3 key differences between good and bad putters, per research

By: Dr. Sasho Mackenzie , Nick Dimengo October 24, 2024

Want to become a better putter? Start by understanding these differences between a good and bad one, per Sasho MacKenzie's research

When you're looking to improve your putting, start by focusing on these 3 things.

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Want to get better at golf? Focus on becoming lethal with your putter.

While that’s obviously easier said than done, when you decrease the amount of putts you take per round, you’ll start shaving strokes off your scorecard and gain confidence that, despite any mishits prior to being on the putting surface, you can still escape with a solid score.

But what are the differences between a good putter vs. a bad putter? Sasho MacKenzie — a Sports Biomechanics PhD Professor at St. Francis Xavier University and co-founder of The Stack System — wanted to find out. So he studied over 20 years of research to determine the three most critical factors, which are listed below.

Focus on these 3 things when trying to improve your putting

Green-reading

There are a variety of different ways to read greens, so experiment with a few that might work best and then commit to one when you see success. But how critical of a skill is green-reading? According to MacKenzie’s research, an average 15-handicapper misreads a whopping 51.1 percent more putts per round than the average Tour player.

So whether you decide to use AimPoint, your eyes or simply try something wild that proves to be effective, get good at reading greens and you’ll start shooting lower almost immediately.

Speed control

While reading greens is important to understand different slopes and undulations on the putting surface, if you can’t control your speed, you have no chance of leaving your putts close to the cup.

Per MacKenzie’s data, Tour players judge and execute putt speed correctly 27.6 percent more often than a 15-handicapper, meaning they usually hit their first putt close and then finish the hole off with something within three feet or so (where the Tour make rate is near 99 percent).

MacKenzie also found that a golfer is seven times less likely to 3-putt after reading and hitting the speed correctly — so these first two variables go hand-in-hand when it comes to seeing improvements in your putting.

Face angle

As every golfer knows, a ball won’t hit the target if the clubface is too far open or closed, so MacKenzie’s research showed that face angle is a major factor in success when putting. Squaring the face is the first step to pushing the ball on the proper start line.

For more context, MacKenzie’s research found that Tour players are 24.1 percent more likely to hit a putt on their intended start line than the average golfer.

person holds golf ball with dots on it in their hands — Pro explains why using a line on your golf ball isn’t always ideal when putting
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While this probably doesn’t come as a surprise, something that might be is his opinion on impact position and putter path — with MacKenzie believing that both are “overestimated by the majority of golfers.”

He adds, “where the ball hits on the face has a minor influence on the outcome of a putt. Similarly, many top players with unorthodox stroke paths still perform exceptionally well on the green.”

Unlike making wholesale swing changes that can take months or years to perfect, it’s time to focus more on improving your putting in order to lower your scores. The best players in the world dominate in the three areas MacKenzie lists above, and with some practice, focus, and commitment, average players can start to gain confidence and sink more putts each round by practicing in those areas.