Tuesday 7 September 2010

Logic

I think I may have been a little hard on myself over the weekend. I had been hitting the ball pretty well and was hoping for a better score than I eventually posted. I finished the front nine with 50 (though I didn't know this at the time) and then had a disaster coming home. But on reflection the round in wasn't disastrous.

Much to the chagrin of Spock,
logic and golf seemingly don't mix
The issue seems to be my concentration around the greens. My three best scores have been when I have played on my own 101, 104 and 105 each time off the yellows. Logically you expect me to have hit more fairways and greens in regulation on the shorter, slightly easier course. Obviously, that would be completely incorrect! Playing solo off the yellows I hit 31% of FIR and 6% of GIR, whilst I hit 35% of FIR and 10% GIR off the whites in medals.

So feeling more relaxed or focussed off the tee in a medal? Then conversely as I get closer to the hole I lose that feeling as my stats highlight on medal days the short game isn't as good. Perhaps I don't care as much about  whether the ball drops or not when I'm playing solo. Perhaps, logically, that is why my average Putts Per Round when I play solo is 35.25 and when I play a medal 36.75. Maybe that's why I've got a sand save statistic of 0% in a medal and 20% on my own, or why I have a 7% scramble rate on my todd and just 3% in a medal.

Perhaps it is logical after all. Maybe I focus more intently on a target in a medal and am more accurate with my ball striking as a result, but have too much tension in my short game and lack the carefree spirit that gets the ball dropping in the cup on my solo rounds. Maybe I get distracted around the greens when I play with others or allow their manner to frustrate me as I get closer to each green?

But if I'm more focussed on the tee and have a better FIR and GIR why do I concede so many penalty shots? 6 on average in a medal, just the 3.5 when I play solo (not that chuffed with either stat to be honest) and no I am not more lenient on myself when I play on my own. Something just does not add up.

What does add up is the fact that 107 is actually my best ever score off the whites, so it would have been more logical for me to be pleased with my score knowing that I left a hatful of shots out there and could, and should, do better next time. But then again logic, me and golf don't seem to blend too well!
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous7 September 2010 at 18:38

    I think you are getting bogged down in the stat game try and not record your stats for a month dont worry about sand saves. fir, gir, putting etc and JUST PLAY GOLF. Learn it without the stress of everything else

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  2. Tiger8 September 2010 at 10:16

    Oh dear, on reflection I didn't write this piece very well. I agree with you 90% possibly even 95%. What I was trying to say, albeit rather badly, was that the only thing that really matters at the end of the day is your score. The stats can help paint a picture of how you arrived at that score but there seems to be no logic in how I compile my scores from one day to the next. I'm erratic, as you'd expect a 28 handicapper to be.

    After my round I looked at my stats to figure out if there were any consistent issues and I identified three, more on them in a bit. But what shot me straight between the eyes that I had failed to recognise or acknowledge was the fact I scored 107, which was my best knock in a medal and I should have been pleased with that.

    The reason for the 5/10% where I disagree is that recording the stats takes me no time, I dont dwell on them or analyse them during a round. I look at them afterwards to see if there are any consistent issues that I need to work on with my pro.

    First most obvious is bunker play, though I didn't need the stats for that. Didn't need them to know I'd caught the duck hooking plague either. But what I would have forgotten is that I missed 3 greens long. So I know I need to figure out my wedge distances again as my latest swing improvements have added on about 10 yards. Sorry for the diatribe but I promise when I'm out there all I focus on is getting the ball in the hole, I don't even keep track of how I'm scoring.

    So I promise whole heartedly when I'm out there all I focus on is the golf. Thanks for your concern

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