Do we really care for golfer scoring statistics?

Iam very keen to frequently consider my golf scoring statistics during a practice round of golf. It makes me aware of with the least amount of time and effort. Thus, enjoying the game even more. If and when you intend to just unwind and take it easy on the golf course, most probably not. On the other hand, if you dream to score an even bogey or an even par game, then you must!

I accidentally ran across an interesting analysis of scoring statistics for the “average golfers” by Dr. L.J. Riccio, PhD. The data was based from over one hundred golfers, ranging in the ability of Jack Nicklaus to a 35 handicapper. It was basically designed to determine which aspects of play separates the average players from the top amateurs.

Looking at the statistics, I was actually a bit surprised that percentages of fairways hit and putts per round, were the least points to improve on. More importantly, it was emphasized to focus more to improve your greens in regulation (GIR), chipping, pitching, sand, percentage of iron accuracy, and acquiring more birdies and pars. It is imperative that you hit your shots far enough to achieve your GIRs. It is also crucial that you intensify your practices on your chip, pitch and greenside bunker shots, and percentage of iron accuracy, at the same time focus on shot direction and establish accurate yardage for each iron. By doing so, you will relatively achieve more number of pars and birdies. Tough job but it’s the only way to be a top amateur.

Based on the table below, if you score 89, and you aim to move down to a 79, you must meet the following criteria: GIR – from 3, increase to 8 Pitch/Chip/Sand – from 15.6, decrease to 9.8 Birdies – from 0.1, increase to 1.8 Pars – from 5.1, increase to 8.8 Percentage of Iron Accuracy – 20%, increase to 53% These are what you need to work on to cut 10 strokes out of your game. Overwhelming, I reckon!