Fairways Hit? NO!
Our ability to hit the fairways has long been the traditional measure of driving accuracy. It is, after all, our goal when we stand on the tee of a par 4 or par 5 hole; but, like most of the “traditional stats” in golf, it is one-dimensional. It is a simple yes/no answer to the question that forces us to focus mainly on the Yes. Why, because the Yes is understood to be a positive outcome, albeit without the important dimension of distance; but, the No has a myriad of undefined, negative possibilities with a far greater impact on the game.
Over the past 18 years we have studied golf performance at every level – including PGA Tour players – and have concluded that hitting or missing fairways is a statistic of limited relevance. Of far greater importance is the character and severity of the miss. Did the ball land in light rough, in a bunker or behind a tree (with or without a shot?), or disappear in a pond or worst of all – Lost or Out of bounds?
At the highest level of the game, “Fairways” has become the least relevant. A recent study of performance on the PGA Tour conducted by two professors at Northeaster Univ. in Boston, MA sited the declining importance of driving accuracy in recent due primarily to the distances that players are hitting the ball. To support this, our #1 player in the world hit only 61% of the fairways during his recent seven-event winning streak. In the final event, at Torrey Pines, Tiger hit only 46% of the fairways enroute to victory. Of far greater importance is the fact that Tiger’s tee shots resulted in an ERROR only 2% of his total attempts. An error means the result was a penalty or a position from which he did not have a normal opportunity for his next shot – requiring some sort of advancement. For comparison, the other “Winners” on the PGA Tour average similar numbers: Fairways = 66%, ERRORS = 2%.
Errors made? Yes!
At the amateur level, the frequency and severity of errors climbs as does the handicap. In a study of single digit handicap golfers that I conducted several years ago, I determined that over 80% of the double bogeys began with an error from the tee. A double bogey is the dreaded, scoring anathema for this low handicap group. I have found that these errors do far more to earmark one’s Long game handicap than to the good shots and certainly the fairways hit.
Test your game
Step #1. Play your normal game and track your errors from the tee in your next few rounds to see where you stack up on the chart below. In a typical round, you will have 14 driving opportunities. One error would be 7% (1 / 14 = .07). To clarify further, an error is a tee shot on a par 4 or par 5 hole that results in one of the following:
• Any penalty situation (Hazard, Unplayable lie, Lost ball or OB)
• Functionally out of play – The position does not permit the normal next shot, requiring some sort of extra advancement shot to get the ball back into play.
Driving Errors
(Tee Shots on par 4 and par 5 holes)
Handicap Ranges = % Errors:
PGA Tour = 5%,
0-5 = 10%,
6-10 = 19%,
11-15 = 30%,
16-25 = 42%,
26-35 = 57%,
Step #2. Next, play a few rounds where you make conscious choices to avoid these errors and see what effect it has on your score. This means selecting both the club and target that provides the greatest possibility for success. It might mean 3-wood or even a 5 iron off the tee and playing away from potential trouble and it will take discipline. If mistakes off the tee are one of your problems, you will be surprised at the result of this test.
For a
Complete Analysis of Your Game,
log on to: www.shotbyshot.com
Peter Sanders is the President of Golf Research Associates, lp and creator of SHOT BY SHOT Complete Game Analysis (http://www.shotbyshot.com). This company was the first to analyze Putting by distance over 18 years ago and to evaluate the short game by a combination of how close players hit their shots to the hole and Errors (shots that miss the green). For a FREE trial simply log on to http://www.shotbyshot.com
Tags: Driving Errors, Fairways Hit, Game Analysis, golf, handicaps, Performance Analysis, statistics
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