Keep Stats

[Rafcin]

I'm a gadget man and writing stuff on the scorecard, bringing home and typing it (again) into a database is just too much for me. If you have PocketPC or Palm device and are interesting in keeping stats - check out Intelligolf software. I'm not too impressed with their GPS interface (seems to be very inaccurate for shot distance measurements) the stats keeping is easy and straight forward.
The reporting is pretty cool too (see bottom of my signature). Granted - it is $40 to get it, but if you have a handheld device - it's well worth it. No other costs attached after that - scorecards are downloadable for free or you can type them in yourself before the round... I like it a lot.

[Chas]

When your game is really stinko and just about everything needs work, running detailed stats doesn't make a lot of sense IMO, except that it will help you to track actual improvement. Still, too much focus on numbers at this stage can be counterproductive.

When you get a bit better and start actually thinking about course management etc, stats really do start making a difference. They are objective and will not lie to you, as long as you don't lie to them. Besides, it makes the game more interesting and rewarding, when you can accurately track what's going on - positive and negative both. I mean, you actually start feeling like a bit of a golfer for one thing. And it's hard to make careful, nuanced shot-selection decisions out there without the knowledge of what your chances are in that type of situation, which the stats will give you a much better feel for. Can I afford to risk hitting that greenside bunker with the knock-down 8-iron shot aimed at the pin that I'm thinking about from behind this tree ...? Well, it depends on your SS stats amongst other things. In my case, I'd better aim more to the "safe" side, given my pathetic SS figure at the moment. The more I play, the more statistical I get about my game.

[Mikeland]

I use nethandicap.com to keep my handicap, but the site also allows you to keep track of stats like putts, fairways hit, greens hit, sand saves, etc.

Keeping track of statistics has helped me better understand my game, and identifiy my weak spots... There are times when I'm hitting the ball solid, but not scoring well...maybe I'm 3-putting alot or missing greens. If I didn't keep my statistics, I wouldn't know why I shot 85 instead of 75.

I think all you really need to know are fairways hit, greens hit, putts, and up-n-downs.

Funny, I'm always marking up my scorecard and always get asked what the heck it is I'm doing...

[kiani]

I also keep stats, have been doing it for years. I only keep fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts, and then the website I use calculates my averages (scoring, fairways, GIR, putts/round, putts/GIR, etc).

A couple years ago I started tracking driving distance, distance of putts made, distance of first putt, etc, but that got too time-consuming, I stick to the basic ones.

[aquacooled]

I keep track of hit fairways, putts, and up & down's.. thats it the other stuff is to much time for me keep track of..

[seattlemudder]

I've been keeping stats for about a year now and I totally agree with Dave and Erik in that it's been very useful. I went from an 11 H/C to a 14 and wasn't sure why. I started keeping stats and am at a 13 now and before I ran out of playing weather was trending down. I would like to get to an 8 or so and I know that the stats will help me get there. I only play about 15-20 rounds a year so not enough IMO to get much lower than an 8 since to get better, one has to play regularly and often. My putting has been decent but my FW hit and GIR numbers were not. Got my FW number under control and now need to improve my GIR to lower my H/C. Obviously not everyone will have the inclination to keep stats but keeping stats has helped me personally.

[Mfumar]

This looks like it's been a dead thread for a couple of months, but nobody mentioned www.fairwayfiles.com . I've been using it since 2002 and I've got every round I've played since then stored in it. There may be better versions, but it's free and I'm used to it. All the guys I play with keep fairways, greens, and putts. We've been doing it so long that we don't even have to think about it anymore. A dot in the upper left corner is a fairway, a dot in the upper right corner is a green and putts are just a little number next to your score. You enter everything after the round and it kicks out your updated handicap and sends an email to everyone in your group with the details of your round. If we know we're going to play at a certain course, it'll print out a scorecard that tells who gets strokes and on which holes. Kind of handy to have that written down before the beer starts flowing.

[kiani]

I've been using http://www.golfity.com for a few years, it's very simple and allows you to keep track of fairways, greens in regulation and putts and calculates nice stats. You can also share scores with friends and see their scores.

[Azprogolfr]

A good stat to keep is 125 yards and in. You will be suprised of how many shots you lose in that range

[Fourputt]

This looks like it's been a dead thread for a couple of months, but nobody mentioned

Just looked at Fairway Files... good site. I'm going to start using it for my stats.

[North49]

I always keep certain stats. Fairways, greens, number of putts, penalties, up and downs. I use the game tracker software from the Golf Channel. Does the job. This software has evolved to 1st distance on putting and driving distance, which is a bit of a crap shoot sometimes.

[ABPositive]

Checkout my statistics page: http://www.blogmygolf.com/blogs/agui...tatistics.html

If find these the most useful - Is there something else I should keep track of?

[MountainHip]

I use intelligolf on my Palm.
Took 5 rounds to get used to it.
It's very fast now.

When I play in a foursome I just keep track while others are teeing off.
I wouldn't golf without it now.

[teebuck911]

may sound really daft but i had a spread sheet that i entered my score, including puts chips so i could work out where i lost most shots in a round

realy improved my game because i could work on my bad areas.
tom

[lamebums]

No, but I really should start doing that.

[Oublio]

Would any of you who keep an Excel stat tracker be willing to share the .xls file with others? Particularly me?

[jorruss]

I used to keep really anal stats, like where I hit all my shots - left right, short long, etc. That got a bit too involved. The Golf Channel's website has a nice tool called Game Tracker:

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/gametracker/

It's a subscription service but it may be worth it for people who want to have software to keep their stats. You can keep your stats as anal as you want, and it even calculates your USGA handicap Index. I think it's $30 a year.

[Ghost Runner]

I keep track of my putts, fairways hit and time of play (and my score of course).

I'm also big into making notes on my scorecard that I can look back on and remember what might have happened on a particular hole.

bo = birdie opportunity (as in I had a birdie opportunity but didn't make it)
p = penalty stroke
fg = flew the green (I'm trying to pay more attention to this as I'm just starting to become consistent enough in my play that club selection should not be a problem as it once was)
fc = flubbed chip

etc etc...I seem to make up a new one every round!