What's Preventing You From Playing Scratch Golf?

[David in FL]

For me, it's just that I am finally getting consistent enough to start keeping stats. I assume that many other people have the same issue as me.

Sorry, but I'll disagree.  You don't have to be consistent in order to keep stats, or a handicap for that matter.  We might not like the numbers that we're seeing, but that doesn't mean that we can't gain insight from them.

[Dave2512]

Yeah if anything tracking stats showed me how inconsistent I am. At some point when I was playing bogey or worse golf I started tracking stats to see what needed immediate work. Even then tends to be a moving target for most amateurs. Improve one stat and another starts to decline. A common example of that is number of putts per round increasing with a better GIR %. The progress tends to be harder to see as the scores improve. On paper just looking at summary stats for one round it would be tough to tell if I shot 79 or 85. Comes down to just one or two bad holes a side.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

For me, it's just that I am finally getting consistent enough to start keeping stats. I assume that many other people have the same issue as me.

Sorry, but I'll disagree.  You don't have to be consistent in order to keep stats, or a handicap for that matter.  We might not like the numbers that we're seeing, but that doesn't mean that we can't gain insight from them.

I agree that you can keep stats, but if your numbers are +/-100% or more from round to round it might be difficult to figure out what to change to improve any particular stat. So, it seems like there is little use in keeping accurate stats.

[Dave2512]

I agree that you can keep stats, but if your numbers are +/-100% or more from round to round it might be difficult to figure out what to change to improve any particular stat. So, it seems like there is little use in keeping accurate stats.

That's why I look at stats over a certain period, last 5-10-20-YTD-career.

[David in FL]

I agree that you can keep stats, but if your numbers are +/-100% or more from round to round it might be difficult to figure out what to change to improve any particular stat. So, it seems like there is little use in keeping accurate stats.

If you hit one GIR last week, and two this week, the fact that you had a 100% improvement in GIR isn't relevant.  What remains relevant is that you have a significant opportunity in GIR.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

I agree that you can keep stats, but if your numbers are +/-100% or more from round to round it might be difficult to figure out what to change to improve any particular stat. So, it seems like there is little use in keeping accurate stats.

That's why I look at stats over a certain period, last 5-10-20-YTD-career.

That makes sense.

I guess I mentally keep track of my stats. I have only been trying to improve my golf over the last year and a half or so, but can mentally remember the changes I have made. Mainly distance with drives and FIR have improved. GIR went from nearly impossible to getting closer to hitting greens and holding them once in a while. Putts went from 45 down to 40. So, mentally I have tallied them up for the past year and a half. The most consistent changes were made only over the last three months when I started taking lessons with @mvmac and Dana.

Prior to a year ago , I just enjoyed hitting balls on the course and maybe losing a dozen balls per round. Played once or twice a month for 2 years with the family, and didn't have any idea about FIR, GIR or putts per round, etc.

So, it definitely makes sense for me to start tracking stats, now. I can see small incremental improvements, whereas before it was like shooting darts with a blindfold on.

[saevel25]

I think I am going to start planning on tracking contact and how the shot turned out. If it was the shot I wanted to happen or not.

As for the OP. I also think a big thing is mentality. I think a lot of people might want to be scratch, but they don't realize the hard work that goes into it. I think there is a conviction that a golfer needs to play at that level.

[Lihu]

I think I am going to start planning on tracking contact and how the shot turned out. If it was the shot I wanted to happen or not.

As for the OP. I also think a big thing is mentality. I think a lot of people might want to be scratch, but they don't realize the hard work that goes into it. I think there is a conviction that a golfer needs to play at that level.

Are you thinking of taking some kind of swing monitor to the course and tracking that way? Or something like what Ben Hogan did with a shag bag on a course?

[Albatross1]

Easily my play from 100 yds and in.  I'm a 7 handicap, and usually by the end of the season I'm shooting in the mid 70s on a regular basis.  I've never shot even par, and I know for a certainty that it's my wedge play that is holding me back.  I think I'd chalk this up to 50% not having the skill and 50% not having the discipline to not go straight at the pin every time.

Since I'm not playing in tournaments, I don't usually take the highest percentage shots - my instinct is to always take dead aim rather than playing to a spot on the green where I can make a long put.  As a result, I end up in a lot of rough and bunkers that I could've easily avoided if I had just aimed for the center of the green and maybe tried to work the ball towards the hole while it's in the air.  Maybe this will be the year that I put in the work on my short game, and also the game between my ears.

[saevel25]

Are you thinking of taking some kind of swing monitor to the course and tracking that way? Or something like what Ben Hogan did with a shag bag on a course?

Nope, just by feel of the contact with the golf ball. Basically when I play a round. How many shots do what I want them to do, and is the contact the way I want.

[Ernest Jones]

What's preventing me from playing scratch golf?

My wife.

[Dables]

Time and Health.

I've been as low as a 3 (18 years a go) and more recently a 7 (5 years ago) but 2 young children and all they inlvolve have robbed me of the time I once had. When my wife traveled often and I was at the range 3 days a week and played 3 rounds a week, it was slowly creeping in the right direction. I've also had some shoulder problems that have forced me to change my swing in order to keep playing.

That being said, I still catch lightening in the bottle, and will get accused of being a serious sandbagger a couple of times a year. I finished last year as an 11.1, but I did have 4 rounds in the 70's, including a 75. A couple of years ago I shot 1 under in a round. I know the game is there, but I'm also dependent on muscle memory and love to practice. Biggest challenges right now:

- Hitting the fairway. I probably hit 45% in the fairway, and when I miss it's usually pretty bad. Getting around this typically involves hitting a hybrid. This kills me because I see a pretty big gap in my ballstriking between a 7 and a 5 (as I'm sure everyone does)

- Keeping it a draw and not a hook. as I mentioned, I had to make my swing very flat to take pressure off my shoulder, and the big, high loud fade I played my whole life turned into a low draw about 5 years ago. If I get sloppy or stop paying attention to it, the draw turns into a hook. This happens most often in drinking rounds with buddies

- consistant putting - I'm streaky as hell with the putter. I've been playing an Oddysey tour prototype #8, but I'm going back to a Scotty Newport with the hope that I'm more reliable with it.

Overall, it's consistency for me, and the only way I'm going to get that is to play more. Cut a deal with the wife this year that guarantee's me a practice night, a league night, and my regular Friday afternoon round, so we'll see what kind of impact it makes.

[Dave2512]

I think the Game Golf tracker could be useful for that when they get enough courses mapped. Being able to review every shot with their tracer like technology will be very cool.

[hopefulhacker]

I agree that you can keep stats, but if your numbers are +/-100% or more from round to round it might be difficult to figure out what to change to improve any particular stat. So, it seems like there is little use in keeping accurate stats.

You are spending so much time on your swing changes, which is great(I'm following :) ). But the fact that you don't spend 5 mins after a round to record your stats is crazy. There are plenty of free apps out there and a round can be recorded in minutes. If you play 50 rounds a year, the time taken will be approx 4 hours recording stats, that's 4 hours per year..... 4 hours to get an accurate reflection of your game, which will help indenting weak areas and give you goals along the way outside of working on a swing. Recording mentally doesn't work IMO, people forget, can't record and remember a years worth of stats, focus and remember the good or bad rounds (and stats)!depending on personality. There may be 5SK's to the swing but there are other simple keys to golf. Having accurate stats is one of them. I'm not sure if the guys at 5SK's look at areas outside of the swing... But it'd be a great area to branch into for them IMO.

[KyleAnthony]

You are spending so much time on your swing changes, which is great(I'm following :) ). But the fact that you don't spend 5 mins after a round to record your stats is crazy.

There are plenty of free apps out there and a round can be recorded in minutes.

If you play 50 rounds a year, the time taken will be approx 4 hours recording stats, that's 4 hours per year..... 4 hours to get an accurate reflection of your game, which will help indenting weak areas and give you goals along the way outside of working on a swing.

Recording mentally doesn't work IMO, people forget, can't record and remember a years worth of stats, focus and remember the good or bad rounds (and stats)!depending on personality.

There may be 5SK's to the swing but there are other simple keys to golf. Having accurate stats is one of them.

I'm not sure if the guys at 5SK's look at areas outside of the swing... But it'd be a great area to branch into for them IMO.

i agree with this 100% the only way to improve weak points is to identify them. i started a chart that includes averages for the month and a goal average. it covers GIR, FIR, Putts, and Index. that way i can see my progress month by month

[hopefulhacker]

i agree with this 100% the only way to improve weak points is to identify them. i started a chart that includes averages for the month and a goal average. it covers GIR, FIR, Putts, and Index. that way i can see my progress month by month

It would save a lot of time (and maybe improve accuracy) to use an readily available free App. I get into my car after a round, by the time I have the engine heated up, my round is recorded. You input simple round detail and it spits out all the stats you need. Completed scorecard Sample Stats (one of many)

[hopefulhacker]

^^^ I have been working on some of the 5SK's since the start of Jan. I may be hooking it a bit more but my slice is gone :) 0% missed to the right in my last round... First time ever :)

[The Recreational Golfer]

Lack of interest in pursuing that goal. Scratch isn't so important to me that I would put in all the time and effort to get there, with no guarantee there would be a payoff.

My goal is to be able to break 80 half the times out. That's a much more realistic goal, and an achievable one.