About Half Answer 'Unstable Impact Strength is the Cause of 3-Putts'! Chicken Golf Surveys the Reality of Distance Control Mistakes

Clear Inc., which operates the semi-personal golf lesson "Chicken Golf" and the media "Golf no Manabiya", conducted a survey of 300 golfers in their 20s and older regarding the "reasons why 3-putts do not decrease and the reality of distance control mistakes".

While 3-putts are often said to be the biggest factor in ruining a golf score, many golfers repeatedly experience leaving a long second putt because the distance was off on the first putt, ultimately resulting in a 3-putt.
This survey revealed that approximately 90% of golfers feel that 3-putts are ruining their scores, and highlighted that the root cause lies in "distance control" rather than "line reading".
Those who struggle with 3-putts and cannot stabilize their scores should use this as a hint to objectively understand their own issues. If you want to systematically learn everything from the basics of putting to how to adjust your distance, please also read the Chicken Golf column articles. Search for "Chicken Golf Putter"!

Survey Overview:
The survey was conducted via an internet questionnaire targeting 300 golfers in their 20s and older. In terms of golfing experience, those with 3 years or more accounted for the majority at 50.7%, while those with less than 1 year totaled 18.7%, gathering responses from a wide range of levels from beginners to experienced players. Also, the most common average score was "100-109" at 26.3%, followed by "110-119" at 25.7% and "90-99" at 20.3%.

Approximately 90% answered "3-putts are ruining my score"!
About 90% of golfers have two or more 3-putts per round. When surveyed about the frequency of 3-putts and their impact on scores, 93.3% of golfers have two or more 3-putts per round, and 96.3% feel that 3-putts ruined their scores. This highlights the reality that most golfers are troubled by 3-putts. On the other hand, only 0.3% answered "don't feel it at all" and 3.3% "don't feel it much", meaning less than 10% do not feel the impact of 3-putts.
Cross-tabulating 3-putt frequency by score showed a clear trend: the worse the score, the higher the 3-putt frequency. For advanced players under 80, 28.6% said they "hardly ever/0-1 time" 3-putt, far exceeding other groups. For the 100-109 group, 39.2% said "4-5 times", showing that those close to breaking 100 struggle the most.

3-putts are most likely to happen on "6-10m" first putts.
34.3% said this distance is where they 3-putt the most. Next was 11-15m at 20.0%, and regardless of distance at 19.7%. Mid-to-long putts of 6m or more are where 3-putts concentrate. Only 1.7% said within 2m.

Most common pattern is a "distance mismatch" mistake.
33.7% said "first putt goes way over, leaving a long return putt", and 25.0% said "first putt is way short, leaving a long second putt". Together, 58.7% 3-putt due to distance mismatch. Only 20.0% miss a 1-2m putt after a close first putt.

About half feel the cause is "unstable impact strength".
Multiple choice answers showed: "unstable impact strength" at 47.3%, "swing width changes for the distance" at 36.0%, and "lack of practice, relying on feel" at 34.3%. Reading lines or not knowing the distance before hitting was much lower (around 17-18%). The true cause is the physical execution of distance control.