Big Picture or Detail Orientated Personality Types

These are not intended to be ‘scientific’ categories, nor are they mutually exclusive; but they are close enough to describe those that might find stats useful, or otherwise. Big picture people will be more concerned with the outcome of a game rather than how they played various shots; their credo, “don’t confuse me with facts!” If they did start to collect stats, they would probably tire of them quite quickly and argue that recording the information was taking the enjoyment out of their game.
Detail people, on the other hand, will more likely find satisfaction in recording and keeping information. Some would take time out to try to interpret the ‘TV’ stats and not only compare their own data with that of the various pros, but also seek reasons for the pro’s success or failure by analysing their games. But don’t be fooled. These people are likely to be critical of any system that does not provide accurate, meaningful stats and, similarly, would not easily tolerate a clumsy, time consuming recording system; both during and after a round.
Interestingly, more and more sporting codes are providing detailed stats of both games and competitors alike. American football, by its very nature, has always been heavily statistically oriented. It’s part of the lifeblood of the game, so too with baseball. Other sports have always had league tables and other data available but are now providing all manner of detailed statistics. Golf is no exception.

Why do we play Golf?

Do we play golf for exercise and leisure, for fun or for business reasons? Most people falling under these headings will probably have no interest in accumulating their own golfing stats. The majority of long standing club members who play a weekend fourball might be similarly inclined. But there will still be a significant number of them out there who would like to identify their strengths and weaknesses from facts, rather than anecdotal evidence.
Those of us who have a burning passion to improve, to do the best we can all of the time will undoubtedly be the prime candidates for record keeping. We realise, intuitively or cognitively that by identifying where we are losing shots, for example through wayward driving, the wrong choice of club or poor course management we can focus our practise and our minds on the things that count.

Accumulating Our Data for Meaningful Stats

As Shakespeare proclaimed in Hamlet, “there’s the rub”. Unlike players in professional sports we have to record our own data. There is a fine balance between taking copious notes or checking a myriad of ‘tick boxes’ and ruining what should be a pleasant, and hopefully relaxing, round of golf. By recording our own data we are forced to focus on the immediate past event. Fine if we have just made a birdie, but what if we have made a double drop by four putting?
Golf, a relatively simple concept, is a complex game with (relatively) complex rules. Added to this is a long tradition in etiquette that seeks to ensure the enjoyment of the game by all competitors. So any activity that infringes on this right is not only ‘out of bounds’ but, for some, will lead to rushing the next shot with all the consequences that can follow.
The answer to this dilemma lies in using a golf software analysis program that uses simple-to-record and simple-to- input information, but at the same time produces meaningful stats.

No Fuss – Simple to Use

Above all, a good golf software (golf rounds analysis) program should be simple to use, and the collection of data not interfere with the enjoyment of your round, whether it’s a competition or a social fourball. This suggests that hand held devices, using tiny styluses to mark on an equally tiny screen, are a big no-no for many!

If, like me, you are a senior citizen your arms are probably not long enough for you to easily see a scorecard, let alone read and mark on a screen only a few centimeters square. Then there’s the glare of the sun or, worse, the rain to contend with. So you gather your stats in the good, old fashioned, way – using paper and pencil.

If you are of strong mind and good memory you can even dispense with the paper and pencil. This is provided, of course, that the amount of information to be collected is relatively small and simple.

Beware of Useless Information

Secondly, you should not be required to measure, by pacing or other methods, lengths of drives, putts etc. which would undoubtedly contribute to slow play and probable frustration for your playing partners. In any case, what constitutes a good drive? Being in the rough 350 yards off the tee or on the fairway, having used a 3 wood, rescue club, or iron?

The next question to be answered is, “What ‘stats’ should we expect from our golf rounds analysis software package?  ” Magazines and web sites abound with the stats from the Pros.  The temptation to compare ourselves with those who practice more in one day than probably the majority of us mortals do in a month is often overwhelming.  And in most cases disappointing!

Do we need to know how many finesse, backhanded or other ‘manufactured’ shots we played well or otherwise.  Is there a need to know how many times we ended up in a water hazard?  We would suggest not.  We would, of course, expect to find all the ‘standard stats’ such as driving accuracy, sand-saves, chipping, pitching and putting and the like in a golf rounds analysis software.  But more than that, we should demand a golf software program that is geared to ‘our’ needs.

Stats useful to the handicap golfer

If, for instance, we are a 30 handicap player, what use is a statistic showing that we hit the green in regulation two percent of the time?  To reinforce that we are a 30 handicapper and make us feel bad?  At this level of play we are not expected to hit the green in regulation all that often.

How about a stat on ‘Net Regulation’?  Golf was designed such that we are allowed two strokes on a green, regardless of the par of a hole.  On a par three only one shot is allocated to the task of reaching the green.  On a par five we are allowed three shots.

‘Net Regulation’, then, is the sum of the shots allowed by par and any allocated handicap shots.  As an example, an 18 handicap player is allowed two shots to get to a par three, three to a par four and four to a par five.  Easy isn’t it.  So Net regulation tells us how consistently we are playing from tee to green at our level of golf.

Driving from the tee presents another issue.  The standard stat indicates the percentage, on average, that we hit the fairway.  From a developmental point of view we also need to know where we missed.  Do we mainly miss left or right or equally left and right? Then there is, to some, the contentious issue of being on the first cut.

Some are tempted to suggest that a ball on the first cut, a few inches from the fairway is on the fairway.  After all, it wasn’t a wild slice into the bushes!!  A stat showing shots finishing on the first cut, combined with that of balls on the fairway gives us a better impression of our driving accuracy.

The distance we hit a ball with any given club varies enormously from person to person.   Sadly, for many, it can vary from week to week, or even shot to shot.  We believe that the focus should be on the result of the shot and then only if it was played with a realistic chance of hitting the green.

By recording the club used for the shot to the green and the outcome we can identify the accuracy of our choice of club, as well as the accuracy of the shot played with that club.  Now we can see which of our ‘club types’ for example, woods, long, medium or short irons, need attention on the practise tee.

The short game is usually the one most neglected during practice.  By plotting the result of the shot to the green a significant number of very useful statistics can be calculated.  Shots short, long, left or right and percentage ‘up and down’ from chip shots, wedge shots – to name a few.

Presentation of the Stats

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Nothing could be closer to the truth when it comes to statistics.  Screens with graphics showing the various stats are a must for golf software!  And they should be supplemented by print-outs when required.

Hard copy print-outs from your golf rounds anaylysis software are especially useful when visiting your teaching pro as they enable him to relate your actual game with what he sees on the practise tee.  How many of us wish that we could take our ‘range-form’ to the golf course!

The Program Author

You really want to get the best of both worlds!   That is a golf software program written by a golfer, with inputs from a teaching pro.

Wiki Answers.Com reports, “According to the USGA, the average handicap of the American golfer is 16.1 for men and 29.2 for women.”   This is much the same throughout the world.  So someone who has played golf for many years and knows the pain of getting to single figures, only to become ‘an average golfer’ again with the passing of time would have a very good idea of what is important to the majority of players.

The advice from several teaching pros on what is meaningful to them as an aid to improving the golfer’s game makes for a really powerful golf software program.

Have a great golfing day.