Decade golf app - my 6 month journey

[analyticandrew]

I didn't see many posts talking about this app and strategy, and I am JUST getting started (week one!) so I thought I'd start this thread and inform/keep you up to date on my progress.

Disclaimer: if you're here looking for me to give away details of what's IN the app, I won't do that in detail because this is a paid app and I don't want to give away the farm. BUT I will talk about some of the things that the app is helping me with, etc.

So... Week one:

1. WTH is the decade app? https://decade.birdiefire.com/
   1. For me, it feels like an all encompassing course management, data collection, strategy and content catalog designed to truly help you improve your game. 
   2. What it is NOT is a competitor for Arccos and the like. There will be a good deal of manual data collection and entry for me, but understanding strokes gained and what are the most important things for me to practice and bring to the course.
2. What am I learning?
   1. First of all, the things from "month one" (which I watched all the videos in the first week) have made an impact to my practice and approach already.
   2. Having a routine - I do not have one. And I would estimate that 90%+ of golfers out there do not go through the same routine for every shot. What does not having a routine do? It allows for outside talk to creep into your brain and you say things to yourself like "don't hit it in the water" instead of committing to a line, having a routine, and hitting it.
   3. Aim - this seems like such a basic idea, but I play a draw. And I for YEARS would still aim where I wanted the ball to go, NOT where I should aim... So if I want to end up at the 175 yard marker, I might need to aim 10 yards right of that in my practice and rounds to get where I truly need to go. 

None of this is secret sauce (like I said, I don't want to give that away), but in less than a week, I already had one of the best range sessions that I've ever had. I can see this translating to the course, but only time will tell!

[cksurfdude]

Thanks for posting this info. I've read a bit, and watched an intro vid, about the DECADE system. It's definitely very interesting, and I can see where a dedicated student can benefit.

Did you get the (don't know what they call it) "recreational player" version or what I understand is the more data-intensive "pro" version?

[Bfriedman121]

Thank you for doing this and I look forward to hearing about your Journey!  I am familiar with Scott's philosophy and am considering attending one of his seminars or purchasing the app.

Thus far, do you believe this app will be helpful to the average golfer? I ask because I am curious if his aim recommendations are based on a pro/scratch players dispersion or does he have a different strategy for players of certain handicaps?

My guess is that a 10 handicap players shot dispersion will be greater than that of a scratch/+ handicap player and may affect aimpoint. 

 

[THEZIPR23]

On 7/3/2020 at 2:50 PM, cksurfdude said:

Thanks for posting this info. I've read a bit, and watched an intro vid, about the DECADE system. It's definitely very interesting, and I can see where a dedicated student can benefit.

Did you get the (don't know what they call it) "recreational player" version or what I understand is the more data-intensive "pro" version?

The foundations program has all the same info as the elite (I believe) it is just rolled out over a 6 month timeline. 

27 minutes ago, Bfriedman121 said:

Thank you for doing this and I look forward to hearing about your Journey!  I am familiar with Scott's philosophy and am considering attending one of his seminars or purchasing the app.

Thus far, do you believe this app will be helpful to the average golfer? I ask because I am curious if his aim recommendations are based on a pro/scratch players dispersion or does he have a different strategy for players of certain handicaps?

My guess is that a 10 handicap players shot dispersion will be greater than that of a scratch/+ handicap player and may affect aimpoint. 

 

Your dispersion circles are probably closer than you think to what his aim points are. If you are dedicated to improving and put in the time it has great value, no matter where your game is. 

[analyticandrew]

44 minutes ago, Bfriedman121 said:

Thank you for doing this and I look forward to hearing about your Journey!  I am familiar with Scott's philosophy and am considering attending one of his seminars or purchasing the app.

Thus far, do you believe this app will be helpful to the average golfer? I ask because I am curious if his aim recommendations are based on a pro/scratch players dispersion or does he have a different strategy for players of certain handicaps?

My guess is that a 10 handicap players shot dispersion will be greater than that of a scratch/+ handicap player and may affect aimpoint. 

 

Your question is VERY timely.

My dad played yesterday and had an OB ball and so I built him these views based off of his "natural shot pattern" would be. This is part of hole number 8 at his home course. Uphill drive (32 feet up and then 10 feet back down) OB to the right. 

I built him a 65 yard wide area to hit to. He hits his driver around 250-255. White line is OB. 

If his target was the right edge of the ladies teebox part of the way up the hill, unless he put a BAAADDDD swing on it, he would "never" go out of bounds. 

What he USUALLY targets though, is the tree out there (orange line) and so I showed him on this second view how naturally he's going to go out of bounds sometimes just w/ his natural shot pattern. So by aiming left more (over that ladies teebox), he hypothetically should "never" go out of bounds. 

I built this as another example. This is hole #14, a tight, relatively short par 4. To avoid the bunkers on the right (and the OB) he needs to hit 3 wood (3 wood gives him a 50 yard wide landing area). Otherwise, with his natural shot pattern with driver (with that same 65 yard wide shot area), there is a high likelihood that he's going to go OB to the left if he tries to avoid the trouble on the right. Hitting 3 wood leaves him 140 in, hitting driver is 109, BUT he has a high likelihood of going OB. 

 

He regularly shoots in the mid-80s, so even just this small help on two holes for him is going to be VERY worthwhile. 

[analyticandrew]

On 7/3/2020 at 5:50 PM, cksurfdude said:

Thanks for posting this info. I've read a bit, and watched an intro vid, about the DECADE system. It's definitely very interesting, and I can see where a dedicated student can benefit.

Did you get the (don't know what they call it) "recreational player" version or what I understand is the more data-intensive "pro" version?

I am using the foundations version. Not the pro one. 

[analyticandrew]

12 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

The foundations program has all the same info as the elite (I believe) it is just rolled out over a 6 month timeline. 

Your dispersion circles are probably closer than you think to what his aim points are. If you are dedicated to improving and put in the time it has great value, no matter where your game is. 

Foundations program doesn't have all of the same info as the pro version (yet). I know that over 6 months more will be added specifically to the shot/gps tracking which is NOT currently available to me yet. I'm considering upgrading, but that might have to wait until next season. 

[Bfriedman121]

6 minutes ago, analyticandrew said:

Your question is VERY timely.

My dad played yesterday and had an OB ball and so I built him these views based off of his "natural shot pattern" would be. This is part of hole number 8 at his home course. Uphill drive (32 feet up and then 10 feet back down) OB to the right. 

I built him a 65 yard wide area to hit to. He hits his driver around 250-255. White line is OB. 

He regularly shoots in the mid-80s, so even just this small help on two holes for him is going to be VERY worthwhile. 

I love to hear that.  I agree regarding the Tee Shot cones.  Having watched his free content, I have used his tee shot strategy and "decision-tree" with great success in my own game.  

Being unfamiliar with this, does he go as in depth on approach shot strategy and aim point with irons as he does off the tee?  Is it segmented by distance from the hole?  Just very curious as I am very familiar with his tee shot strategy but have not heard much about how he views the approach shots.

[THEZIPR23]

7 minutes ago, analyticandrew said:

Foundations program doesn't have all of the same info as the pro version (yet). I know that over 6 months more will be added specifically to the shot/gps tracking which is NOT currently available to me yet. I'm considering upgrading, but that might have to wait until next season. 

As far as I understand it he created the foundations to roll out the info to younger students over a period of time rather than inundating them with all the info at once. I could be wrong but I don't think there is any difference after the 6 month roll out. I have elite and it was tough to navigate through it all in the beginning. 

[Bfriedman121]

2 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

As far as I understand it he created the foundations to roll out the info to younger students over a period of time rather than inundating them with all the info at once. I could be wrong but I don't think there is any difference after the 6 month roll out. I have elite and it was tough to navigate through it all in the beginning. 

How long, realistically, does it take to roll through the materials? (while still absorbing them of course)

[analyticandrew]

8 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

As far as I understand it he created the foundations to roll out the info to younger students over a period of time rather than inundating them with all the info at once. I could be wrong but I don't think there is any difference after the 6 month roll out. I have elite and it was tough to navigate through it all in the beginning. 

This is why I said "yet". I know the roadmap is to get more info, I just don't have it yet. 

[THEZIPR23]

6 minutes ago, Bfriedman121 said:

How long, realistically, does it take to roll through the materials? (while still absorbing them of course)

HAHA I'll let you know when I get there. 

As with everything in golf it is very individual. Probably somewhere in the 3-4 month range before you fully understand and apply it to your game. The hardest part is not understanding the material it is trusting it and using it with your game. I have used it for 10 months and there are still times when playing that I am not fully committed to it. 

[analyticandrew]

15 minutes ago, Bfriedman121 said:

I love to hear that.  I agree regarding the Tee Shot cones.  Having watched his free content, I have used his tee shot strategy and "decision-tree" with great success in my own game.  

Being unfamiliar with this, does he go as in depth on approach shot strategy and aim point with irons as he does off the tee?  Is it segmented by distance from the hole?  Just very curious as I am very familiar with his tee shot strategy but have not heard much about how he views the approach shots.

Watch this free video he posted. He does talk about approaches. 

 

[analyticandrew]

So, round number one since I started Decade. Here's my scorecard below (from Arccos). 

Some thoughts about how I played, my thought process, etc. as it ties to Decade:

• I am waiting on my putter to get delivered, so I used a putter I would NEVER use that was an old one of my buddy's. So 35 putts = not good. Even though I did make a couple birdie putts. Having had three 3 putts was not good. 
• Don't pay attention to the putt distance. It's not accurate as I didn't have the Arccos putter attachment on it.
• I focused in a few main areas this round:
  • Consistency with my routine. I would say of the 43 shots I took from the field, I did my full routine on about 32-35 of them. I hit a few bad shots and got frustrated with myself and then would rush the next ones. And in a couple places that really hurt me. (see the double on #5 as an example)
  • One swing thought. Each time I did go through my routine properly, I was thinking about a specific swing thought. Next phase for me is to have that swing thought be the SAME for every shot. I bounced around a little bit.  
  • Picking my target based on my shot dispersion. 13 GIR is probably the most that I have had in at least a year. I was able to pick a target and stick with it for the most part. I did make 3 or so really bad swings, but I still committed. It really paid off. Even when I put a couple bad swings on it I still was in a much better spot than if I had "gone for the pin" even on relatively benign hole locations.
  • DISTANCE/SPEED on my putts. Not trying to make putts. Trying to line it up, and get the speed right. This worked PERFECTLY on two holes (where I made 15+' birdies) and not so well on some others where I three putted. The greens also hadn't been mowed in 5 days b/c of some crazy storms, but when I got my speed right, the hole got in the way a few times. And if not, kick in pars, etc. 

I don't feel like I played well, I wasn't caring about my score, but I was focused on the things from above. And a +8 as a result I'll take. BUT again, it's not about the score result for me. It's about more GIR, it's about the fact that I did NOT pay attention to no bogeys on the par 5s (oops!) and that I didn't have any double chips, etc. 

It was fun. I enjoyed it and I can 100% see how this will pay off for me as I continue to learn. 

[THEZIPR23]

32 minutes ago, analyticandrew said:

So, round number one since I started Decade. Here's my scorecard below (from Arccos). 

Some thoughts about how I played, my thought process, etc. as it ties to Decade:

• I am waiting on my putter to get delivered, so I used a putter I would NEVER use that was an old one of my buddy's. So 35 putts = not good. Even though I did make a couple birdie putts. Having had three 3 putts was not good. 
• Don't pay attention to the putt distance. It's not accurate as I didn't have the Arccos putter attachment on it.
• I focused in a few main areas this round:
  • Consistency with my routine. I would say of the 43 shots I took from the field, I did my full routine on about 32-35 of them. I hit a few bad shots and got frustrated with myself and then would rush the next ones. And in a couple places that really hurt me. (see the double on #5 as an example)
  • One swing thought. Each time I did go through my routine properly, I was thinking about a specific swing thought. Next phase for me is to have that swing thought be the SAME for every shot. I bounced around a little bit.  
  • Picking my target based on my shot dispersion. 13 GIR is probably the most that I have had in at least a year. I was able to pick a target and stick with it for the most part. I did make 3 or so really bad swings, but I still committed. It really paid off. Even when I put a couple bad swings on it I still was in a much better spot than if I had "gone for the pin" even on relatively benign hole locations.
  • DISTANCE/SPEED on my putts. Not trying to make putts. Trying to line it up, and get the speed right. This worked PERFECTLY on two holes (where I made 15+' birdies) and not so well on some others where I three putted. The greens also hadn't been mowed in 5 days b/c of some crazy storms, but when I got my speed right, the hole got in the way a few times. And if not, kick in pars, etc. 

I don't feel like I played well, I wasn't caring about my score, but I was focused on the things from above. And a +8 as a result I'll take. BUT again, it's not about the score result for me. It's about more GIR, it's about the fact that I did NOT pay attention to no bogeys on the par 5s (oops!) and that I didn't have any double chips, etc. 

It was fun. I enjoyed it and I can 100% see how this will pay off for me as I continue to learn. 

I gotta ask how you hit the green on 8 with a penalty and a missed up & down. Putt into water??

[analyticandrew]

4 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

I gotta ask how you hit the green on 8 with a penalty and a missed up & down. Putt into water??

Good point. 12/18 greens

That's a weird Arccos bug. It didn't register my shot so it was all weird and I had to adjust it after the fact. 

[THEZIPR23]

11 minutes ago, analyticandrew said:

Good point. 12/18 greens

That's a weird Arccos bug. It didn't register my shot so it was all weird and I had to adjust it after the fact. 

Once you get the stats entry into DECADE it will clear some things up that Arccos does a little differently. 

Two biggest takeaways I have from DECADE you highlighted, mental commitment and swing thoughts. Not that they weren't there before but due to tracking the mental part of it brings it to the front of my mind. 

[analyticandrew]

Month two, and here I am... I haven't played as much or practiced as much as I would like because of life/work and I was changing over my entire bag. Yeah... crazy, I know.  

I took advantage of a deal that Club Champion had to get fit for free if you spent $500 with them. Easy peasy, so I made that happen... Now back to decade...

This last month or so I feel like has put a strain on decade unlike you could imagine and I am BETTER because of it. Allow me to explain:

1. I got fit, and have been testing out new driver shafts on the course about once every other week
2. I sold my putters, so have been using a loaner
3. I sold my wedges, so have been using loaners
4. I THEN sold my irons, and for the last round, have been using loaners

I feel like the work that I have put in to learning decade has REALLY paid off in basically playing old, worn out clubs that are NOT fit to me for the last few weeks.

Some highlights/lowlights/info:

• The first D in decade is for distance. Knowing your distance is crucial - I've been all over the place because of swapping out clubs. But one key point that I picked up: "how far do you hit your clubs, not how far do you hit them if it's perfect". This was HUGE for me. I mishit the ball 50% of the time or more just like many of us. So why am I counting on that perfect 149 yard PW when I normally only hit it 143? It's OKAY to take the 9 iron!!
• The first E in decade is for expectations - I'm not going to give details away here, but my expectations from 101-150 yards was TOO HIGH. I'm not going to get the ball down in 3 strokes or less 2/3 of the time. It's not going to happen. I need to be okay with that and move on.
• The center of my shot pattern = my target. NOT "if I hit this perfect this is where it will go" - as a result of this, my GIR has almost doubled. 
• Here's some thoughts that are decade related from my last two rounds (with a little context)
  • Two rounds ago: played with my irons, an X stiff shaft (i only need a stiff) in my driver, a borrowed putter and borrowed wedges
    • Shot an 85, hacked it around for the most part, but had GREAT distance with my putts (except for on 3 holes - I three-putted all three of them). Sometimes the hole got in the way. I was poor off the tee, I was poor around the greens, I was okay with my irons. Decade helped me a TON when I would get myself in trouble off the tee. But sometimes, you just need to play better golf in order for decade to REALLY help you. This was one of those rounds. That said, I think I shoot 90 easily w/o decade.
  • Last round: played with some MacGregor blades from the 90s, no five iron, a borrowed driver, a borrowed putter, and two of my brand new wedges
    • Shot an 82. Bogeyed a par 5 (thanks to a yanked tee shot OB), had 3 three putts again, and bogeyed 3 holes from inside of 150. New grinds on the wedges = adjustment time needed! That said, decade is STILL helping me shine!
      • I have been averaging 1.3 bogeys per round on par 5s (only had one this round)
      • I have been averaging 4.2 bogeys per round from inside 150 (only had 3 this round)

Overall, as I stated before, I think this is going to transform my game. My new putter came in, my new irons came in, my driver shaft is finally here that I'll be playing with for as long as I can... I'm super excited to keep this thing going and consistently get into the low 80s and 70s before the season goes away.

[analyticandrew]

It's me. Hello again. Another update.

I'm in month four now (decade started opening up the next "month" about 2 weeks after month 3 and then another 2 weeks after that...) and I'm already seeing some marked improvements.

I played one of the top public courses in the state of PA on Friday, brand new irons, second round with my new putter, third round with my new wedges... It's all starting to come together with the equipment. Here's a recap of some of the round and decade helping. Played 6314 yards and it was SOAKED from rain. I was hitting drives that plugged in the fairway almost every time. 

1. The Golf Course at Glen Mills has the biggest greens I've ever experienced IN MY LIFE. I had 6 one putts and SIX THREE PUTTS. And only on one of the holes did I feel like "yeah, my putting really sucked on that hole". Hole #1 the green is 42 yards x 42 yards - that's over FIFTEEN THOUSAND square feet of green. Hole #7 is a 208 yard par 3 with a green that has a depth of FIFTY SIX YARDS (by 31 yards). It was insane. If I hadn't been practicing my speed so much with decade drills, I would have EASILY have three putted 3-4 more greens. It was insane.
2. I'm still getting the irons dialed in (naturally), but my targeting was HUGELY helpful. I found that by using the decade system, where my old target might have been right edge for a middle pin, with using the system, I was aiming 3-4-5 yards closer to the pin. I think this made a BIG difference on two holes specifically. One where I had a miss flared out to the right that would have put me in trouble (maybe penalty trouble) w/o decade and another where I ended up with a pull to a right pin location that I would have been in a bunker left, but ended up on the middle of the green. Targeting saved me probably 3-5 shots this round. I ended up with my highest GIR all season of nearly 60%. 
3. Virtual practice round: I didn't have the luxury of playing multiple times at this course, so I did some virtual scouting using Google Earth Pro. Highly recommend doing this if you have the time. Use the ruler tool to measure your shots off the tee and give you some good aiming points. I didn't drive the ball particularly well, but there were for SURE holes where I would have hit driver normally and didn't, or where I would have laid up normally, but went for it b/c of the difference in 4 iron to driver being almost 100 yards or between 3w and driver being 30-40 yards. And having that extra distance (even if I was in the rough) b/c of these massive greens saved me another 2 shots or so.

In all, I shot 82, felt like I hacked it around a bit, made two birdies, and I would have easily shot 90 this round if not for decade. 

[dzclark]

Love the write up Andrew. Been a Decade'er about 9 months now and I think it helps me with thought processes, especially when I get out of sorts after bad shots. 

Scott talks alot about taking emotion out of the game and slowing down and thinking instead of just hitting will save me more strokes than I like to admit.

I had the pleasure of following along side Scott when he was pre-Q'ing last fall. Watching him live the Decade process was very useful to me. 

 

PS.....if you have not already, the Elite program Yardage Books are extremely helpful. The expectations listed alone help keep me in the game when I would otherwise be really down on myself. 

 

Keep writing!

[analyticandrew]

On 8/21/2020 at 2:18 PM, dzclark said:

Love the write up Andrew. Been a Decade'er about 9 months now and I think it helps me with thought processes, especially when I get out of sorts after bad shots. 

Scott talks alot about taking emotion out of the game and slowing down and thinking instead of just hitting will save me more strokes than I like to admit.

I had the pleasure of following along side Scott when he was pre-Q'ing last fall. Watching him live the Decade process was very useful to me. 

 

PS.....if you have not already, the Elite program Yardage Books are extremely helpful. The expectations listed alone help keep me in the game when I would otherwise be really down on myself. 

 

Keep writing!

Thank you!! How many of the yardage books can I get? I feel like I read something about only 4 a year? I end up playing a little bit all over the place, that's why I'm asking. 

[analyticandrew]

Another update...

Had the great fortune to get out with my 9 year old son for 9 holes on Sunday. We had a really good time. He is just passively interested in the game, but any chance to spend 2 hours uninterrupted with him, I'm taking advantage of it. 

We played an executive course in the area that was 2975 yards from the "tips"  He didn't play all of the holes because he got really tired of walking + carrying his clubs (small bag, 5 clubs) AND it was extremely hot/humid for 4pm on a Sunday. In hindsight, I could have prepared him better. But it was still a great two hours of fun together.

On to DECADE... This course was not a difficult one: 64.8/109, par 65, par 34 on the front (which we played). Three of the holes are pretty wide open off the tee, TINY greens (as to be expected), and a good amount of trees lining many of the fairways (but not all). Lots of crabgrass around, lots of chunks taken out of the fuzzy greens, but still a great time getting away for a couple hours. This was also my first time ever playing this course and I did no research (naturally) prior.

• I emptied half of my bag and was playing with only a 3 wood, putter, 4, 6, 8, P, 58 degree wedge. I didn't want to carry all my clubs and I didn't think I would NEED all of them (i probably could have walked with 4 clubs and been "fine").
• I found myself spending a decent chunk of time just "automatically" trying to find targets into greens on the 7 short par 4s on the front. It was almost like second nature. "I'm 120 yards, which is a 6, no trouble, pin is 8 yards from the left side... got my target. now go" - This was an awesome shift. Just playing more rounds with more ammo in my brain of how to approach things was super helpful. It also helped that I never had an approach shot on a par 4 that was more than a pitching wedge.
• On hole two, I pushed my 4 iron off the tee on the 290 yard par 4 and I was in the trees. I was more aggressive (but in a smart way) and just punched a 6 iron under the trees and greenside. Before decade, I might have played too conservatively and left myself with something longer, but I tried to advance it at LEAST 50% of the way to the hole from the trouble, and I was much closer. I made a poor chip (or combo of the poor greens) and bogeyed the hole. Only bogey of the round.
• I hit the best 6 iron maybe of my life on the 8th hole. A 200 yard par 3 with a bunker on the right, swamp behind, and open on the left and short. 6 iron is a lot to ask of me at 200 yards to be fair (6 iron is about 180-185 for me normally), but I didn't want to choke down on a 4 iron because there were tall trees lining the right side the entire way and I wasn't sure that I could get the ball up enough to get over them. Pin was in the middle, green was about 22 yards wide. My "miss" was going to be short or to the left, so I picked my target and went after the 6 iron. It was one of those "walking into the shot" type of swings  . High, drawing in... BOOM. 12' left of the pin, exactly pin-high. Drained the putt for birdie

Ultimately shot an even par 34, and it kind of felt "automatic" walking around the course with what I was doing. I'm anxious (in a good way) to get into Month 5 of the DECADE videos which were just released to me this morning. 

Happy to answer any questions that you all have as I continue on this journey as well! Thanks for reading!

[cnosil]

Another update...
Had the great fortune to get out with my 9 year old son for 9 holes on Sunday. We had a really good time. He is just passively interested in the game, but any chance to spend 2 hours uninterrupted with him, I'm taking advantage of it. 
We played an executive course in the area that was 2975 yards from the "tips"  He didn't play all of the holes because he got really tired of walking + carrying his clubs (small bag, 5 clubs) AND it was extremely hot/humid for 4pm on a Sunday. In hindsight, I could have prepared him better. But it was still a great two hours of fun together.
On to DECADE... This course was not a difficult one: 64.8/109, par 65, par 34 on the front (which we played). Three of the holes are pretty wide open off the tee, TINY greens (as to be expected), and a good amount of trees lining many of the fairways (but not all). Lots of crabgrass around, lots of chunks taken out of the fuzzy greens, but still a great time getting away for a couple hours. This was also my first time ever playing this course and I did no research (naturally) prior.

• I emptied half of my bag and was playing with only a 3 wood, putter, 4, 6, 8, P, 58 degree wedge. I didn't want to carry all my clubs and I didn't think I would NEED all of them (i probably could have walked with 4 clubs and been "fine").
• I found myself spending a decent chunk of time just "automatically" trying to find targets into greens on the 7 short par 4s on the front. It was almost like second nature. "I'm 120 yards, which is a 6, no trouble, pin is 8 yards from the left side... got my target. now go" - This was an awesome shift. Just playing more rounds with more ammo in my brain of how to approach things was super helpful. It also helped that I never had an approach shot on a par 4 that was more than a pitching wedge.
• On hole two, I pushed my 4 iron off the tee on the 290 yard par 4 and I was in the trees. I was more aggressive (but in a smart way) and just punched a 6 iron under the trees and greenside. Before decade, I might have played too conservatively and left myself with something longer, but I tried to advance it at LEAST 50% of the way to the hole from the trouble, and I was much closer. I made a poor chip (or combo of the poor greens) and bogeyed the hole. Only bogey of the round.
• I hit the best 6 iron maybe of my life on the 8th hole. A 200 yard par 3 with a bunker on the right, swamp behind, and open on the left and short. 6 iron is a lot to ask of me at 200 yards to be fair (6 iron is about 180-185 for me normally), but I didn't want to choke down on a 4 iron because there were tall trees lining the right side the entire way and I wasn't sure that I could get the ball up enough to get over them. Pin was in the middle, green was about 22 yards wide. My "miss" was going to be short or to the left, so I picked my target and went after the 6 iron. It was one of those "walking into the shot" type of swings  . High, drawing in... BOOM. 12' left of the pin, exactly pin-high. Drained the putt for birdie

Ultimately shot an even par 34, and it kind of felt "automatic" walking around the course with what I was doing. I'm anxious (in a good way) to get into Month 5 of the DECADE videos which were just released to me this morning. 
Happy to answer any questions that you all have as I continue on this journey as well! Thanks for reading!

Good stuff. Sounds like you are learning a solid way to play golf courses.

[DaveP043]

A question for @analyticandrew, have you read Every Shot Counts (Broadie), or Lowest Score Wins?  The first discusses the Strokes Gained concepts and trends learned from the statistics and discusses a lot of the things you describe, the second covers additional "planning" techniques based on Strokes Gained concepts.  Most of what you've described of the Decade system is similar to the things I have taken away from the two books.  I'm not suggesting that any of these is superior to any of the others, just wondering how much overlap there is.

[MKPhili]

Hi Andrew,

This is super helpful info. Definitely thinking about trying Decade out. When you say "120 yards, which is a 6, no trouble, pin is 8 yards from left side..." did you go directly at the pin? Or is the 6 from the Decade card your aim point there? Trying to learn about how those numbers can factor in. Thanks!

Michael

[cnosil]

Hi Andrew,
This is super helpful info. Definitely thinking about trying Decade out. When you say "120 yards, which is a 6, no trouble, pin is 8 yards from left side..." did you go directly at the pin? Or is the 6 from the Decade card your aim point there? Trying to learn about how those numbers can factor in. Thanks!
Michael

I have seen a couple of Scott’s videos explaining decade and those numbers are used to determine where to aim. This is to account for dispersion patterns to help optimize where the ball ends up.

[analyticandrew]

On 9/1/2020 at 2:38 AM, MKPhili said:

Hi Andrew,

This is super helpful info. Definitely thinking about trying Decade out. When you say "120 yards, which is a 6, no trouble, pin is 8 yards from left side..." did you go directly at the pin? Or is the 6 from the Decade card your aim point there? Trying to learn about how those numbers can factor in. Thanks!

Michael

You rarely end up aiming AT the pin. If it’s dead in the middle of the green? Yes. 
 

But to answer your question, the system gives you where to aim, how far to aim from certain trouble spots, relative to where the pin is, how far away you are, etc. It’s been transformative for where I aim hitting into greens. 

[ncwoz]

Nice write up, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences. I've been aware of the system for a while now but think I'm actually going to put together a tee shot strategy together based on DECADE for the round Saturday, we'll see how it works!

[cnosil]

For those that are interested in learning more about decade, Scott is giving away a free month (no credit card/payment required ). Just look him up on twitter and you will find the link.

[analyticandrew]

4 hours ago, cnosil said:

For those that are interested in learning more about decade, Scott is giving away a free month (no credit card/payment required ). Just look him up on twitter and you will find the link.

HIGHLY recommend this. It can't HURT YOU. Unless you don't listen and are stubborn.