I talk a lot about distance because that’s certainly what interests a lot of people. But in this blog, I’d like to go over what it takes to score low.
After compiling some key stats from over 30 PGA Tour winners, hitting the ball far or even that accurate is NOT a prerequisite to winning. Rather, what is important is hitting the ball on the green, making putts, and getting up and down when you miss the green. Let’s look at the numbers in order of the PGA Tour Leader, the PGA Tour Average Winner, and the PGA Tour Average:
Driving Distance 315.2 yards 292 yards 287.4 yards
Driving Accuracy 80.42% 65.92% 72.74%
Greens in Regulation 70.76% 72.41% 63.49%
Scrambling 64.82% 62.85% 56.03%
Putts per GIR 1.72 1.67 1.79
Scoring Average 69.12 67.14 71.04
So even though you may not have the same distance as the Tour guys, if you want to beat your friends from the tee boxes that you play and take their money…focus on getting it on the green – even if you have to aim for the MIDDLE of the green on ALL shots! The average Tour winner hits more GIR than the highest individual average, they scramble and putt really well, and yet they only hit the ball slightly more accurate and farther than their peers.
This is also actually one of the reasons why Tiger wins so much. Although he sometimes hits his tee shots in some crazy places, he is always near the top in GIR, he scrambles well, and his putting inside 10′ is great. Whether he knows it or not, he does well the things that statistically matter most to scoring.
I hope this give you a better idea of what to focus on if you want to lower your handicap and shoot lower scores!
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