Stats? What does it all mean?

[CrapHacker]

I've seen some posts where guys analyse their stats and judge themselves against a 'norm' for their h/c.

I've also been told I should keep stats to see where my game needs improvement etc.

So...

I played a round the other day at Lindfield, a 5900 yard par 70 SSS 68 and scored 87. IE 17 over par, but 19 over SSS.

So pretty close to my 18 h/c either way.

But how do the stats add up :

FIR 5/13 = 38%
GIR 7/18 = 39%
Par 7/18 = 39%
Bogey 7/18 = 39%
Double bogey or more 4/18 = 22%

I also used 36 putts ( with zero 3 putts, IE I missed a few shorties after a decent chip and run, and I duffed a few chips as well )

I felt I played quite well, apart from obvious short game frailties.

But the score doesn't really follow that up. Are these the expected stats for an 18 h/c?

Or should I just ignore stats like I always have done to date?

 

[RGDave]

....should I just ignore stats like I always have done to date?

Yes.

The whole concept of average is rubbish.

If I kept stats it would say my driving is the standard of a player off 4 or something and my sand saves equal to a beginner. Both are wrong. What have I then learned? Nothing.

The only thing I take notice of is my GIR and putts. I can do that without being patronised by a piece of software.

 

[Region3]

The trouble is there's lots of different ways to be an 18 h/c

Another one might have a great short game but not be able to hit greens. I think 7 GIR is very good.

Since you didn't have a 3 putt, you must have 2 putted every green.
I'd say for your standard, not saving par even once from 11 tries is where you need to improve. Whether that's your chipping or putting only you know.

You probably knew that already though without tracking stats

The main reason I like keeping stats is that I have an average figure for however many previous rounds, so each time I play I can compare that round to my averages. I'm not bothered by what my hc should be doing.

It's surprising how often your opinion walking off the course about certain parts of your game is wrong.

 

[CrapHacker]

It's surprising how often your opinion walking off the course about certain parts of your game is wrong.

For most of my rounds I'm sure my first impressions are pretty accurate.......

It's when I fluke one somewhere near my h/c that I start getting confused.

 

[CrapHacker]

Since you didn't have a 3 putt, you must have 2 putted every green.
I'd say for your standard, not saving par even once from 11 tries is where you need to improve. Whether that's your chipping or putting only you know.

You probably knew that already though without tracking stats

Guess what...

Last time I played, I probably hit loads fewer greens, but sunk a few of those single putts, to end up with a 90 or whatever. Swings and roundabouts, eh.

Yes, my short game is generally terrible. But it's the hardest part of the game to practise ( No chipping/pitching to the practise green donchaknow ) and I don't play enough to get a great feel.

Oh, and I can't putt for toffee.

However the success of the day was EaseNgrace's old wedges. They are stunning ( I've had them 7 months now, and they've suddenly decided to work for me - for a while at least ).

I bet next time out, I'll be sliding in those putts, but missing the green from 80 yards etc etc.

 

[palindromicbob]

Sometimes stats can be misleading but they are more for the player than an outsider. The other day I was out I had 3/18 fairways. one of those was a duff that nearly fell short. The others where good. The rest was usually missed right after rolling off the fairway. My problem is an out to in swing creating a left to right ball flight.

So on the surface 3/18 fairways means little. Go a little deeper and I have found a fault that I need to work on.

 

[granters]

You can read into them what you want.

Lies, damned lies, and statistics!

The only statistic i'd really pay attention to is putting, unless i went out and focussed on a particular are of my game.

By this i mean concentrate on driving by aiming to hit 75% of fairways etc. There are too many variables in a round to trust them collectively

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Can't be bothered with them anymore because there is always something else required. It's all very well saying I missed the green but why did I miss it and which club did I miss it with? Am I missing greens with the same club consistently? What if I miss the green by a foot, am I really bothered?

Is there any benefit to hitting the green but being 20ft from the pin compared to being a yard off the green. Does it really matter if I 2 putt or get up and down - the score is the same and I have as much chance sinking the putt as I do chipping in.

Frankly I've given up worrying about stats as there are a million ways to put together a score.

I know some people find them very useful though

 

[SS2]

Or should I just ignore stats like I always have done to date?

You should only bother with stats if you are going to gain some benefit from them. And even if you use them, be aware that some are more relevant than others.

For instance, looking at your sand saves over one or two rounds is a total waste of time. However, looking at stats over 50 rounds would be quite useful.

Looking at putts/round without taking account of greens hit in reg is simlarly pointless.

Let's take a daft example and put a politician's spin on the stats:

1.

Round 1: you are in 4 bunkers and have one sand save, so you have a 25% sand save percentage for this round

Round 2: you are in 14 bunkers and have no sand saves. 0% is your crap figure for this round.

Round 3: You are in 2 bunkers and have one sand save. You
have a 50% sand save percentage for this round

Over the three rounds, you have 2 sand saves out of 20 bunkers, = 10%.

STOP PRESS: Sand saves doubled ! A major investment by the Government in Andy's bunker play has resulted in a 100% increase in sand saves from Round 1 to Round 3. A spokesman for the Bulls-hit party said "This is a great thing and in no way a lie, fabrication or obfuscation of the truth. Please vote for us again".

STOP PRESS: Sand saves slump: The government's recent investment in Andy's sand play is "a total waste of time and money", said Jim Liar of the Jacks-hit opposition party. Over the three rounds he's only averaged 10% which is crap. Please vote for me instead"

Ok, so I've gone all waffly again but be careful what you say about stats and what you listen to/believe

 

[granters]

Or should I just ignore stats like I always have done to date?

You should only bother with stats if you are going to gain some benefit from them. And even if you use them, be aware that some are more relevant than others.

For instance, looking at your sand saves over one or two rounds is a total waste of time. However, looking at stats over 50 rounds would be quite useful.

Looking at putts/round without taking account of greens hit in reg is simlarly pointless.

Let's take a daft example and put a politician's spin on the stats:

1.

Round 1: you are in 4 bunkers and have one sand save, so you have a 25% sand save percentage for this round

Round 2: you are in 14 bunkers and have no sand saves. 0% is your crap figure for this round.

Round 3: You are in 2 bunkers and have one sand save. You
have a 50% sand save percentage for this round

Over the three rounds, you have 2 sand saves out of 20 bunkers, = 10%.

STOP PRESS: Sand saves doubled ! A major investment by the Government in Andy's bunker play has resulted in a 100% increase in sand saves from Round 1 to Round 3. A spokesman for the Bulls-hit party said "This is a great thing and in no way a lie, fabrication or obfuscation of the truth. Please vote for us again".

STOP PRESS: Sand saves slump: The government's recent investment in Andy's sand play is "a total waste of time and money", said Jim Liar of the Jacks-hit opposition party. Over the three rounds he's only averaged 10% which is crap. Please vote for me instead"

Ok, so I've gone all waffly again but be careful what you say about stats and what you listen to/believe

Superb! well done that man, YOU should be a politician...

 

[freddielong]

You can prove anything with stats

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Stats are a very useful tool if used correctly and properly analysed, and used to target specific issues.
One of my favourite things on SS2 is that you can go deeper into the stats than just the basic front page data(ie GIR, PPR etc).

I like to know putts per GIR, number of 3 putts, fairways hit but greens missed and vica versa, birdie conversion etc

I also like the fact that I can see all of these stats for each individual hole, not just overall round averages.

For example:
I can see that I play the 7th badly as it is my worst scoring hole for the year.
I can see that I keep hitting the fairway so the problem isn't there.
I know that I generally 2 or 1 putt suggesting the putting on that hole isn;t the problem.
But I can see that I often miss the green.
More importantly I can see that I often miss it short.

Therefore I have been working (during friendly rounds) on hitting short irons/wedges from uphill stances to the fat of that green.
I have parred the hole the last few rounds due to the improved approach shots.

 

[Robobum]

Like above posts, any stats have to be viewed along with some brutal honesty otherwise they can show whatever you want them to.

Another hypothetic scenario for you: Club champs, all the pins are tough and hidden close to edges and bunkers. You shoot 18 pars for a level par round and are on absolute fire going at every pin all day and have 18 birdie putts from no more than 10feet.
However you haven't hit 1 GIR, you've missed every green by an inch onto the fringe. Your putting stats are great though, 18 putts for the round although you haven't made anything outside of a foot.

Do you work on your approach irons as you GIR are crap?
Is there any need to work on putting as 18 putts per round is amazing?

 

[Losttheplot]

Like above posts, any stats have to be viewed along with some brutal honesty otherwise they can show whatever you want them to.

Another hypothetic scenario for you: Club champs, all the pins are tough and hidden close to edges and bunkers. You shoot 18 pars for a level par round and are on absolute fire going at every pin all day and have 18 birdie putts from no more than 10feet.
However you haven't hit 1 GIR, you've missed every green by an inch onto the fringe. Your putting stats are great though, 18 putts for the round although you haven't made anything outside of a foot.

Do you work on your approach irons as you GIR are crap?
Is there any need to work on putting as 18 putts per round is amazing?

Agree 100% with Robobum here. Stats are not a true reflection of where you need to work on your game. The only thing it would be good for is your gross score so you can see if your getting better or not.

You should know when you walk off the course if you have putted well or drove badly etc. If you can't see that then you need to pay more attention to your round