Month: July 2012

Categories
Golf Tips

How Statistics Can Improve Your Golf Game

By Shooting 90

Statistics from your round can help determine what area of your golf game should get priority at the practice range. There are a large number of stats you can track, but because too many stats just become noise, I like to track only a few simple stats for each hole.

  • Fairways Hit (Driving Accuracy)
  • Greens in Regulation
  • Number of Putts
  • Number of Penalty Strokes

These four statistics are easily tracked on a scorecard.

Example of Scorecard Stats

There’s one stat missing here that is commonly tracked by others and that is sand saves. A more appropriate stat, and one I may begin tracking, is green side saves. It is the percentage of times you get up and down when in close proximity to the green. The short game – pitching, chipping and putting – is the biggest area in which high handicap golfers can shave strokes off their game. I already track number of putts and tracking green side saves will not only provide feedback on my pitching and chipping but will also help further clarify my putting stats.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the stats I currently track.

Fairways Hit

This is called driving accuracy on the PGA Tour. You track whether or not your drive stopped in the fairway on each hole. At least in the way I presently track it, this is the least beneficial stat I track.

The quality of your shots off the tee can not be fully justified by a yes or no answer. You can miss the fairway to varying degrees. Your ball can be just off the fairway sitting up nice in the first cut of rough or it can be 100 yards back in the woods. Both of these count as a missed fairway. Golf Digest published a different system a few years back to track driving accuracy. It involves scoring missed fairways on a scale of zero to four. Find more information on this system by following the link below.

The Real Measure Of Driving Accuracy

This is an interesting system that does a better job of tracking driving accuracy. However, I choose not to use it. It’s more work and I prefer to keep things simple while I’m out on the course.

A yes or no answer to whether or not you hit the fairway still provides valuable information. After all, the goal is to hits as many fairways as possible. Just remember to look back on the fairways you missed. Did you still leave the ball in a good position? Did you strike your drives well today? Or did you mishit your shots of the tee and incur penalties? You need to focus on both proper club selection off the tee (you don’t always have to bomb your driver) and hitting these clubs at the practice range if you are getting into trouble off the tee.

Greens in Regulation

Greens in regulation, in my opinion, is the most important stat any golfer can track. Hitting a green in regulation means you are on the green and have a birdie putt or better. The ability to hit greens, along with putting, is the key to scoring low in golf but it also plays a big role in taking a high handicap golfer to shooting 90.

Missing too many greens puts a lot of pressure on your short game. When you hit greens in regulation, unless you four putt, the absolute worst you can score is a bogey. As an improving high handicap golfer, you should be hitting between 25% and 50% of greens in regulation depending on where you are at in your journey to shooting 90. If you are not in this range, you need to work on both club selection and hitting those clubs at the practice range.

Number of Putts

The number of putts you make on each hole is an important stat. After all, the putter is the most used club by a wide margin. It makes senses that putting provides the most opportunity to improve your scoring.

But this stat can also be misleading. A three putt from ten feet is much worse than a three putt from fifty feet. Also, a large number of holes with one putt does not necessarily mean you are scoring well. It could mean you are missing a lot of greens, chipping on and leaving yourself short putts.

There are other ways to track putts that have been developed. One is to count the length of the last putt on each hole and totaling them up for the round.

The more feet of putts you make during a round, the better you are putting. This isn’t fool proof either as one long putt can skew the numbers. Keeping things simple, I just count the number of putts per hole. I do however make sure to look at all my stats in relationship to one another.

Number of Penalty Strokes

Minimizing penalty strokes goes hand in hand with moving towards shooting 90. I track the number of penalty strokes I have on each hole.

At the end of the round, I can look back on the holes I had penalties on. There can be several different causes of penalty strokes. Sometimes you just hit a poor shot. Emphasize that club the next time you’re on the practice range. Sometimes it might be choosing the wrong club. Try hitting 3 wood off the tee on holes where your driver is getting you into trouble.

Keeping stats for your rounds is a good way to target areas for improvement in your golf game. Keep the number of stats manageable and remember to look at all of your stats in relationship to each other.

Categories
Putting

Eliminating Three Putts

By Shooting 90

Too many three putt holes during a round are one of the major roadblocks in the way of high handicap golfers shooting bogey golf. Even if we do everything else right on the hole and hit the green in regulation, we still only reach our goal of scoring a bogey if we three putt. We need to take advantage of hitting greens in regulation by making pars or better yet birdies. High handicap golfers are not going to hit most greens in regulation. Three putts on these holes will lead to double bogies or worse. Too many of these holes, no matter how well we play on the other holes, and we can never recover to shoot a round of bogey golf.

How do we minimize three putts?

Speed is the number one factor in reducing three putts.

The speed of the putt determines how far the ball will travel. Except for a few putts with extreme slope that will break a tremendous amount, you will always be within a few feet of the hole for your second putt if you have the correct speed regardless of whether or not you judge the break correctly. Obviously the key to reducing three putts is to leave yourself high percentage putts for your second putt if you don’t sink your first putt.

A consistent putting stroke is key for having the correct speed on your putts.

There are several different putting styles, grips and putters one can use. I do not believe any of these has a major advantage over the others. The putter you choose comes down to what feels most comfortable to you.

There are things you will want to do consistently regardless of the putter you use.

  • Your eyes should be over the ball. The putting stroke and stance are much different than the full swing setup. Your head should be directly over the ball and you should be looking straight down at the ball. From this position, it is easiest to create the pendulum motion needed for a consistent putting stroke. Your shoulders act as the base of the pendulum if you are using a short putter. Your wrists remain still unlike in the full golf swing. The end of the putter acts as the base of the pendulum and is anchored to your body if you are using a long putter.
  • When putting, your follow-through should be as long as the backswing. Many high handicap golfers do not follow all the way through on their putting stroke. This is important for all putts but especially for short ones. The length of your putting stroke should also relate to the length of the putt. The longer the putt, the longer your stroke should be.
  • Try to putt the ball 12 to 18 inches past the hole on every putt within 15 feet. You’ll never make putts that do not reach the hole. The more putts you can make means less short ones to finish up and fewer strokes on your scorecard. Consistently leaving your putts 12 to 18 inches past the hole puts the ball at the ideal speed to go in when it does catch part of the hole.

Get a good read on the elevation change from your ball to the hole.

Most high handicap golfers I see only read the break of the putt from behind the ball looking toward the hole. I do what you see most professionals do. I read the putt from both behind the ball looking toward the hole and from behind the hole looking toward the ball. Sometimes the break is much easier to see from one side over the other. When walking to the other side, I pause and look at the putt from the side. This view provides the best look of any elevation change from the ball to the hole which is crucial in judging the correct speed of the putt. You may be thinking this will take too long but there is actually plenty of time on the green to do this while others are lining up chips and putts.

Judging the correct speed of your putts will get you close to the hole if not in but there is another thing needed to minimize three putts.

You need to make short putts.

You can do a great job of judging speed, but you will inevitably misread the break on a lot of putts leaving two to three foot putts. You have to have the mindset that you are going to make all of these. The biggest help in making short putts is to practice them. I see people practice their putting on the practice green all the time but how many of them do you see practicing short putts or at least finishing up the putts they leave from their long attempts? Include some time on the practice green to practice three foot putts.

As we touched on earlier, remember to follow through on every putt – especially the short ones. I have a tendency of not following through on short putts. I end up “stabbing” at the ball and pushing the putt to the right.

Three putts can wreck an otherwise good round. You can shave a lot of strokes from your score on the green. The correct speed of putts and the ability to make almost every short putt will reduce the number of three putts you have.

Categories
Golf Fitness

The Benefits of Walking Around (of Golf)

By Shooting 90

I’m not sure of the exact breakdown, but golfers who ride in a cart substantially outnumber those who walk. I guess I should not find this surprising in our society. In my opinion, there are very few benefits riding in a cart will give you over walking.

You can complete a round in less time by riding a cart if you are playing alone. However, there is significantly less time saved when playing in a foursome. Besides, what’s your hurry?

Since most carts have roofs, you will stay drier in rainy conditions by riding a cart. You will still get wet when playing your shots, and once you’re wet you’re wet, this is not a huge benefit.

The last benefit of riding in a cart, and the biggest one in my opinion, is that it allows people who may not physically be able to walk a complete round to still enjoy the game they love. This post is to those of us who are physically able to walk the course to rethink riding in a cart and consider the benefits of walking.

The most obvious benefit of walking is a healthier you. The length of an average 18 hole golf course is around three and a half miles or five and a half kilometers. Since we all tend to zigzag around the course a bit, plan on walking over four miles or six and a half kilometers for 18 holes. Walking can lower your bad cholesterol, raise your good cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, reduce your risk of diabetes, help manage your weight and keep you fit.

Besides the health benefits, walking instead of riding in a cart also benefits your golf game.

First, you can set your own pace. Unless you are playing alone, you will likely have another golfer sharing your cart. Many times the other golfer will be next to you waiting in the cart when you are preparing to shoot. This instinctively creates a rushed feeling and more tension in your golf swing. By walking, you still get the social enjoyment of playing with a group, while being able to set your own pace for each shot.

Setting your own pace will create more consistency in your pre-shot routine. I’m not a fan of a long pre-shot routine, as 15 to 20 seconds is plenty long enough, but you do want the same routine every time. Walking enables you to take the time, every time, for a consistent pre-shot routine.

When you walk, you’ll never be stuck with the wrong club. Many times when riding a cart with a partner, you’ll grab a club for your upcoming shot before taking a good look at it. The thinking is you can save some time by having your partner take the cart to their next shot. Does this give you enough time to properly judge your lie, the wind, or your target? Many times it may but there will be times when you wish you could change clubs but go ahead and hit the wrong club anyway. Proper club selection is crucial for every shot. Hitting the wrong club can easily lead to a big score on a hole for a high handicap golfer.

Try walking your next round instead of riding in a cart. You will feel better physically and see benefits in your golf game.