A year in review (almost...)

[lowfi]

Hi everyone,

So the year is almost complete for all of us and I know that most of you are already feeling the teeth of winter. Fortunately in southern California we still have a bit of golf left in us! :blob:

After a year of ups and downs, equipment changes, swing changes, etc. etc. I've compiled my yearlong statistics on my game. It is pretty surprising, more-so interesting, to look at your game solely from the numbers. I grouped all of my stats based on the quarter, just because year long averages would not clearly show progress/regression and not allow for equipment changes or swing changes to show if they helped or hindered. Some of the numbers are skewed because I didn't play as much golf over a few randomly spaced months this year.

I'd like to post these stats on THP so that everyone can take a look and help me decipher what areas I need to work on in the upcoming 2013 season. The stats will be from the last quarter of the year (only 10 rounds averaged). Hopefully I will start to widdle away at some of my scores. My ultimate goal is consistency because I really threw away a lot of shots this year when my rounds were going pretty well. These numbers may change a bit as I will get in probably 3-5 more rounds before the year ends, but hey, at least it's a start. I think next year I will try to work harder on the stuff that I really don't enjoy to practice, but I think that's the only way I can start to drop some strokes..

Thanks for all of the input and I hope that everyone has a great off season!

2012 Scoring (Oct - Dec):
Avg Strokes Per Hole - 4.45 (down from 4.49 in January)
Average Strokes Par 3 - 3.8 (up from 3.72)
Average Strokes Par 4 - 4.6 (down from 4.66)
Average Strokes Par 5 - 5.2 (down from 5.56)

2012 Fairways Hit % - 62.0% (up from 61%)

2012 GIR's
Overall - 43.00% (up from 35%)
Par 3's - 38% (up from 34%)
Par 4's - 38% (up from 29%)
Par 5's - 65% (up from 50%)

Penalties per hole - 0.08 (down from 0.11) (need to work on this! - mainly OB from the driver)

Strokes putting per hole - 1.84 (down from 1.88) (I think this is the biggest area for improvement)

So looking back on my stats, I've noticed my scoring on par 5's has gotten much better, I think mainly due to being able to confidently hit my 3w off of the deck. I think that my par 4 scores are decent, but i would like to see my par 3 scores drop closer to 3. My fairways hit looks pretty good but I would say the more realistic number is around 50%, I would like to see that number higher. It is hard to score good when you only land in the fairway every other time...

My biggest problem spot is putting. My last quarter averaged at 1.84 but my yearly average is 1.74 equaling around 31 putts per round. That's not cutting it. Usually when I GIR, I two-putt. I've gotta find new ways to practice putting, or reading the greens, etc because I do put in the time with putting but it doesnt seem to be paying off. At best this year I average 30 putts a round. I got fitted for a putter in late September and it seems to be working out, especially on short putts which kill me. Hopefully it will pan out. Let me know what you all think.

Have a great winter.

Cheers,

Sean

 

[DawgDaddy]

Good to see that over the year everything improved for you. I wish I could say the same.

 

[lowfi]

Some stuff improved which I am stoked about. I feel like I put the most effort into putting and it didnt get better. This was the first year that I put a lot of time into the game. It is fun to see some results. I usually dont stick to things long term, so it was a pretty fun adventure. Any tips/comments?

 

[Jank]

Congrats on getting better on all of these stats!

I see that you hit the green on par 3s almost 40% of the time, but your stroke average is 3.8

I'd say work on short game (easier said than done, I know) and scrambling. I would think that hitting the green at that rate would result in an a lower par 3 scoring average. Just my 2 cents. As long as you are getting better, though, you are ahead of the game.

I really need to keep better stats for myself. I think this is a great way to see where to improve on your game.

 

[lowfi]

This is exactly what i was looking for. Thanks Jank! I need help analyzing the data. That was key about short game. That is definitely where my strokes seem to be dropping. I cant seem to chip/pitch within 4ft of the hole. That is a huge part of scoring well for me.

Data is key...

 

[livegolf]

Those stats look pretty good to me, better than mine I think once I get them all entered. I am surprised that your handicap is not lower.

 

[lowfi]

My scoring average is 81.7. I think that my fairway % is sort of high because I dont always play driver...hit a lot of irons/hybrids/woods from the tee. I am trying to get better at course management in that respect. I am slowly realizing my short game is killing me lol.

 

[Texas Hacker]

How far away are your avg. approach shots on par 4s? How far from the hole on avg. are your approach shots. Ben Hogan once complained to his wife he was having trouble making long putts. She said well just hit the ball closer to the hole. If you search for it you can find the chances to hit long putts and at 10ft and over the chance of making a putt decreases greatly even for the pros.

Depending on the distance you avg for your approach shot I would look to increase G.I.R. which will increase your chances for making one or two longish putts for birdie.

On the other hand probably talking through my hat and advice is to often worth what you pay for it. Congrats on the improvement.

 

[lowfi]

My approach shots on par 4's probably range from 150 to 110 depending on the length of the hole. If I hit a GIR my distance to the hole is probably around 25 feet...on average? If I stick one every now and then it'll be close, but maybe on average 20-25ft.

I feel like at those distances it's really hard to expect great things. You also have a very real chance and 3 putting. I wish that I kept track of my GIR %'s when hitting from certain distances. However, I want the game to still be fun so I dont want to record too many stats lol.