Decade golf app - my 6 month journey

[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.

[cnosil]

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

I am doing the trial to see what I think. I am about halfway through the videos. I have data from my last half dozen or so rounds so I am going to enter that to see what it produces.

The videos I have gone through are really informative about ideal course strategy Very similar to
What my coach has given me about how to play. It really illustrates that we amateurs believe pros hit better shots than they actually do.

Much of what I have seen so far can be found in other areas of the internet it just isn’t packaged as nicely as the subscription site.

[ncwoz]

I did put together some Google Earth overlays with the 60yd distribution for driver, and there's probably at least 3 or 4 holes I'll be taking a different club than normal (or at the very least feel commitment on holes I've been iffy about in the past), and about 7 that I'll be taking different lines than I typically do. Cool stuff!

[golfingbrock]

On 9/17/2020 at 6:54 AM, 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.

 

Here's the link. Highly recommend. I've gone through most of the free months stuff already

 

[ncwoz]

On 9/17/2020 at 9:21 PM, ncwoz said:

I did put together some Google Earth overlays with the 60yd distribution for driver, and there's probably at least 3 or 4 holes I'll be taking a different club than normal (or at the very least feel commitment on holes I've been iffy about in the past), and about 7 that I'll be taking different lines than I typically do. Cool stuff!

   Fully know I did an extremely "lite" version of the system, but with great results. The new aim points and some more aggressive clubs resulted in the most GIR's I've hit in a round. Gotta love that!

 

[cnosil]

A question for [mention=65431]analyticandrew[/mention], 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.

Never saw an answer to this but based on listening to Scott’s month one videos and what I know about the other two, the decision making aspect seems similar and is where there could be overlap. Scott seems to use the strokes gained as a basis for the decision making, but the core is about making decisions without emotion. Basically identify a target and play to that target. Don’t change because you are behind in match play or because you need a birdie. The foundation is that there is a correct way to ay every hole and that is how it should be played.

I think this is similar to the decision mapping process in LSW. Both seem to look at dispersion patterns and where to put them to avoid trouble. I think with LSW you build you own cones and with decade the math has been done and optimized so you just play to a target and move that target based on some on course modifiers.

You have gotten me interested in getting the LSW; wanted to get it a while ago but never did.

[DaveP043]

50 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Never saw an answer to this but based on listening to Scott’s month one videos and what I know about the other two, the decision making aspect seems similar and is where there could be overlap. Scott seems to use the strokes gained as a basis for the decision making, but the core is about making decisions without emotion. Basically identify a target and play to that target. Don’t change because you are behind in match play or because you need a birdie. The foundation is that there is a correct way to ay every hole and that is how it should be played.

I think this is similar to the decision mapping process in LSW. Both seem to look at dispersion patterns and where to put them to avoid trouble. I think with LSW you build you own cones and with decade the math has been done and optimized so you just play to a target and move that target based on some on course modifiers.

You have gotten me interested in getting the LSW; wanted to get it a while ago but never did.

Yeah, from what I understand, DECADE uses shot distributions compiled from a bunch of players to draw generalized conclusions, while LSW would prefer you to develop your own specific shot patterns.  I like the way LSW uses a kind of visual approach to making the decisions, rather than a numerical approach.  I recommend LSW, and at $30 or so, its pretty cheap.  

[THEZIPR23]

3 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Yeah, from what I understand, DECADE uses shot distributions compiled from a bunch of players to draw generalized conclusions, 

I don't think this is correct. DECADE uses strokes gained as a basis for playing a golf course. He talks a lot about dispersion patterns, but it is simply a way to point out that you will have variance whether a tour pro or a weekend hack. I haven't read LSW so I can't comment on that, however one of the biggest benefits that I have gotten from DECADE is the tracking of your "mental" scorecard. Scott has said it himself, his program is ridiculously simple, it's not rocket science but it also isn't something that has been taught in the past.   

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, THEZIPR23 said:

I don't think this is correct. DECADE uses strokes gained as a basis for playing a golf course. He talks a lot about dispersion patterns, but it is simply a way to point out that you will have variance whether a tour pro or a weekend hack. I haven't read LSW so I can't comment on that, however one of the biggest benefits that I have gotten from DECADE is the tracking of your "mental" scorecard. Scott has said it himself, his program is ridiculously simple, it's not rocket science but it also isn't something that has been taught in the past.   

I've just watched the month one content and didn't see a lot about strokes gained other than it is the underlying foundation for making decisions.   From watching all the other videos I have found online,  it seems to be mostly about determining your target which is based on the dispersion pattern and obstacles that may alter the decision slightly.  I could be very wrong about this though.

 

[FrogginBullfish]

I think it might depend on which version you use. I think Foundations, which is what the free month of content pulls from, is much less intensive as its aimed more at recreational and junior golfers who might find the Elite version a bit too overwhelming.

I've just watched the month one content and didn't see a lot about strokes gained other than it is the underlying foundation for making decisions.   From watching all the other videos I have found online,  it seems to be mostly about determining your target which is based on the dispersion pattern and obstacles that may alter the decision slightly.  I could be very wrong about this though.
 

Sent from my Pixel 2 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[THEZIPR23]

53 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I've just watched the month one content and didn't see a lot about strokes gained other than it is the underlying foundation for making decisions.   From watching all the other videos I have found online,  it seems to be mostly about determining your target which is based on the dispersion pattern and obstacles that may alter the decision slightly.  I could be very wrong about this though.

 

It may have just been the way I interpreted Dave’s post. I was thinking in the terms of using Arccos data of specific handicap... along those lines. 

I just went and looked and month 5 is the intro to the mental scorecard, there are some other stats along the way, (I haven’t watched foundations in order) but not until month 6 do you get to full SG.

All that out of the way, yes determine your target, commit and execute that is what DECADE is in a sentence.