What the Stats Missed
I implemented the scrambling stat on the scorecard, but it didn't quite show the whole story.
Stats I track
I'm a puzzle guy, there I said it. I like building, putting the pieces together, and figuring things out. I can be anything really, but I love to tinker and figure out how and why things work the way they do. I think that's a massive reason I love golf so much; the swing is a massive puzzle. There is always some piece that is either missing, needs improvement, or just flat out wrong. Bring the golf swing on an actual round of golf, and the puzzle gets much more hectic. It's now: how is my current golf swing working, and how can I use this to go low? And that's where some stat tracking and analytics come into play. Using the scorecard I made, at first I wasn't tracking many stats. Over time I added three putt percentage and greens in regulation. My general idea, is to keep the input as minimal as possible and still get good stats. I recently added the scrambling percentage stat to the scorecard app. For those unaware, it's how often you make par or better, while missing the green in regulation. In my opinion, it's a wonderful stat to track for your short game. There is one stat I should add, but would require another input, which is fairways in regulation. It will most likely get added, but I'm having an internal debate on adding another input to the ongoing round inputs. If you ever use the scorecard app, I generally rank these stats against pros (it will display 'pro'), scratch golfer ('excellent'), mid handicap ('good'), and anything over about 15 handicap ('Needs Improvement').
How this ties in
Well...I finished building out the scrambling stat and I saw on my personal stats page a 'Needs Improvement'. To be quite honest, this had me a bit perplexed; I always thought my short game was the best part of my game. My 3 putt percentage is alright, in that 'good' range, and I'm usually fairly confident with a wedge in my hand, especially right around the green. Nonetheless, I started practicing some chipping and those 20 yard testers some more. High flight, soft chip/approach shots and the low runners that always seem to work better. I spent a bit less time playing golf swing and started practicing actual golf. Even if this wasn't the exact area that needed work, I felt there is no harm and really dialing in the short game. But the back of my mind was still questioning, is this where I need to be spending my time? I had a sneaking suspicion that even though my scrambling was bad, it might be because I wasn't even in a position to scramble and make par. Maybe I pumped one OB and needed to re-tee, maybe I hit the hazard and needed to drop, or maybe I found my ball but needed to completely ditch out sideways before even attacking the green. By the way I'm open to debates on if the last one should be scrambling or not, but for the sake of my crappy tee box game I'm using it as an example here. My driver recently had the carbon-face pop out during a range session and I was working through a warranty replacement. Long story short: I was out a driver for my next round.
The driver free round
I'm not going to lie, I was actually looking forward to this, I recently bought a used Callaway Paradym 3h and had been hitting it alright. I was looking for a club that gave me some more confidence and another option off the tee, especially when faced with a dogleg or just a terrible driving day. And I went to the perfect course to test it out; lots of doglegs and tight fairways. I rarely score well here, usually upper 80s to low 90s. This course really requires some accuracy off the tee and a solid 230-240 shot to the center of the doglegs, I figured it was a perfect test for this new 3h. And funny enough, I was battling a new miss with this 3h, a lower flighted sweeping hook. As I progressed through the round, I quickly realized my scrambling wasn't the issue. I actually had the best short game I've had this season, inside 80 yards, I was hitting the green. And if I didn't, I was getting up and down; but the fairways were coming at a premium. Sure, I had my swing misses, but some of the misses were also from picking bad lines and not knowing the distance to the landing zone. A perfect example, I aim center fairway to the landing zone (thinking it was 230), but I didn't confirm that. One beautiful strike with the 3h, 230 yards straight...into a tree through the fairway, with the infamous thud some of us know all too well.
What this means
I mean...this really confirms what I already knew? My tee box game is bad. It's objectively the worst part of my game and I think there's no denying it. After this round, I actually sat back, and thought about it and some other rounds recently. The general consensus I came up with, is that I don't have a tee game strategy. I usually walk and that gives me some time to think about my next shot, if I'm blocked, distance, do I need to go high or can I keep it low, etc.
But the tee box?
Not a thought in the world: just pull driver, pick a line and send it.
It's the single biggest hindrance of my game, coupled with the silly mentality that I need to smash my longer clubs, which I'm working on. So where does this leave me? Well for one, I realized stats aren't everything. They're just another piece of the puzzle we can use to help solve our issues, but they can be misplaced and need to be verified with credible observations. But I do think it brought up a new focus for me which is: honing in a strategy for the tee box, giving it the same focus I give my other shots. That means actually finding my landing zone distance, picking the correct club, the correct line, and trusting that process.
Golf is hard.
Enjoy it anyway.
-- Jack