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How to judge your game?

golfinFF

golfinFF

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This game is unique as its an individuals game and the stats that we keep don't really tell the whole truth about our game as a whole.

Score doesn't always tell us how well we played in certain aspects of the round.

This all comes from some threads I've read and thinking about the game and where/what I need to improve on.

So I've got lots of questions based on the bar(s) we judge ourselves against, since we are Amateurs.

Is that bar set by the tours?

Is it set by those you play with/against?

Is it set by your handicap?

Is it based on what you believe is your optimal/performance potential?

How do you judge if your putts per round are good enough? Do you only use putts on GIR since a great wedge game can leave you with lots of easy 1putts.

I ask cause I have never seen a bar we should compare ourselves against(average stats for ams).

Not every question needs answering I'm just looking for how you all judge your games.
 
I set the bar with the people I play with. The world class professionals make up only 0.01% of the worlds golfers so that bar is way too high for the rest of us.

We have around 50 guys that play skins on the weekend and for me the bar is to remain one of the handful of "A" players in the group. It all comes down to GIR for me which means good wedge play simply because I'm not a great putter and it is that part of the game that saved me this year along with much improved putting.
 
I judge my game solely on past performance and current expectations related to the amount of golf I'm able to play and how often I'm able to practice. I its easy to get upset at yourself for things on the course but it's all tied into practice, golf is the one game that truly pays dividends based on your investment.
 
This one is tough for me because I have high expectations for my golf game. I use my handicap as the bar and then look at my mistakes from there. All of us can look back on a round and see where we could have limited our strokes, but I tend to be a little harder on myself if I made poor judgement calls that resulted in more strokes.


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I have pretty well learned to only set the bar at having fun, I will never be a good golfer and I am really too old to worry about that. I still try to shoot as well as I can but I don't stress much over the score. Birthdays are flying by now so not too much to do but work on things like the short game and course management. In our weekly blitz (about 60 guys) I am one of the better golfers and that is enough for me.
 
This is so subjective, obviously there is no one right answer. There are so many variables out there that play into it.

My father, a USGA rules official, guesses that about 25% of golfers, playing by the rules, break 100 consistently. I've never done any real research on this, but that seems fair to me.

My view is that anyone who can keep it in double digits is, worst case, a "decent golfer". From there I use breakpoints at the round numbers for score. Someone usually shooting in the 80's is a "good" golfer. 70's is "very good" golfer. Anything under 70 consistently is elite to me.

This only takes amateurs into consideration. The worst pro is an elite golfer to me.

Also, for me personally, I rate my round some on score, but a lot on the mistakes I make. If I can look at my round and say that the vast majority of my swings were the best ones I could make for that lie, then I'll be content with whatever score it produced. The only thing that really eats at me are mental mistakes, playing what I know are the wrong shots.

Oh yeah, and that every shot I played, to the best of my knowledge, was within the Rules of Golf. That's huge to me personally. No gimmies, no mulligans, no fluffing or foot wedges.
 
I judge my game a lot by my golfing partners.

I am used to being one of if not the worst golfer in the group.
I don't want to have those thoughts/feelings anymore.

I have always had high expectations of myself, and golf I just accepted the fact that's it's a difficult game.
I don't want one or two pars anymore, I want 12, heck I want 14 (others are birdies of course).

I love how now I don't just play golf, I keep my stats.
I do a post round analysis, and while I don't think 12-14 pars are an immediate possibility, I do think with instruction and hard work that it is attainable.

BTW. Others judging our games is brutal too!
 
Score doesn't always tell us how well we played in certain aspects of the round.
I think too many amateurs judge their potential on the highs during a round and disregard the lows. Someone makes a few putts and plays one over or even but ends up shooting a 90. All
They talk about is good stretch and minimize the mistakes they made from 10' off the green.

Is that bar set by the tours? Yes, and it's very unrealistic

Is it set by those you play with/against? It should be, it might make people practice to beat their buddies

Is it set by your handicap? I think hdcp give false hopes to most golfers. It's not a true reflection of their skill level

Is it based on what you believe is your optimal/performance potential? Yes which is usually way inflated

How do you judge if your putts per round are good enough? Do you only use putts on GIR since a great wedge game can leave you with lots of easy 1putts.

Every putt counts and under 30 is pretty solid

I play with so many that get pissed or even worse embarrassed by their play. They don't practice and have no real grasp of the golf swing. I chuckle and keep going. You can't expect to be good if you don't put effort into it.

Expectations should be set based on how you play different courses. Not against your buddies at your home track. Just builds a false sense of security.
 
For years I would break my round down shot by shot. I would rate each shot as follows:

Excellent - executed well with an excellent result; e.g., well-hit drive in fairway, approach to makeable birdie range, pitch to easy one-putt, made putt over 4 feet. Sometimes it also could be a great escape from trouble, etc. Usually, a shot that turns out about as well as I could reasonably hope for.

Good - executed decently enough to not harm scoring chances, but not great. This could be a nice drive just in the rough with a good approach angle, an approach that leaves a reasonable 2-putt opportunity, most any two-putt.

Fair - generally not a very good shot, but not so bad that it cannot be recovered from. This could be a drive to the deeper rough or trees that leaves a decent shot to the green, or an easy approach that misses the green, or a putt or chip that leaves a tough putt to follow. Fair shots usually required excellent shots for recovery.

Bad - poorly executed shot with bad results that most always lead to shots lost on the hole - a ball in the drink, or in the gunch requiring a pitch-out, a missed short putt...

Penalty - self explanatory.

So my scorecard would have holes rated like GEE for a birdie on a par 4, or FGGG for a par 3 bogey. Then I would count the shot ratings and break the ratings into two groups, the EG group and the FBP group. As a 2 handicapper the last years I played, a round near par generally would rate out 80-90% EG. Rounds over 90% were rare. My poorer rounds generally rated out in the 70-80% range.
 
It feels like a cop out to say this, but I think handicap, if kept properly, is my sole judge of my overall game. This year I hovered b/w a 6 and 9, and was the first year I didn't drop substantially (4th year playing regularly). So I consider my year/game mediocre at the moment b/c I'm not improving, and I'm not threatening par on a day-to-day basis. I try to avoid worrying too much about my round to round scores b/c I feel like I can play well and score anything from a 70 to an 85, and have the exact opposite be true as well. Luck has such a large impact on this game that I feel it's not under my control how I score many days, so I worry about statistical averages for how I judge my game.

Now, if you want me to break down for an individual round, I have 5 categories I think about: Putting, short game (<80 yards), attack range (<160 yds), hit and hope range (>160), and driver. I would like 3 of those to be consistent in a round to consider it a good round. When all 5 are working, I threaten par. When none are, I'm lucky to break 90. There are rounds where it's apparent early one of those aren't working, so I try to focus on the others to make up for it. But in general, I judge myself on those 5 aspects, and am happy when 3 work well. FTR, my putting and driving are the 2 weak spots for me. Any round I get one of them going, I'll shoot in the low/mid 70s and help my cap, it's all a matter of how often they come together.
 
Slammin'SAM said:
For years I would break my round down shot by shot. I would rate each shot as follows:

Excellent - executed well with an excellent result; e.g., well-hit drive in fairway, approach to makeable birdie range, pitch to easy one-putt, made putt over 4 feet. Sometimes it also could be a great escape from trouble, etc. Usually, a shot that turns out about as well as I could reasonably hope for.

Good - executed decently enough to not harm scoring chances, but not great. This could be a nice drive just in the rough with a good approach angle, an approach that leaves a reasonable 2-putt opportunity, most any two-putt.

Fair - generally not a very good shot, but not so bad that it cannot be recovered from. This could be a drive to the deeper rough or trees that leaves a decent shot to the green, or an easy approach that misses the green, or a putt or chip that leaves a tough putt to follow. Fair shots usually required excellent shots for recovery.

Bad - poorly executed shot with bad results that most always lead to shots lost on the hole - a ball in the drink, or in the gunch requiring a pitch-out, a missed short putt...

Penalty - self explanatory.

So my scorecard would have holes rated like GEE for a birdie on a par 4, or FGGG for a par 3 bogey. Then I would count the shot ratings and break the ratings into two groups, the EG group and the FBP group. As a 2 handicapper the last years I played, a round near par generally would rate out 80-90% EG. Rounds over 90% were rare. My poorer rounds generally rated out in the 70-80% range.
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I started doing this exact same thing this year. It's very interesting to look back on a round or a number of rounds and see the rating breakdown of my shots.
 
I judge my game based on what I think my potential is. I look back on a round and evaluate where I wasted shots on how and why and what I can do to eliminate them in the future.
 
How do I judge my game? I'm your average amateur golfer, sometimes I show up to the course with my "A" game and sometimes I show up with my "D" game or anywhere in between. I try to look at how I performed that day with the swing I had. I ask myself if I got everything I could out of myself that day.
I give myself an overall grade on the round. Then also grade a few areas of my game individually: Driving, Approach Shots, 60 Yards and in, Putting, Bunker Play, and Mental Game.

It's not always about raw stats for those categories, though I do keep them. Course conditions, playability of shots and weather come into play. Were the pin positions harder than normal? In that case a 34 putt round might get a higher rating than normal. Did I only hit 5 fairways but have 6 more that where playable drives that were solidly struck?

Overall I always have general areas that I'm working on throughout the season with an overall goal of getting to a lower handicap. Right now it's putting and short game. I don't really judge myself against the pros or even golfers of similar handicap, especially on individual stats.
 
I judge my game on mostly 4 categories: tee, iron play, short game and putting

for me it is a good game if i did o k or better in all four categories, regardless of the score
 
I base my performance on Par for each hole. What I am looking for is improvement. With my current game and handicap its obvious there is plenty of room for improvement and I probably over analyze my game but with each hole I try to examine each shot to see why I didn't make Par for that hole. Was it an errant tee shot? How many of those did I have during the round? How about the approach shot did it land on the green or in the hazard? Why did it miss, was it poor club choice or poor execution? Not that my game is good but this past year it got much better than I ever dreamed possible. It just so happens this was the first time I really took an in depth look at what I was actually doing on the course. So I guess I judge myself based on the quality of my entire round I play.
 
Trout Bum said:
I judge my game solely on past performance and current expectations related to the amount of golf I'm able to play and how often I'm able to practice. I its easy to get upset at yourself for things on the course but it's all tied into practice, golf is the one game that truly pays dividends based on your investment.
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These are pretty much my exact thoughts.
 
I judge my game based on me and my previous play. I keep a small journal for all my playing and practicing. Nothing fancy just general impressions of my play. What I did well and what I didn't do well on the day. Things like swing, contact, direction, course management, wind, how well I executed physically and mentally and how well I thought I scored on the day, ie: what worked well for or didn't work well for scoring - one putts, second shots, chipping.

I find often that I make an entry and add more comments to it over the next day or so.
 
1. Raw data (score, fairways, greens, putts, etc.) I don't worry about this on the course but like to assess long-term stats. I'm a dork, I guess, b/c I made a spreadsheet to analyze my progress since 2008 (in addition to Oobgolf).
2. Subjective data (specifically ball striking & "feel" of my swing). I'd rather flush an approach shot ten yards off line than hit a few grooves low and stick it close. In essence, the result means little to me unless I think I'm striking the ball well. I don't want to get lucky, and would like to know I was in total control of the shot.
3. Other variables I consider are whether I'm playing a new course (not expecting too much) and the amount of time I'm able to practice or play.

What I've learned so far is that my putting and driving accuracy impact me the most. My iron and short game play is pretty consistent and good. Putter lets me down often and I know I don't practice it enough!
 
Trout Bum said:
I judge my game solely on past performance and current expectations related to the amount of golf I'm able to play and how often I'm able to practice. I its easy to get upset at yourself for things on the course but it's all tied into practice, golf is the one game that truly pays dividends based on your investment.
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This is pretty much how I judge my game as well - I know on a good day I can shoot considerably better but if I don't have the time to play as much, then I am happy to shoot around my handicap
 
It is possible for me to play very good and not score well.

To someone else looking at my score card and see a bogey on a par 4 might look unimpressive. But, I know what happened. I topped my drive, then hit a 3 wood 235 yards pure uphill around a tree, landed in sand, came out of the sand in 1, but, went over the green, chipped up to 3 inched from the hole, and tapped it in.

That was a tremendous recovery, to me.

I look back and see that at one time or another, I've had a par on almost every hole at my home course.

Two of the par 5's have a lot of ground under repair and trouble around the elevated greens. A bogey is good on these.

Sometimes my driver can do no wrong, while other on other days that putter can not miss.

If I just keep it up, one day it will all come around and, my bad shots won't be as bad.

Then, 3 out of 7, instead of 1 out of 10, shots will do what I want.

It takes time. This past summer I started back to playing golf after a 3 year layoff.

Right now I am only playing 9 holes, once a week.

Considering this, I am playing pretty good.

I save old score cards and make notes on them: 310 yard drive, 170 yard approach 8 inches from the hole, chipped in from 22 foot, etc.

For me it's not just about the numbers.

Although numbers win tournaments, and set handicaps, style and how you got there doesn't matter.

Jackal
 
DawgDaddy said:
I have pretty well learned to only set the bar at having fun, I will never be a good golfer and I am really too old to worry about that. I still try to shoot as well as I can but I don't stress much over the score. Birthdays are flying by now so not too much to do but work on things like the short game and course management. In our weekly blitz (about 60 guys) I am one of the better golfers and that is enough for me.
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I love this reply. Golf is a hard game to be really good at. Millions and millions of players across the world will only ever be so good at it. People loose track of the fact that the professional world class players we love to watch on TV, make up a very very small percentage of all the worlds golfers (around 0.01%). We would all love to be one of them, but the truth is no matter how hard we work, no matter how many hours we put in, it will just simply never happen.

I've been near scratch in my life only to have my index balloon to as high as 16 or so, and then slowly come back down. For me today, golf is all about spending time on the course with my family members that play (including my wife) and my golf buddies. It is all about the times together and all about having, as OG said....FUN! I accepted the fact a long time ago that world class, I'll never be, but I still love the game.

Some of the best people I've ever met and play with on a regular basis are not that good when compared to the world class pro's, but these guys love the game and love being on the course. That is what matters. There is one guy that stands out in our weekly skins game. He is early 60's in age and a 20 handicap, but everyone, including me wants that guy in our group because he has a good time, and loves the game even though he is not the most highly skilled player in the bunch. He has fun because he accepted the fact 40 years ago that he would only ever be so good at the game but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy the game and his close friends.

Bottom line; We all have the bar at a different level and that is ok. I'm now at my age and with my health issues, in the just have fun point.
 
I judge my game based on my past performance and if I improved. I look at the mistakes I made and figure out which ones could have been avoided.(course management) I make mental notes of certain holes if on a course I play regularly so that I know how to attack that course better the next time. I also look at my ability to escape trouble. I'm not always consistent off the tee so my second shot has me scrambling sometimes and I look back on how well I assessed the situation and what the result was.

I guess I take a more mental approach to make sure I am not repeating the same mistakes twice and not throwing strokes away unnecessarily.
 
I tend to judge progress based on whether I'm hitting more fairways, more GIRs, taking less putts in general round to round. I make notes on what led to big numbers on my card, whether it's penalties (and if so what penalty) or bad shots so I can hopefully work on not making those mistakes again. I can tell I'm getting better as I'm managing things better when I do have bad shots and not putting up as many big numbers.

I try not to let anything but my own game dictate any bars I set. I know it could be easy to get caught up in unrealistic goals, so I just try to keep improving myself and I know eventually I'll be on a better level.
 
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