What are the percentages?

[flintcreek6412]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I played today with a +2 handicap.  I heard he was +2 before the round started, and I said, "I'd love to see what a +2 looks like."  The other guy who was hosting me said, "well you're about to."

I ended up being in the cart with him.  We only played 9, but he was 5 under going into the last hole, which he bogied from being in the lateral hazard off the tee (but playable, in some dirt/tall grass).  It wasn't as amazing as watching the one guy I played with hit the ball 300+ (real, not internet), but it was impressive in another way.  Fairway, green, and a 20 foot putt was the norm.  When he had a putt inside of 10 feet for birdie, he made all but one of them (missed a 4 footer on a par 5).  Then made getting up and down look like a piece of cake on one of the two greens he missed.

I eventually asked him what his low 9 was, while he was in the hazard on the ninth hole.  He said it was 8 under.  Went on to say his low 18-hole round was 63.  How cool is that?  He probably drove it right in the 275-280 range (real, not internet, so that's impressive) and it was really consistent.  It's just not amazingly, incredibly astounding.  It's simply impressive because it makes golf look like an easy game.  Course slope was like 135 with a 70.1 rating.

I play with a guy like that.  We call it "boring" golf.   He just stays out of trouble most of the day right down the middle.  Unreal short game.   Nothing really wows you until you add up the scores and think, "holy shit, where did that come from".  People are so mesmerized by big hitters as the ball takes off into the atmosphere.....yet those guys are in trouble all the time and struggle to recover from it and likewise miss out on good scoring chances.  That and their short game sucks because they don't practice it because it's boring.

90% of guys I hear boasting about their driver length are rarely that good.  Hence the only score they know is 300yrds.  The few times they actually hit the fairway and are wedge out they still bogey.  I'll take boring golf any day of the week.

[MS256]

Originally Posted by flintcreek6412

I play with a guy like that.  We call it "boring" golf.   He just stays out of trouble most of the day right down the middle.  Unreal short game.   Nothing really wows you until you add up the scores and think, "holy shit, where did that come from".  People are so mesmerized by big hitters as the ball takes off into the atmosphere.....yet those guys are in trouble all the time and struggle to recover from it and likewise miss out on good scoring chances.  That and their short game sucks because they don't practice it because it's boring.

90% of guys I hear boasting about their driver length are rarely that good.  Hence the only score they know is 300yrds.  The few times they actually hit the fairway and are wedge out they still bogey.  I'll take boring golf any day of the week.

The designated captains in our Saturday game are all + handicaps, and are all about equal on any given Saturday, but their games are not the same.

One is a relatively short hitter but the most accurate player I've ever seen with any club (but he's not consistently a good putter).

Another is a very long hitter and very accurate off of the tee and with long and mid-range approach shots but not quite as accurate as the first guy (but is a better putter).

Another is a long hitter but a little more wild and the most likely of the three to have a bad round but also the most likely of the three to light it up with a super low round (and is the best putter of the three).

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by sblack5

I've found that the majority of people score pretty close to the following: 95 - (2 X GIR)......so if you hit 5 greens your'e around 85.....but they are legitimate GIR's.....not the no count OB ball or the ball on the fringe with a 70 footer left GIR.....but all straight forward scoring.  not 100% rock solid all the time, but if you look at your rounds it is uaually within 2 or 3 strokes

I typically hit like 2-3 GIR (Typically Par 3s or 5s), and I shoot around 95...so it's probably pretty close!

[TJBam]

These statistics are very comforting.  As far as FIR GIR etc anyone know anything?

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by TJBam

These statistics are very comforting.  As far as FIR GIR etc anyone know anything?

FIR is probably a much more unreliable stat. I play some courses where if you aren't in the fairway, you're in big trouble, and others where if you aren't in the fairway, it doesn't really make a difference.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

FIR is probably a much more unreliable stat. I play some courses where if you aren't in the fairway, you're in big trouble, and others where if you aren't in the fairway, it doesn't really make a difference.

Yeah, even for my own game, I've noticed that as my handicap has dropped a few strokes over the past year, my FIR has stayed about the same, but GIR has increased.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Yeah, even for my own game, I've noticed that as my handicap has dropped a few strokes over the past year, my FIR has stayed about the same, but GIR has increased.

GIR is huge. My percentages are terrible. Probably around 10%...until I get that way up, I'll never score well.

[saevel25]

FIR have little to do with scoring, it makes it easier, but not an important stat.

GIR are king, basically it will determine if you get par or bogey. Just because, even if your scrambling is 50%, and you only 3-putt 5% of the time. The difference between bogey and par from a GIR and non-GIR is 45% differential. That is a huge difference in scoring.

For me, i like GIR's, short game proximity, and number of 3 putts. I also look at number of shots were i start the ball on its intended target line (push/straight/pull), this allows me to know if i am swinging on the path i want.

[TJBam]

My worst round over the past few weeks knocked me from a 10.5 back up to a 11.8.  It was bad.

But on the good side I only missed a couple fairways by only a few feet.  Like was mentioned here many times, this goes to show you that FIR does not equal good score

[trackster]

I don't get how people can not think that GIR is important.  With out a GIR your birdie chances are 0.XX %, virtually non existent.  Start keeping stats on holes that you par.  I would bet close to 90% of the them start with a GIR.

While scrambling is important to save, your chances are much higher from the green.

Fairways are dependent on the course.  My home course keeps the rough really short so the rough is relatively easy to play out of.  However is you watched the U.S. open, the GIR percentage from the rough was very very low.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by trackster

I don't get how people can not think that GIR is important.  With out a GIR your birdie chances are 0.XX %, virtually non existent.  Start keeping stats on holes that you par.  I would bet close to 90% of the them start with a GIR.

While scrambling is important to save, your chances are much higher from the green.

Fairways are dependent on the course.  My home course keeps the rough really short so the rough is relatively easy to play out of.  However is you watched the U.S. open, the GIR percentage from the rough was very very low.

Not the case for me. Not saying you're wrong, you're more than likely right...I'm just so infrequently on the green in regulation that most of my pars come from great approach shots or short pitches or chips close to the pin.

[meenman]

I don't get how people can not think that GIR is important.  With out a GIR your birdie chances are 0.XX %, virtually non existent.  Start keeping stats on holes that you par.  I would bet close to 90% of the them start with a GIR.

Seldom right and wrong yet again. Your theory may work with low handicappers, but in my situation I average twice as many pars as GIRs, 3.6% vs 7%.

[trackster]

Originally Posted by meenman

Seldom right and wrong yet again. Your theory may work with low handicappers, but in my situation I average twice as many pars as GIRs, 3.6% vs 7%.

The fact that your handicap is where it is is probably a reflection of your GIR percentage.....That's less than 1 GIR per 18 holes.  How many birdies do you have that weren't GIR?  Start hitting more GIRs and the percentage of GIR and Par will become more similar.

[RickK]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I played today with a +2 handicap.  I heard he was +2 before the round started, and I said, "I'd love to see what a +2 looks like."  The other guy who was hosting me said, "well you're about to."

I ended up being in the cart with him.  We only played 9, but he was 5 under going into the last hole, which he bogied from being in the lateral hazard off the tee (but playable, in some dirt/tall grass).  It wasn't as amazing as watching the one guy I played with hit the ball 300+ (real, not internet), but it was impressive in another way.  Fairway, green, and a 20 foot putt was the norm.  When he had a putt inside of 10 feet for birdie, he made all but one of them (missed a 4 footer on a par 5).  Then made getting up and down look like a piece of cake on one of the two greens he missed.

I eventually asked him what his low 9 was, while he was in the hazard on the ninth hole.  He said it was 8 under.  Went on to say his low 18-hole round was 63.  How cool is that?  He probably drove it right in the 275-280 range (real, not internet, so that's impressive) and it was really consistent.  It's just not amazingly, incredibly astounding.  It's simply impressive because it makes golf look like an easy game.  Course slope was like 135 with a 70.1 rating.

I have had the good fortune to play with several people like that in all my years of playing golf.  I know it is hard to believe but if you are a single digit player...say a 7,8,9 and you play with a guy who is a +2 or so handicap...you realize just how much better they are than you.  Your misses are wild compared to most of their misses.  In my younger years, I have had several rounds under par but it was mostly luck like 3 chip ins in same round, getting lucky breaks when ball should have been deep in woods and ends up back in fairway off a tree.  But never once did I strike the ball as purely as I saw these guys hit it.  A couple of them, the sound of the ball coming off their clubs was amazing.  Such a pure pure sound.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by trackster

The fact that your handicap is where it is is probably a reflection of your GIR percentage.....That's less than 1 GIR per 18 holes.  How many birdies do you have that weren't GIR?  Start hitting more GIRs and the percentage of GIR and Par will become more similar.

Most definitely. 2-putting is easier than getting up and down from the rough.

[Dnels]

What kind of math is that???  If you hit every green in reg and two putt, you would shoot even par not 90.  You would have to 4 putt every green to shoot 90.

[Dnels]

Sorry, my bad. You typed can't hit green not can.

[Effington]

To answer the OP's question, it depends on what population you're considering.

I often go to the local driving range and no one can hit the ball over 150 yards...over half of them can barely get the ball in the air.  I've played a par-3 course where I shot +20 on 9 holes and it looked like I was the best player on the course.

Overall, I'd say a very small percentage of players legitimately break 100.