This thinking helped improve my score; maybe it will for you too?

[StrokerAce]

I'll admit it.

I used to chase pins. I was a flag hunter. I didn't know any better. I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Try to get the ball as close to the flag as possible - ALWAYS.

Then I started chasing GIRs. I'd seen several stats where improving your greens in regulation would lower your score, and quickly.

But that led to too many aggressive shots that ended up in what some people call "jail" or trouble.

Then I came across this concept on golf digest and realized how much less pressure it put on my game. I maybe didn't get that eagle or birdie putt every time but it helped to avoid the big number.

It's not a new way to swing the club or anything mechanical, it's strategic and mental.

Greenside in regulation --- https://www.golfdigest.com/story/golf-stat-greenside

My new stat: “Greenside In Regulation”

For mid-handicappers, birdies are like rainbows. We enjoy them when they happen, but can’t plan our lives around them. Pars are different. We’re told pars are the key to breaking 80, and that greens in regulation are the key to making pars.

But as metrics, pars and GIRs are also too simple because the line between success and failure is too rigid. When I really need a sense of how I’m playing, it’s now how many pars I make, but how often I’m at least giving myself the chance.

This is where the greenside in regulation stat comes into play. It’s as simple as it sounds: How often am I on or within roughly 25 yards of the green in regulation. Both statistically and mentally, this is an important distinction. If I’m close enough to the green, the degree of difficulty of my next shot should be low enough where pars are more likely than double bogeys. It also suggests I’ve avoided the type of costly swing that harshly inflates scores.

The lesson: If you can’t be perfect, be close

A few key points. One, greens in regulation might be the goal, but they’re really the exception more than the rule. A 10 handicap hits only 37 percent of greens in regulation, and the range of the other 63 percent is pretty broad. If I miss to within 25 yards, the damage is manageable. I can expect to hit my next shot to an average of 16 feet of the hole–keeping my chances of par alive, and I’m far less likely to miss the green outright.

It’s from farther out, however, when mistakes compound. From 50 yards, the average approach is 25 feet to the hole, and 1 out of 5 times I’m missing the green. On the par-to-double bogey scale, I start tilting fast in the wrong direction.

All of which is to say, the real metric that matters at my level is to be greenside in regulation as often as possible, and that means making sure I’m keeping the ball in play off the tee, and making occasional decisions into greens that recognize good enough might be better than great. (When I chunk approach shots, for instance, it’s usually a sign of nerves). According to Arccos’ Lou Stagner, a benchmark for breaking 80 should be 16 of 18 greensides in regulation, and yes, the more times you’re actually on the green the better. “Seven greens in regulation plus nine around the green and NO doubles is ballpark about the minimum you need unless you have great up and down day,” Stagner said.

 

This isn't to say I don't try to hit every green, but I don't feel like I *must* hit it on the green. 
Note - this also means that I/we/you need to focus on short game chip shots so that if you're not on the green you can get on with a decent leave for your putter.

Try it! Maybe it will help you lower your scores and shoot those "career rounds"?

 

[cnosil]

6 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

I'll admit it.

I used to chase pins. I was a flag hunter. I didn't know any better. I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Try to get the ball as close to the flag as possible - ALWAYS.

Then I started chasing GIRs. I'd seen several stats where improving your greens in regulation would lower your score, and quickly.

But that led to too many aggressive shots that ended up in what some people call "jail" or trouble.

 

IMO, the typical stats of FW hit,  GIR, and total putts have become obsolete like many other things in golf.  With the growth of strokes gained, statistics, and expectation management other numbers have shown better relevance to evaluating performance and where to look for improvement.    Exactly the point of this article;  thanks for posting.

[DaveP043]

There's really nothing new in most golf magazine instruction, and this isn't different.  From everything I've ever read, the "traditional" stat that correlates best with score is GIR.  The concept of "near GIR" has been along for a while, including in Lowest Score Wins, published in 2014.  Its an extension of the strokes-gained theories Broadie talked about in Every Shot Counts, that in general closer to the hole is better.  That Lou Stagner and the author of that article have adopted and renamed it seems pretty logical.

Edited September 25, 2023 by DaveP043

[StrokerAce]

I guess I'm just a slow learner... LOL

[DaveP043]

16 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

I guess I'm just a slow learner... LOL

Hey, I've been playing golf for more than 50 years, and am still learning.  I must be one of the slow learners too.

[cksurfdude]

3 hours ago, StrokerAce said:

My new stat: “Greenside In Regulation”

Yep love it! I understand the strong statistical correlation between GIR and score .. and thus handicap .. but I'm not a big hitter so have been playing for, as Dave mentioned, "Near" GIR or I like to think of it as GIR+1 ..  somewhere in front of the green where I have a, say, 50-50 shot and getting up and down or at least a very strong %tge of finishing in 3.

Once in a while a par will happen, but at this point in my game I'm happy with more "easy" bogeys - and working to reduce the doubles / others off the scorecard.....

[NickyBobby]

I enjoy this thinking a lot! Thanks