Golf Stats - Anyone use them to improve

[OperationScratch]

Hi Guys/Gals,

When I first started working with a coach a couple of years back he was a big advocate for getting me to write down stats for the whole round like FW's Hit/Missed was it long, short, left of right. Penalty strokes, Greens Hit/missed left,right, short or long. How many putts, sand and par saves etc. He recommended a programme to download which compiles all the results round by round and shows against handicap averages where the strengths and weaknesses were in your round so that you KNOW EXACTLY what to practice or work on with your coach. Anyone else do this? and have you found it works to improve flat spots in your games?

 

[big_mean_bunny]

I started this for the first time this year on the advice of the pro who comes into the school where I work. I have been marking my card to indicate if I hit the fairway, how many irons, shots within 40 yards and putts. Has made for some interesting viewing even from the one round I have had this year. My golf ambition for this year is to consistantly score under 100 so I don't need to be as detailed as you mentioned.

 

[Sneds]

I'd recommend this program:

http://www.scoresaver.co.uk/

The creator of the program is on these forums - SS2. He doesn't post much, but he'll always reply quickly if you PM him with any problems.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I use Scoresaver2 and its brilliant. It records all the important stats and gives a host of information. Add in the fact you can record practice sessions and lesson information and it makes it a great all round package. It really helps show where you are struggling and how you are spending your practice time

 

[OperationScratch]

I'd recommend this program:

http://www.scoresaver.co.uk/

Thats what I use too, did not want to come across as being an advocate for a product as still new to forums...LOL

But yeah as its mentioned...its perfect for the job

 

[Tiger]

No idea whether it works or not as I've not been playing very long but I do it with Scoresaver 2. I've only applied it to my play on the 9 hole par 3 course. My first set of statistics showed my putting when I hit GIR was high and my par scrambles were low.

I worked a lot on my chipping and putting last month and both my putting stats for GIR and non GIR improved as did my par scrambles. This month I'm working on ball striking as again the stats have shown that I hit a lot of shots fat and therefore come up short.

If you go to www.improvemygolf.co.uk there is a discounted price for SS2 if you wanted a package to collate your results.

 

[Sneds]

I'd recommend this program:

http://www.scoresaver.co.uk/

Thats what I use too, did not want to come across as being an advocate for a product as still new to forums...LOL

But yeah as its mentioned...its perfect for the job

I don't think it's a huge problem if you like certain things as long as you're not affiliated to it.

If you received a % of scoresavers profits, then people would have an issue with it x

 

[Robobum]

Stats on their own hold very poor information and need to be analised along with some brutal honesty of your game too.

EG.

I miss all 18 greens but was on the fringe inside ten feet from every pin.
Stats will tell you to work on your irons and approach shots but is that really true??

I know this is an extreme but can you see the point?

Using the same (extreme) scenario: According to the stats I take 18 putts for the round as every putt from the fringe does not count as a putt. So in reallity I hit the ball 36 times with the putter and haven't holed anything more than a tap in but the stats will tell you you are a putting genius!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think you need to be pragmatic with the information but the great thing about SS2 is you can drill down into clusters or round by round and get a much more honest appraisal of the game

 

[BrianDamage]

I’ve always been stat obsessed. Cricket’s always been my sport which is very stats orientated so that’s probably where the obsession has it’s origins. When I took up golf 18 months ago after 15 years + out of the game I started keeping a lot of stats on a spreadsheet from each round. Like fairways hit, greens in reg, putts, pars, birdies, 3 putts, etc.

I think it’s great to track your progress and look at areas where you need improvement. You always get a feeling for where you’ve improved your game but it’s nice to see it in black and white. It has got a tad depressing lately as I feel my progression is grinding to a halt. I probably could use this information better in terms of tailoring my practice.

It might sound a bit tedious to some but when you’re doing it on work’s time and you’re an accountant it’s actually very exciting.

 

[iGolf]

It might sound a bit tedious to some but when you’re doing it on work’s time and you’re an accountant it’s actually very exciting.

glad i'm not the only accountant spending his working hours on golf stats

instead of buying a program 'm just putting together my own spreadsheet

 

[Screwback]

The only stat i look at is my handicap other than that i dont know what i need to know TBH if i am off seven i can drop seven shots and play to my handicap if that means getting up and down from everywhere or making 7 3 putts so be it. I dont see how it should help concentrate your practise to a certain area of your as IMO you should practise your whole game as an amatuer we are meant to be doing it as enjoyment.

 

[OperationScratch]

True, but isn't the reason why here are millions of golf books, websites and instruction articles in every single issue of every single monthly golf mag, becasue people want to improve. So if this is the case I suggest its best that you concentrate on areas you are most weak.

I agree you should practice all areas. Point in case is my driving is awful, so I have done nothing but worked on long game improvement over the winter at the range while it snowed. My short game held up well prior to this as I was pitching 50 yard and below shots every day in my garden. If you guessed that my game had reversed in its fortunes since playing real golf (post snow) you would be bang on....

 

[birdieman]

Seems to me like low handicappers aren't bothered with this gathereing of data, whereas mid and high handicapers are more so inclined. Not sure why that is.
Doesn't a player instinctively know where the weaknesses lie, I think I do about my game and would practice those elements more to try and score better.

Saying that apparently Poulter went for stats analysis in a big way and has been practicing weaker parts of his game to obvious good effect.

 

[Screwback]

Doesn't a player instinctively know where the weaknesses lie, I think I do about my game and would practice those elements more to try and score better.

That is the comment i was trying to get accross although i do agree that stats will help you improve specific parts of your game i just dont think it is crucial to us amateurs. If your hitting your driver bad your not going to need stats to tell you that and other parts of your game will slip if you do not concentrate on them as much.

as for Poulter i think at his level stats will play a big par as he is consistent enough to make them useful as the rest of his game is not as likely to fall apart.

 

[Fyldewhite]

Did all this for about 6 years. Year 6 was very little different to year 1 yet my handicap was 5/6 instead of 9/10. Main reason for improvement was that my drives that missed the fairway only missed by a few yards instead of being deep in the clag.

Conclusion: The stats told me very little about my game or where to concentrate practice etc. It's all a load of rubbish and I now have a bit more of my life back.

 

[funkyfred]

I personally use Scoresaver which I think is an excellent tool. But like all statistics they must be used in the correct way. Yes i agree that if you look at your last 2 rounds they wont tell you anything you dont already know, poor driving, GIR, to many putts etc. Its when you look at the figures when you have sufficient amounts of data to see where you are going right/wrong.

So after a period of time you can begin to see if there is an improvement. I cant remember what my third quarter ststa where for last year but scoresaver will tell me, and then I can see if there is any improvement in this quarter.

 

[Tiger]

But on SS2 you can include notes and comments which add extra detail when reviewing your performance

 

[iGolf]

I guess there will always be two camps - those that like stats or those that don’t care.

I for one love them, would do if I was a tour player, low h/c or whatever

 

[Imurg]

SS2 also tells you which holes you bugger up more often. There's a couple of holes on my course that I didn't think I played too badly but looking at the stats I generally bogey it (no shot either)