8 iron surprise, you?

[revkev]

 

Until I had a tracking device there were three things that I thought about my game that were untrue.

 

1. I was good with my wedges.

 

False - but I’ve worked on them and gotten much better throughout this past season.

 

2. I thought I was good with hybrids.

 

False - I carried 6 iron, 5 hybrid and 4 hybrid approximately the same distance. When its dry out I appear to be good with those clubs - I’m really not.

 

I now game no hybrids. I’m actually good with 7 and 9 wood. The only thing that I miss is having a hybrid to chip with. 7 iron works fine.

 

3. I stink with 8 iron.

 

False - My average distance with 8 iron is 141 and proximity to the hole is a very respectable 26 feet - I hit them on the green nearly 70 percent of the time from that distance. I’m even better with 9 iron and PW - 21 feet from the hole.

 

 

What have you learned about your game from your tracking device and has it changed the way that you play and/or practice?

 

 

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[GolfSpy BOS]

Great stats! I’m both excited and scared to learn these stats about myself next season as I just got Arccos, but the 0 degree wind chill yesterday suggests I might have to wait until spring to get started with them.

I expect I’ll have both a few positive surprises and a few eye openers as you did!


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[revkev]

I’m also not as good a chipper as I thought. It just seems that I’m a good chipper. I actually get up and down a reasonable amount of time because I’m a better putter than I thought.


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[GolfSpy BOS]

I’m also not as good a chipper as I thought. It just seems that I’m a good chipper. I actually get up and down a reasonable amount of time because I’m a better putter than I thought.


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I don’t want to know what it says about my short game. Haha I’ve made some really good shots but suffered a good bit early this year with bladed wedges.


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[THEZIPR23]

The stats in general did not surprise me however the gap between them opened my eyes. I knew I was a great driver of the ball and a very good putter. My irons were and always have been the issue. What opened my eyes was the fact that after using arccos for a short time according the their stats there was a 6-8 stroke difference on their handicaps between approach and driving. I have focused more on my irons this year and the gap is now closer to 2-4 strokes. One other thing that stood out was the my good shots were better than I thought and the bad ones were worse.  

[Kenny B]

3 hours ago, revkev said:

I’m also not as good a chipper as I thought. It just seems that I’m a good chipper. I actually get up and down a reasonable amount of time because I’m a better putter than I thought.


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I thought I was a decent chipper and putter until I played with a guy last weekend down from Spokane.  He's played my course before, but only a couple of times.  I'm guessing he was scratch or thereabouts and played from the tips.  Great guy!!

He chipped much closer to the hole than I did, and he never missed a putt inside 6 feet.  He showed me a new perspective on the short game that I don't see at my course and that I have a lot more work to do!!

[Shankster]

I am better from 95-110 yards with a PW than any other club. 100% GIR with it.

I hit my 2 hybrid way further than I thought.

I’m not good with my 56° wedge at all... which I though was my best club.

I am a faaaarrrrr better putter than I thought. In fact Arccos is telling me it is my best asset... go figure.

Here’s a GIR report.

[sirchunksalot]

I always thought I was a serviceable putter until I started tracking with Arccos, not great, but I always thought it was decent. Looking at the stats, I average 39 putts a round.

I also thought I was good chipping the ball, but I only have a chip and down percentage of 10.3 and an average distance to the hole of 25 feet. I guess that might play into the amount of putts per round.



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[MaxEntropy]

Great thread, Rev!

The biggest "lie" Arccos has uncovered for my game (and I can't really say ShotScope identified the same issue since it does not break down facets of the game as well, imo): My iron game is a relative strength

Truth: It is a pretty big weakness, not much better than off the tee.

My Arccos handicaps are:

Driving - 27.2
Approach - 21.0
Chipping - 12.4
Sand - 8.3
Putting - 6.0

My struggles off the tee have been pretty well documented here and I'm really hoping to be able to do Golftec (or similar) and break down my swing this winter/early spring. But why would I always have the perception that irons are a strength? I think it boils down to the fact that I tend to hit them solid much of the time, but either end up with a straight pull or fading push resulting in way too many missed greens. I don't usually miss the greens by a ton, just enough that requires a chip and a putt or two.

 

[Charli]

I don’t carry the ball as far as I thought! Hurt my feelings a little 

[TR1PTIK]

On 11/14/2019 at 10:38 AM, THEZIPR23 said:

The stats in general did not surprise me however the gap between them opened my eyes. I knew I was a great driver of the ball and a very good putter. My irons were and always have been the issue. What opened my eyes was the fact that after using arccos for a short time according the their stats there was a 6-8 stroke difference on their handicaps between approach and driving. I have focused more on my irons this year and the gap is now closer to 2-4 strokes. One other thing that stood out was the my good shots were better than I thought and the bad ones were worse.  

This would definitely sum up my experience with Game Golf - almost exactly. Driving and putting are often near scratch (slightly better a small handful of times) while approach shots and short game are significantly worse. I've been putting in lots of work though and the short game has improved quite a bit. I really just need to figure out how to hit more greens. It has to be some sort of mental hiccup caused by putting too much pressure on myself because I can absolutely stripe it on the range and often don't miss by much - it's always either a slight pull or push or just a hair fat kinda thing. 

After having experimented with the big three stat trackers over the past few years, I think I'm ready to go back to Arccos. The inclusion of Arccos Link is a big deal that I think will remedy the issues I had before. Just trying to decide if I get it now or wait until Spring (obviously I'll have to wait for Link since it's not available for purchase yet). 

[Mr. 82]

I’ve learned that I only average 230-240 off of the tee, and not 250-260. Getting old sucks.


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[revkev]

I’ve learned that I only average 230-240 off of the tee, and not 250-260. Getting old sucks.


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I’ve also learned that there’s a huge difference in driving distance stats here depending on the season of the year. I used a different driver tag for January through May and June through October - it was 20 yards shorter in the rainy season.


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[Mr. 82]

3 hours ago, revkev said:

 

I’ve also learned that there’s a huge difference in driving distance stats here depending on the season of the year. I used a different driver tag for January through May and June through October - it was 20 yards shorter in the rainy season.


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yes, and cold weather affects distance as well.  The warmer it is the further ball flies, in theory anyway.  My distance has sucked all year long.

[fixyurdivot]

I've always had a great relationship with my 8i.  My PE2 8i was a trusted friend, a "go to club" that rarely let me down.  I'm now finding my G410 8i to be steady and true as well; though it's distance is now what my PE2 7i was.  I'm not sure what it is about 8 irons, but they fit me well... so no, no surprise.

[HardcoreLooper]

I've learned that:

• I'm an awful driver of the golf ball.  On days I can hit driver and keep it on the golf course, I can play pretty well and challenge my personal best.
• I hit my 4 iron and 5 iron the same distance.  Except when I hit my 4 iron shorter.  I intended the HL4 18* to replace the 4 iron, but I have a big gap between it and the 5i, so I think there's another HL4 in my future.
• My iron game could use some work, but it's not terrible.
• I'm a pretty good putter.

[revkev]

I've learned that:

• I'm an awful driver of the golf ball.  On days I can hit driver and keep it on the golf course, I can play pretty well and challenge my personal best.
• I hit my 4 iron and 5 iron the same distance.  Except when I hit my 4 iron shorter.  I intended the HL4 18* to replace the 4 iron, but I have a big gap between it and the 5i, so I think there's another HL4 in my future.
• My iron game could use some work, but it's not terrible.
• I'm a pretty good putter.

How about the gap between 5 iron and 6 iron? If it’s not right maybe 5 hybrid, 4 hybrid are in order or 9 wood, 7 wood even.


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[HardcoreLooper]

36 minutes ago, revkev said:

 

How about the gap between 5 iron and 6 iron? If it’s not right maybe 5 hybrid, 4 hybrid are in order or 9 wood, 7 wood even.


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Surprisingly, my 5i - 6i gap is OK.  I just need something a little longer than a 5i that I don't hook off the planet.

[cksurfdude]

On 11/24/2019 at 1:04 AM, HardcoreLooper said:

I intended the HL4 18* to replace the 4 iron, but I have a big gap between it and the 5i, so I think there's another HL4 in my future.

Not related to shot tracking, but .... I tried .. and kept .. an HL4 iron-wood. Really happy with it and I'm thinking I may add another (or maybe a set) to my bag, also!

[cksurfdude]

Coming at the OP question from a high-handicapper perspective -- I tried ShotScope earlier this year and honestly, for me, there were no surprises. I totally get Rev's points about learning your true distances and using it to help map out/set up your bag, etc. ... so I may revisit a shot tracking gadget in the future. But for me for now I will gain a lot more from continued lessons coupled with focused practice.

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, cksurfdude said:

Coming at the OP question from a high-handicapper perspective -- I tried ShotScope earlier this year and honestly, for me, there were no surprises. I totally get Rev's points about learning your true distances and using it to help map out/set up your bag, etc. ... so I may revisit a shot tracking gadget in the future. But for me for now I will gain a lot more from continued lessons coupled with focused practice.

Same is true for this medium-handicapper.  I've not tried ShotScope.  There won't be any surprises if I did.  I know my game and my limitations, and ShotScope would just confirm it.  

I am a 9 handicap, but only because I have been practicing my short game.  If I spent less time practicing it, my handicap would be about a 14.  I can reasonably play to a 14, but it's extremely difficult for me to play to a 9.  Here's why...

I am not a great ball striker.  More likely than not, I will mess up one of two or three shots on a hole.  I can mess up a drive, or if I hit a good drive, I'll thin/chunk my second shot.  I know my distances for each club, but I mishit enough that it doesn't really matter that I know them.  Couple that with not reaching some par 5's in 3 shots or par 4's in two shots, and I'm scrambling... it's what I do.

What really surprises me is when I play a hole exactly like I think I should play it.

[TR1PTIK]

So I picked up Arccos again during their Black Friday sale and logged my first round with it yesterday. Granted, yesterday was quite windy and required me to work the ball a lot more than I normally do, I was very surprised to see how my handicaps turned out.

Driving: 8.5

Approach: 20.9

Chipping: 6.3

Putting: 9.7

This is the first time I can recall (with Arccos or Game Golf) that my chipping score was lower than driving AND putting. Though I'm sure it is somewhat of an anomaly - my struggles with driving and approach shots were heavily impacted by the wind - it is nice to have a fair indication of just how much my work on the short game has paid off!

EDIT:

To throw some numbers up for comparison, I still have one of my two sub 80 rounds saved on Arccos and my handicap breakdown on that particular day looks like this:

Driving: +2.6

Approach: 16.5

Chipping: 30+  

Putting: +0.1

Edited December 9, 2019 by TR1PTIK