seems like it is. Not ingraining 12"-24" by the hole pace is the problem. If a pro putts it five feet past and makes the comebacker, he has hit a very poor putt and got a bit lucky on the next. Also, if they hit it 4" past the hole, they likely hit a bad putt, since their read will almost never be for that kind of speed (although some pros do use dying pace more than others).

In John Merrick's final three rounds this week, he averaged 13 putts per round with perfect pace (either holed or less than 24" past the hole), 2 putts that were tentative (missed, and went less than 12 inches past), 2 that were long, and one that was short of the hole. He is clearly trying to hit them 1-2 ft. past every putt, and he succeeds in this most of the time.

I can hit every putt in a round past the hole and it will seriously mar my score. The key is hitting them past AND hitting them less than 2 ft. past (I know, I know, this is painfully obvious). Until you get that down, you can't really trust the read you are putting on it, since you cannot match the speed to the read. Also, until you get this down, there is likely little reason to practice any other aspect of putting, since even a horrible stroke that goes a consistent distance is better than a pretty stroke that is not consistently 12-24 inches past the cup.

hank it sounds like you've been reading 'putting out of your mind' recently. I just finished the book myself and am anxious to try out its philosophy. Good to hear that those techniques are providing you with some success.

give up control to gain control and roll the ball to the target without your conscious mind getting in your own way.

[quote name='whatsecret' timestamp='1363021081' post='6589889']
[quote name='juststeve' timestamp='1363020638' post='6589843']
100% of putts left short don't go in is a true as 100% of putts hit past the hole didn't go in. Some thought needs to be given for the putt that is left after the short one or long one was missed.

Steve
[/quote]

But at least the 100% that went past were given the chance, that's the difference.
[/quote]

True, but the real question isn't how many were left short, but, what is the net result in trying to "never" leave a putt short when taking the increased risk of 3 putts in the equation.

Tracking results of the pros after the fact is meaningless, especially when you don't know what they were "trying" to do. I'm sure that most of the guys on the top of the leaderboard are on there because they had good distance control with their putts, which is why they are on the top of the leaderboard in the first place, so probably very few hit putts short of the hole to begin with. But without taking all of the other players into consideration and what they were "trying" to do, vs their results, you come up with a selffulfilling prophecy. In other words, junk science, or junk statistics.

It would be akin to taking the results of a car race, and saying that the goal is to have an average speed higher than the rest of the field, then looking at the top 5 finishers and discovering that, why indeed, they had the highest average speed.

A real study would follow players, and somehow get the info on how agressive they are on a given putt, then compare the results to what they were tryign to accomplish.

[quote name='larrybud' timestamp='1363107776' post='6597581']
[quote name='whatsecret' timestamp='1363021081' post='6589889']
[quote name='juststeve' timestamp='1363020638' post='6589843']
100% of putts left short don't go in is a true as 100% of putts hit past the hole didn't go in. Some thought needs to be given for the putt that is left after the short one or long one was missed.

Steve
[/quote]

But at least the 100% that went past were given the chance, that's the difference.
[/quote]

True, but the real question isn't how many were left short, but, what is the net result in trying to "never" leave a putt short when taking the increased risk of 3 putts in the equation.

[/quote]

I think that's why I leave them short all too often in the first place. It's a mental thing for me; I'm too scared of hitting it too hard and ending up 3 putting and then end up leaving it short and I'm angry at myself for not even giving it the chance to get in. It's enraging; I hate putting lol

I like the idea never leave a putt short but I have to agree with some of the others-in fact every shot in golf is a unique situation with unique circumstances. Never leave it short is basically saying to me try to make every single putt. To me trying to make every putt is a failure with every miss.
If I look at certain putts I can see where if I error in speed where I might or might not end up. Quite often a bad miss will be 3 putts where a smart shot would have given me two. To me trying to make everything is like shooting at every pin its just poor strategy for me at my level in this game which is not all that great. I do far better when I pick a line speed knowing full well odds are I will miss but have an easy tap in.
Some putts its better to keep it firm but a TON of putts need to die into the hole.
I just feel its difficult to apply a rule trying to make every putt-we know that won't happen its better to play percentages.
Pros are pros theres a reason for that they have way way better speed control/golf knowledge/confidence on 4 and a half foot comebackers etc etc.
Their strategy and mine HAS to be different. IMO its always a judgement call on speed on each putt it would be nice if we could make rules that apply across the board in regards to strategy but if that were true it would not be strategy it would be applying rules.
A lot of great putters in history have basically died almost everything.

So let's have a shift in thought process here. In practice it's okay to think, analyze and replay.... during practice. In actual play the conscious activity of thinking is the real enemy. You shouldn't be "trying" to do anything during your round except to react and allow your non-conscious to execute once you've committed to a direction and distance. "Never Leave A Putt Short" should be your mantra as you train your brain to react to speed (foot by pace) and distance.

The hole accidentally gets in the way of lots of bad putts. It never get's in the way of a putt left short. Keeping in mind the theme it is actually the training of the brain to react to speed and distance that should be the goal of every golfer who wants to master their performance on the green.

If your putting from beyond the 2' range on a comeback putt you over-reacted to speed and distance.