I played my first match in on the Open side of the match play events at Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort. It was a head to head battle against one of, if not the, best player at my home course. Len is a great player who hits the ball very long, has a great touch around the green and is a strong putter. I had my work cut out for me if I was going to have any chance of winning this match. We decided to play the ball down and as a result, both of us found some very difficult lies as the round progressed. Regardless, it was the same for both of us and as such the fairest way to play our round. As it turned out, this match was a seesaw battle without a storybook ending.
Continue readingHitting Fairways
Too Focused on Stats!
Which is the Most Important Stat?
Golf stats are an interesting thing. They provide information about virtually every topic and many players, analysts, and pundits rely on stats to make their point! This is all good for the viewing public who may need to be entertained between golf shots on TV or while reading their favourite article, but do stats have any real value to the average hacker trying to improve their score?
Recently, I received a random email (not from the author) from that someone suggesting that stats could be used to break 80. Ever the skeptic, I read through the paragraph and wondered what others thought. Here is the what the author Mike Tappett from mikeplaysgolf said:
“All golfers I’ve coached do this one thing and do it religiously. Keep track of how many fairways hit, greens hit in regulation and putts you take per round. This exercise alone will tell you the weaker part of your game. The average player who shoots in the mid and high 70’s consistently will average about 8-12 fairways, 9-11 greens in regulation and between 27-30 putts per round.”
On the surface, I can see the value of keeping stats, however without an action play, keeping stats is well – meaningless. personally, I have never kept stats. I have never felt the need or requirement, but this year is different. I am trying new things and keeping an open mind to anything that will improve my game. As I drive towards being a scratch golfer, I do not want to overlook anything!
So my question are: Do keep stats? If so, do you use them to focus you practice? If not, why? I am all ears!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 