Should you be as disappointed missing a green from 150 yards and in? We look at the typical golfer’s likelihood of hitting the green within 150 yards.
We have all missed our fair share of greens from inside 150 yards and it is extremely frustrating, but should it be? Using Shot Scope data on the average golfer, we take a look at the likelihood of hitting the green and you might be surprised at the findings.
All Lie Types within 150 yds
Short Left
Short Right
Long Left
Long Right
All clubs
17.40%
19.00%
8.00%
6.20%
Where do they typically miss?
We can see that the most common miss is short and right. There are a few reasons that contribute to this but it is largely down to players not taking enough club and their most common miss being right.
For all handicap ranges, there is a preference towards a right miss, it is less common for players to consistently miss left – something to take into consideration when choosing your start line.
From the data, we can also see that the chances of missing long are relatively small. Interestingly, it is more common to miss long left than long right.
A potential reason for this may be that the right-handed golfer will gain distance when they pull/hook a shot and so they would be more likely to carry it over the green. Less shots missing long right could be that when a player leaks a shot out to the right it is traveling shorter and stopping quicker.
So the long left miss could be due to a ‘double cross’ in technique and the less likely long right may just be that the player did not quite catch a piece of the green.
For the average golfer, if the pin is on the right of the green then aiming for the middle of the green may result in a shot that finishes near the pin. Whereas, taking dead aim at the flag would likely result in a green missed right.
Allow for your natural tendency, and try to simply hit the green, getting up and down is not easy as we explore in this blog.
Why is being closer to the green an advantage?
Approach Distance – All lie types
Avg. Green Success
Avg. Shots to Finish
50 – 70
63.13%
3.13
70 – 90
57.80%
3.25
90 – 110
52.70%
3.33
110 – 130
45.64%
3.42
130 – 150
38.64%
3.52
From the data, it is clear to see that the closer we get to the green, the greater chance we have of hitting the green and saving strokes.
When we compare 50-70 yards against 130-150 yards, as we would expect players are more likely to hit the green from the closer range, almost 25%!
Similarly, in terms of shots to finish, we can see that the player would save just under 0.4 of a shot from 50-70 yards. This can be because of several things but is likely a combination of things such as hitting the green in the first place and then the proximity to the pin.
Proximity to the pin has a massive impact on putt make percentage, we explore putting statistics further here.
In short, from 0-6ft the average golfer makes 84.4% of putts. Whereas, from 6-12ft they make 39.6% of putts, a substantial drop-off in the likelihood of making the putt.
Consider the data below, from 80 yards the average golfer hits the ball to just under 50ft to the pin, and from 150 yards it increases to almost 90ft.
Approach Average Proximity (Feet)
From 80 yards
From 150 yards
All Lie Types
48.6ft
89.25ft
As we discovered above, there is a good chance from 150yds the green has been missed but from 80yds, there is a fair chance it is being hit, even if only just on the green.
Despite being far away on the green, this is good as it gives players a chance to putt, even if they only make 3.2% from beyond 30ft. At this distance, getting the ball close and then relying on your shorter putting is where players would save a stroke.
A bad putt is better than a bad chip!
Players would benefit massively from working on their distance control. As with the long game, the most common miss for an amateur is short, sadly we can’t really ‘club up’ on the green!
It is not inconceivable for the average golfer to leave a putt 10ft short, however, it is unlikely they will miss a putt 10ft to the left or right.
Work on distance control. Practice putts from 6ft and 3ft to build confidence. Save strokes.
If you want insight like this into your own game, one of our performance tracking products is for you! Get started on your data collection journey with our new FREE eBook How to Improve your Game with Data to help with your analysis. Our eBook series covers a variety of topics to help you play the best golf you can.
Did you know that 84% of missed putts over five feet finish short?
Or, that your typical drive is nearly 30 yards shorter than your Sunday best drive? These are just two intriguing statistics thrown up by Shot Scope’s performance tracking data platform.
Download our free guides for golfers now!
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