Tips · APPROACH SHOTS · TOUR PROS · FROM ABOVE

From 150 yards, tour pros miss by about 9 yards.

From 150 to 175 yards, PGA Tour players finished about 28 feet from the hole on average in 2026 and hit just under two greens in three. Aiming at a flag tucked behind a bunker puts some shots in the sand, where even tour players get up and down only about half the time.

The one to remember

Tour pros miss by about 9 yards from 150, so the middle is often the smarter target.

Facts and sources

  • On the PGA Tour in 2026 (through the Bank of Utah Championship, 4 October), approach shots from the fairway from 150 to 175 yards came to rest 28 ft 5 in from the hole on average. The stat counts shots that end on or around the green.
  • From 150 to 175 yards, tour players hit the green in regulation 64.22% of the time in 2026.
  • From greenside bunkers, they got up and down 50.67% of the time in 2026 (sand save percentage).
  • From more than 25 feet on the green, they three-putted 8.76% of the time in 2026, so about 91% of those holes took two putts or fewer.
  • A tour player's shot pattern is far bigger than the ten-foot circle most people picture (GOLF.com), so playing to the middle of the green keeps more shots on the putting surface and out of the bunkers.

Illustration: the green complex, the flag position, the two 100-shot patterns (sized to the tour's 2026 average from 150 to 175 yards), the bunker shot and the putt are drawn to explain, not measured; balls, cups and the people in the close-ups are drawn larger than life so they show.

Sources

  1. Approaches from 150-175 yards (stat 338), 2026 season · PGA TOUR, through the Bank of Utah Championship, Oct 4 2026 checked 11 October 2026
  2. GIR Percentage - 150-175 yards (stat 328), 2026 season · PGA TOUR, through the Bank of Utah Championship, Oct 4 2026 checked 11 October 2026
  3. Sand Save Percentage (stat 111), 2026 season · PGA TOUR, through the Bank of Utah Championship, Oct 4 2026 checked 11 October 2026
  4. 3-Putt Avoidance > 25' (stat 147), 2026 season · PGA TOUR, through the Bank of Utah Championship, Oct 4 2026 checked 11 October 2026
  5. Pros do this way better than you, and it's a key to lower scores · GOLF.com, Ryan Barath (9 May 2023) checked 11 October 2026
  6. Mark Broadie Explains How to Improve Approach Shot Accuracy · GOLF.com, Mark Broadie (5 March 2016) checked 11 October 2026

The narration is AI-generated. Sources last checked 11 October 2026.

Script

From 150 yards, the best golfers in the world miss the hole by about nine yards on average. That's the PGA Tour's own figure for approach shots from 150 to 175 yards in 2026, about 28 feet. Their shots scatter far more than most people picture. Just under two in three find the green. With the flag tucked just behind a bunker, aiming straight at it puts some of those shots in the sand. From a greenside bunker, tour players get up and down only about half the time. Aiming at the middle keeps most of the shots on the green. The putt left is longer, but from over 25 feet, tour pros still take two putts or fewer nine times in ten. Follow Fact Caddie for more.