PGA TOUR Putting Statistics – Stop Three Putting Immediately
Ever wonder what it takes to be on the PGA TOUR? Look through some PGA TOUR putting stats for a great starting point. Before we dive into PGA TOUR statistics, it’s important to understand that roughly 43% of your strokes are on the putting green, regardless of skill level. I will be using stats from the 2019 PGA TOUR Season, Y-T-D June, 2 2019.
Let’s start with the “Approach Putt Performance” stats. The best lag putter at the moment is Ernie Els with 1’10”. That is the average distance to the hole after his first putt. The worst lag putter on tour finishes at 2’8″ from the hole on average. Now let’s take into account the “Putting From 3 Feet” stats. The top 23 guys are 100% from 3 feet and the rest of the field averages 99% from 3 feet.
I don’t know about you, but to me it looks like they rarely three putt. Dustin Johnson is leading at 3-Putt Avoidance. Only 10 times has he made 3 or more putts on a hole. Through 720 holes! That is 1.39% of the time. Learn from these guys and start getting your timing down to master your approach putts. I recommend the 5×5 tempo drill. Click here to watch it. If you are not keen on practice, grab a friend and play 18 holes on the putting green. Alternate who picks the hole, 2 putts is always par. Focus on getting that ball within 4-3 feet if not closer.
Tour Averages
If we look at the statistics above, the best players in the world make nearly 30% more putts from 3 feet compared to 6 feet. What if their lag putts barely reach inside 6 feet? we would see a whole lot more 3 putts. My advice is to start getting better with your lag putts. Once you get that dialed in, we can focus on making more birdie putts from 10 feet.
Like I said, these guys are good! But, before you get down on yourself here are a couple things to consider. These guys hit more greens than we do and they usually hit it much closer than we do. It’s only normal for them to have fewer three putts. Tour players know the exact pin placement prior to hitting their approach shot. This means they know where to place their approach shot in order to get an easier putt. Yes, they are good enough to place the ball in a specific quadrant of the green.
Generally speaking, their goal is to place the ball below the hole with the flattest line. That is a recipe for more holed putts. Let’s look at the “Approaches From 125-150 Yards” stat. From the fairway, Justin Thomas leads this category with 16’9″. From 125-150 yards out, JT will stick the ball inside 17 feet. The tour average is probably around 23′-24′. You see where I’m going with this.
As a putting coach, I can tell you first hand how many things go into better putting. But if you are looking for immediate results, I strongly suggest working on your timing and getting your lag putts inside 3-4 feet. This will certainly shave a hand full of strokes off your scorecard.