How is Boo Weekley related to The Dostal Tour?

This past weekend I watched Boo Weekley miss a 3 foot 3 inch putt on the final hole in regulation that would have won the Honda Classic.

This made me think about how we handle "giving putts". Some questions came to my mind. Why don't we putt them all? The theory is that it slows the round down. By how much?

Let's say that an average foursome gives 3 putts per hole. Some are no brainers. 3 inches or less. Let's say 1 per hole is a no brainer. It takes no longer to tap it in - then to pick it up. That leaves 2 putts per hole per foursome. Of those 2 putts - we can eliminate 1 of those 2 every 3 holes because someone made their 6 or 8 footer. Here's the math.....

72 = 18 holes x 4 golfers
- 18 (The ones made outside of gimme range)
= 54
- 18 (no brainer - 3 inches or less)
= 36
- 6 (someone 1-putts or makes one outside of gimme range)
= 30

Okay - so we have 30 putts per foursome that need to be made....
5 seconds standing behind the ball and lining up.
7 seconds standing over the ball.
3 seconds to pull it out of the cup.

That's 15 seconds extra for each of those 30 putts in the foursome. 7.5 additional minutes per round.

What are the benefits to putting them all? The biggest one I can think of is a more accurate handicap.

Does putting them all favor the lower or higher handicap golfer? You would think it would be a lower handicap golfer. That may be true - but it would only be temporary. After a period of time, a true handicap would emerge.

If over the summer I'm "given" 100 putts of 2.5 feet. I've just lowered my handicap. Because chances are I would have missed several (5 or 6 maybe) of those.

One more thing to consider.... We don't all give the same length putts. Some are more generous than others.

Also, we have a few people that give themselves the occasional putt! A big no-no. If this is for a quadruple bogey - maybe - otherwise it should never be done.

Finally, I may be mad at myself for missing that 2.5 footer that would have helped my team - but in the long run, my handicap will be fair and I will become a better putter.

I welcome any comments you might have.

Jake