Tournament Performance Evaluation

[mjstrong]

All you teachers out there:

If you had a student who played tournament golf regularly, and whose goals are geared towards those events, how would you evaluate the recent statistical performance below:

54-hole tournament, approx. course yardage 6700 yards, par 71 (5 par 3's, 4 par 5's - 3 of which are reachable):
-36/39 fairways hit
-50/54 GIR (but, hit 5 x par 5's in two shots)
-3/4 Up & Down's
-100 total putts (2 x 3-putts)
-204 total score (67, 67, 70 = -9) (12 birdies, 3 bogeys, 39 pars)
Bottom Line: Lost the tournament by 3 shots.

Player feedback is that they hit the ball well, but could have had some more close looks got birdie. He also says that he didn't miss many putts inside 5 feet, but didn't make more than one or two putts a round outside of 5 feet either.

If a student came to you with this kind of a story, what would you say? What kind of direction would you recommend he focus his practice time on in the future?
If there are any other stats that you think is important to consider, please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Sounds like putting, no?

 

[mjstrong]

Sounds like putting, no?

And, more specifically, would you say speed control? His confidence with short putts (even on greens with lots of slope, like these were) tells me that his line and stroke are likely decent, but the lack of made 10, 12, 15 footers might suggest that his speed can be off a bit, no?

 

[DCgolf]

Certainly doesn't sound like a problem with the full swing. GIRs can be misleading because we have no stat for average length of first putt so iron play can be a false reading. But miss only 3 fairways? That's impressive. Putting is my guess too. Unless they were from 60 feet or something. I have my guys keep tabs on proximity to the hole, not GIRs.

 

[mjstrong]

Totally agree, just tough to get an accurate number on proximity to the hole after the fact.

Re: fairways - the course is fairly generous off the tee, and probably involved an average of 9 drivers (4 non-drivers) each round.

 

[nrggolf]

I would be asking him what type of greens they were, sounds like for putting stats like that they could be big and undulating and if so he either needs to improve his green reading, speed control or understand where the best place to hit his iron shots into the green to give him the best chance of making less puts. Could possibly be big greens and he never hit his iron shots close enough?

 

[Billy McKinney]

Just tell him to keep his shoes shined and to take a different route to the bank every week. And get him to his tee times. He'll have his weeks when they fall.

 

[wulsy]

He needs to think different.

 

[mjstrong]

"Green size would be average, just like most of my iron shots. Not a ton of great shots, but very few mistakes; good distance control. Most of my birdie attempts would have been from about 20 feet or so."

 

[mgranato]

Warning - pure amateur analysis...

The difference between -9 and -12 over 54 holes is a razor's edge. And knowing how golfers think, I'm sure the -12 guy told his coach the same things regarding putts made. The percentages of making a putt start nose diving past 15'. The difference likely is the guy who was just hotter that week, or who got a couple nice bounces, or who had a couple lip-outs lip-in.

Your man had a fairly clean card suggesting that the other guy was just a touch better that weekend. That doesn't mean there's a need to hunt for a problem that might not be there. Sometimes it's just the other guy's week.

We all feel we're owed more putts to fall. If that's a consistent theme, I would suggest a specific analysis of his putting. What's the weakest link: speed, left-to-right, right-to-left, green reading, etc. Then get after it.

 

[Kevin Shields]

I agree that you may want to wait to see if this becomes a repeated theme. Good ball striking....bad putting before any real measures are taken. Do double check proximity to the hole on scoring clubs. Made putt percentage does take a drop off at certain distances.

 

[mjstrong]

Warning - pure amateur analysis...

The difference between -9 and -12 over 54 holes is a razor's edge. And knowing how golfers think, I'm sure the -12 guy told his coach the same things regarding putts made. The percentages of making a putt start nose diving past 15'. The difference likely is the guy who was just hotter that week, or who got a couple nice bounces, or who had a couple lip-outs lip-in.

Your man had a fairly clean card suggesting that the other guy was just a touch better that weekend. That doesn't mean there's a need to hunt for a problem that might not be there. Sometimes it's just the other guy's week.

We all feel we're owed more putts to fall. If that's a consistent theme, I would suggest a specific analysis of his putting. What's the weakest link: speed, left-to-right, right-to-left, green reading, etc. Then get after it.

Very professional comments, Mike. Thanks to all for your input so far. Wulsy, care to elaborate? I don't disagree...

The 'analysis' of his putting in similar situations to date seems to reveal a lot of two-putts: "I've never been a very agressive putter, and always seem to hit decent putts a foot or two short all day long in make-able situations. I guess I'm looking for tips/drills/thought processes to help me maintain an aggressive enough approach."

 

[drewyallop]

Very professional comments, Mike. Thanks to all for your input so far. Wulsy, care to elaborate? I don't disagree...

The 'analysis' of his putting in similar situations to date seems to reveal a lot of two-putts: "I've never been a very agressive putter, and always seem to hit decent putts a foot or two short all day long in make-able situations. I guess I'm looking for tips/drills/thought processes to help me maintain an aggressive enough approach."

This reminds me of "loss aversion" and the study that seemed to show that professionals miss more birdie putts than par putts from about the same distance and location. In other words cozy up the birdie putt so that par is ensured. Avoiding a bogey (loss) is outweighs the gains of a birdie. If true, your man is not alone. Maybe understanding the behavior can help him to overcome it.

Drew

 

[ZAP]

I know I tend to putt better when I try to pretend that every hole is the last one. Sometimes in the middle of the round I catch myself not totally focused on trying to make a putt at all. I guess sometimes I must figure there will be other chances and if this one does not go in maybe the next one will. This shift in focus has allowed me to become more involved in each and every putt. It has also helped me become more consistant with what things I focus on figuring out during my preshot routine time. I have noticed that I am actually playing faster because I have a defined checklist for each putt rather than wandering around trying to look like a golfer.

 

[mjstrong]

"Loss aversion" sounds like what I was thinking. In fact, there was an element of that in play, as a high enough finish in the event would have assured that he qualified for a large match play tournament next year. With his finish, he's got that.

I do think that a change in his putting approach is what needs to be done, but am just not sure how best to implement it. Just trying to "be more aggressive" doesn't seem to cut it...

 

[Virtuoso]

Putter face angle at impact. If exactly 1 degree off, almost all putts inside 5 feet will go in, almost none outside 8 feet will go in.

 

[JDMAC]

This guy is a much higher level player than me by a long shot, but some of Mangum's thoughts on putting could help your man. Per GM the brain keeps us from danger... can't punch yourself in the face unless you are a psychopath e.g. You don't bash your hand into the door when reaching for a doorknob. The brain knows how to "keep you safe", but in golf you have to define what is safe properly and with your imagination. It is possible to him that lagged up there short of the hole is safe... he needs to redefine or set the "danger", define the space from his ball to an imaginary wall behind the hole (10" or so). If you tell the brain that you must not go longer than the imaginary wall behind the hole, then you won't. He will get it to the hole and not go too far long w/ a miss. Once reprogrammed, he could just work on a constant delivery speed or entry speed for all of his putts. The "loss aversion" would no longer be a factor because the fear is no longer of a 3 putt (somewhere close to the hole either short or long), but fear of hitting it through the imaginary wall behind the hole 10" or so. You take birdie misses short of the hole out of play and the loss aversion actually keeps you from 3 jacking and helps to make betterefforts on birdie tries. Hope that makes sense.

 

[wulsy]

Now we're cooking with gas! Nice comments on the mental processes involved in holing putts. But here's a physical one: never up, never in. Making sure he reaches the hole will get him a better score. Here's a quote from the best putter I ever played with, when asked what he thinks about when putting: "Hitting the fekin ball into the fekin hole". And there you have it.

 

[mjstrong]

Great stuff guys, the message will be passed along.

 

[DCgolf]

As a long time teacher of a complicated game, i have a fairly simplistic approach to putting and teaching it. "Respect the Pace". IMO, there is too much time spent on line and stroke, and not enough on pace. If you putted every putt hole-high, you would have tap-ins ALL DAY long...Try this: Watch your ball go by the hole or have a friend stand by the hole and mark where it passed the hole. Now bring the ball back to that point (or up to the hole) and see what you have left. Without even knowing the break, you will get most putts inside the leather. Easier said than done I know but has to be said. I teach a lot of tournament players. Not one of them of them is a bad green reader. Respect the pace...