When Should I Putt From Off The Green??

When beginning golf, it can be sometimes hard to know what clubs to use when the ball is close to the green. What most people do if not given professional advice, is grab the PW. This of course is fine if you have plenty of green to work with or you're particularly confident with this club. However, most people use the PW far too often (particularly when they're just off the green) where if they chose a simpler club such as a Putter, they would yield better results.

One of the best quotes from arguably the greatest ever golfer Jack Nichlaus is that 'if you can putt it, then putt it'!. When I'm walking up to the green and my ball is just off the green, my first thought is always 'can I putt it?' I'm assessing this by the lie and the proximity of where my ball is in relation to the green. If the ground is firm just off the green, I would typically choose a putt over a wedge. The reason for this is that I'm always assessing the worst case scenario. For example, if you don't strike the wedge well and hit too much grass behind the ball, the result can be quite detrimental. However, if you mishit the putt, the result generally will never be that bad.

If the conditions allow, you could realistically putt from upwards of 20m off the green. You could even putt from further if you feel it's more beneficial to do so. I would only consider starting to chip if I was forced to do so such as playing from long grass or going over a bunker. Now the trick when playing from off the green is to ensure that the putter is slightly off the grass. The reason for this is that you want to ensure that the putter doesn't get stuck in the grass during impact.

When judging distance when off the green, follow the same process as if the ball was on the green. The only exception is that you now need to factor in the grass between the ball and the green. The way you would do this is simply count out the steps from the ball to the hole and then add the appropriate amount of steps to also factor in the grass off the green. For example, you may have counted 15 steps from the ball to the hole but then needing to add three more steps to allow for putting off the green. The reason why you're adding is that fairway grass will always slow the ball down in comparison to the green.

If you need any further help in understanding when to putt from off the green, just send me a message.