What Is SG Putting in Golf?

Ever three-putt a green and tell yourself, My putting was terrible today, only to remember that you also drained a 30-footer an hour earlier? The old way of judging your putting by total putts is filled with confusing guesswork. Strokes Gained Putting is a game-changing stat that ends the speculation, giving you a crystal-clear picture of your performance on the greens. This article will break down exactly what it is, how it works, and most importantly, how you can use it to pinpoint your weaknesses and shave strokes off your score for good.

What Is Strokes Gained Putting? A Simple Explanation

In simple terms, Strokes Gained Putting measures how many strokes you gained or lost compared to a certain set of players (often PGA Tour players) on every single putt you hit. Think of it as a plus/minus statistic for your putter. A positive number means you putted better than the benchmark for that specific putt, while a negative number means you putted worse.

This is a huge leap forward from old-school stats like "total putts per round." Why? Because traditional stats lack context. Let's imagine two golfers:

• Player A: He hits every green in regulation but always leaves himself 40-foot putts. He two-putts every green. His score shows 36 putts for the round.
• Player B: She misses every green but is a magician around them, chipping every shot to 3 feet. She one-putts every green. Her score shows 18 putts for the round.

Based on total putts, you’d assume Player B is a far superior putter. But is she really? Or is her chipping just setting her up for easy tap-ins? Player A’s 36 putts actually reflect some excellent lag putting from long distances.

Strokes Gained Putting solves this problem. It isolates your putting skill from every other part of your game. It doesn't care if you hit a great approach shot or a bad one. The clock only starts when you pull out the putter. It evaluates the difficulty of each putt (based on its distance from the hole) and judges you on that single performance. A two-putt from 50 feet is a great outcome and will likely earn you a positive SG number. A two-putt from 4 feet, however, is a poor outcome, and you'll get a negative SG number, accurately reflecting that you lost ground to your peers.

How the Math Works: Calculating Your Strokes Gained Putting

At first glance, the idea of Strokes Gained can seem complicated, but the basic math is straightforward. You don't need a PhD in statistics, just a simple formula.

Every calculation relies on one thing: a baseline (or benchmark) of data that tells us how many putts the average PGA Tour pro takes to get the ball in the hole from any given distance. This is called the "expected strokes" value.

Here’s a simplified chart of what those expected strokes look like from common distances:


| Putt Distance | Expected Strokes to Hole Out (Tour Pro Avg.) |
|---------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 3 feet | 1.01 |
| 8 feet | 1.50 |
| 20 feet | 2.00 |
| 40 feet | 2.40 |
| 60 feet | 2.75 |


The formula for any specific putt is simple:

SG on a hole = Expected Strokes (from start) - Actual Putts Taken

Let’s walk through three different scenarios from 20 feet, a distance from which a Tour pro is expected to take exactly 2.00 putts.

Scenario 1: The Average Two-Putt

You’re standing over a 20-foot putt. You hit a good lag putt that stops 2 feet from the hole, and then you tap it in.

• Your starting distance was 20 feet (Expected Strokes = 2.00)
• You took 2 putts.
• Calculation: 2.00 - 2 = 0.00 SG Putting

In this case, your performance was exactly what a Tour pro would average. You didn’t gain any strokes, but you didn’t lose any either.

Scenario 2: The Clutch One-Putt (Positive SG)

Now, let's say you're standing over that same 20-foot putt, you see the line perfectly, and you drain it for birdie.

• Your starting distance was 20 feet (Expected Strokes = 2.00)
• You took only 1 putt.
• Calculation: 2.00 - 1 = +1.00 SG Putting

You did something much better than average. By making that putt, you gained one full stroke against a field of Tour pros. That's a huge win.

Scenario 3: The Frustrating Three-Putt (Negative SG)

One last time from 20 feet. This time, you charge the putt 8 feet past the hole. You miss the comeback putt and then tap in your third.

• Your starting distance was 20 feet (Expected Strokes = 2.00)
• You took 3 putts.
• Calculation: 2.00 - 3 = -1.00 SG Putting

Here, your performance was one stroke worse than the Tour pro average. The -1.00 SG clearly shows the damage done by the three-putt. Your personal Strokes Gained Putting for a round is simply the sum of all your positive and negative scores from every hole.

Putting It into Practice: Using SG Data to Improve Your Game

Understanding the concept is one thing, but the real power of Strokes Gained is in how you use it to target your practice and get better. Here’s a simple, three-step framework anyone can follow.

Step 1: Track Your Putting Stats

You can't fix what you don't measure. For your next few rounds, you need to collect some basic data. You don't need fancy equipment - a notepad and pen or the notes app on your phone will work just fine. For every green you reach, write down two simple numbers:

1. The distance of your first putt (a decent estimate by pacing it off is fine).
2. The total number of putts you took on that hole.

That's it. At the end of the round, you'll have a logbook of your performance–for example: Hole 1: 25ft, 2 putts. Hole 2: 8ft, 2 putts. Hole 3: 40ft, 2 putts.

Step 2: Find Your Weaknesses (Be Your Own Coach)

Once you have data from several rounds, you can start looking for patterns. The goal is to figure out where you are losing your strokes. Manually calculate your SG for each putt using an online calculator or a simple strokes gained chart you can find on Google.

Then, group your performance into distance "buckets":

• Short Putts (3-6 feet): Are these consistently costing you strokes? A miss from 5 feet gives you a negative SG of about -0.3. These add up fast.
• Mid-Range Putts (7-20 feet): This is an area where amateurs lose a lot of strokes. A two-putt is common, but any three-putts are truly damaging.
• Lag Putts (25+ feet): Here, the goal is to avoid three-putts. If you’re consistently leaving yourself long second putts (over 5 feet), your SG will be heavily negative, signaling a problem with distance control.

This process will give you your answer. You might think your short putting is the problem, but the data might show your lag putting is what's truly holding you back.

Step 3: Create a Targeted Practice Plan

Now that you know your biggest putting weaknesses, you can stop wasting time on the practice green and start working on drills that actually move the needle.

If Your Weakness is Lag Putting (Losing strokes from 25+ feet):

Forget trying to make long putts. Your only goal is distance control. Try the "3-Foot Circle" Drill. From 30, 40, and 50 feet, don't aim for the hole. Instead, focus on getting your ball to stop inside an imaginary 3-foot Pcir,cie around the cup. Three-putts come from poor first putts, so spend 80% of your time becoming brilliant at leaving tap-ins.

If Your Weakness is Short Putts (Losing strokes from 4-8 feet):

This is your scoring zone. You need to build confidence and a repeatable stroke under pressure. Use the classic "Clock" Drill. Place four to six balls in a circle around the hole at a distance you struggle with (say, 6 feet). Your goal isn't just to make them - it's to make them all in a row. If you miss one, start the circle over. This will train you to handle the pressure you feel on the course when you *need* to make one.

Final Thoughts

By moving beyond outdated stats, Strokes Gained Putting offers you an honest, objective look at your performance on the greens. It tells you exactly where you stand, whether it's fantastic distance control or nerves on short putts, so you can stop guessing and start practicing what truly matters to your score.

Understanding these numbers is the first step, but a smarter playing approach is what really counts. With our AI golf coach, Caddie AI, we do the hard work for you. It analyzes your game to provide simple advice and on-course strategy in real-time. Instead of getting bogged down in spreadsheets or trying to figure it all out yourself, you can get immediate, personalized insights on why you might be struggling, get a club recommendation, or get a clear strategy on how to play a tough hole - helping you avoid those big mistakes and play with more confidence from tee to green.