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Posted

I posted a short thread to Twitter today. I'll post it here. You can reply there, if you'd like, or here, too. Let's discuss this — this isn't coming from on high as unassailable, and as I say toward the end, there are plenty of exceptions.

What do you think, and what does your SG comp chart look like?

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Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Posted (edited)

I'm a 15, been trending a bit backwards for the last little bit, so I guess playing worse than a 15. Here is how shotscope says I compare to a 15 over the last 6 months of 2022 (have no played in 2023).

image.thumb.png.dd6c111b47dcad324ae54d3d10c88019.png

It's a bit jarring for me to see the putting number, except that I do play at a private club with tough greens and when I go to other courses I often putt a bit better. But I don't make enough 4-8 footers. 

Other than that I think my current focus is good. I need to strike my irons better. The driving number is what I expected because when I compare myself to a 10 handicap I gain there as well. 

I think my current emphasis in lessons on full swing irons is correct still. My secondary emphasis on play chipping/pitching inside 25y is also still largely correct. 

I do think I need to add some work on starting the ball on my line when putting, especially on pressure putts I tend to pull my putts to the left.

Edited by marklemcd

  • Administrator
Posted

You need to work on approach shots, yeah, and putting. I'd leave the short game for last (well, before driving, but last of the three things that are negative).

Send a putting video sometime.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Posted

Here's mine vs. 15 HC final for 2022. Looks like I need to work on approach and driver. Driver got a lot better toward the end of the season, but it's not something to slack on. I do 15-20 mins of lag putting before every round. 

image.jpeg

Julia

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Hybrids: Cobra BiO CELL 22.5 degree Project X R-flex
Irons: Cobra BiO CELL 5 - GW Project X R-Flex
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Posted
3 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

Here's mine vs. 15 HC final for 2022. Looks like I need to work on approach and driver. Driver got a lot better toward the end of the season, but it's not something to slack on. I do 15-20 mins of lag putting before every round.

Yeah, the first three are pretty much inline with where they should be. Short game could lead to some small but quick gains, too. Don't ignore that. Except for the putting (to the good), you're pretty well balanced.

ShotScope doesn't do genders, right? So you're probably always going to lose some shots to what is probably mostly men in the driving category especially.

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Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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Posted

Very interesting topic.  I need to start tracking these metrics better so that I can analyze where I am at instead of guessing.  I have a pretty good idea of where I need to improve, but having data is definitely a better approach.   Thanks for posting this information, and to everyone else for posting their stats.  I am sitting at a 15 handicap as well, so these posts hit home for me.

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Posted

Here's mine, compared to a 15, for the last 10 rounds of 2022. I ended the year with an index of 22.8, but compared to a 15 as that is where I want to get to, handicap-wise. Clearly, driving is where I lose most of my strokes, which I believe is caused by the fact that I am a really short hitter (I hit fairways about 58% of the time). The next issue which needs work is my short game. 

Please feel free to add comments.

 

image.png.1bdcede0e0af6e47ceab9e8f6de0a249.png

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  • Other: Maxfli Tour or Vice Pro; Callaway ORG 7 bag; Shot Scope X5; True Linkswear 
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Posted

Below are my strokes gained from 2021 and 2022. Actually got a bit worse overall in 2022, but full swing (tee, approach) was marginally better, and the lost strokes were the result of short game and putting being worse. I compare to a 10 handicap. Currently my index is 9.2, but I feel like I am playing at a higher (worse) level, so I use 10 as the benchmark.

Before I had access to strokes gained data, I put most of my practice effort into full swing, and I still think that is where I need to continue focusing.

2021:

image.png.d2f172aee8984c67067fee1b42b4c2a5.png

 

2022:

image.png.46241637a4e4931969f011c16cc9d6ec.png

-Peter

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Posted

Here's mine against a 0 handicap:

244437693_SG0benchmark.png.d0663474d6853efba1f15a21d07d6061.png

And against a 5 handicap:

497865796_SG5benchmark.png.df6a0deb149ff3030e6be5d75ae41547.png

 

Pretty obvious either way where most of my improvement should be coming from. 

 

-- Daniel

In my bag: :callaway: Paradym :callaway: Epic Flash 3.5W (16 degrees)

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  • Administrator
Posted

Well, that's good. Full swing work paying off @DeadMan.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Posted

Here are mine from 2022. MyRoundPro lumps them a little differently, they consider short to be anything inside 100yds not on the green, and approach is the rest that aren't on the tee. So not quite the same criteria as what other apps/PGA tour uses, but still useful for me especially when I go within short and can see 0-25yds, 25-50, 50-75, etc.

This is about what I expected based on how I felt I played last year.

  • I drove it well, averaged 280 off the tee and hit 47% of my fairways, plus not very many penalty strokes.
  • 100-150yd range was very solid and I hit a lot of GIRs so not surprised to see the approach be positive SG. 
  • The short chipping 0-25yds is what kept my short section from being even lower as I was positive in 0-25 but negative in 25-50, 50-75, and 75-100
  • Putting wasn't too much of a surprise either, I'm a pretty solid lag putter and don't 3 putt all that often. Plus I was very solid inside 6 feet. Need to make a few more in the 6-15 foot range relative to other players of my skill level but still solid overall.

Tightening wedge proximities 50-100yds is going to be one of my primary focuses for 2023

 

image.png

Driver: :titleist:  GT3
Woods:  :cobra: Darkspeed LS 3Wood
Irons: :titleist: U505 (3)  :tmade: P770 (4-PW)
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    • When you've been teaching golf as long as I have, you're going to find that you can teach some things better than you previously had, and you're probably going to find some things that you taught incorrectly. I don't see that as a bad thing — what would be worse is refusing to adapt and grow given new information. I've always said that my goal with my instruction isn't to be right, but it's to get things right. To that end, I'm about five years late in issuing a public proclamation on something… When I first got my GEARS system, I immediately looked at the golf swings of the dozens and dozens of Tour players for which I suddenly had full 3D data. I created a huge spreadsheet showing how their bodies moved, how the club moved, at various points in the swing. I mapped knee and elbow angles, hand speeds, shoulder turns and pelvis turns… etc. I re-considered what I thought I knew about the golf swing as performed by the best players. One of those things dated back to the earliest days: that you extend (I never taught "straighten" and would avoid using that word unless in the context of saying "don't fully straighten") the trail knee/leg in the backswing. I was mislead by 2D photos from less-than-ideal camera angles — the trail leg rotates a bit during the backswing, and so when observing trail knee flex should also use a camera that moves to stay perpendicular to the plane of the ankle/knee/hip joint. We have at least two topics here on this (here and here; both of which I'll be updating after publishing this) where @mvmac and I advise golfers to extend the trail knee. Learning that this was not right is one of the reasons I'm glad to have a 3D system, as most golfers generally preserve the trail knee flex throughout the backswing. Data Here's a video showing an iron and a driver of someone who has won the career slam: Here's what the graph of his right knee flex looks like. 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Two LIV players and major champions: Two PGA Tour winners: Two women's #1 ranked players: Two more PGA Tour winners (one a major champ): Two former #1s, the left one being a woman, the right a man, with a driver: Two more PGA Tour players: You'll notice a trend: they almost all maintain roughly the same flex throughout their backswing and downswing. The Issues with Extending the Trail Knee You can play good golf extending (again, not "straightening") the trail knee. Some Tour players do. But, as with many things, if 95 out of 100 Tour players do it, you're most likely better off doing similarly to what they do. So, what are the issues with extending the trail knee in the backswing? To list a few: Pelvic Depth and Rotation Quality Suffers When the trail knee extends, the trail leg often acts like an axle on the backswing, with the pelvis rotating around the leg and the trail hip joint. 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    • Day 135 12-25 Wide backswing to wide downswing drill. Recorder and used mirror. 
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