best way to track results to then identify problem areas and... IMPROVE!

i've been tracking my results since i started; hole by hole, conditions, partners, how i was feeling, total number of putts, number of good holes vs numer of poor holes, etc. (simple Excel spreadsheets)

it's great to look back on; what feels like spinning my wheels is in reality a decent path to imrpovement.

but i don't really understand where i am leaving shots, or rather, i leave shots all over the place so where i weakest? some days it's putting, next it's management, others it's just shote all over.

i know there's lots of software out there (oobgolf.com etc) but i would be interested to hear about your experiences and preferably, which one(s) where most/least helpful?

F&G;

I don't know if I am actually answering your question or not, because I am not advising an software, but I have a spreadsheet as well - but track different things than you.  I used to have swing by swing - which gave me some pretty good stats like GIR's, puts per hole, puts per GIR, scrambling percentage, etc.  And those are pretty good numbers to have - but I think they are better numbers for lower handicap players.

I tracked similar numbers myself (w/ a spreadsheet like you have), but found the key is not in if I got a GIR - but what is stopping me from getting a GIR.  So about 8 or so rounds ago I started keeping a 'cause of the problem' log.  Essentially, I'm a bogey golfer at an 18 handicap.  My goal basically every round is to break 90 - or more specifically a differential of 18.  So what I ultimately want to know is what prevented me from doing so.  So for every hole in which I do not get at least a bogey - I record what the problem was.  Examples would be:

Sliced Fairway Wood

Fat Long Iron

Pulled Approach Shot

Skulled Chip Shot

etc.

If we double a hole - there is more often either a bad shot or a bad decision that led to it.  That is what I track.  And not the more obvious things like "hit in the hazzard" or "missed the green".  Those are actually useless.  Obviously I was trying to miss the hazzard and hit the green.  The real cause a poor golf shot.

And I discovered a little about my game I didn't know. I really thought the tee box was my biggest problem.  Slicing it into the woods or being too short (I don't hit driver). But I found (with the data I have so far anyway), that the biggest culprit leading to doubles and worse for me is fat long irons and fat short irons.  Essentially wasted shots in the middle of the hole.  And I actually play pretty well off the tee.

So now I've been working on not hitting fat shots - and improving at it. But I really need more rounds of tracking this to get a better data set. But really eye-opening so far.

That's a really good idea Melt.  For awhile I would track the cause of my mistakes as well, but not as accurately as you.  I would simply have a list of clubs like this, with tick marks next to how many strokes they cost me.

Driver x x x

Putter x x

Long Irons x x x x

Short Irons x x

Wedges x

Chipping x x x x x

And then at the end of the round I could see that Chipping and Irons cost me 9 strokes, so that's where I would focus my time.  It seems to help a lot, but like most mid handicappers it's always a moving target.  It might be chipping one week, Driving the next... that's the cost of being a part time hacker.

some good ideas here. thanks both.

I use an app called Scorecard (developed by Erik aka iacas). I keep track of fairways, greens hit, any sand saves or up and downs, putts, and the distance of my first putt. Not nearly as bad as it might seem; I just put the numbers in when I get home and it gives me any stat I could possibly think of. It's incredibly helpful and is great at identifying what parts of your game need work. Highly recommended .

That actually looks a little easier to keep up with.  Less administrative overhead as they say.  Mine is admittedly a little cumbersome - notably during bad rounds with lots of bad shots to track.

Agree it is what I use. As a side note, I find that most of my poor scores on a hole come down to 3 clubs. Driver, wedge and putter. A drive out of bounds or deep in the woods usually really hurts the score, a chunked wedge, or failing to get of a bunker, or a 3 putt. All of these cost my score dearly. My scores are closely tied to these tools. This is not a hard and fast rule, but what I have learned by studying my game closely.

I use a quick shorthand.  The 2nd line of the scorecard is GIR, and whether it missed L, R, Lg, or S.  The 3rd line is number of putts and whether missed L, R, S.  The 3rd line is fairway hit, with a check mark if in the fairway, or ML, MR if missed. Starting on the 4th line, I note the clubs I used with a + or - or blank in front of it.  And if it was a great shot, draw a triangle around the club, if a bad shot the triangle is upside down.  Or, if I pushed the drive, it will say "-D psh". Or "6I pll" if I pulled the 6I. Then when I do my 'at home' recap of the round, I can see which club(s) I hit and how it went.  I can scan across the card and see how many + or - or triangles rightside up or upside down.  Gives me a way to quickly encapsulate the round.  I also use the Golfshot GPS app on my iPad, so I can see the distances I hit and cross check my written card.

Yep, I am an engineer and stats are ingrained.

In addition to score, I track fairways hit and number of putts.  FW is denoted by a check mark for a hit, R or L arrow for a miss.  You can figure GIR by subtracting number of putts from the par of the hole - if it's a par 5 and I had two putts, obviously I was on the green in 3 (putts are only counted on the green - not from the fringe or 10' short in the fairway).  I also track penalty strokes to see how many strokes per round they're costing me.