Tour Statistics: How Do Average Golfers Compare?
In yesterday’s paper, a sidebar column listed the statistic top ten in various categories from the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and LPGA Tour. As I looked these over, the variances from tour to tour in certain categories really stood out for me. So I thought I’d offer my observations and toss this out to you all for dialog and comment.
First of all, can you really “beat the course” from tee to green ? Most golfers spend the bulk of their practice time on long shots . . . full swings. I always offer that you should allocate a significant portion of that time to your short game and putting. Compare your objectives to the best players in the world.
The #10 PGA Tour player hits 73% of the fairways. That’s 10 times in the 14 holes that are not par threes. On the Champions Tour, the #10 spot is also right at 73%, with the LPGA Tour the #10 spot at 78%.
So, if the best players in the world only hit it in the fairway 7 out of 10 times, what should your expectations be ? 50% ? 35% ? What do you all think ?
In the Greens in Regulation category, the #10 PGA Tour player is at 68%. Just over 12 greens per round ! So, these guys can hit 11-12 greens per round and shoot scores that average 70 or so – what does that tell you about their short games ? On the Champions Tour and LPGA Tour, the GIR numbers are almost identical, but look at the scores these players are shooting !
Maybe the Sand Saves category is most revealing as to where they spend a great amount of their practice time. Up-and-down percentage from the bunker of the #10 spot is 61% on the PGA Tour, 54% on the LPGA Tour and Champions Tour. What’s your percentage ?
I challenge all of you to keep track of your rounds for a few weeks, analyze them. Of key importance are your fairways and greens stats, but really focus on your short game performance. Analyze your average putt length after a chip or pitch of 50 yards or less, and how many times you took more than three shots to get up and down from that range – those are completely thrown away shots that you can get back quickly with just a little short game practice.
Share your numbers and experience with us here over the next few weeks, OK ?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m down to a 2.4 and, like the pros average 70-75% of my fairways, but only 60% of my greens. Add putting in, and I get even worse! I rarely come in with less than 32-33 putts.
That is a very interesting post. I personally haven’t tracked those stats as I usually just think about what I feel is my weak points or the parts of my game that could save me some strokes. I’ll keep track for a few rounds and post back. On to practice my short game some more :-D.
[...] a follow-up to the post I wrote on comparing your game and scoring to the PGA Tour players. We talked about how the best in the world only hit 70% of the fairways and 65% of the greens, but [...]
[...] a follow-up to the post I wrote on comparing your game and scoring to the PGA Tour players. We talked about how the best in the world only hit 70% of the fairways and 65% of the greens, but [...]
Leave a Comment