What are your stats like?

ShriekingSheet

I know this is probably pretty niche but I'm interested to know out of those who keep track of their greens in regulation and fairways stats, what are yours like...

I'm off 8 at the minute and hit an average of 5 fairways and 8 greens per round. This is taken from 12 rounds of golf played on my home course, mostly off the medal tees but a couple off the c'ship tees. Par is 72.

The scores in these 12 rounds range from one in the low 90's to a couple in the high 70's.

5 fairways and 8 greens just seems really poor to me. I also have some weird fluctuations such as hitting 3 fairways and 11 greens one day and 9 fairways and 9 greens another day.

It's not something I worry too much about but when I look at it, it makes no sense to me to be honest. Would be interested to see what numbers other people have.

Paulusmaximus

on average i'd say i hit 9/10 fairways a round and then about 12/13 greens per round. Im currently playing off 3. I've played 8 single rounds this year and my lowest round this year is 71 and my highest is 78. Stroke average is exactly 74. Last year i played 22 singles, with 81 being my highest and stroke average being 76. Only had two rounds in the 80's too!

Dublin Spur

How do you keep track of GIR ??
Do you make note of them during each round record them later ??

Paulusmaximus

usually i record them on monday morning in work on the back of a compliments slip!!! 4 columns, fairways hit, greens hit, up and down and putts. I don't keep them but its interesting too see which was the strongest part of your game that week. Last saturday i hit 8 out of 15 fairways, hit 11 greens, got up and down 3 out of seven times and had 29 putts. I won't say what score i shot but you should be able to calculate it from that info. For me anything under 32/33 putts is usually very good.

pistol_75

If you try to think of stats during the round you will drive yourself demented and forget about the object of the game. always good to review though after a good a or bad game and see where you need to improve

stockdam

Is that 5 fairways hit out of 14.........that is quite low.

I don't keep stats but recently I'm hitting on average 10. I'm taking 39 putts per round and getting up and down in approximately 0% so I know where my problems are.

Of the 4 fairways missed 3 are in the short rough and one is next fairway or thick stuff.

I'd change the stats slightly. If you just miss the fairway but are in the short rough with a good lie then that's almost as good as hitting the fairway at times so maybe have a category for that. However if you hit the rough and can't shoot at the green then that's a miss. Maybe that's silly but I'd suggest that if you can't reach the green in regulation because of your drive then that's more important than if you roll five feet into the short rough.

Mister Sifter

Personally, i think if you're going to worry about stats then you have to be quite strict. A missed fairway is a missed fairway in my book.

Anyone else use the Howdidido tracker for their stats? I've used for a year or so now and find it pretty interesting.

Paulusmaximus

i haven't heard of that tracker. what is it and is it readily available?

PhilipMarlowe

Scrambling is where it's at to score low... played with a 5 handicapper at the weekend, he got up and down 6 times on the back 9 to play it in level par, shooting a net 68 (-3) in our medal.

I played 9 last night in even par, hit 4/7 fairways, 4/9 greens, 13 putts, scrambled 4/5 times. Of the missed greens, two were on the fringe and another only missed by a yard so stats don't tell the whole story but I guess it might be a good idea to keep an excel file to monitor over a season. I like looking at the europeantour stats to see where players come relative to their peers

Mister Sifter

Paulusmaximus wrote: »

i haven't heard of that tracker. what is it and is it readily available?

Depends on your club, but alot clubs now use it for publishing results online. Its free to use to check competition scores etc. But, as an added facility you can pay (20 euro per year) to keep a detailed track of your score. It was an fairly average kind of format before, but i had an email yesterday saying a new and improved site is on the way.

www.howdidido.co.uk

kenco

If you are erratic and a high handicapper like me it is very enlightening to keep an eye on the stats, especially GIR and Fairways hit. I tend to get around 6 GIR per round but when I manage to improve on that I really notice my score going up.

Last year in the second round of our captains (which I was well out of) I decided to focus on keeping the ball on the fairway from the tee. I then found I was hitting plenty of greens (i.e. no trees, no rough, etc). Then aimed for mid of the green each time and was only 3 over when I teed off on the 9th (what happened then I wont go into!)

Well worth analysing your stats even for a few rounds as it will focus you and highlight areas for work

stockdam

Didn't Dave Pelz have some data in his Short Game Bible about hitting greens in reg for different categories of golfer?

Scrambling is my weakness (simply because I don't play nearly often enough).........but that's what sorts out the men from the boys.

bigeasy

There is few free online trackers. Going to start using one of them and see how I get on. Strugling a bit at the moment, so will gladly try anything to concentrate on !!

Mat the trasher

Heres a site I've been using this year good value at GP£4.99 per year. They have leader boards to compare against the membership plus a load of stat tools

http://www.myonlinegolfclub.com

Mister Sifter

bigeasy wrote: »

There is few free online trackers. Going to start using one of them and see how I get on. Strugling a bit at the moment, so will gladly try anything to concentrate on !!

Which free ones are best Bigeasy?

bigeasy

Was looking at www.keepmygolfscore.com, I might give it try

Mat the trasher

I've tried a few different stat keepers, most offer free membership for a while or free with limited number of rounds. Then its pay up time. Depends on what you want out of it.

ShriekingSheet

Dublin Spur wrote: »

How do you keep track of GIR ??
Do you make note of them during each round record them later ??

Yeah I have a very simple excel sheet on my work laptop that I update usually on a Monday morning - never have any trouble remembering my rounds at the weekend.

As Graeme said, I find the only way is to be strict on your stats - the fringe is a "missed green" and the light rough is a "missed fairway". As soon as you start giving lee-way you're only fooling yourself IMO.

As I expected, my stats are pretty poxy compared to most. South County is certainly longer and tougher than many courses but I still expect to be doing better. I'm not really any the wiser but thanks for all your posts.

WHIP IT!

I use golfshake.com occasionally.

I do think it's possible that stats can be a little misleading however. For example, on a short, almost-driveable par-four (just taking an example from my last round on Monday evening), I would prefer my drive to be in the semi-rough sometimes if I need to slide a wedge under for 30/40-yard pitch say.

Again, on a driveable par four, if you drive it into the greenside rough, you've missed a fairway but you're sure as hell better off (more often than not) than the fella in the middle of the fairway 100yds away.

Also, the more greens you hit the more putts you're inevitably gonna have, hence pros put more importance on their 'putts per green in regulaton'.

ShriekingSheet

WHIP IT! wrote: »

Also, the more greens you hit the more putts you're inevitably gonna have, hence pros put more importance on their 'putts per green in regulaton'.

That's a great way to measure your putting - I'd never heard of it before. I never liked keeping track of putts per round because I chip and pitch well so can often have a low number of putts without scoring well - the truth being because I missed a stack of greens and pitched up to a few feet rather than hitting 7 irons to 20 feet etc.

Going to keep an eye on that stat - cheers WHIP IT.

Par72

I usually do my stats after each round but I don't keep a record of them, I think I will start though. Just did my stats for my round yesterday and it's a bit depressing. I had 35 points (handicap 2) and I hit 7 out of 13 fairways (missed 5 right and 1 left). Hit 16 greens (missed 2 right). Got up and down 0 out of 2 times. Sand saves 0 out of 2 times. Had 38 putts.

If you are wondering how I hit 16 greens yet had two sand save opportunities and 2 up and down chances it's because I was right beside 2 of the par 5s in two shots.

So looking at these stats I guess I really need to work on my short game.

WHIP IT!

Par72 wrote: »

.... I had 35 points (handicap 2) and I hit 7 out of 13 fairways (missed 5 right and 1 left). Hit 16 greens (missed 2 right). Got up and down 0 out of 2 times. Sand saves 0 out of 2 times. Had 38 putts. ...

A perfect example of what we were talking about regarding putting. Here's a guy with almost flawless ball-striking who took 38 putts in his round. Last Saturday I hit two (yes, two!) greens in regulation in my own round but putter very very well, had 28 putts and 33points (h'cap 15) but I'd be willing to bet any amount of money that the 2 handicapper is a far superior putter to me.

SS, I'm not sure exactly how the putts per GIR is calculated but I'd say someone here will know. Do you just disregard putts from greens you missed at the end of a round? If that was me last Saturday, you'd have only two greens and four putts between them!

Adiaga 2

Putts per GIR is just that - the average number of putts per GIR. So for WI on saturday it was 2. For someone shooting lots of GIRs and holing a few putts it might be 1.6 or something.. For me at the weekend it was 2.5 - 6 GIR and 3 three-putts.

Par72

WHIP IT! wrote: »

A perfect example of what we were talking about regarding putting. Here's a guy with almost flawless ball-striking who took 38 putts in his round. Last Saturday I hit two (yes, two!) greens in regulation in my own round but putter very very well, had 28 putts and 33points (h'cap 15) but I'd be willing to bet any amount of money that the 2 handicapper is a far superior putter to me.

SS, I'm not sure exactly how the putts per GIR is calculated but I'd say someone here will know. Do you just disregard putts from greens you missed at the end of a round? If that was me last Saturday, you'd have only two greens and four putts between them!

Well I don't know about flawless ball striking! I was on a lot of greens but I wasn't exactly stuck to the pin much. I left myself a lot of long putts and three putted twice as a result. Also on the irons that I managed to hit in close I didn't hole any of the putts. In fact I didn't have a single putt green at all.

I think the putts on GIR are calculated by averaging the number of putts on greens that were hit in regulation. So on the 16 greens I hit I had 34 putts, this works out at an average of 2.12 putts per GIR.

billy3sheets

I used to keep mine on a Palm PDA application about 6 years ago. I'd fill it in immediately after a round while the details were fresh in my head. Once it even cost me 1st prize as I realized I had signed for 1pt more than I actually had and I fessed up

There are a number of grey areas such as:
- just off fairway but on light fringe - on or off?
- using putter off the green - count as a putt or not?

They're your own stats so, I guess you can decide...

You probably already know where your game is weak without statistical analysis. Also as mid-high handicapper, developing consistency from week to week is challenging. One week I drive beautifully but putt awfully, next week it is the opposite.:mad:

stockdam

This is where stats can be more trouble than they are worth.......sorry I don't mean to be negative cos if used correctly then they are eye-opening.

Putss per GIR is important. If you miss a green then you don't include the putts but you do include an up and down or missed up and down.

You really should also record the length of your first putt. If you take say 38 putts (all greens hit in regulation) but your average first putt is from 30 feet then it's probably not your putting that is a problem......it's your approach shots. If say you take 25 putts but the longest is 10 feet (a la Duval 59) then that says more about your irons than your putts.

So I think you should use your stats to see where you should focus and then use a finer set of stats to pinpoint problems.

I've recalculated my driving stats and they are more like 8 fairways hit out of 14 but I wasn't counting the ones that were just in the semi rough (very short semi) as they didn't affect the 2nd shot. For instance on one short par 4 I ran out of fairway by 1 foot (next shot over a gorge) but that was much preferable than being 50 yards back in the middle of the fairway.

It's more important to know where you are loosing shots than to worry if you hit the fairway or not. I'd rather cut the corner at a dog leg and roll into the semi than lay up short two or three clubs back.

stringy

stockdam wrote: »

This is where stats can be more trouble than they are worth.......sorry I don't mean to be negative cos if used correctly then they are eye-opening.

Putss per GIR is important. If you miss a green then you don't include the putts but you do include an up and down or missed up and down.

You really should also record the length of your first putt. If you take say 38 putts (all greens hit in regulation) but your average first putt is from 30 feet then it's probably not your putting that is a problem......it's your approach shots. If say you take 25 putts but the longest is 10 feet (a la Duval 59) then that says more about your irons than your putts.

So I think you should use your stats to see where you should focus and then use a finer set of stats to pinpoint problems.

I've recalculated my driving stats and they are more like 8 fairways hit out of 14 but I wasn't counting the ones that were just in the semi rough (very short semi) as they didn't affect the 2nd shot. For instance on one short par 4 I ran out of fairway by 1 foot (next shot over a gorge) but that was much preferable than being 50 yards back in the middle of the fairway.

It's more important to know where you are loosing shots than to worry if you hit the fairway or not. I'd rather cut the corner at a dog leg and roll into the semi than lay up short two or three clubs back.

In any case, more than 36 putts is bad, as that means you've had at least one 3 putt. I usually am very happy to have 30 putts or lower. I usually play well then. h'cap is 7 btw

PhilipMarlowe

On the european tour in 2008:
Greens in Regulation (GIR) - 1st is 13.7 (100th is 12)
Putts per GIR - 1st is 1.7 (100th is 1.8)
Putts per Round - 1st is 27.5 (100th is 30)
Driving Accuracy - 1st is 10 (100th is 8.3)
Scrambles - 1st is 66% (100th is 52.5%) (Karlsson averages 5 missed greens per round and scrambles 3.4 of those)
Sand Saves - 1st is 73.3% (100th is 50%)
Stroke Average - 1st is 69.77 (100th is 71.74)

madds

Licksy wrote: »

Driving Accuracy - 1st is 10 (100th is 8.3)

Is this the number of fairways hit per round? Would have thought it was higher than this....

madds

ShriekingSheet wrote: »

Yeah I have a very simple excel sheet on my work laptop...

Any chance you can pop that up here SS? As there are some great suggestions in this thread (e.g. putts per GIR), we can make tweaks to your version, and come up with a final copy that everyone is happy with.

stockdam

stringy wrote: »

In any case, more than 36 putts is bad,

Probably but not if you were playing on a difficult links course with multi-tier greens. But I was just suggesting that stats alone aren't always the answer.

stockdam

madds wrote: »

Is this the number of fairways hit per round? Would have thought it was higher than this....

Well they are playing on much harder and tighter courses. And they hit the ball much further so that makes it harder to stay on the fairway.

The US stat leader for fairways hit was Olin Browne and his percentage was 79.4 - that's about 11 out of 14.

ShriekingSheet

Yeah Madds, here it is.

I use "versus handicap" instead of shots or +/- par score because it's closer in numbers to GIR and Fairways hit. You'll see what I mean.

I'm not great with excel so some the "formulas" are less than advanced but it does the job for me.

I think it's better that all the input is from your home course for consistency.

Also, given that there's a score card from each round on the tabs at the bottom I'm sure there's some way of working out what holes I'm doing badly on week in, week out...

Any improvements to the file would be greatly welcome!


In the period attached I've gone from 9.0 - 9.4 - 8.4 - 8.7 - 8.1 currently. The stats given are strictly counted ie: the edge of the fringe is off the green, a slightly missed fairway is a missed fairway.

Mister Sifter

Howdidido finally working for me again...

My stats are roughly, from 21 rounds this season...

-Ave putts per round 31.5 (down from 35 last year).
-Greens in reg - 48.7%
-Woods on target 49.5%
-Sand saves - 28% (That seems poor)
-Stroke average - 78.7

PhilipMarlowe

Stats are particularly important for the tour player.
If two guys are hitting 13 greens in regulation but one is taking 1.8 putts per GIR and the other is taking 1.7, that amounts to 5 shots over a 72 hole tournament (about the difference between the best and the 100th best on the european tour at putts per GIR).

For us guys, stats can be interesting but the one that matters most is the number of shots you write on the card!

I played 9 last week in -2, hit 4/7 fairways, 6/9 greens, 14 putts, scrambled 2/3 times, 3 putted once (for par from 25 ft ), 1.66 putts/GIR.

Mr. Larson

Average Strokes Per Round 88.55
Lowest Gross 82
Highest Gross 104
Eagles or Better 0.35%
Birdies 2.82%
Pars 32.39%
Bogies 41.55%
Double Bogies or Worse 22.89%

Greens In Regulation 32.71%
Sand Saves 23.81%
Tee Shots On Target 51.5%
Average Putts Per Hole 1.94
Average Putts Per Round 34.85

My putting stats are improving all the time. Average putts per round was at 2.1x% at one stage and averaging over 36 putts per round. Concentrated on improving that stat getting below 2 and 36 respectively and have done so. Need to keep that stat going south to get lower!

Par72

Par72 wrote: »

I usually do my stats after each round but I don't keep a record of them, I think I will start though. Just did my stats for my round yesterday and it's a bit depressing. I had 35 points (handicap 2) and I hit 7 out of 13 fairways (missed 5 right and 1 left). Hit 16 greens (missed 2 right). Got up and down 0 out of 2 times. Sand saves 0 out of 2 times. Had 38 putts.

If you are wondering how I hit 16 greens yet had two sand save opportunities and 2 up and down chances it's because I was right beside 2 of the par 5s in two shots.

So looking at these stats I guess I really need to work on my short game.

So thanks to this thread I had a short game lesson with my pro last week and spent a good bit of time practicing my putting.

Yesterday I shot two under gross which consisted of hitting 5 out of 13 fairways, 14 greens, 4 out of 8 up & downs, 0 out of 1 sand save and 30 putts. Still a lot of work required on the chipping but the old putting was a lot better.

ShriekingSheet

Par72 wrote: »

So thanks to this thread I had a short game lesson with my pro last week and spent a good bit of time practicing my putting.

Yesterday I shot two under gross which consisted of hitting 5 out of 13 fairways, 14 greens, 4 out of 8 up & downs, 0 out of 1 sand save and 30 putts. Still a lot of work required on the chipping but the old putting was a lot better.

Well done - especially 14 greens and 50% up and downs!
Great golf!