Tuesday, April 21, 2009

STATISTICS TO TRACK

Tracking your statistics from the course can be very helpful in pinpointing the specific strengths and weaknesses of your game. Once you pinpoint these areas, it will be easier to make the necessary adjustments to lower your score. Here are some important statistics to track when you play.


FAIRWAYS IN REGULATION (FIR) – Hitting a fairway in regulation occurs when you hit the fairway with your first tee shot.
GREENS IN REGULATION (GIR) – Hitting a green in regulation occurs when you hit the green with your first shot on a par three, second shot on a par four, or by your third shot on a par five.
SAND SAVES – A sand save is when you hit one shot out of the sand onto the green and make your first putt.
UP AND DOWNS – An up and down is when you hit a chip or pitch onto the green, and then make your first putt.
PUTTING – Putting statistics are kept by counting your total putts for each hole and then adding them up at the end of your round. Additionally, you could take your total putts for the round, divide them by 18, and get your average putts per hole.

SCORING BREAKDOWNAfter your round, it can be helpful to break down your scores into number of birdies, pars, bogeys, double bogeys, and others. Over time, you can find out how you are improving by increasing birdies and pars, or decreasing in total bogeys, double bogeys, etc.

NUMBER OF 3 PUTTS – Of course, no one wants to three putt a hole, but this can be a helpful statistic to keep.

PENALTY STROKES – Tracking this can allow you to see how many penalty strokes are affecting your score. This can be from hitting it out of bounds, hitting into a water hazard, unplayable lies, lost balls, and so on.