What Is the Longest Putt in Golf?

A staggering 375-foot putt - that’s 125 yards, longer than a par-3 for many golfers - stands as the longest putt ever recorded. While sinking a putt that long is a once-in-a-lifetime fluke, understanding the mechanics behind it can have a profound impact on your game. This article breaks down the official and unofficial records for the longest putts and, more importantly, gives you actionable advice on how to master your own long-range putting to slash your scores.

The Official Longest Putt: Not Who You'd Expect an an

You might think a legend like Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus holds the record for the longest putt made in a professional tournament. But the most widely cited "official" record belongs to someone famous for his performance in water, not on turf: Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps.

During the 2012 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a prestigious pro-am event in Scotland, Phelps stood over a monster putt on the 6th hole at Kingsbarns. He was playing alongside his professional partner, Paul Casey, when he sent his ball on an unbelievable journey across the green. It tracked perfectly, rolling on and on before eventually tumbling into the cup from 159 feet away. The moment was caught on live television, solidifying its place in golf lore. While other putts may have been longer in competition, they weren't captured with the same official verification, leaving Phelps's incredible putt as the modern benchmark for televised, competitive play.

The "Unbeatable" Guinness World Record

If we are talking about the absolute longest putt ever holed, regardless of the context, we have to turn to the official Guinness World Records. For this, we travel back to November 2001 and the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews.

An amateur golfer named Fergus Muir, participating in a special putting competition, achieved something that seems almost impossible. Using the expansive double green of the 5th hole on the Eden Course, Muir sent a putt on a journey that measured an unbelievable 375 feet (125 yards).

To put that in perspective:

• That's 25 yards longer than a full football field.
• It’s further than the typical Sunday golfer hits their 7-iron.
• If you were standing at the hole, Muir would have just been a tiny speck across the green.

This wasn't during a tournament round, but a specific record attempt under the watchful eye of Guinness officials. It highlights the upper limit of what is physically possible with a putter on a perfectly prepared (and enormous) surface. It’s a record that’s unlikely to be broken anytime soon.

Longest Putts in PGA Tour History

Pinning down the "longest putt" on the PGA Tour is a little tricky. The tour's advanced ShotLink system, which digitally maps every shot, was only fully implemented in 2003. This means that any putt before that date is reliant on reports and measurements that are considered less "official."

The ShotLink Era (2003-Present)

According to the official data, the longest putt since 2003 belongs to Craig Barlow. At the 2008 Buick Open, he drained a putt measuring a gargantuan 111 feet, 5 inches. This remains the longest verified putt holed during a standard PGA Tour stroke-play event. For a sense of scale, this putt started in one zip code and ended in another, leaving Barlow and the crowd in disbelief.

Pre-ShotLink Legends

Before every shot was tracked by lasers, there were still some legendary putts that have been passed down through golf history. One of the most famous belongs to Jack Nicklaus. At the 1964 Tournament of Champions, the Golden Bear sank a putt measured at 110 feet. This was an era of smaller, slower greens, making the feat even more impressive.

Even longer, though, was a putt made by Bob Cook during the 1976 International Four-Ball Pro-Am. Standing on the 18th green at a course in Scotland, Cook was faced with a putt that officials later measured at a mind-boggling 140 feet and 2 3/4 inches. While it happened in a pro-am and not a standard Tour event, for decades it was considered the longest competitive putt on record.

What These Monster Putts Can Teach Us About Lag Putting

Okay, it's fun to talk about 140 and 375-foot putts, but let's be realistic: you’re not going to face one of those in your Saturday morning round. However, you will face dozens of 40, 50, and even 60-foot putts. These are the putts that lead to frustrating three-putts and ruin your scorecard.

The goal on these long putts is not to make them, but to lag them close enough for a simple, stress-free tap-in. The physics of speed and break are the same, whether the putt is 60 feet or 160 feet. Here’s how you can take the principles from the pros and apply them to your game.

It's All About Pace, Not the Hole

The number one mistake amateurs make on long putts is they try to sink them. Their sole focus is the hole, and in doing so, they almost always hit the ball too hard, sending it six feet past. Now they have a tense, breaking six-footer coming back, which they often miss.

The mental shift you need to make is to forget the hole. Instead, your target is an imaginary three-foot circle, or a "hula hoop," around the hole. Your only goal is to get your ball to die somewhere inside that circle. If it happens to drop in the hole, great - that’s a bonus. Changing your target to a large circle instead of a tiny hole relaxes your muscles and forces you to focus on the most important factor: speed.

A good putt is about good speed. A great putt has good speed and finds the hole. Always solve for speed first.

A Simple Drill for Calibrating Your Feel

Feel for distance isn't a magical gift, it's a skill you can build. Head to the practice green and do this simple drill without aiming for a hole.

1. Pick a a target: Choose a spot on the fringe, like a discolored patch of grass about 40 feet away.
2. Hit the first putt: Take your normal stance and try to roll your first ball so it dies right at your target. Don't worry if it's off target - that's part of the process.
3. Match the distance: This is the important part. Take your second and third balls and try to hit them the exact same distance, so they end up snuggling right next to your first ball - regardless of where yourfirst ball landed.

This drill teaches you how to replicate your stroke length. You're decoupling the feel of your stroke from the outcome. Instead of thinking "This putt needs more power," you'll start thinking, "I need a slightly longer backstroke." This is how you calibrate feel.

Look at the Hole, Not the Ball

This feels odd, but it works wonders for developing distance control. When you toss a balĺ to a friend, you dont look at your hand, you look at the friend. Your brain instinctively calculates the force needed based on what you see. The same principle applies to putting.

Here’s how to practice it:

• Take your setup over the ball for a long putt.
• Instead of looking at the ball during your practice strokes, turn your head and stare at the hole.
• Take a few practice strokes while watching the hole. Feel length of the stroké required to get the ball there to the hole. The mental connection between what your eyes see (the distance) and what your body does (stroke length) becomes stronger and more automatic.

You can even try hitting a few putts on the practice green this way. Many golfers find it locks in their distance control much faster than just staring down at the ball for minutes on end. When it comes time to hit your actual putt, you can look back down, but that feel will now be ingrained.

Reading the Long Ones: Break Down into Sections a

A 50-foot, double-breaking putt is overwhelming. It’s too much information for your brain to process. The secret is to not see it as one big putt. Instead, break it down mentally into smaller, more manageable sections.

Next time you have a long putt, walk the line and analyze it in segments:

1. First 15 feet: " "Okay, slightly uphill, barely moves right-to-left."
2. Middle 20 feet:"This part is nearly flat and straight."
3. Last 15 feet.I see this goespretty sharply downhill an left to right to the cup.

By assessing it section by section, you can determine an "apex." This is the highest point of the break on your intended line. Instead of thinking about the entire swooping path, your brain only has one simple starting line to focus on: "Just roll the ball over that spot on the green." From there, gravity will do the work. This simplifies your mental task and makes visualization much easier.

Final Thoughts

While the stories of golfers sinking putts from over 100 feet are spectacular, the true value for the everyday golfer is in what these moments teach us about lag putting. Focusing on a target circle instead of the hole, training your feel for distance, and learning to read long putts in small sections are the skills that will cut strokes from your game and eliminate the dreaded three-putt forever.

Mastering these shots takes practice, and knowing how to read the green is half the battle. When you're standing over a tough 50-footer, a little confidence in your read makes a world of difference. That's why our Caddie AI has become a go-to tool - simply snap a photo from your ball to the hole, and our AI can help you visualize the ideal line and understand the break. This turns a guessing game into a confident plan, allowing you to focus solely on stroking the putt with perfect speed and enjoying those simple tap-ins.