The Blathering Duffer
Stats to Track
Why Track Stats?
Tracking key stats can help to understand what the true weaknesses of your game are. This gives a starting place to work on improvements. We can also look at stats collected by Arccos or Shot Scope to give us some self awareness. Both have millions of shots from golfers across all Handicaps (HCPs) that have been collated and examined by statisticians. For instance, without looking at my stats, Shot Scope tells me that an HCP of 25+ is hitting 3 putts 4 times per round, a 15 HCP 3 putts 1 time per round and a scratch golfer once per 2 rounds. So now I know if I cut down on my 3 putts, I’ll improve my scores. What the stat doesn’t tell us is HOW to improve putting. (See my previous Duffer about putting!)
Here’s another stat that changed the way I hit my approach shots. Most amateurs hit ~80% of their approach shots short of the green. Course designers put most of the trouble (bunkers!) short of the green. I was pretty sure this applied to me so I just started taking a longer club than I would have thought. I may still miss a few short, but I’m hitting more greens or at least miss in better places and avoid trouble.
What Stats to Track?
This can vary depending on your HCP and goals. For most of us, the average golfer, there are 5 stats we can track. I’m going to give you a bit of a twist on some of the traditional stats you might already know and end with a couple bonus stats.
Collect this data for just 3 rounds before you make any changes. After 3 rounds, look at the stats, see where your strengths and weaknesses are, figure out what you can change on your own and what you need help from a Pro to solve. Sometimes, just a little self awareness can really help you focus. Continue to track stats to monitor your progress.
Good Luck, Golf Good and Have FUN!
Stats to Track
Why Track Stats?
Tracking key stats can help to understand what the true weaknesses of your game are. This gives a starting place to work on improvements. We can also look at stats collected by Arccos or Shot Scope to give us some self awareness. Both have millions of shots from golfers across all Handicaps (HCPs) that have been collated and examined by statisticians. For instance, without looking at my stats, Shot Scope tells me that an HCP of 25+ is hitting 3 putts 4 times per round, a 15 HCP 3 putts 1 time per round and a scratch golfer once per 2 rounds. So now I know if I cut down on my 3 putts, I’ll improve my scores. What the stat doesn’t tell us is HOW to improve putting. (See my previous Duffer about putting!)
Here’s another stat that changed the way I hit my approach shots. Most amateurs hit ~80% of their approach shots short of the green. Course designers put most of the trouble (bunkers!) short of the green. I was pretty sure this applied to me so I just started taking a longer club than I would have thought. I may still miss a few short, but I’m hitting more greens or at least miss in better places and avoid trouble.
What Stats to Track?
This can vary depending on your HCP and goals. For most of us, the average golfer, there are 5 stats we can track. I’m going to give you a bit of a twist on some of the traditional stats you might already know and end with a couple bonus stats.
- Fairways In Play…. NOT Fairways Hit. Call this FIP. One of the interesting stats from Arccos and Shot Scope is that Distance off the tee is more important than Fairways hit in your scoring. A Drive that goes 50 yards further, but lands in the short rough is better than the shorter drive in the middle of the fairway. But there are limits. If the long drive is in long rough and you can barely get a club through it, well its not in unfettered play. Nor would a Drive that’s blocked by a tree or under a bush. Our Goal is to have 50% FIP. (A scratch golfer is at 50%, PGA Pro’s are at 60%.)
- Greens in Regulation or GIR. On a Par 3, the first shot should be on the green. On a Par 4, the 2nd shot should hit the green and on a Par 5 the 3rd shot should hit the green. A 25 HCP hits 15% GIR, a Scratch golfer hits 52% GIR and a Pro hits 67% GIR. Make 50% a Goal!
- Proximity to Green or PG. This is tracking where your approach shots hit when they don’t hit the green. What’s important to me is where am I missing: short, long, left and right. I’m not so concerned with distance at this point. If you are a mid to low HCP, you need to be more granular and want the distance from green also. If you are missing mostly short, you will know to take a longer club. If its right, or left but pin high or mid green range, then you have a club head or swing path error, but the right club. Or what I like to say… Right Club, Wrong Place…. Our Goal should be to have 12% in each direction (with 50% GIR!)
- Double Chips. This is a short chip shot around the green that you have total expectation of getting on the green. You might be 6 inches or 16 ft off the green. But you chunk it and it hardly goes anywhere or you’ve completely misgauged the swing and it fails to get to the green. Or you thin it right through the green to the other side off the green. These are score killers. It happens to the best of players, but we need to work on limiting them. High HCP players tend to have 4-5/round. Yikes, that’s 4-5 extra shots. Missing the green on approach is not a score killer, but the bad chip is. We need to get this down to 1/round. The only way to really improve this is to practice and get a chipping lesson. On my score card, I’ll put a line for chips. If its a double chip, its a 2 (or more!). I hope to see 0 or 1 going across my card for each hole. That’s the Goal!
- 3 Putts….NOT number of putts per hole. As an average golfer, we are not expected to hit many birdies at all. Every Par is a victory. If we are on the Green in Regulation, we’ve at least given ourselves a chance at birdie, but our expectation is to get Par, 2 Putts! But if you miss the green and have a short chip and are able to get the ball on the green close to the hole, you’ll have 1 put and Par. So the total #putts can be misleading. Its the 3 putts on a hole that really counts and kills your score. The Goal is to 3 putt no more than once per round.
- Bonus Stat! For the advanced player, mid-low HCP: 6a) Distance from Hole your approach lands. 6b) Distance of putts holed. If you are a mid-low HCP golfer, you are doing great. Now you want to improve your approach shots and extend your putting confidence. You hole 95% of 3 footers, 50% of 6 footers, 30% of 10-12 footers. What distance do you need to work on more. Do you need a putting lesson?
- Bonus Stat! Scoring totals of Birdies, Pars, Bogeys, Double Bogeys and Others (greater than double bogey). At the END of the round count these up. We’d love to eliminate the Others completely, but everyone has a blow-up hole, even the greats. To break 100 (Par 72) you can have 9 Bogeys and 9 Doubles (+27). To break 90, you can have 5 Pars, 9 Bogeys and 4 Doubles (+17). To Break 80 think of it as 12 Pars, 5 Bogeys and 1 Double (+7). If you score an Other in any of these scenarios, you’ll need to make it up by cutting back on Bogeys and Double Bogeys. Goal 1) Eliminate the Others and 2) Decrease Bogeys and Doubles appropriate to your scoring goal.
Collect this data for just 3 rounds before you make any changes. After 3 rounds, look at the stats, see where your strengths and weaknesses are, figure out what you can change on your own and what you need help from a Pro to solve. Sometimes, just a little self awareness can really help you focus. Continue to track stats to monitor your progress.
Good Luck, Golf Good and Have FUN!
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