Quantum Putting grew out of one of the worst putting spells of my golfing life. After a heated debate with my Dad, and a nagging belief that we constantly make decisions on imperfect information, I decided to stop guessing and start researching.
The Belief
My view is that putting doesn't need innovation. It needs clarity. There are already plenty of excellent training aids out there, and the knowledge base is vast and freely available. It's not like Tiger Woods' putting methodology is a secret. The problem isn't access to information. It's making sense of it.
Enter Bones AI
I built Bones AI to curate and make sense of everything I was learning, turning scattered reference material into structured data-driven insight. This app is the result: a tool to log your misses, find your patterns, and practice with purpose.
The Bigger Picture
We live in a remarkable era. AI doesn't replace human skill. It amplifies it. The combination of great practice tools, good data, and a willingness to learn is more powerful than anything that's come before. That's what Quantum Putting is built on.
I hope you find this app useful. Good luck with your putting.
Bones AI Putting Coach - Quantum Putting Copyright Stephen Cummings 2026
Version 16 - New
Putt Counter Spelled Out
The counter above the entry fields now reads Putt Number 1, Putt Number 2 and so on, instead of #1, #2. Clearer at a glance, especially in bright sunlight.
Version 15
Add Putt Fits On One Screen
The header, tabs, hole and putt counters, all three entry fields and Add Putt have been tightened up so the whole form fits on a phone screen without scrolling on most iPhones. Nothing was removed - the title, counters and fields are all still there, just sized to fit together. Buttons stay a comfortable tap size throughout. On phones and browser states with more headroom - Pro Max and Plus models, or once Safari's address bar has collapsed after your first scroll - the form relaxes back out to a slightly roomier size automatically, rather than staying squeezed as tight as a mini or SE needs it.
Version 14
Distance Auto-Fills From Your Last Miss
Miss a putt and the next entry's Distance field fills itself in with how far that miss finished, since that is exactly where the next putt starts. A yellow From Last Miss badge shows next to the label so it is always clear the number was filled in rather than typed. Type over it and the badge disappears - it is a starting point, not a lock. It only ever proposes a distance for the putt actually following the one you just logged: holing out clears it, since a new hole starts at an unknown range, and moving the hole counter without holing out clears it too, so a stray number from the wrong hole is never carried forward. It works during a round and during practice, follows you correctly through metric and imperial, and comes back if you step away to edit an earlier putt and return.
Version 13
In this release
Every putt now knows which hole it was on, with no extra taps during a round, and the Stats tab turns that into putts per hole, three-putt counts, a front nine against back nine split, and a hole by hole record that builds across every round you save at the same course.
Hole Tracking
A hole counter sits above the putt counter on the Add tab, and the hole number is stored on each putt rather than on the session. It advances by itself when you log a holed putt, because a hole is over when the ball goes in - so a normal round needs no extra taps at all. The arrows either side are only for corrections: a chip-in, a hole you picked up on, or a miscount. Two putts on the same hole group themselves, since the second one is the one that goes in.
Round, Nine Or Practice
Pick the session type once in the Session Info box. Round counts holes 1 to 18, Nine caps at 9, and Practice hides the hole counter completely so a session on the mat or the practice green never gets cluttered with invented hole numbers. The choice is remembered, and saved sessions carry it with them.
Editing A Hole Number
Step back to any putt and the hole counter shows that putt's hole, turns amber, and the arrows rewrite it. Return to a new putt and the counter snaps back to where the round actually is, so fixing hole 4 while standing on the 11th green does not lose your place.
By Hole On The Stats Tab
A new section gives holes logged, putts per hole, one putts and three-plus putts, then a row for every hole with its putt count and strokes gained. The worst hole of the round is outlined in red - usually the one that actually cost you the score. On a full round the front nine and back nine are totalled separately.
Your Record At A Course
Under the By Hole section is a button showing your hole by hole history at the course currently in Session Info, averaged across every saved round with that name: average putts and average strokes gained per hole, worst hole outlined. This is the point of logging the hole at all. Enough rounds in and it tells you, for example, that one particular green has been quietly costing you half a shot a round for a year.
CSV Export Extended
The export now carries Hole, Session Type and the Benchmark each strokes gained figure was measured against, alongside everything it had before. Hole level putting data lines up directly with scorecard records, which is where it gets genuinely interesting.
Older Sessions Still Work
Putts logged before this version have no hole number, and nothing breaks: they are simply left out of the By Hole section and the putt list falls back to showing the putt number. Load an old session and it behaves exactly as it did.
Version 12
In this release
Edit any putt after you have logged it, read the map at a glance by colour, step through a session putt by putt with the numbers for each one, measure yourself against your own handicap instead of the tour, and never lose a round to a locked phone.
Edit Any Putt
Arrow buttons either side of the putt counter move you back and forward through the session. Tap the left arrow to reopen the putt you just logged, correct any field, and tap Save. The right arrow moves on, and from the last putt it drops you back onto a fresh entry. Anything you had already typed for the new putt is held and handed back when you return, so a half-entered putt is never lost. You can also tap any row in Putts Logged to jump straight to it. The counter turns amber while you are editing so you always know which mode you are in.
Map Colour Bands
Dots are now coloured by where the ball finished. Green is holed, orange is inside two feet - a tap-in you will almost always convert - and red is anything further, where a real second putt is still to come. The legend under the map counts each band for the session, and it follows the imperial and metric switch.
Hide Holed Putts
Holed putts all sit on the cup and stack outwards, which crowds out the misses you are trying to read. One button under the map hides them and leaves the dispersion pattern clean. Stats, strokes gained, and the average crosshair are untouched - this only changes what is drawn.
Step Through Putts On The Map
Arrows under the map walk through the session one putt at a time, and the map pans to the putt if it is off screen. The selected dot grows a white ring and the rest fade back, and a panel underneath gives that putt's numbers: expected putts from the length you faced, the make chance, what was still expected from where it finished, the strokes gained, and which baseline it was scored against, with the arithmetic spelled out. Edit putt and Delete sit in the same panel.
Tapping A Dot Now Selects It
Previously a tap on the map deleted that putt, which was easy to do by accident and fought with stepping through them. A tap now selects the putt and shows its numbers. Deleting is an explicit button in the putt panel.
Handicap Benchmark
The Stats tab has a benchmark switch. PGA Tour scores every putt against Broadie's tour expected putts, as before. My Handicap scores them against a player of your own standard - enter your handicap once with the button underneath and it is remembered. The switch drives strokes gained everywhere: Stats, the per-putt panel on the Map, and the SG tab, all labelled with the baseline in use. Whichever one you are in, the note under the switch tells you what the same putts read against the other, so you never have to toggle back and forth. See Strokes Gained Explained in the User Guide for what the two baselines mean.
Where The Handicap Numbers Come From
Shot Scope's 2026 report gives putting make rates by handicap group at 3-6ft, 12-18ft and 30ft+. Those are applied as a ratio to the tour make curve, tapering to parity at tap-in range so that everybody holes a one-footer, then run through a recursive expected-putts model. The same model reproduces Broadie's published tour table to within 0.01 of a shot, so both baselines are built the same way and can be compared directly. Two things to know: the Shot Scope figures are read from a bar chart rather than a published table, and handicaps above 25 are extrapolated beyond Shot Scope's top group.
Autosave While You Play
Your round is written to storage on every putt, whenever you type in Course or Notes, on a twenty second timer, and the moment the app goes into the background or the phone locks - which is when a browser tab is most likely to be dropped. A second copy is written last each time, so a half-finished write cannot take the round with it, and it is restored automatically if the main store ever comes back empty. The line under Save Current Session shows the time of the last save and how many putts are held, and turns red telling you to export if a save ever fails.
Metric Entry Fix
Miss distances entered in metric were being read as feet and inches, which shrank every metric putt by roughly two thirds. Distance to the hole, left or right, and long or short are now all converted properly, and switching units while editing a putt reconverts the fields rather than leaving the old numbers in place. Putts logged in metric before this version are wrong in the data and worth re-entering.
Version 11
Imperial / Metric Toggle
Switch between imperial (feet and inches) and metric (metres and centimetres) using the IMP/MET button in the app header. All entry fields, stats, and map dot labels update instantly when toggled. Data is stored in feet internally and converted on display so your saved sessions are always compatible regardless of which unit you use.
Dedicated to Johan Reventberg
"Making the Swedish nation a little happier, a centimetre at a time."
Bones Training Library
A curated library of putting research and principles accessible from the Coach tab. First entry: The Pigeon Lab by Dave Pelz - the foundational principle of feedback and learning in practice. Phil Kenyon and Bob Rotella entries coming soon.
EULA - Accept and Do Not Show Again
New third button on the EULA screen. Accept dismisses for this session only. Accept and Do Not Show Again saves your preference so the EULA does not appear on future visits. Uses localStorage, sessionStorage, and cookie fallback for maximum device compatibility.
Confirmation Toast
A brief confirmation message appears at the bottom of the screen after accepting the EULA permanently, confirming your preference has been saved.
Version 10 - New
Bones Training Library Launch
New library button in the Coach tab header. Expandable article cards with full content. The Pigeon Lab from Dave Pelz Putting Bible (2000) is the first entry, covering the essential principle of feedback and learning.
EULA - Permanent Accept Option
Added Accept and Do Not Show Again option alongside the standard Accept and Decline buttons.
Version 9 - New
End User License Agreement
Full EULA shown on first launch with Accept and Decline. Decline blocks access with a Go Back option. Full EULA accessible at any time from the bottom of the home screen.
IP Protection
Six-section legal agreement protecting the Bones AI methodology, four fundamentals framework, dispersion tracking, and AI coaching system. Copyright Stephen Cummings 2026. Governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Bones AI Coach - Expert Knowledge Base
Dedicated coaching tab with expertise from Phil Kenyon, Dave Pelz, and Bob Rotella. Ask about face angle, stroke path, distance control, break reading, grip, posture, routine, mental game, short putts, three putts, and specific drills.
Holed Putt Detection
Putts entered as holed display as a gold dot with a tick mark on the dispersion map. Multiple holed putts spiral outward so every one is visible.
Improved Dot Visibility
Putt dots are larger and bright yellow with a black outline for maximum visibility. Full spiral stacking ensures no putt is hidden behind another.
Save Session on Home Screen
Save Current Session button sits directly below the Course and Notes fields on the Add tab.
Improved User Guide
Step-by-step instructions starting with Session Info setup, plus sections on editing putts, reading the map, autosave, a plain-language Strokes Gained Explained section covering both the PGA Tour and handicap baselines, the fundamentals reference and tips.
Quantum Putting Story Repositioned
Story button moved to sit directly below the Session Info box on the home screen.
Version 8
Auto-Save
All putts, sessions, course name, and notes saved automatically using localStorage.
Putt Counter
Live counter in the Enter Putt form shows which putt number you are logging.
Distance Field
Log distance for each putt in feet and inches. Stats tab shows breakdown by distance range.
Earlier Versions
Putting Dispersion Map
Canvas map with pinch zoom, two-finger pan, spiral stacking, and auto-fit on tab switch.
Statistics and Analysis
Long/Short and Left/Right counts, average miss, spread analysis, and distance range breakdown.
Sessions Library
Save, load, and delete named sessions with course name and notes.
Export to CSV
Copy all putt data to clipboard for Excel or Google Sheets.
Outdoor High Contrast UI
Black background with bright green and yellow. Designed for direct sunlight use on the course.
Scaled 4.25 inch Cup
Accurately scaled golf hole with flag and fixed direction labels on the dispersion map.
End User License Agreement
Quantum Putting
Stephen Cummings 2026
Scroll down to read the full agreement
1. Ownership
This app and all content including Bones AI coaching methodology, four fundamentals framework, dispersion tracking, and all associated content are exclusive proprietary IP of Stephen Cummings. Copyright 2026.
2. Protected Methodology
Dispersion data capture, miss pattern analysis, interactive AI coaching, four fundamentals framework, personalised training, and integration of curated expert knowledge.
3. Terms of Use
Personal non-commercial use only. No copying, distributing or creating derivative works. No commercial use. Unauthorized use may result in legal action.
4. Privacy
All data stored locally. Nothing transmitted externally.
5. Governing Law
Laws of England and Wales.
You must accept the End User License Agreement to use Quantum Putting.
Bones AI
User Guide
How to get the most from the app
Quantum Putting helps you track your putts, find patterns in your misses, and improve through data-driven practice.
Step 1 - Session Info
Before logging any putts scroll down on the Add tab and fill in the Session Info box. Enter the Course name and any Notes about conditions such as green speed or slope. This lets you compare sessions across different rounds and practice sessions.
Step 2 - Pick Your Session Type
In the Session Info box choose Round 18, Nine, or Practice. Round and Nine show a hole counter on the Add tab; Practice hides it, which is what you want on the mat or the practice green. The app remembers your choice.
Step 3 - Enter Your Distance
In the Distance field enter how far you are from the hole in feet and inches. This lets the app break down your accuracy at different distances so you can identify which range needs the most work.
Step 4 - Log the Miss
After each putt enter how far you missed left or right, and how far you missed long or short. Enter the distance and tap the direction button. If you holed the putt enter zero for everything and tap Add Putt.
Step 5 - Add the Putt
Tap Add Putt to save it. The counter advances to the next putt. If you missed, the Distance field for the next putt is already filled in with how far you finished from the hole - look for the yellow From Last Miss badge - since that is where you are now putting from. Check it and adjust if you paced it out differently, or just leave it and log the miss. Holing out clears it, since the next putt starts a new hole at a distance the app does not know yet.
The Hole Counter
During a round you should never need to touch it. It starts on hole 1 and moves on by itself the moment you log a holed putt, so two putts on the same hole group together automatically. Use the arrows only to correct it: a hole you chipped in on, a hole you picked up, or a miscount. The hole number is stored on the putt itself, so it follows that putt if you edit it later.
Fixing a Putt You Got Wrong
Use the arrows either side of the putt counter to step back and forward through the session, or tap a row in Putts Logged. The fields fill with that putt, the counter turns amber, and the button changes to Save Putt. The hole counter shows that putt's hole while you are editing, and its arrows will change it. Correct it, then use the right arrow to move on or Done to return to a new putt - your place in the round comes straight back.
Choosing Your Benchmark
On the Stats tab, switch between PGA Tour and your own handicap. Tap Enter handicap, type it in, then Set. Strokes gained across the whole app is then measured against a player of that standard, and the note tells you what the same putts would read against the other baseline.
Reading The Map
Holed putts all sit on the cup and stack outwards, which can bury the near misses. Tap Hide holed putts to strip them out and read the pattern of your misses cleanly. Use the arrows under the map to step through the session one putt at a time: the selected dot gets a white ring, the others fade, and a panel underneath shows that putt's numbers. Tap a dot to jump straight to it. Edit and Delete for that putt are in the same panel.
Your Data Is Safe
Everything is saved as you go - on every putt, when you type in Course or Notes, on a twenty second timer, and whenever the phone locks or you switch apps. The line under Save Current Session shows the time of the last save and how many putts are held. If it ever turns red, tap Export CSV straight away. Saving a session on top of that gives you a named copy you can reload and compare later.
Step 5 - Save Your Session
Tap Save Current Session below the Session Info box. Your data is also saved automatically as you go, but saving here stores it with your course name and notes so you can reload it in the Sessions tab and compare it to future rounds.
Step 6 - View the Map
Tap the Map tab to see your dispersion chart. Each numbered dot shows where that putt finished relative to the hole, coloured by result: green holed, orange inside two feet, red beyond two feet. The legend counts each band. Pinch to zoom, two fingers to pan.
Step 7 - Analyse Your Stats
Tap the Stats tab for a full breakdown. Look at your Left/Right ratio and your Long/Short ratio. A consistent bias in either direction tells you which fundamental to work on. The distance breakdown shows which range causes you the most trouble.
Reading The By Hole Section
Putts per hole and your three-putt count are the two numbers most tied to your score. Below them, every hole is listed with its putts and strokes gained, and the worst hole of the round is outlined in red. On a full round you also get the front nine and back nine totalled separately. Then tap the history button to see your average putts and strokes gained on every hole at that course, across all your saved rounds. That is where the pattern shows up: one green that keeps costing you, round after round.
Step 8 - Ask the Coach
Tap the Coach tab and ask Bones AI about your miss patterns. Try asking about face angle, distance control, reading break, or mental game. You can also type Phil Kenyon, Dave Pelz, or Bob Rotella for their core principles and drills.
Strokes Gained Explained
The clearest, most data-backed measure of putting ability there is. It works the same way on the course and on the practice green, and unlike putt counts it cannot be flattered or punished by the rest of your game.
Why Counting Putts Lies
Two putts from forty feet is good work. Two putts from six feet has cost you most of a shot. Both go on the card as a 2. Worse, your putts per round mostly measures your approach play: hit it closer and you putt from closer, so the number falls without your putting changing at all. Strokes gained fixes both problems by judging every putt against the length you actually faced.
Every Distance Has An Average
Gather enough putts from six feet and you find out how many putts it takes on average to get down from there. That average is the benchmark. From eight feet a tour player averages 1.50 putts. From thirty feet, 1.98. Nobody takes 1.50 putts, but that is the point - it is the par for that distance.
The Sum
Strokes gained for one putt is: expected putts from where you started, minus the one stroke you took, minus what is still expected from where the ball finished.
Hole an eight-footer: 1.50 - 1 - 0 = +0.50. Half a shot better than the benchmark.
Leave a thirty-footer four feet short: 1.98 - 1 - 1.14 = -0.16. Slightly worse than the benchmark, but far from a disaster.
Miss a four-footer and leave it eighteen inches short: 1.14 - 1 - 1.01 = -0.87. That is the real cost of a short miss from close in.
Why The Miss Distance Matters
This is why the app asks how far past or short you finished, not just whether you holed it. Lagging a forty-footer stone dead still gains you something. Blowing it six feet past gives it all back. Two putts that both count as one stroke on the card can be a shot apart in reality.
Baseline 1 - PGA Tour
The default. Mark Broadie of Columbia University built the tour expected-putts table from ShotLink data, and it is the benchmark the PGA Tour itself uses. Scoring against it answers the question: how did I putt compared with the best players in the world? Expect negative numbers. A scratch amateur is roughly a tenth of a shot per putt behind tour standard, so do not read a negative total as bad putting.
Baseline 2 - Your Handicap Group
Shot Scope tracks millions of real amateur shots and publishes putting make rates by handicap group. Their 2026 report gives, for 3-6ft, 12-18ft and 30ft+ in turn: scratch 80%, 20%, 8%. Five handicap 68%, 18%, 4%. Fifteen handicap 60%, 16%, 2.5%. Twenty-five handicap 49%, 13%, 2.5%. Those are the honest numbers for players at each level, and the app turns them into an expected-putts table the same way Broadie built the tour one. Scoring against it answers a different and more useful question: how did I putt compared with players of my own standard?
What The Two Baselines Feel Like
The same eight-foot putt is expected to take 1.50 putts on tour, 1.54 off scratch, 1.68 off fifteen, and 1.77 off twenty-five. So holing it gains +0.50 against the tour and +0.68 against a fifteen handicap - the same putt, measured against a lower bar. Switching baselines does not change your putting. It changes the question you are asking, and both are worth asking.
Why This Matters
Strokes gained turns a vague feeling into a number you can act on. It tells you whether your short putting or your lag putting is costing you shots, and how many. It tells you whether a practice change is working, because the number moves before your make count does. And it settles arguments: a round where you felt like you putted badly but gained half a shot was a round where something else cost you the score. Nothing else in putting gives you that.
The Honest Caveats
The benchmark knows distance only. It cannot see break, slope, grain, or a green running at fourteen, so a single putt on a wicked green can read harshly. Judge it over twenty putts and up, not one. And the break-even point is around thirty-three feet: inside that, a two-putt is already costing you something.
The Four Fundamentals
1. Face Angle at Impact - accounts for around 83% of the ball's start direction, with path contributing the other 17% (Karlsen et al., Journal of Sports Sciences). 2. Line - the stroke path through impact. 3. Distance Control - matching stroke length to putt distance. 4. Mental Game - confidence, routine, and commitment under pressure.
Tips
Log at least 20 putts before reading your Stats for meaningful patterns. Mix distances in each session for a complete picture. Use the Course and Notes fields consistently so sessions are easy to compare. Tap Export CSV to copy your data to a spreadsheet. Set your handicap on the Stats tab so strokes gained is measured against your own standard as well as the tour.
Curated research and principles for better putting
Dave Pelz
The Pigeon Lab
Feedback and Learning in Practice
+
The Principle
Immediate, accurate, and reliable feedback is the essential requirement for efficient learning. Without a direct, consistent link between an action and its result, the learner cannot identify cause and effect and will instead latch onto random, superstitious behaviours that feel meaningful but produce no real improvement.
"If you don't know a good stroke from a bad stroke in practice, you are just as likely to groove the bad one as the better one."
- DAVE PELZ
The Experiment
B.F. Skinner's research used two groups of pigeons with pellet dispensers. The difference was how rewards were given.
Cage 1 - Consistent Feedback
Every lever press released one pellet. Direct and reliable cause and effect. Result: within 2 days every pigeon learned to feed itself consistently.
Cage 2 - Random Feedback
Pellets dropped randomly with no reliable cause and effect. Result: after 2 months not a single pigeon had learned to feed itself. Each invented its own superstitious ritual - wing lifting, chirping, spinning in circles - confidently practising something that had no real effect.
The Putting Green Is Cage 2
A putt goes in or it doesn't - but the player almost never knows the true cause. Was it a good stroke? A lucky deflection? A misread that accidentally compensated for a path error? The feedback is fundamentally unreliable.
Golfers become pigeons - they make a putt while trying a new grip and keep the new grip. They miss three in a row and widen their stance. They saw a tour pro crouch lower on TV and try it next round. None of this is tied to real cause and effect.
The Lesson
To escape Cage 2 you must engineer your practice so that feedback is immediate, accurate, and reliable. Use alignment aids, stroke analysers, training devices, and drills that tell you the truth about each stroke - independent of whether the ball happened to fall in the hole.
Only then are you in Cage 1. Only then can real learning occur.
Source: Dave Pelz Putting Bible (2000) - Chapter 2
