In order to improve at the most important putt distances on the green we have to have a clear sense of what the phrase “most important putt distance” entail. On the course, any putt you face at a particular moment is the most important putt. As concisely phrased by Ben Hogan “The most important shot in golf is the next one”.
However, if you look at PGA Tour statistics a different picture emerges. Broadie (2014), presents a metric, based on data collected by ShotLink during the 2004-2012 era, that signify at what distances the best putters gain the most shots on the field. His metric (conveniently named “putt importance”) look at two data points. The first is the percentage difference between the best putters on the PGA Tour with the Tour’s average putter on any specific distance. This is combined with the expected occurrence rate of that distance in a round of golf. From this, Broadie (2014) found that the most important distance is the 5-footer followed by 6-feet and 4-feet respectively.
Based on the importance rating defined by Broadie, there are now three different putt test in tGAT where the number of putts at a distance proportionally follow their “putt importance”. The table below show the distribution of one of these test with 24 total putts.
| Distance | Number of putts at distance |
| 3ft | 2 |
| 4ft | 4 |
| 5ft | 4 |
| 6ft | 4 |
| 7ft | 3 |
| 8ft | 3 |
| 9ft | 2 |
| 10ft | 2 |
One way of completing the 24 putts shown in the table to get your test result is to follow this recommended approach. Start with setting up 8 tees around a hole with the following distances (in feet): 3, 6, 8, 5, 4, 6, 10, 7. Do two rounds of the sequence. Finish by freely moving between holes, changing breaks, and do the following distances: 7, 4, 5, 9, 4, 9, 5, 8.
(More information about setting up distances is found in this post: Putting exercises with comparative rating).
The average number of putts for the PGA Tour average (2004-2012) for this test is 32.0. Whereas the average number of putts for the best putters (2004-2012) is 30.8.
In tGAT it is possible to track your statistics generated by completing these putt importance tests. Seen in figure 1 below.
Give it a try and see what you end up shooting!
References
Broadie, M. (2014). Every shot counts: Using the revolutionary strokes gained approach to improve your golf performance and strategy. Avery.