Flogging

Yes, there is such a word. At least in golf there is. It is the term given to those golfers that try and hit the ball as far as they can, not caring whether or not they hit the fairway or not. This gives them a short distance into the green and a supposed advantage. Notice the stress on supposed. I’ve said before that the numbers don’t lie. I’ll show you some figures about flogging that will dispel the myths. Read on…

Set the Scene
In the past few years there have been more and more guys on Tour driving it further and further – there is no denying that. There have been influxes of young players that look more like NFL linebackers (i.e. Hank Keuhne) than golfers, especially compared to 20… heck even 10 years ago. Hit a driver 300 yards and shovel a 9-iron or wedge out of the rough on those long par fours. It’ll work, right?

So where should the floggers have an advantage? Two things come to mind. First would be Greens in Regulation (GIR). Guys that hit the ball on average, say 300 yards, should theoretically hit a lot more greens than those who don’t. They are a lot closer to the green and can take certain hazards like fairway bunkers out of play. It sounds simple enough and plausible. So what do the numbers say?

The average GIR percentage for tour players is 64.9%. The bombers – 300 yards and longer – averaged 66.1%.

A whole 1.2% greater than the median. This is not exactly what I consider a damning revelation. Looking even closer at the top seven long drivers on tour, four of them are below 100th in GIR on tour. They average slightly over 63% GIR. So far I don’t see much advantage to flogging.

The next place I wanted to look was proximity. After improved GIR, examining distance to the pin is a logical progression. Below is the graph comparing our two groups:

It’s not a misprint. Our floggers averaged 384 inches from the pin, or 32 feet even, on shots into the green. The tour average is 32 feet 0.42 inches. That’s an advantage of .42 inches… less than the length of a tee… or the width of a golf ball. You get the point.

All I’m trying to say here is that statistically speaking, floggers have virtually no advantage in areas some expect them to. Distance hasn’t shown to strongly correlate to scoring or earnings, and now we see above that it means little in helping other areas of the game.

So What’s the Problem?
I have heard a different argument… that even though flogging does not give players an advantage on the course, it promotes “bad habits” among amateurs and aspiring players. Is this a surprise? Are they really “bad habits?” Basketball is a sport that has evolved over time and gone through a lot of changes. Some people may not like the “street ball” you see in the NBA, but that is the game today. The question is: has the evolution in the way golf is played at the highest levels a problem?

First of all, I’ll admit that I like hitting the ball far, but not at the expense of getting myself into trouble. How have I tried to hit the ball further? Not by switching equipment, but by working out more. Watching some of these “floggers” and the fitness revolution that Tiger brought with him on tour, I’ve come to understand that there are only a few golfers (see John Daly) that can get away with totally letting their body go. So far for me, long hitters have helped me get in better shape.

Second, I know I have a better appreciation for the swing. Do I think that all of the long hitters have the best swings? No, but what I appreciate is the fact that they can generate the amount of swing speed they do and still have great balance. There is something to be said for that. These players are maximizing not only their body’s potential, but the energy they put into the swing. I’m sorry, but that isn’t a problem.

So what about the hackers on the weekend that think they are Tiger Woods or Hank Keuhne? I say let them have their fun. I play a lot of golf and don’t have a problem with guys trying to hit it a long way. It’s their right. As a golfer, I’m always trying to get better and I know the things I need to work on. I appreciate shotmaking and the litlte things in golf. I also appreciate the fact that there are people who just want to go out there and have fun. After all, we were all hackers once.

I’ll leave you with this. There isn’t anything that we can really do about flogging we see on TV or the weekend warriors going out there trying to rip it on every hole. It’s here to stay. The guys on Tour that have taken this path may stay around for a while and win a bit of money doing it, but in the end they will not find the success they are looking for unless the rest of their game comes around.

Most people don’t know that Hank Kuehne has consistently ranked in the top 65 in putting since he got on tour. That’s not great, but he’s a decent putter. That is why he will be here for some time. In fact, I’m not going to degrade Hank’s game or anyone else’s by calling them a “flogger.”

They are golfers. Just a different breed.