I am a stat addict. I can admit it! I grew up playing baseball and baseball is all about numbers and statistics. In baseball you count everything!

Well, I believe that in golf you should do the same. The advantage it can create for your game is tremendous. Statistics can tell you where you gain and lose your strokes. They can tell you what to practice and how to practice. I believe that if you do not know the statistics related to your own game then attempts to get better are almost futile because you do not truly know where you need to get better.

I ask a few very key questions to every player I coach. How many 3 putts do you have per round? How many penalty shots do you take from your tee shots per round? How many times per round do you not get it on the green in one shot from inside 30 yards? Most have very vague answers to those questions.

But by knowing the answers to these questions, the average golfer can accomplish a few things. First of all they can identify exactly where strokes are being lost. And second, they can shorten the path to lower scores!

Let’s say your answers to my questions are that you rarely have a penalty shot from a tee ball but you 3 putt three times per round and miss the green from inside 30 yards twice per round. Well, your lesson just left the driving range and went to the short game area because you are losing 5 shots per round inside 30 yards. There is no need to pound drivers for the next hour!

But don’t feel bad if you don’t yet have the answers to the questions about your statistics. You are not alone. I recently asked a Tour player where she was losing strokes during her rounds. She was certain it was because of her putting. Now granted, her putting is not her strength but the fact is that she was hitting the ball into bunkers way too often and was not great at performing out of those bunkers. And by going deeper into the discussion about bunkers we found that she was hitting the ball into those bunkers so often because she was making bad decisions based on her thought that her putting was the problem. The fact was, and her stats proved, that just by hitting the ball to the center of the green rather than challenge pins tucked behind bunkers she would save 6 strokes over the course of a four round tournament. That’s a ton for a Tour player! 

Knowing your stats is invaluable to improving your game and shooting lower scores!

Jeff Fisher is Director of Instruction at the Fisher Bryan Golf Academy at Longbow Golf Club. Jeff can be reached at 480.414.9330 or jeff@fisherbryangolf.com.