Putting Average
Putting average is a golf statistic that measures how many putts a player takes, most often expressed as the average number of putts per round or per green hit in regulation.
What is a putting average?
Putting average is one of golf’s oldest performance stats, and it answers a simple question: how well is a player doing on the greens? The catch is that the term gets used for a few different measurements, so two golfers talking about their putting average may not mean the same thing at all.
Most casual golfers use it to mean average putts per round, the total number of putts added up over 18 holes and averaged across several rounds. A player who takes 34 putts, then 30, then 32 over three rounds has a putting average of 32. On the PGA Tour, though, the official statistic named “Putting Average” measures something more specific: putts per green in regulation. According to the PGA Tour, counting only greens hit in regulation removes the effect of chipping close and tapping in, which flatters a golfer’s raw putt total.
That distinction matters because putting is where a large share of scoring happens. Golfing Focus and Foy Golf Academy both note that putts make up roughly 35 to 40 percent of a typical golfer’s total strokes. A number that big deserves a clear definition, and knowing which version of putting average someone is quoting is the first step to reading it correctly.
How putting average is calculated
There are three common ways to express putting average, and they answer slightly different questions.
Putts per round is the easiest to track. Count every putt over 18 holes, then average that figure across your recent rounds. It needs nothing more than a scorecard, which is why it has been the go-to putting stat for decades.
Putts per hole is the same data divided by 18. A putts-per-round figure of 30.6 works out to 1.7 putts per hole. Tour broadcasts and stat sites often quote this version because it lines up neatly with the two-putt baseline built into par.
Putts per green in regulation counts only the putts taken on holes where the green was reached in the regulation number of strokes. A player who hits 10 greens and takes 19 putts on those greens is at 1.9 putts per GIR. This is the version the PGA Tour publishes as its official Putting Average, and it separates putting from the short-game shots that inflate or deflate a raw total.
One point of confusion worth settling: a putt only counts when the ball is on the putting surface. A ball rolled with a putter from the fringe or apron does not count toward putting average, and neither does a chip. The stat begins the moment the ball sits on the green.
What is a good putting average?
For most amateurs, a good putting average sits in the low 30s per round. Golfity’s 2026 tracking data puts a scratch golfer around 30.5 putts per round, a 10-handicap near 32.5, and a 20-handicap around 34.5. The PGA average, cited by The Left Rough from 2022 ShotLink data, is about 29 putts per round. The table below shows how the number climbs as handicaps rise.
| Level | Putts per round | Putts per hole |
|---|---|---|
| PGA Tour | 29.0 | 1.61 |
| Scratch (0) | 30.5 | 1.69 |
| 5-handicap | 31.5 | 1.75 |
| 10-handicap | 32.5 | 1.81 |
| 15-handicap | 33.5 | 1.86 |
| 20-handicap | 34.5 | 1.92 |
| 25-handicap | 35.5 | 1.97 |
Source: Golfity tracking data, 2026.
Other data sets land in a similar range. Foy Golf Academy, drawing on ShotScope and Arccos figures, puts scratch golfers at 30 to 32 putts per round, mid-handicaps at 34 to 36, and high-handicaps at 38 or more. A widely quoted PGA benchmark calls 31 to 35 putts per round acceptable and 26 to 30 excellent for the average golfer. At the elite level, the PGA Tour’s official Putting Average (putts per GIR) is tighter still: Harry Hall led in 2025 at 1.677, just ahead of Scottie Scheffler’s 1.680 the year before, according to Golf Compendium.
A quick warning on the handicap tables, though. They describe the raw putt count, and that count hides as much as it reveals.
Putting average vs strokes gained putting
Here is the problem with judging putting by total putts: the number depends heavily on how many greens a player hits, not on putting skill alone. Consider two golfers on the same hole. The first hits the green to 35 feet and two-putts. The second misses the green, chips to three feet, and holes it. Both took two strokes after the tee shot, but only the green-hitter is charged with two putts. On paper, the better ball-striker looks like the worse putter.
This is why a low-handicap golfer can post more putts per round than a mid-handicapper. Hitting more greens means facing more long first putts and fewer tap-ins. Anova.golf illustrates the extreme version: a player who misses every green and chips to a foot could card 18 putts, while a player who hits every green to 40 feet and two-putts cards 36. The second golfer clearly putted better, yet the raw stat says the opposite.
Strokes gained putting was built to fix exactly this. Created by Columbia Business School professor Mark Broadie and adopted by the PGA Tour in 2011, it compares each putt against the number of putts an average Tour pro would need from that same distance. Hole an eight-footer that the field makes half the time and you gain half a stroke; three-putt from there and you lose ground. Because it accounts for distance, strokes gained credits a good lag putt from 40 feet and refuses to reward an easy tap-in. Broadie’s verdict in his book Every Shot Counts is blunt: relying on putts per round instead of strokes gained is like choosing a horse and buggy over the car parked outside.
The table below compares the three ways golfers measure putting.
| Metric | What it measures | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Putts per round | Total putts over 18 holes | Rewards missing greens and chipping close |
| Putts per GIR | Putts on greens hit in regulation | Treats a 40-foot and a 10-foot first putt the same |
| Strokes gained putting | Each putt vs. an expected baseline by distance | Needs the starting distance of every putt |
Common misconceptions about putting average
The biggest misconception is that a lower putting average always means better putting. As the green-hitting bias shows, it often just means a golfer missed more greens and left themselves shorter putts. Putts per GIR and strokes gained both exist because the raw total is so easy to misread.
A second misconception comes from watching professional golf. Long putts drop on Sunday broadcasts, and it looks routine, but the make rates say otherwise. Tour pros hole roughly half their putts from eight feet and only about 15 percent from 20 feet, so most of their long putts are lagged close on purpose rather than aimed at the hole. The goal on a long putt is usually two putts, not one.
A third is the belief that fringe putts count. They do not. Rolling the ball with a putter from just off the green is a smart play, but for statistical purposes it falls under the short game, not putting average.
Related Golf Terms
- Make percentage — The rate of holing putts from a given distance.
- Ball striking — A combined measure of driving and approach-play performance.
- Expected strokes — The baseline average used to calculate strokes gained.
- Strokes gained tee to green — Strokes gained across all shots except putting.
- Strokes gained total — A player’s overall performance versus a scoring baseline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is putting average the same as putts per round?
Not exactly. Putts per round is the most common everyday meaning, but the PGA Tour’s official Putting Average measures putts per green in regulation. Always check which version is being quoted.
What is a good putting average for an average golfer?
Somewhere in the low 30s per round is solid for a recreational player. The PGA describes 31 to 35 putts per round as acceptable and 26 to 30 as excellent.
Do fringe putts count toward putting average?
No. A putt only counts once the ball is on the putting surface. A putter used from the fringe or a chip from off the green does not add to the putting total.
Why do pros have such a low putting average?
Tour players avoid three-putts almost entirely, averaging about half a three-putt per round, and they convert short putts at high rates. Their putts-per-GIR figures sit near 1.7, well under the two-putt baseline.
How many putts should I take to break 90?
There is no fixed number, since it depends on how many greens you hit, but around 34 putts per round is a common target for a golfer shooting in the 80s.
Sources
- PGA Tour. “Putting Average.” PGA TOUR Stats. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.pgatour.com/stats/putting - Golf Compendium. “Yearly PGA Tour Putting Leaders.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfcompendium.com/2018/12/pga-tour-putting-leaders.html - Golfity. “What Is a Good Putting Average? Benchmarks by Handicap.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golfity.com/blog/what-is-a-good-putting-average - Foy Golf Academy. “Putting Statistics by Handicap.” Accessed August 2026.
https://foygolfacademy.com/putting-statistics/ - The Left Rough. “Average Putts Per Round: Myth versus Reality.” Accessed August 2026.
https://theleftrough.com/average-putts-per-round/ - Anova.Golf. “What is a good putting average?” Accessed August 2026.
https://anova.golf/what-is-a-good-putting-average/ - Golfing Focus. “Good Putting Numbers.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golfingfocus.com/good-putting-numbers-its-about-3-putts-not-putts-per-round/ - Broadie, Mark. “Every Shot Counts.” Columbia Business School (print).
