Stats

[Mike_j_golf]

Hi,
Just a thought about stats and in particular fairways hit, is it easier for a shorter hitter to have a higher percentage of fairways hit, Example if a guy that hits it 200 off the tee hits it straight no slice or hook 5 degrees off line he will prob still hit the fairway where a guy that hits it 300 on the same line will probably miss the fairway I know the angles might not 5 degrees but too lazy to work that out, just thinking about this for my own stats as a lot of drives I hit are just a bit off line but I end up in the semi rough, so should there always be a difference between the stats for short hitters and long hitters in fairways per round. This is a bit longer winded than I meant it to be.
Mike

 

[Imurg]

You make a good point.

The shorter you hit (in theory) the more fairways you'll hit. I could take a 7 iron and hit just about every fairway but its not necessarily going to get me a good score.

Mostly I would say its better to be short and straight. But if you're long and not so straight, you may have a shot to the green that the short/straight hitter doesn't. I fall into the latter category. Quite long but a little wayward. As long as my drive doesn't really go in the clag I'll often still be able to at least get greenside.

And stats are just that. Statistics. I know they can be useful to highlight areas that need work but where's the value in knowing that you've hit 85% of fairways if you still shoot 100?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree that the shorter the hitter the more chance of success (unless a really poor golfer!). I am not a long hitter (average about 225 yards) and last year for all my rounds I hit 51% of fairways. Of those I missed 67% right and 33% left. What does that tell me?

It actually tells me that I only hit the green from shots from fairway 38% of the time so it is my 2nd shots that are the problem. It was even worse if I missed the fairway where I missed 85% of greens. That may be misleading as it includes all the times I couldn't actually go for the GIR but even so...

And the conclusion? Maintain and improve my driving and make sure I get my approach shots in order.

 

[Herbie]

Probably true, it is with me anyway, if Im hitting well and long, sometimes the distance achieved on say a slight dog leg can see me in the light rough, sometimes the bounce can do this. A lot of courses dont hold any probs for me even if a bit wayward, its the courses with many hazards and narrow fairways often tree lined where I have to hit shorter in order to stay somewhere playable, but certainly, if I chose just to hit 200 with a driver I would have a very high % of fairways hit yet on some holes that distance would be impractical if I wanted to get a good score. If you can hit long enough to get you on the greens in regulation,theoretically that should be enough.

 

[RGuk]

I hit lots of fairways! Seriously, but if I hit it 270 and not 230 (say?) then I'd miss a lot more.
How often do I find myself down the left or right just short of the cabbage? Quite a lot!!!

Trouble is, being 230 yards down a 449 yd par 4 uphill is a bit of a bummer!!!