Measuring putts.
 

In my opinion the average golfer over estimates the length of putt about as much as they over estimate how far they drive the ball. Plenty of people can't tell the differnce between 20' & 30'. I have yet to ever see anyone pace off a putts distance. Just how are these putting distances derived?http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo.../confused2.gif

I usually use the length of the flagstick to estimate... the average stick is about as tall as I am (6') at the courses I play at, so I figure for putts less than 30 feet I can get them pretty close.

I agree with that. However a 5 footer quickly turns to a 3 footer when people just want the gimme. http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...lies/alien.png

Haha how true... but sometimes its the other way... as a downhill breaking 3 footer sometimes looks like 8 footer to me http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo.../confused2.gif

I brought this up a while back and it turned into a how long is your step thread! People do seem to make a lot of 40- and 50-foot putts!

I honestly don't think people know how long 40' is. That's a 4 story building & how many greens are that darn big???????

I used to play with a guy that stepped off every putt he had not matter if it was 5 ft or 50ft. I am not talking about taking a typicaly three foot stride. He used the toe to heel method. If the putter was in his hand he became a human measuring tape. It drove all of us crazy. He never made the 1st putt so we had to endure his song and dance on 2nd putts as well. I think he lasted about three rounds with us. Funny thing, I saw him a few months back playing alone and on the green there he was pacing off his putts. The people behind him were fuming.

A 40' putt is measured the same way a 300 yard drive is.... by the imagination!

If I make a long one I pace it off heel to toe as a little pat on the back for myself sometimes...http://www.thehackersparadise.com/fo...es/biggrin.png

I play enough that I actually DO know what 40' looks like...I will do a regular walk pace to the break on longer putts checking out the contour on the way and staring down the line that I want from the break, but it's more of a reassurance and gathering myself period than a hard measure...when I do sometimes practice I usually putt to two different holes of about 10 and 15 walking steps and can call on those feels...again, really it is a reassurance...

An average green size is going to be about 20 x 20 yards roughly, it is easy to be 40 feet away from the hole and still be on the green if you are not hitting your irons very well.

LOL, priceless.

Wow, you play on some big greens!! 60' x 60' is monsterous compared to what I typically play on.

Play the old course,the vast majority are well in excess of that.

35 years of playing. And for shorter putts (10 feet and in), it's really pretty easy. I know what a foot looks like, so I just look at a putt and break it down into individual feet. I've had enough experience actually measuring them that it's fairly easy to estimate. We use a tape measure thingy for measuring closest to the pin on par 3 holes for our Men's club tournaments, so knowing the exact distances there has helped a lot in learning to estimate when the tape isn't available.

However, I don't waste time by pacing. Most of the time I don't really care how long the putt actually is. My eye measures it for the stroke necessary and I hit it by feel. If you told me to make a stroke for a typical 30 foot putt, I wouldn't be able to do it. I need to be on the green, with the ball in front of me, before I could do it. I don't even make my practice stroke the same as the real one. The last thing I do after I've addressed the ball is look at the hole and trace the line back to the ball to set the distance. The actual measurement isn't important, only that I feel the distance.

I will pace it off after everyone has putted out if I am curious. It is an approximation, but it can be pretty close.

That is actually pretty small for what I play on. Most of the good courses around me are around [15 to 20] x [30 to 35] yards. I have played one course that has one 45 yard deep green that has three tiers and the same course also has a 50 yard green. So really a 40' foot putt can be pretty common. Does it get over exaggerated? Probably, but there is probably so truth to it too.

When you play a course a number of times,you get a feel for the distances on each green,if you pace them out you probably wouldnt be far off.

That is no where near average on our course. We have small greens and so do most of the courses around here other than the resort courses.

4 stories (or 40 feet) looks a lot bigger when you are looking up (or down) than it does when it's horizontal. Take a 50 foot tape to the course with you sometime and see for yourself. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/thumbsup.gif

Perhaps but I think as many people overestimate the length of their putts like people overestimate the length of their drives. Not everyone is an expert estimator.

That's very funny Smallie. Is anyone?