The 8-foot putt

Love it or hate it, any round of golf naturally ends with putting on the green, and it’s ultimately where the game is won or lost.

How do you feel about your own putting ability? Do you approach each green with a smile on your face knowing you regularly find the line that gives you a subsequent tap-in, or are you full of dread at the prospect of trying to secure better than a 3-putt?

We often consider professional golfers to be flawless putters, but we’ve been mulling over some statistics regarding the putting performances of tour players, and we think you’re in for a surprise…

The facts of putting

We’re very used to watching highlights of some of the best players in the world regularly sinking long winding putts followed by fist-pumps and cheering, but these moments are often rare to surface.

Let’s say hypothetically you have a 3-foot putt ahead of you. Seems like an easy shot doesn’t it? How many often do you think you’d make a putt of this length? 70% of the time, 80%?

Now we’ll stand a bit further back, being 8-feet away from the hole throws a lot more doubt into question. We don’t blame you if you feel you’ll only make half the putts you send at the hole.

Well, here’s something you might not have anticipated:

Most Tour pro's make only 50% of putts within 8 feet.

Matt Fitzpatrick appearing on TalkSport

It’s a simple statistic to comprehend but one that really puts things into perspective. The best players in the world are constantly being challenged by the various slopes and contours on the greens of championship golf courses, and they’re only sinking an 8-foot-putt half the time.

Putting improves drastically with regular practice, which is why we’d recommend you to spend a good amount of time warming up on the practice green ahead of any round of golf. 

If you’ve been considering whether your current putter is the best tool for your game, we’re available in the pro shop to walk you through your options and pair you with the best flatstick for your game.