FARMINGDALE, NY – Sam Burns of Team United States putts on the 17th hole during the 2025 Ryder Cup on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park. (Photography by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America)

The Quiet Certainty Behind Sam Burns’ Putting Stroke

What Sam Burns knows about putting that the rest of golf is still trying to learn.

David Derwin

Sam Burns is one of the best putters in the world. For the 2025 season, he ranks number 1 on the PGA TOUR for strokes gained putting (0.983) and 4th in putts per round (27.96). Not only is Burns making more putts inside ten feet than any other player on the PGA TOUR this year (90.85%), he is also making more putts in the critical four to eight foot range as well (77.88%).

Put another way, when Burns is within ten feet of the hole, he makes the putt nine out of ten times.

Needless to say, Burns is doing something right on the greens and it has helped the 29 year-old Louisianian capture five PGA TOUR wins since turning pro in 2017.

While being a good putter requires a certain level of technique, there are many more factors that go into putting that physical mechanics alone can’t account for. The putt must be read correctly. The read must be matched up with the correct pace—two factors that are more feel oriented and less technical than the actual putting stroke. Beyond the read, pace and stroke, there is the internal dialogue to manage, the internal— and external— pressures placed on each putt that can turn an otherwise straight forward six footer into a mental minefield of doubt.

Sam Burns was asked about this during Thursday’s press conference at the Ryder Cup, and his response provides some key insight into the mindset of the best putter on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

“I try to keep putting as simple as possible. I think there are so many things that happen after you hit a putt that are out of your control, whether it hits a spike mark or an imperfection on the green or the wind blows it, there’s so many things that can happen,” explained Burns.

“For me, I try to read it, start it on the line I want to with the right speed, and after that, whatever happens, happens. I think that’s the best way to approach putting for myself.”

Burns also shared the importance of taking your time with your routine and putt only when you’re ready to putt.

“Sometimes things can happen quickly, so just making sure you’re settled in or not rushing it, making sure you take the appropriate amount of time to kind of settle into your routine,” he said. “There’s definitely nerves. There’s definitely excitement. It’s just settling yourself down and realizing that a six-footer is a six-footer. It’s a lot more difficult to do when you’re out there, but I think that’s the simplest form of doing that.”

Burns controls what he can during his routine, never overcomplicating the process, but its the last thought that runs through his head before taking the putter back that might be the key to his success on the greens—the quiet certainty of commitment.

“I would say the last thought is, I mean, for me, it’s committing to a line that I’ve read. I think the worst thing you can do in putting is kind of be unsure. Because a lot of times if you’re unsure, you don’t really make a good stroke or don’t really have good speed. So really, it’s just committing to that line and trying to make a good stroke, and then being able to accept the result.”