What do you consider a putt?

[Murky]

So I was out playing a round yesterday, trying out the UDisc app on my phone, and saw that there was a function for recording the number of putts you took on each hole. I thought "oh, that's helpful for some analysis later". After the hole I realized that I hadn't ever really considered what my definition of a putt actually was.

What spurred this thought was on hole 1 my drive fell about 80 feet short of the basket, I used my putter, in my putting stance and stroke, and threw towards the basket (and missed), then cleaned up for par. I opened the app and went to record my score and number of putts, then stood there for a second to think before snapping back to reality with the dog biting at his leash because we weren't moving yet.

Now, I would consider a 35 ft shot a putt..a 40 ft shot a putt...but where would I stop calling it that? Logic tells me that if use my putting stance and stroke, then that is a putt. Then again, I can use a stance or throw type qualifier to describe a number of shots, including a putt. For instance, I can throw a forehand putt, a jump putt, etc. I can also throw a putter, in putting stance, off a tee pad..Or, I can "putt" using a driver. This line of thought leads me to question my own logic on what to call a putt. Maybe it's simply a combination of factors of stance, grip, lie, disc and probability that I make the shot, that affects what I consider a putt (I ended up calling the 80 ft shot on #1 a putt in the app).

Maybe there is a clearly written definition somewhere in the PDGA rules, but I certainly haven't been playing all these years saying "well that's not a putt, but this is..", I've just been going out and playing!

But, If I miss that 80 footer like I did yesterday, obviously i'm telling my group it was an "up-shot" .

What is your definition of a putt?

 

[1978]

Everything past 15' for me is a throwin and I consider a fairway ace.

 

[Kutueh]

I never use the putt option on my app. but i guess if i was aiming to sink it in the basket, and not just get closer, i'd consider it a putt lol

 

[namar]

For a time I was trapped in the same existential sinkhole, but after much hand-wringing I eventually settled on 10 meters as my boundary and continued with my quest to find a longer teebird. I solved that one, too.

(it's a well seasoned c-line PD, in case anyone is wondering).

 

[Johnny Conservative]

I would consider it a putt if I actually take a putting stance.

 

[josephreese]

For me, no matter my stance, inside the circle is a putt, and outside the circle is not a putt. I've had plenty of situations where I was within 10 meters but could not take a proper putting stance. Heck, sometimes I didn't even have a line at the basket thanks to low-hanging branches. I still record those in-the-circle shots as putts on my scorecard, though. I figure it's my penalty for having such crappy upshots. I figure reducing the number of putts I take in a round probably depends on good upshots as much as it does a good putting stroke.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

When I throw my putter..........

 

[Halcón]

I would consider it a putt if I actually take a putting stance.

Yep. Which in my case is up to around 45-50'.

 

[armiller]

This is one area where I like the DGWT metrics: "inside the circle" versus "outside the circle." A 45 foot putt (or even 80 foot putt) is still a putt, but I think the circle's edge is a good place to differentiate, if you have to pick one distance.

 

[The Last DJ]

I suppose it's determined by whether I'm running the basket or not. I can take runs at the bucket from 75' out with a jumper but past that, I'm throwing. Perhaps you can estimate a distance that your feel comfortable putting from. It might be 75', 50', or inside the circle. It's rather vague though - sometimes I'm totally laying up even inside of 30'.

 

[ThrowBot]

Per the PDGA, a putt is defined by how close you are to the target. Putts have additional restrictions regarding what type of follow through motions are allowed (compared to throws from the tee or other, non-putt throws from a stance).

From PDGA Rule 802.04 D:

"Putting: Any throw from within 10 meters of the target, as measured from the rear of the marker disc to the base of the target, is a putt. [...] "

http://www.pdga.com/rules/official-...ic-rules-of-play/80204-throwing-from-a-stance

There are no supplemental definitions that include throws from >10m as putts. In practice, people will call a throw a putt depending on the stance/technique employed during the throw...even if the throw is from a mark/lie that's more than 10m from the target. I understand that sentiment.

(I know what you're thinking, and yes: I am fun at parties.)

 

[brentjacobs]

Damn robots(but you are fun at parties)

 

[grodney]

What is your definition of a putt?

10'-30'. Anything shorter than 10' is a tap-in, and anything longer than 30' is a bonus bomb.

And if I were tracking putts (and I have in the past), a made bomb is added to "makes" without adding one to "attempts". Likewise, a missed tap-in subtracts one from "makes" without changing "attempts".

So total putting % is (makes+bombs-chokes)/attempts where "attempts" is only attempts between 10'-30'. Yes, you can have a % over 100 or under 0. And, yes, you can blow yourself up if you have no attempts between 10' and 30'.

Obviously better players would be like 15'-40' or 20'-50' or whatever. My makes outside 30' are so infrequent that 10'-30' works for me.

 

[DavidSauls]

Regardless, any statistical analysis that combines putts of widely varying distances into one percentage isn't going to tell you very much useful.

If you put a bunch of drives or approaches within 5' or 10' of the pole, you'll end up with a great putting percentage, but it won't mean you're putting great.

An app where you could enter the distance (perhaps rounded to 5' increments) and hit/miss might, after a while, provide some useful information.

Assuming those greens are reasonably level and unobstructed, and the winds calm.

 

[coupe]

Inside the circle, it's a putt; outside the circle, if I feel I gave away a stroke by failing to hole out a throw, it's a putt.

 

[DavidSauls]

10'-30'. Anything shorter than 10' is a tap-in, and anything longer than 30' is a bonus bomb.

And if I were tracking putts (and I have in the past), a made bomb is added to "makes" without adding one to "attempts". Likewise, a missed tap-in subtracts one from "makes" without changing "attempts".

So total putting % is (makes+bombs-chokes)/attempts where "attempts" is only attempts between 10'-30'. Yes, you can have a % over 100 or under 0. And, yes, you can blow yourself up if you have no attempts between 10' and 30'.

Obviously better players would be like 15'-40' or 20'-50' or whatever. My makes outside 30' are so infrequent that 10'-30' works for me.

Funny, I do this for myself, but as a raw number, not a percentage. Just to tell myself how much my putting helped or hurt my score that round.

 

[VictorB]

I would consider it a putt if I actually take a putting stance.

This is my exact answer. :thmbup:

When I throw my putter..........

Do you throw your putter off the tee often?

 

[bradharris]

For me it's all about intent. If I'm trying to put it in the basket, it's a putt. If I'm trying to putt it under the basket, it's a throw.

Keep in mind that once you have a sample size that's large enough to actually give good stats, the borderline cases are not going to be statistically significant enough to matter much.

Also, I've gone through phases where I'm especially vigilant about recording putts, but I've never actually gone back to look at the numbers. I'm not sure there's any useful information there that my score itself won't be able to tell me.

So don't stress it, record it in a way that is most useful to you.

 

[sisyphus]

I try to avoid having to 'putt': the best shot goes in off the tee, and the next best shot leaves you with a drop in. I don't try to track putts because they are so hard to define, but I guess for me, they might be the standstill shots thrown with a putter, when I mentally tell myself, 'let's put this one in the basket!' That can range from about 6 feet away on a windy day to 60 feet or more when calm and open.

 

[SonicGuy]

I record putts on Udisc to track my performance. As such it only makes sense to mark putts in a way that helps to show your performance when looking back. Here is how my records work:

(strokes/putts)
1/0 = Ace, obviously
2/0 = Parked the drive, drop in putt; GIR
3+/0 = Scramble, Parked an upshot, drop in putt
2/1 = Made putt for birdie; GIR
3/1 = Scramble with made putt
4+/1 = Missed scramble with made putt
3/2 = Missed birdie putt; GIR
4+/2 = Missed scramble by missing putt
4/3 = 3 putt; GIR
5+/3+ = Yikes!!

I can export my stats into excel and then set up rules to figure out my GIR %, Scramble %, Putting %, and whatever. The only thing my system doesn't account for is throw ins, but those happen very very rarely for me, like less than aces.