This applies more to players who keep track of stats, but that can mean informally as well. Whether you keep meticulous notes about every single shot and use stat tracking software or whether you kind of keep a rough mental tally of things, those numbers are trying to speak to you.

It’s tempting to look at the raw numbers and just make a snap judgment about what they mean.

You might notice that your putting average is 1.75 putts per hole and start thinking that you’re putting like the pros. Not so fast.

Sunday evening, I finished up my 9-hole round and went home and tallied up my stats. I’ve been making great improvements in my ball striking, but still felt like I wasn’t playing well. When I looked at my putting stats, my average was over two putts per hole. I had only a single one-putt and had two three-putts.

Another bad round?

Not really. My final score was a 42. Not great, but my best at my new course this year.

You’re probably scratching your head wondering what I’m getting at. My putts per round is higher now, but why? (I’m including informal tallies in addition to my numbers on the stats page)

It’s for the simple reason that I’m hitting more greens now. I’m hitting 3-5 greens per 9-hole round where I was lucky to hit three before. Don’t forget, I’m not just talking about the rounds on my stats page.

What’s happening is that instead of missing a green and having an easy pitch or chip that might get me into one-putt or easy two-putt range, I’m finding myself as far as 75+ feet from the cup, in definite two-putt, maybe three-putt range.

I’m not only hitting more greens, but I’m hitting greens further out after big mistakes.

I’ve been having serious trouble with my 3-wood. Sunday evening, I sliced it way over into the rough of the adjoining hole. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it, so I hit a provisional ball. And topped it. Just up in front of the forward tee, which was probably 50 yards up.

Since my duff was further back than my possibly-lost ball, I played my provisional ball up to the green so I could go up and look for my errant 3-wood. I was about 235 out and faded a 2-iron up to about 5 feet. I was totally happy with that, even if my ball was lost, I still had a great shot at limiting the damage to a bogey.

I eventually found the ball over on the other hole. It was in the rough, sitting several inches below my feet with a carry over water and bunkers. I gouged it out pretty well, but flew it to the back of the green and left myself with at least a 50-footer, which I proceeded to three-putt.

But the fact is, I hit the green with two separate balls, one from a long distance, and one from a tough lie over trouble.

Admittedly, my putting isn’t as sharp as it should be because I’ve neglected it a little bit with the full swing problems I was having.

The point to all this is: looking at the raw numbers doesn’t always tell the full story. When you analyze your own numbers (even if they’re informal), don’t rush to judgment. Try and understand why the numbers are what they are. That will let you properly target your practice time and will also give you some positives to look at. Instead of spending more time working on pitching and chipping, I clearly need to work more on lag putting and eliminating the duffs that put me in situations where I need to make long approaches from difficult spots.

Sure, I’m dissatisfied at my putts per hole, but I’m also happy to be hitting greens, especially from a long way out. If you’re being honestly critical of yourself, then it’s OK to pat yourself on the back too.

Did you like this post? Get free RSS updates!

Leave a comment | Comment Policy | Trackback URL