Have you wondered how your putting ability compares with a PGA TOUR professional golfer … or if the time spent practicing your putting has led to measurable improvement?
OptimusPutt enables amateur golfers to calculate their own Strokes Gained Putting value, one of the primary putting statistics used by golf professionals on the PGA TOUR. Following completion of each hole, a player simply inputs the hole number, number of putts, and estimated putting distances. OptimusPutt then immediately calculates and displays Strokes Gained Putting for the hole and round. At any time during the round, a player can review the putting data for all completed holes, and revise it for selected individual holes if necessary. OptimusPutt also calculates and updates the following statistics after each hole is completed: Total Putts, Equivalent Handicap Index, Total Length Putts Made, Total Length 2-Putts Made, and Average Length of First Putt, so progress can be checked at any time during the round. Entering a new dimension in the statistical analysis of your putting game becomes easy with OptimusPutt!
Strokes Gained Putting is based on comparison of the number of putts taken by an individual player from a specific distance versus a statistical database of the same information obtained for all PGA TOUR players. For example, the Strokes Gained Putting from 8 feet for TOUR players is about 1.5; that is, those golfers make about 50% of their putts from 8 feet ([0.5 x 2] + [0.5 x 1] = 1.5). Thus, if a player takes just 1 stroke to sink an 8-foot putt, Strokes Gained Putting is (1.5 - 1) = 0.5 ; the golfer gained one-half stroke putting on that hole. On the other hand, if 2 putts are required to hole-out from 8 feet, Strokes Gained Put-ting for that hole is (1.5 - 2) = - 0.5 ; therefore, the player lost one-half stroke on the hole. Strokes Gained Putting is cumulative, so the Total Strokes Gained for a round is simply the sum of Strokes Gained Putting for all holes. Furthermore, Strokes Gained Putting can be averaged by summing the values from multiple rounds and dividing by rounds played.
The concept of Strokes Gained Putting, developed by Professor Mark Broadie of the Columbia University Business School and later refined by the PGA TOUR, is a by-product of the TOURs ShotLink Academic program.
OptimusPutt operation:
During a round of golf, the Hole screen (selected via the Hole tab) is used to enter the hole number and input corresponding putt length data via sliders or steppers. As the data are entered, Strokes Gained Putting for the selected hole is immediately calculated and displayed at the bottom of the screen. In addition, the distances and Strokes Gained Putting data are automatically saved for subsequent review. The Round screen shows a summary table for review of the previously stored hole data when the Round tab is selected. Putt length data for any individual hole can be corrected at any time during or after the round, if necessary, by returning to the Hole screen and selecting the desired hole number.
Selecting the Statistics tab presents the following statistics: Total Putts, Total Strokes Gained Putting, Equivalent Handicap Index, Total Length Putts Made, Total Length 2-Putts Made, Average Length First Putt. In addition, the number of putts made/missed in the following ranges is shown: 1-5, 6-15, 16-25, 25-35, 35+ ft. Because OptimusPutt updates the round statistics after each hole is completed, progress can be checked at any time during the round by simply selecting the Statistics tab. Prior to beginning a new round, all previously entered data can be erased by clicking the Reset Round button (a pop-up window requires confirmation before erasure occurs).