February stats

Being away on holiday for the first week of the shortest month of the year was always going to have a negative impact on my practice time. That said I have also passed on practicing in favour of playing a few holes on several occasions. I definitely think spending more time on course has been helpful and finally I have got to grips with my putting and chipping with much more consistent stroke for both.

No lessons in February but I am due for a check up this week where I anticipate my pro will want me to work on slightlyflattening my swing plane. Things are in good shape ahead of the start of the new season and I still have a month to go. The excitement is building...

Practice
So a little over 8 hours practice this month with a clear focus on putting and chipping. The short game has come on leaps and bounds as a result.While my short game practice remains a consistent percentage with previous months I have definitely upped my putting time. My stroke feels much more solid now and as you will see from my rounds statistic for putts per round my performance is already better than last year. I am a little down on my target of an hour a week putting practice but I have already shaved off nearly three shots on last year's average.

Distance	Time (minutes)	% of practice time
Driver	0	0%
Other Woods	15	3%
200 - 250 yards	8	2%
150 – 200 yards	10	2%
100 – 150 yards	30	6%
Short Approach	262	52%
Bunker Play	5	1%
Putting	170	34%
Total	500	100%

Rounds
Interestingly this month the statistics don't make for comparatively happy reading. Last month I got off to a flyer, whilst this month there has been some experimenting on course, mainly with the trialing of the 910 driver. A horror round with the D3 being the main culprit. Nonetheless things are improving and moving in the right direction. I expect the scrambling statistic to significantly improve when I can be more consistent from the tee as often I am not in range to give myself a realistic chance of saving par. Most importantly the number of penalties I am picking up is dropping and I am scoring more consistently. In the past I have been a bit sporadic with my scoring with several pars and numerous disasters. Now I am consistently scoring bogeys and double bogeys. Once conditions improve I would expect to see a few more pars on the card and if I can keep the rest consistent the handicap should start to tumble.As mentioned above my PPR stat is already down from the 36.68 average in 2010 and I am closing on my target of 32.68 putts. The stats for March should make for interesting reading! 

Statistic	Performance	SS2 Handicap level
Fairways in Regulation	26% (46%)	23 (13)
Greens in Regulation	8% (20%)	23 (14)
Putts per Round	33.98 (33.53)	15 (15)
Birdie Conversion	17% (0%)	8 (28+)
Par Scrambles	5% (5%)	28+ (28+)
Sand Saves	20% (0%)	9
Penalties per Round	2.7 (3.18)	27 (28+)

The SS2 handicap level is a calculation made indicating your performance on different facets of your game.

I am chomping at the bit to try my new putting and chipping techniques on dry, true greens as opposed to the lottery of those of the rain sodden or temporary variety. I am also keen to see the benefits of playing a better ball on my short game control. The new practice utility on the Shotmiser is helping me construct an accurate series of wedge distances within 100 yards and by playing mini fun challenges when I practice I'm having a lot of fun whilst getting better. Roll on next month!