Darren Steels PGA Professional - Game improvement through using stats

 

 

 

 

How To Set Your Priorities For a Better Golf Game

 

One of the keys to playing your best golf more consistently is to reduce the number of things you focus on in practice. This may seem counter intuitive, and you may feel as if every part of your game needs work and should be addressed in practice.  That concept is not only wrong, but also unproductive.  In fact, it’s the slowest path to improving.

 

You will make much more progress, much faster — and start getting lower scores sooner — through the simple process of prioritizing.

 

And, believe it or not, your score card has all the clues you’ll need to discover your priorities.

 

By selecting the one or two top priorities (both strengths and weaknesses) that will make the biggest impact on your scores — and then focusing 80% of your efforts on just those areas — you’ll give yourself a better chance of accomplishing your goals, and you can do it far faster than you imagine.

 

Begin At The End

 

So let’s start with the end in mind and work backwards from there.

 

The goal of your course navigation strategy should always be to put yourself in situations where you are playing from your strengths.

 

Want the perfect example? Consider Luke Donald.

 

Luke Donald finished the 2011 season ranked the number one player in the world. But you’d never guess it from his driving stats. He finished 147th on the tour in driving – pathetic by PGA Tour standards.

 

So how did he end up the #1 player?

 

By finishing in the Top 10 in a number of other categories:

 

8th in scrambling;

 

8th in accuracy inside 100 yards;

 

2nd in accuracy from 50 to 125 yards;

 

1st from 100 to 125 yards;

 

Top 5 in putting inside 15 feet, and;

 

#1 in putting from 5 to 10 feet. 

 

No other player is in the Top 10 in so many categories.

 

These are clearly his areas of strength, and he is smart enough to navigate his way around the golf course so that he is hitting from these distances as often as possible.

 

Do you think he is working on his driver? You bet. It’s probably his number one game improvement priority. But it’s not his only priority.

 

Clearly, he spends just as much time in his areas of strength, keeping his skills in these areas fine-tuned and sharp. How do we know that?  His scoring shot skills from 50 to 125 yards and his putting from 5 to 15 feet are the strongest in the world. And, when all was said and done, this is what earned him millions and the #1 ranking.

 

Do you have to be excellent at every aspect of the game? Luke Donald is proof that you don’t … provided you cultivate and continue to sharpen skill strengths you can rely on — with complete trust — when you play.

 

 

 

Record your stats during or after your round, take a small card with you to record the following basic information;

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairways hit

 

Greens hit in regulation

 

Sand saves (Bunker shot followed by 1 putt)

 

Scrambles (short game shot followed by 1 putt)

 

Number of putts

 

 If you can remember your round when you are finished by using an app or a spread sheet you can add additional information (e.g. If you missed a target was it left or right etc..)

 

By using this information you can identify your strengths and weaknesses and also know what is expected for your level for particular shots.

 

For example the number 1 player on the European Tour hits 10 from 14 fairways, so to expect to hit all fairways playing from a mid-handicap is unrealistic; hitting 7 fairways out of 14 would be a far more realistic target.

 

 

 

During your next round, use your scorecard as a tool for identifying your own

strength/weakness profile.