Line up your putts

Physchology of putting

Amateur players usually form very unrealistic expectations about what distances they should be holing putts from because of what they see tour players doing on television. We are only watching the leading players on their good days and frequently  the best putts going in the hole. This can make amateur players think and feel that their putts should go in too. This comparison with the best in the world breeds very unrealistic and unhelpful thinking.

Check out these tour statistics from the European Tour, I bet you will be surprised.

Putt length                                                   Average Tour Player

1 ft                                                                   100%

2 ft                                                                     99%

3 ft                                                                     98%

4 ft                                                                     90%

5 ft                                                                     80%

6 ft                                                                     69%

7 ft                                                                     60%

8 ft                                                                     52%

9 ft                                                                     46 %

10 ft                                                                   40%

10 to 15 ft                                                          29%

15 to 20 ft                                                          18%

20 to 25 ft                                                          12%

25 ft +                                                                  5%

MARKETING VS. FITTING

Marketing campaigns of the big companies have an extremely powerful effect on making golfers believe their clubs are the best. It is almost impossible for a golfer who does not know much about equipment performance to not be susceptible to the claims made in all the ads for the big companies' clubs.

One of the more difficult things to explain to a golfer are the limitations of shot distance. We all want to hit the ball longer and from this desire we are being drawn to marketing claims made to promise more distance. Club head  speed is without question, THE MAIN controlling factor for shot distance. Second, are poorly fitted clubs that cannot maximise a golfers club head speed into the most distance possible. If the golfer is actually properly fitted and still thinks he or she should or could hit the ball longer, this becomes very difficult to explain, as you have to be BRUTALLY HONEST to inform them of the science behind the shot distance.

1 mph of club head speed  equals to 2.8 yards of carry distance with the driver, so a golfer with a 95 mph swing speed  is going to carry the ball 28 yards shorter than a golfer with 105 mph club head speed. So if golfers hit the ball further than you  they have a higher swing speed than  you do. IT'S ONLY SCIENCE. So when you see ads reading, "this club will make you hit the ball further " it won't.

In the end golfers want to buy the latest in club technology because of a never ending hope that they magically will find a club that will perform better than our swings will allow. In the long run the best fit golf clubs will NOT hit the ball perfectly every time because mistakes in our swings can always offset the best fir specifications. But the SMARTEST GOLFERS are the ones who realize their limitations and are not drawn to golf clubs, which we might hit well one out of five times when we happen to make that absolute perfect swing.
SMART GOLFERS use clubs that give them the best overall combination of distance + accuracy + consistency over hundreds of shots.

If you need any help regarding your golf clubs or enquiries of a fitting please contact me.

You can have a FREE loft and lie assessment on your existing clubs.