Stats - There is only 1 that matters.

[bluewolf]

I'm not a fanatic of stat keeping really, but the Game Golf makes it a bit of fun.. It's genuinely interesting to see the patterns develop over time. Learning your actual club averages makes it worthwhile on its own (I wouldn't recommend it for some forumers as disappointment is guaranteed)..

But, just as important as keeping stats, is the ability to analyze them properly.. Looking at Putts per round is misleading if you don't take into account the effectiveness of your short game. Focusing on FIR is pointless if you don't then improve your GIR..

 

[turkish]

You're right, it is the only stat that matters and you know whether you are putting or driving well / badly but the other stats add some context.

The 36 putts thing is an interesting one. For me it all depends on how many greens you hit in regulation. If you hit loads then the chances are you will have more putts. Whereas if you miss plenty of greens but are chipping well then you'll have less putts.

The upshot is that stats can be missleading!

Yeah agree with this totally- played 1st game of the year with Game Golf yesterday and had 1.92 putts per round which initially I thought great but then got thinking- my GIR was only 24% but even that stat was a bit iffy as a lot of my chips were 7 Iron chip putts from the fringes then had a lot of 1 putts.

As a side note I have re-found my love of Game golf with the shot detection feature only realised recently it done this as I used to forget to tag too many times in a round

 

[tsped83]

Never ever kept a stat in my life. Talk about sucking the enjoyment out of the game. If you can't tell the weaknesses in your game there must be something wrong with you.

Amen.

 

[3565]

Stats now are about shots gained from where you are on the course. It's not about Fir GIR or number of putts now, it's how many shots you take from a certain position that's come from millions of shots of data from Shotlink on the PGA tour.

its more involved then just fir gir putts, you need to know distances from the hole, the club used, where you are on the course, your missed putts on high side low side short or long. So a lot more involved to which a lot wouldn't go to the bother with.

 

[CMAC]

I'd never even heard of FIR and GIR before coming on here. Seems the higher the handicap the more the focus on stats (and points). Just an observation.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

You'll be surprised. I reckon the vast majority of players who don't keep any stats will think the main problem with their game is how far they drive the ball and off the tee. Plus looking at things subjectively if you take 40 putts in a round is the problem because you're rubbish at putting, or the fact you're always hitting your first putt from 50 ft away.. and is that because you're duffing your short chips, or poor from 100 yards? Stats can prove very useful to helping you identify the actual weaknesses in your came over the perceived weaknesses.

Maybe - but as you mention driving - my driving isn't up to it's usual standard at the moment - but my recovery play is good. My problem is the wee short putts. So for my driving I will focus on my pre-shot routine and getting set and comfortable over the ball - to do what I know works - and it'll come back. On the putting though - I'll maybe spend ten minutes on the PG before I play. Problem with missing the tiddlers - there is no recovery opportunity.

 

[JohnnyDee]

I read with interest comments about how many putts people take per round, fairways hit, GIR etc. It is something I've never really paid any attention to. I know if I'm putting well or driving the ball well or hitting my irons well.

If I have 36 putts, have I putted well or badly? Or have I struck the ball poorly and chipped poorly? Or not hit my ball well and left myself in 3 putt country and done well to get down in 2 each time?

The only stat that matters to me is the number in the bottom right corner of the scorecard. That tells me all I need to know.

Hey! Starting a thread?! You'll be after my title soon!😳

Must agree with this by and large. I know when bits of my game are going well or badly and consequently where I need to practice, so tend not to hang an actual number on them.

I will frequently count up my total putts in a round but never record them anywhere.

I have a friend who's off 3 and keeps meticulous stats. I'm off 12 so...err...

Anyone got a good Exel Template for keeping golf stats? 👀😄

 

[Region3]

I've had periods keeping stats and also not keeping them.

What is most surprising to me is that I will walk off the course thinking a b c was good and x y z was bad, but when i look at it later the opposite can sometimes be true.

Agree with Rich that it would suck the fun out if I thought about it while I was playing, but I don't. 10 minutes on the computer when I get home and it's done.

 

[Ethan]

I read with interest comments about how many putts people take per round, fairways hit, GIR etc. It is something I've never really paid any attention to. I know if I'm putting well or driving the ball well or hitting my irons well.

If I have 36 putts, have I putted well or badly? Or have I struck the ball poorly and chipped poorly? Or not hit my ball well and left myself in 3 putt country and done well to get down in 2 each time?

The only stat that matters to me is the number in the bottom right corner of the scorecard. That tells me all I need to know.

Well, obviously the game of golf is about scores, but it should also be obvious that the point of stats is to identify what elements are predictive of a good score for you, and identify the best value areas for practice or strategy. For example, even though you might get the odd eagle, but going for par-5s in 2 may be a bad strategy for most golfers, and a 3 wood, 6 iron and wedge may give better rewards. It would be useful to know that.

I think I remember reading somewhere that the most predictive stat of all was distance from the flag in regulation, and Dave Pelz pointed that out to Tom Kite, who then developed his strategy of playing to a 60 degree wedge shot as often as possible, because he could get that close to the flag. Kite improved his average distance from the flag by a few feet and his scores dropped and trophy count shot up.

 

[turkish]

Re the fun thing I think that's horses for courses as some people will get fun out of it that way and some won't

 

[Region3]

Anyone got a good Exel Template for keeping golf stats? 👀😄

Scoresaver2 used to be a paid Windows program, but is now free.

 

[Matty]

Although the overall score is critically important I feel I have made some significant improvements recently by tracking my scores. The tracking of things like GIR, FIR, putts and the number of pars / round has enabled me to focus on specific areas of my game where improvements in that aspect would provide the greatest benefit to the overall score.

The numbers simply allow you to assess your own game. If you are putting more than usual it could be that your putting is letting you down, conversely your putting might be getting you out of trouble if you are getting into some bad positions on the green, so approach play needs a check. Stats just help you assess your own game, you can manage without them for sure but if you use them well they can be useful.

 

[Dan2501]

You can very easily get bogged down in stats, but I personally find them useful, and I do feel like knowing my stats has helped my game. I knew my putting wasn't the strongest part of my game, but didn't realise how weak it was, and how much I needed to improve it if I wanted to get to the level I want to. GAME Golf is something I've really enjoyed using, and once I start playing regularly (basically from this weekend onwards) I'll be able to track my improvements on the same course, and start to integrate them into my practice more and more. GAME Golf also removes the dullness from recording stats. There's no excel document to fill in after my round, I don't have to waste time writing every detail onto my scorecard, and my stats are displayed in a well-organised, easy to read format. I love it.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Having been there and done that with statistics as a scientist and in quality I know more than most the value if statistics.

I also know that collecting useful data can take time and should only be done when necessary.

If you cannot determine through observation what is costing you shots then stats are important.

I know through observation what I need to work in, I don't need to waste time and effort collecting stats that in the end do not add value. I can then use that time to fix things or focus better during the round.

When the time comes that my observations are insufficient I will turn to data to help, I doubt that will be anytime soon however.

 

[MendieGK]

Re the fun thing I think that's horses for courses as some people will get fun out of it that way and some won't

Agreed. I love stats, and it adds to my golfing experience going home and analysing them!!

 

[CMAC]

Well, obviously the game of golf is about scores, but it should also be obvious that the point of stats is to identify what elements are predictive of a good score for you, and identify the best value areas for practice or strategy. For example, even though you might get the odd eagle, but going for par-5s in 2 may be a bad strategy for most golfers, and a 3 wood, 6 iron and wedge may give better rewards. It would be useful to know that.

I think I remember reading somewhere that the most predictive stat of all was distance from the flag in regulation, and Dave Pelz pointed that out to Tom Kite, who then developed his strategy of playing to a 60 degree wedge shot as often as possible, because he could get that close to the flag. Kite improved his average distance from the flag by a few feet and his scores dropped and trophy count shot up.

.....if you wanted to suck the fun out of that 'hero' shot we all do all the time.

Stats are fine for Pro's and elite ams, the rest of us want to be Seve for a moment and that's what makes us happy.

 

[bluewolf]

.....if you wanted to suck the fun out of that 'hero' shot we all do all the time.

Stats are fine for Pro's and elite ams, the rest of us want to be Seve for a moment and that's what makes us happy.

Quite a sweeping statement really. The rest of US can make our own minds up thank you very much..

Oh, and knowing the percentages does not stop me from taking on the Hero shot from time to time.. :whoo:

 

[Keeno]

I don't worry too much about stats, in fact I don't worry at all about stats.

If I'm not driving well, I know I'm not driving well.
If I struggle with Long irons I know.
If my chipping is poor I know its poor.

At the moment my putting is garbage, I don't know how many putts I have hit in my last few rounds and I don't need to. I just know its not good enough.

I think handicap golfers get so fixated on the wrong things and commonsense goes out the window.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

If I played a standard course and hit all the par 3 and 4's in regulation and the 4 par 5's in 2 then had 36 putts I would shoot 4 under par. Statistically, that is a bad putting day but who wouldn't accept that score?

You can analyse stats any way you want and at club golfer level you can work on what you think are your weaknesses but bearing in mind how much time we get to devote to the game, if you spend all your time on one aspect then another part is likely to suffer.

So....all I'm worried about is my total score. I don't need stats to tell me which parts of my game were good or bad on any given day.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Having been there and done that with statistics as a scientist and in quality I know more than most the value if statistics.

I also know that collecting useful data can take time and should only be done when necessary.

If you cannot determine through observation what is costing you shots then stats are important.

I know through observation what I need to work in, I don't need to waste time and effort collecting stats that in the end do not add value. I can then use that time to fix things or focus better during the round.

When the time comes that my observations are insufficient I will turn to data to help, I doubt that will be anytime soon however.

Aye - I don't have to take too many measurements of my observable variables to determine whether or not I am selecting my independent variables correctly.