Make the round work

How Putting Works on a Golf Simulator

A simulator can measure a putt, assign putts from a rule or calculate a probability-based result. The selected mode determines what the score means.

Development

Gear & Equipment · Updated October 23, 2026

Three strokes to the green: what score gets recorded?

Original score replay

Three strokes to the green: what score gets recorded?
  1. Fixed · 5 feet

    The published Auto Fixed rule assigns one putt inside 10 feet.

    3 approach strokes + 1 assigned putt = 4.

  2. Fixed · 20 feet

    This lies in the next published band, below 65 feet.

    3 + 2 assigned putts = 5.

  3. Fixed · 70 feet

    Beyond 65 feet, the published rule assigns three putts.

    3 + 3 assigned putts = 6.

  4. Two Putt · 20 feet

    Assume the selected gimme radius is shorter than 20 feet.

    Outside that radius, 3 + 2 assigned putts = 5.

Fictional examples of the published TPS rules, not strokes measured in an installed simulator. Distances avoid the article’s exact 10- and 65-foot boundaries; no unsupported equality rule is inferred.

The short version

  • Check the exact software version and selected mode.
  • Auto-putting and a gimme setting are different mechanisms.
  • Do not compare scores from different modes as equal putting tests.

Pin the software, hardware and mode

Trackman’s download page lists TPS 10.4 as checked October 23, 2026. Its simulator specifications limit Virtual Golf compatibility to Trackman 4 and Trackman iO with a current license. These are published support statements, not proof that every mode works in an untested installation.

The auto-putting article, updated October 9, 2025, describes HCP, Tour Pro, Two Putt and Fixed. The manual-putting article was updated May 20, 2025. Their dates matter: do not relabel these older descriptions as a completed TPS 10.4 runtime test. Check your installed release, selected mode and event settings.

Separate a measured putt from an assigned result

Manual and Manual Aimed involve putting; the latter supplies an aim line. Manual Input instead lets the player enter a number of putts. A typed number is not evidence that the system measured a physical stroke.

Auto Fixed and Auto HCP ignore the gimme setting in the published overview. Two Putt assigns two outside the selected gimme distance, so the last example states that setting explicitly. HCP and Tour Pro use probabilities: the fixed examples do not predict those outcomes. The Tour Pro article contains a malformed probability label, so it is not used to invent a complete scoring model.

Do not infer short-putt tracking or a required room distance from a different launch monitor. The examples replay scoring rules only.

Choose a mode for the session’s purpose

For approach practice, an assigned mode may keep the focus on the approach. For a putting trial, the physical stroke, surface and measurement deserve explicit attention. Neither choice establishes outdoor scoring equivalence.

For real-course surfaces, compare green speed and firmness. For input equipment, use fitting preparation.

Official sources

Published documentation checked October 23, 2026; source dates and installation limits are stated above.

Your next move

Read the governing source

Check the complete official procedure and your event conditions before acting.

Read the governing source(Official source), opens in a new tab

Keep reading

Sources and review

What it covers
Trackman published manuals and the TPS 10.4 download listing checked October 23, 2026. The mode articles were updated in 2025; this is documentation analysis, not a TPS 10.4 installation test.
Checked

Primary sources

What this page cannot tell you

  • Original fictional score examples replay published deterministic rules; no physical stroke, installed software or measured tracking performance was tested.
  • Do not transfer Trackman mode behavior, room dimensions or support claims to another brand or hardware model.