Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: A more useful putting statistic for your records

Published

6 years ago

Jun 17, 2020

One of the keys to constant improvement in our golf games is to look for more and better ways to track our performance. And as you would expect, I’m a believer that our putting and short game should get more attention. As it regards to measuring our putting performance, for the most part the golf community either tracks total number of putts, or the average number of putts for greens in regulation. Well I would like to suggest what I think is a better idea for tracking your putting performance from round to round, one that is a more accurate indicator of what kind of day you had on the greens. Follow along with me here, keep some records of your own and see what happens.

My premise is that the true measure of how good a putting round you had just might be to total up the cumulative feet of putts you holed out. When you lag one up to a foot on the first hole, for example, that’s “1”. Make a six-footer for par (or bogey) on #2, you’re up to “7.” Miss your putts – from any distance – on the next few holes, add in the distances of those remaining tap-ins. [I’ll add in here that you should round to the nearest foot, OK?]

In prior years from time to time, I have done this for a few rounds and have found it pretty interesting. If you are making your 3-6 footers, and knock-in one or two longer, you can see a total in the range of 50-70’ total. That’s a pretty darn good putting round.

A day where nothing goes in for you might bring that total down to 25-40’. Bear in mind that if you don’t give yourself very many good “looks” from inside ten feet or so, your total is likely to be smaller . . . maybe an indicator to work on your greensides chipping and pitching.

Let me share some of my own results from a crazy week a while back just to show you an example. On that Friday, I hit the ball great – 15 greens in reg, but didn’t make much – lots of 12-25 footers that just didn’t go in, even though I many good putts. I totaled up my putt distance and got less than 40 feet. But on Sunday, it was a different day altogether. Wind was howling about 20-25 and I only hit 8 greens in reg. But I made almost 90 feet of putts!!! And I shot only two strokes higher than Friday.

So, I’d like to challenge those of you who are getting back on the course and want to get the most out of this season to try this for a few rounds and let us know what you think of this new putting stat. Remember, you count only the last putt on each hole – the one that went in or was a gimmee – and run the total. It’s fun, it’s informative and it just might be a clue to those good rounds.

As always, the more you all chime in, the more we all learn.

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

6 Comments

david goodman

Jul 4, 2020 at 1:25 pm

I think the better way is to chart what you did on each putt, noting the distance. you have a 40 foot putt and write down whether it was one, two or three putt, etc. Then you get an idea of how your putting is from different distances.

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Ron

Jun 19, 2020 at 12:24 pm

Thanks for the article.

The issues I have with looking at the total feet of putts as a measure of putting success are that it can be dominated by just one putt. If that one 50-60 footer that all you were trying to do was not three-putt hits the pin hard but still drops, the total number of putts for the day look pretty respectable even if you had 40 putts with five 3-putts. Or on a day you hit fifteen greens in regulation – you are likely to have a lot of 25-40 foot putts. If your only birdies were 8-10 foot putts, but you had no three-putts, that would be a good putting round without a high total number of feet of made putts. That is, a good ball-striking round often leads to a higher number of total putts but a lower number of feet of putts made, and that could still be a good putting round. If you are missing a lot of greens, but hitting fringes or surrounds, then chipping well, your putt total can be quite low. In that case, the total feet of putts will tell you whether you were putting well or chipping well.

We all hope for that one round where we hit a lot of greens, have a low putt total, and roll in a couple of fluke long putts. Hope springs eternal.

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gary

Jun 17, 2020 at 3:45 pm

You could also take feet of putts made divided by greens, the closer the number is to 1.00 the better you are putting. 80’/15 greens = 5.33 or 80’/7greens= 11.4. Obviously 80′ of putts with 15 g is better then the same 80′ with 7 greens.

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- gary
  
  Jun 17, 2020 at 3:53 pm
  
  actually my idea doesnt make 100% sense, messed it up a bit. But the thinking is correct. my bad
  
  Reply Report comment
bossofthemoss

Jun 17, 2020 at 3:17 pm

I don’t really like this because it just shows what you made that day, doesn’t really show how well you putted, if that makes sense. Say if you have a 50-footer with a big break and over a ridge, and you lag it to a foot. In reality, the first one was an amazing putt, but it shows up in the tally as a 1 footer and looks like you didn’t putt well. Similarly, you could make a 40-50 footer and then also have like 5 3 putts in one round. The 3-putts are not going to be represented in the count and overall your footage of putts made will make it look like you had a good day on the greens.

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Doug

Jun 17, 2020 at 12:07 pm

If you’re stepping off the distance of your putts you can just enter that into an online SG putting calculator (only need first putt distance and number of putts) to get the actual “most useful” putting skill statistic.

It won’t really tell you where you’re doing poorly, though (am I worse a short putts or long relative to golfers my handicap?).

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Opinion & Analysis

5 Things We Learned: Thursday at the PGA Championship

Published

2 weeks ago

May 15, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.

Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.

First, meet Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.

Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter

The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.

Third, meet Martin Kaymer

Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.

Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler

Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.

Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger

Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!

Club Junkie

Club Junkie’s Titleist GTS driver fitting results!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.

I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.

To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.

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Club Junkie

Club Junkie WITB, week 16: New Titleist GTS woods!

Published

2 weeks ago

May 14, 2026

Brian Knudson

Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.

Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s

5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s

Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff

Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour

Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag