A look at the putting stats reveals that the best putters make about 97% of their putts inside of five feet. From 5 to 10 feet, the number drops to about 60%. Outside of 10 feet the number drops down to about 16%.

When I look at these numbers I have to conclude that attempting scoring improvement by increasing the number of putts you make outside of 10 feet would be futile. The only improvement you can expect from longer putts is to get them closer to the hole. But getting closer to the hole doesn't help the score.

From 5 to 10 feet, the average golfer can improve their score significantly. In my experience and with nothing else to back it up, the average player makes about 2 in 10 from that range. By increasing that to 50% they could expect to save three strokes a round.

Inside of five feet is where you can get the most improvement simply because it is possible to get very close to making them all. Again based only on my experience and observation, most players miss more than half from inside the five foot circle.

Any putt missed inside of five feet is a stroke you could have saved by improving your short putting. Given that tap ins and shorter putts count in that 97% stat, I see no reason why the average golfer cannot duplicate it or get very close to it.

Golf literally turns into a different game once you get inside of ten feet from the hole. It becomes a target game similar to billiards or throwing darts. By applying the fundamentals of other target games you can drastically improve your short putting.