What is strokes gained putting, and how is it different from total putts?
In plain language, what does "Strokes Gained Putting" mean on my monitor or export?
SG Putting measures how your putting performance compares to the baseline, accounting for putt distance. Unlike total putts, it gives credit for making long putts and penalizes missing short ones — distance-adjusted putting quality.
Units: strokes per round
Why does this metric matter for ball flight, dispersion, or scoring?
Raw putts per round is misleading because it doesn't account for putt distance. SG Putting is the true putting metric. A player who two-putts from 40 feet every time has excellent SG Putting. A player who three-putts from 15 feet has terrible SG Putting.
What is a typical or competitive range for this stat?
Tour leaders: +0.5 to +1.0. Tour average: 0. Scratch: -0.3 to 0. Mid-handicap: -0.5 to -2.0.
What usually makes this number look bad or noisy in real rounds?
Negative SG Putting: missing putts inside 8 feet, three-putting from 25+ feet, or inconsistent green reading. Lag putting (getting the first putt within 3 feet) is the fastest fix for most amateurs.