Whether you are a casual golfer or a low handicap player, it is important to analyze your round after you play. It helps to think about the mistakes you made and try and figure out what it was that you did to cause it. Maybe you made a big number on a hole and it was because you made a bad decision with club choice or the type of shot you played. One thing that can teach you so much about your game is tracking your stats. They give you instant feedback as to what areas of your game are your strong points and which areas you are weak in. Then you know what to practice so that you can lower your scores faster. BigForeGolf breaks down the important stats to track and how they can help you after your round is done!
The following stats will help you to find your strengths and weaknesses:
• Fairways Hit - Each time you tee off on a hole that is not a par 3 you will mark down if your tee shot landed in the fairway or not. You can do this on the scorecard in the extra boxes used for scores. A check mark is a fairway hit. Par 3's do not count as they are a shot at the green. This information is useful because if you are consistently missing fairways and hitting only 3 or 4 a round then you are putting yourself in the rough or a bunker on most of the holes you play and this makes it hard to play your best. TOUR players average usually around 70% of their fairways hit, so don't be discouraged if you are not hitting all of them either. Even the best don't hit every fairway. If you learn that you are weak in this area you can practice your driver and fairway woods to improve your accuracy and also start thinking about hitting long irons or hybrids on shorter holes to get yourself in the short grass. Remember you might sacrifice a few yards to be down the middle of the fairway all day instead of the rough.
• Greens Hit in Regulation - When I say "in regulation" I am saying that it will be the shot after your tee shot on a par 4, your third shot on a par 5, or your tee shot on a par 3. The more greens out of 18 that you hit, the more birdie putts you have and it leads to lower scores. Even if you have a bad tee shot hitting the green in regulation erases that so some people will say the greens in regulation stat is the more important than fairways hit. If you are hitting a low amount of greens a round you will want to practice your irons and wedges. You may also want to think about the best way to play each hole. The reason you are missing a lot of greens may be because bad club choices on the tee put you in such a bad spot that it is hard to hit the green.
•Up and Downs - This stat comes into play when you have missed the green in regulation. When you are chipping or pitching to the green after your approach shot, if you get the ball on the green and make the first putt, this is considered an up and down. If you chip it up and miss the putt then it is a missed up and down. The amount of up and downs a round will change as some rounds you may have 10 up and down attempts and some only three as it will depend on other factors like if your missing greens or not. Being able to convert more up and downs will save strokes each round and make up for any mistake you make on the hole. Hitting a great drive and then a great approach onto the green with the basic two-putt is the same score on the scorecard as bad tee shot with a missed green if you can chip it close and make the putt. As you track these you will see this number plays a big role in how you score. Make a lot of up and downs a round and you will see your scores are lower compared to rounds you miss most of your up and downs. The short game is the most important part of the game so if you are weak in this area it is a must to spend less time on the range and more on the putting green.
• Putts per Round - This is pretty straight forward. Your total amount of putts per 18 holes will show good you were putting that day. Over time you can compare rounds and get your average. When you start to putt worse and have more putts per round than average you will need a tune up. Many times people think they are better in this area than they are and when they compare a few rounds over time they see they are losing a lot of strokes on the greens. Think about it, about 50% of your strokes during a round could be with the putter! Making more putts will lower your scores right away. Just making 3 more putts a round will drop your score the same amount of strokes. This is the most important stat of all in most people’s minds. The best putters are always still playing good because if you are making putts it will make up for mistakes you made on a hole. I know it is not as exciting as banging a driver but if you are weak in this area, get to the putting green and roll some putts! It will make you a better player.