Why isn't "Total length of putts made" a more widely used statistic?

[Tom Birkert]

I've just briefly scanned this topic, so not sure if this has been mentioned. Whilst I have no statistical background, why not measure the total number of feet putted and divide it by the total number of putts taken?

Using that, the higher the resultant number the better.

You'd be able to sort by total footage, most putts, fewest putts etc but I think the overall statistic could give a decent indicator of who was putting well.

I shall wait for this to be totally ridiculed by the statistical experts out there!

[Brent Hutto]

The table looked something like this:

Length of Putt     Points
0 - 2 feet               1.0
2 - 4 feet                1.1
4 - 6 feet               1.2

and so on ...


So you would add up your total putts for the round divide it by the total points based on the length of the first putt and multiply that number by 72 (par).

I had not seen that article but it's the same system I'm describing. What they are calling "points" are simply estimates of the expected number of putts for some given standard of golfer.

[Brent Hutto]

I've just briefly scanned this topic, so not sure if this has been mentioned. Whilst I have no statistical background, why not measure the total number of feet putted and divide it by the total number of putts taken?

Using that, the higher the resultant number the better.

You'd be able to sort by total footage, most putts, fewest putts etc but I think the overall statistic could give a decent indicator of who was putting well.

I shall wait for this to be totally ridiculed by the statistical experts out there!

That idea was basically the genesis of the thread. The problem is, nine 2-footers and nine 30-footers are nowhere near the same difficulty as eighteen 16-footers yet they both add up to "288 feet". If you're trying to measure putting, you want to compare how many putts you took to the difficulty of the (first) putts you faced so that you're not really just measuring how close you hit or chipped it to the hole.

As I've said a couple times, that idea assumes that "one foot" means the same on a 1-foot putt and on a 100-foot putt. You're trying to divide by generic "feet" when what matters is the actual distance.

[Craig Sweet]

There's only two putting stats that I care about....the number of three putt greens and the number of one putt greens....

[Joe Bausch]

I do like that 'total length of putts made' stat, but I think it simply measures the distance from the ball to the hole in a straight line.  I would like to have a stat showing how much the ball traveled on each putt, giving an idea of how much break was in the putt.  My guess is the PGA guys are awesome on straighter putts, but big breakers and double breakers perhaps starts to really separate the good putters from the best.

[rjsimper]

Craig,
I used to think that way, but then one day I had something like 26 putts on a round with no 3 putts and no chip-ins...so that's 10 one-putts, which most would say was pretty good....except I shot something like 82, and never made anything over 8 feet.

So, did I putt well or did I chip well?  Or was my iron game so poor that it forced the rest of my stats down to the appearance of good-ness?

[A.G._Crockett]

I see two related problems:

1. What length would be the point of reference for good vs. bad putting?

2. I make one lucky 50 footer, along with 18 tap-ins one day, and shoot a million, but have 70 feet of made putts.  Another day, I keep hitting it close and 5 birdies and 50 feet of made putts and a great score.  A third day, I miss every green, but in the right places, chip like a crazy man, and have 30 feet of made putts and a great score.  So which was the best putting day?

[rjsimper]

By no means do I think it's a perfect metric - far from it.  However, part of my point in part is that all putting metrics are equally flawed, so why don't we see this one more?

[Jim_Kennedy]

What, then, is the best stat to determine putting skill, or is there one?

 
Unfortunately there is no statistic that reveals the most important putting skill of them all, a player's ability to make the putts he needs to win.

 
 

[Matt_Cohn]

My personal stat is "How many putts did I make that weren't tap-ins?"

The weakness is that it gives more credit for a bad putt from 50 feet and then a 5-foot save than it does to a good putt to tap-in range.

The strength is that it gets me thinking about the ones I made instead of the ones I missed!