Putts Gained Measuring Putting on the PGA TOUR

Deficiencies of current putting stats Currently the main stat used to measure putting skill is putts per round, a simple count of the number of putts a golfer takes in an 18-hole round. Putts per round is not a pure measure of putting skill because it doesn’t take into account putt distances. A golfer who misses a green and then chips to tap-in range takes fewer putts than a golfer who hits the green and two-putts from sixty feet. The smaller number of putts is due to a superior short-game shot, not superior putting. Putts per green in regulation suffers a similar drawback, because it doesn’t account for putt distances: golfers who hit more greens in regulation tend to be putting from longer distances. The length of holed putts, another common putting stat, changes dramatically when a long putt is holed, but a single lucky putt may not be representative of putting skill over an entire round. These deficiencies highlight the need for a better measure of pure putting skill, one that accounts for the distances of putts faced by a golfer during a round.