Keeping statistics distracts you?

I have always been a advocate of keep statistics to see where I am leaking strokes.  But I began to get the feeling that the statistics were driving my game.  So I did an experiment and took statistics for 10 rounds and didn't for 10 rounds.  I alternated for the 20 rounds so I didn't skew the results by biorhythms or something like that.  The result was that I was a stroke and a half  (on average) better not taking statistics.  I know 10 isn't a large sample but I am thinking that the difference is real.  I sometimes find myself on the 17th tee thinking I should keep this ball on the left side to avoid right side trouble, but also thinking "Geez I have only hit 2 fairways today so better aim to the middle".  So my question is, does keeping statistics cause you to make tactical decisions on the course that might not be consistent with getting the ball in the hole in the least number of strokes but are rather to improve your statistics?

This is a good topic. I try not to let the score or any other stat influence any decision. That's not always so easy so I avoid the temptation to look at anything until the round is over. I will have to admit that I did think about stats twice the other day when I was 2/2 from the sand and then I had a ball on the fringe just 15 feet from the hole that gave me an easy up and down.

I think it depends on the type of person you are.  If you're the type to be consumed by statistics it will likely hurt you're game because your focus is on improving statistics versus playing your game.  I track statistics on each hole, but I don't pay any attention to them or attempt to add up all the GIR, putts, etc until after the round.  I know if I paid more attention to them during a round it would mess up my play because I'd not only put pressure on myself for the overall score but the individual statistics as well.

I keep my stats just like I do my score and I don't look back on them until the round is done. At the end of each hole I record my score, putts, fairway hit or not, and sand save. I tend to watch my putts through the round and can sometimes be a bit motivated by that as I average about 29 putts per round so I like to try and really go low for that and challenge myself. It hasn't been too much of an issue yet but I am trying not to concern myself with any of it.

I used to keep all the stats during each round but as I've progressed...I can recall the round when cooling down afterward and see what part of the game was giving me trouble. I have now taken the approach of wanting a certain number of pars for round and then shooting to beat that number.  Once I do, then I move up to the next number..I'm at 9 pars or better in a round right now.

This is sort of the purpose of an android app i'm working on right now. It will be able to track a large number of stats but instead of tracking and writing down particular stats and knowing how you are doing during a round, you won't necesarily look at the stats until after the round because the app will sort of keep the stats in the background while you play. All you have to do is tell the app what club you hit and whether or not you missed.

I've wanted to make this for a few years, when I realized how annoying keeping stats is. I got consumed with stats where I wanted to track every little thing, but you simply don't have enough time to write them all down and it can be distracting from your play.

i never concern myself with statistics. I know i need to get up and down more, i can see were i stand with out stats. I got a pretty good feel for my game. Great driving the ball, average iron play, pathetic short game, good putting. So i am working on the short game and my iron play more.

Keeping stats does not distract me.  Rather, it's which ones to focus on which will lead to the most significant improvement that can be frustrating.  Fairways hit, GIR, up and down, scrambling, sand saves,... there are so many different stats to track, I need to spend more time focusing on those stats which mean the most to my game.

Keeping stats without further analysis and incorporating into practice sessions for improvement is non-value add, IMO.

Statistics don't really distract me they are interesting. They don't exactly drive my practice routine either, one thing I noticed is that improving my GIR directly hurt my putting average, simply because when I was missing more greens I was putting more pitches to <10 feet and holing out.

Where they do help sometimes is in my course management, for instance, on the 7th hole at my course I hit the fairway only 35% of the time and virtually every missed fairway was right so I aim more left (its a left dog-leg not natural to aim more left) and miss the fairway less now. That was a direct result of stats sometimes I hit a great drive and can end up a bit blocked for my 2nd shot, but on average I am playing the hole better.

Keeping stats has definitely helped me and made me enjoy the game more. Keeping stats is more for optimising practice sessions.

However, I do agree with the OP that making decisions on a course just to achieve a particular stat is a bad idea. If you are the kind of person that might do that, then keeping stats is probably a bad idea for you.

There is only one situation where my stats actively effect my decisions in game. My stats software I use has something called a PSI - Personal Stroke Index. It compares your personal difiiculty ordering of holes with the club's ordering of holes. So when I am in a competative match and I am on a hole I know is in my bottom 3 holes, I play conservatively on that hole (especially in the area that is causing the problem - my software does a PSI for every aspect of my game). I do find that does help.

Other than that though, I just use my stats to tell me where it is best to practice. My pro likes it too, because when I get a lesson he can look at my stats too.

LIke most have said, I keep my stats on my card, or replay the round in my head after the round and write down stats.  Actually I don't even know my score until after the round is played.  If I'm writing down 7's and 8's I'll know I'm not scoring well, but for the most part I have no idea what my score or stats are during the round.  I am feel player, my swing is based on feel, my putting is based on feel, if I feel like I am playing well, I don't concern myself with score or stats.

This will sound a little odd, but I would rather hit the ball well, and score a 84, than hit the ball poorly and score a 79.  That being said, I keep stats to find places in my game that need to be worked on, because feel is not always right!

What?  Does recording your score distract you?  Just do it after you finish the hole (after exiting the green please), write it down, then forget about it and focus.  You should only be "recording" and not computing or analyzing on the course.  That's for after.  Then just focus on the next hole and play golf.

I play with two guys who shoot 85-95, and who both make detailed notes on every shot when they walk off the green. I wonder what they do with the information, because neither one of them practices that much, and they keep making the same mistakes.

I used to write stuff down when I played, but I found I can easily recall every shot when I get home, so I do all my writing down then. All I write down during the round is my score on each hole. When a hole is over, I want to start thinking about the next one. Reviewing the last one gets in the way of that.

I appreciate the responses to this thread and here is what I actually think and several of you seem to agree.  Taking Statistics on your game is a good thing, but you have to just record them and not react to them while on the course.  Every decision on the course should be related to how to get the ball in the hole in the least strokes and never about improving your statistics. Easier to say and write than to do as no one likes to record you only hit 2 fairways in a round.   But what inspired me to start this was I did exactly that last round (2 FW and 4 Greens) and had one of the best rounds I've had in a couple of months.  I finished the back side only 4 strokes over par, great for me, but the front was nearly as well done and ended up with an 85.  Obviously not many putts and an abnormal number of saves for me.  So that reconfirmed, for me anyway, that the game is about how many strokes and not about how many anything else.   I also believe that statistics have to be recorded over several rounds to be meaningful.  Since it is statistics you math majors will know why that is.   What statistics should you take?  Well that's probably a subject for another thread.

I keep stats and I don't find it distracting in the slightest.  Actually, I find that it enhances my enjoyment of the game at my level of play.  I'm struggling to break 100 currently, and having nothing but my strokes to look at after 18 holes can be a bit depressing.  By tracking other stats, I can more clearly see the positives in my game.  It's nice to be able to view my stats and think sure, I shot a 102, but my putting average is 1.8.  It allows me to think "I suck at this, but this is good and this is improving." rather than "Man I suck.  I need to just call it quits with this game."

As one of the other posters mentioned: The tendency for me was to focus is on improving statistics versus playing my game.  I kept lots of statistics to see where my game was failing ... and during the time that I kept stats, my handicap was about 3.5 strokes worse than what I am at now.  After I stopped keeping stats, I played better ... in my opinion I was too concerned with all the numbers rather than just playing & recording my score alone.

For me, I can usually tell what needs the most work: short game.  Occasionally I have troubles off the tee box, but for the most part I spend about 70% of my practice time on short game.

I keep FIR, GIR, and putts only

Everyone needs to keep their stats if they want to fix their weak points IMO

As long as you don't lose your focus when you look at the '3' in the putting section, or the one fairway hit after 14 holes, it's a good thing to keep stats