Study: Better Scores = Bigger Hole

Better golfers imagine the hole as much larger than poorer players a new study finds.  I’m sure many of you know this all to well – when your putting game Is on, it’s like you can’t miss… and the hole looks huge. On the other hand, if you suffer from the yips or are a …

Better golfers imagine the hole as much larger than poorer players a new study finds.  I’m sure many of you know this all to well – when your putting game Is on, it’s like you can’t miss… and the hole looks huge. On the other hand, if you suffer from the yips or are a poor putter – sometimes it feels like the hole is the size of the ball itself.

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A recent study took place where golfers were asked after their round if they could pick out the size of the cup from a sheet of cut-outs.  The circular cut-outs ranged in size from 3.5 to 5 inches.  The actual size of a golf hole is 4.3 inches.  Golfers who scored better chose the larger hole – and poorer  scoring players picked smaller ones.

Another study confirmed these results. Players were asked to putt to a hole and then draw the size of the cup based on their memory – those who putted the ball closer to the hole drew bigger holes than those who didn’t.

So improving your putting game seems to have an effect on how large you perceive the hole to be – not a bad little tid-bit of information.  If you want to get your putting game to this point – I highly recommend you focus on your putting fundamentals . With proper fundamentals – you’ll be amazed at how simple your putting stroke can become.

With practice you too can get your putting game to the point where you feel that your putting into a frisbee sized hole.