28 Days Later...February Statistics

It's been 28 days since my last stats update and though the weather has caused some disruption, I've managed more practice this month than last. As you know I'm using the Scoresaver 2 statistics package to track my progress and practice. So without further ado here are this months stats.




Practice
February is obviously a shorter month and though I am pleased with a total of 13 hours 35 minutes, I'm starting to realise the challenge of balancing golf with work and family. I'm having to be quite innovative with my practice time to avoid incurring the wrath of HID and making sure I have plenty of time with my littl'un. So far this constitutes putting/chipping practice when she's on her treadmill and toddler is sleeping and pitching practice on the heath during lunch breaks when I work from home.

In addition to my practice I have also had 30 minutes of tuition (focussed on chipping), played five rounds on the par 3 course and played a full 18 holes. To a degree I'm finding that playing time is as good, if not better practice. As such I'll be trying to get more rounds in next month particularly on the par 3 to continue to hone my 'target golf' and short game. The practice time for February can be broken down as follows:

Distance	Time (minutes)	% of practice time
150 – 200 yards	80	10%
100 – 150 yards	85	10%
Short Approach	425	52%
Putting	225	28%
Total	815	100%

Again I've focussed most of my time on my short game and the round played on the par three following my chipping lesson produced my lowest ever score of 35 (thanks to Homer for nagging me into having that lesson)!

Rounds
Once again I have played mainly on the par 3 course (except my first full round). As I have covered that in detail a couple of days ago, I'll focus on the stats for the par 3 rounds here. My average score has dropped from 42.6 last month to 40.6 which is 0.4 below handicap. In terms of core playing stats (last month in brackets):

Statistic	Performance	SS2 Handicap level
Greens in Regulation	6.67% (13%)	24
Putts per Round*	29.2 (35.86)	3
Birdie Conversion	0% (0%)	28+
Par Scrambles	14% (9%)	21
Penalties per Round*	0.8 (1.85)	8

The SS2 handicap level is a calculation made indicating your performance on different facets of your game. The stats marked with * are aggregated up to reflect an 18 hole round.

The short game practice is clearly working but as a consequence of more practice in this area I'm now hitting fewer GIR. I'm hoping to address this with a one hour video lesson in mid March.

My putting stats keep getting better and better. Comparing my performance in January to my performance in February illustrates this. This is also due to improved chipping giving me more opportunity for one putts.

Statistic	January	February
Putts per Hole (GIR)	2.75	2.33
Putts per Hole (non GIR)	1.76	1.57
Putts per Round*	33.2	29.2

However, I'm not getting carried away as performance on the par 3 is much easier in terms of putting and (to a lesser extent chipping) because the greens are smaller.

So final statistic and that's where I'm missing the greens. 50% of the time I'm short of the green and 24% of the time I'm long. The long misses are now due to club selection rather than thinned shots but the short ones are 99% of the time due to fat shots. I'm hoping my next lesson can resolve this.

If you are interested in using Scoresaver 2 to analyse your game you can download a free months trial version. Just click here to find out more.

In March I'm hoping to get a minimum of four rounds in on the par 3 at Fynn Valley as well as 18 holes on the short par 62 course at Purdis and 18 holes at Waldringfield. I'm hoping to iron out my ball striking issues and to make a serious challenge on the 100 mark at Waldringfield, whilst honing my short game in my other practice rounds.

As always interested to hear your comments and views and if there are any stats I haven't posted that you would be interested in, let me know I'm more than happy to share.

Comments

Homer
Some solid progress there. Well done. The invoice for getting you out for lesson is in the post. Keep at it. My advice would be to start getting the 18 holes games in now whilst keeping the short game ticking over. Its only on the longer courses that the problems will mainfiest and show you what needs looking at next. I’ve just updated my site too http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.com/ to take into account my shiny new bats and look at where I’m at with my own challenge for 2010

Tiger
Hi Homer, I’d love to play more 18 holes I’m hooked on the full version of the game but unfortunately I just can’t afford it this month. The short course at Purdis is only a tenner midweek and hoping to get a cheap/free round at Waldringfield before I join. I promise you that once I’m a member I’ll be getting in as many rounds as I can!

Murder on the golf course: Swing Feb 2010

I'm so glad I didn't try to correct my swing on the course yesterday as looking at it again the main thing I've noticed is an old bad habit and trying to fix it would have done more harm than good. What is quite funny is that when I first started lessons my pro said that people he taught regularly rarely developed new problems and more often than not slipped back into old bad habits. Looks like I'm a case in point.

What is interesting is that with this flawed swing when I connect it goes miles (well probably 1/10th of a mile). Unfortunately, I just can't connect consistently. The video below was taken on arguably my best iron strike of the day. It went arrow straight and according to Freecaddie travelled 182 yards.

Mixed bag...(Hintlesham GC, Feb 10)

So the wait is finally over as today I completed my first 18 holes. My slightly controversial approach has raised a few eyebrows and after today's round it might raise a few more. There were a number of positives to be gained from today but also a stark recognition that I need to work extremely hard on my ball striking over the next month. The good thing is I know exactly what the problem is, how to fix it and that once it is sorted my scores will plummet. However, as many people have wisely warned you should play with whatever swing you bring to the course and sort out the issues on the range.

Winning!: Book review

Winning!, Sir Clive Woodward (Hodder & Staughton, 2004)

It will come as absolutely no surprise that I really rate this book. Like Sir Clive I'm also a Loughborough graduate and first read Winning! shortly after receiving my MSc in Sport & Leisure Management. My course was taught by a combination of the highly regarded business and sport schools (Sir Clive was a Sport Science graduate). In hindsight Sir Clive's autobiography could have been a core text.

The core underlying principles of positive thinking, creativity, innovation and dedication, to look at the smallest details to ensure the maximum impact are transferable to all walks of life. What sets this book apart is how the open narrative explores the challenges, mistakes and failings in more detail than the triumphs. Success at the 2003 World Cup wasn't just down to a generation of gifted players, a visionary coach and an inspirational captain. It was down to seven years of meticulous preparation to cultivate a Winning! environment, an unshakeable team spirit and well drilled and regimentally organised elite sports team.

Total Golf & Second Half Thinking

Continuing with the Sir Clive Woodward inspiration today's focus is on Total Rugby,This is England and Second Half Thinking. My first love and passion in sport was Football. Although I missed out on the wonderful Brazil team of the 1960's and Dutch team of the 1970's, my early football coaches tried to instill their total football approach into us from an early age. The concept is that everyone can play everywhere and it's probably no surprise that by the time I hung up my boots last summer I had played centre back, central midfield, centre forward, right wing and in goal. I also played a bit of Rugby though I took up the game late and played during my University years. As a late comer to the game it was easier for me to slot into the forwards as a lock or number 8 but because of my speed I'd often appear on overlaps, occasionally to devastating effect. As a result I understood what Sir Clive meant by his vision of Total Rugby.

So what is Total Golf?

Winning!

This week is dedicated to the genius mind of Sir Clive Woodward, who through a process of trial and error, in business and sport, designed the perfect framework for Winning! Many people may look at the concepts described in his autobiography and think they are applicable in team sport or business. However, having recently re-read this excellent book I think they can be adapted to fit all circumstances and I am applying them to my golf project. There will be a detailed book review on Tuesday as usual, but through the rest of the week I'll be letting you know key principles that I've adapted for this challenge.

Backward progress

Apologies for the big delay between posts. Work was more than tad manic but the weekend is here and judging by the weather so is Spring. Some have questioned the logic of learning the game backwards, and one in particular has repeatedly told me that if that's what I want to do get a chipping lesson. You see me to chipping, is like Homer Simpson to beer - duff all day long. Actually, I should rephrase that to say was.

I had my lesson this afternoon and played a couple of rounds on the 9 hole before hand. I scored 42 & 40, putting was ace once again 12 & 14. Damage was done getting the ball onto the blinking green. Case in point first hole of the day I carded a seven. That wouldn't have been so disheartening if I'd three putted. One putt, one blinking putt was all it took. From the tee box came up short then proceeded to pitch / chip the ball back and forth across the green for six shots. Then step up and hole a eight foot putt!! I'm Alesha Dixon on the dancefloor and John Sargeant off it.

Anyway had my chipping lesson, he tweaks a couple of things on follow through and has a chat about club selection. I go back onto the course and hit a 35, my lowest ever score. The chipping made such a big difference. I'm hoping to get some more range time before Wednesday to hit a few more mid irons but I'm very happy with how the short game is shaping up.

Comments

Deke
Glad your short game is getting beter Tiger,my advice now is to work on your pitching.On your par 3 course you can pitch off the tee,and a good strike will give you birdie chances.On my last round my chipping was just ok,but my pitching and putting were spot on,and i shot two under.If you can master all three abilities,you will be a short game machine,and will eat up the par three!

Tiger
Hey Deke, Couldn’t agree with you more. My par three is a great test of target golf but whilst my strike is much better on short pitches the yardages are wholly inaccurate on the course. The reason I say this is that on one hole allegedly measuring 83 yards I hit my GW with a half swing which I know travels approximately 69 yards. It was a clean strike with equal follow through and I cleared the green by 20 yards! It did look short but not that short!! When I play on Wednesday I’m using Freecaddie on the iPhone for some ball park figures and it will be interesting to note the difference. Shots are going straight it’s just distance that’s all wrong at the mo. That said I’ll need to be having an absolute blinder to get anywhere near a 25!!!

Deke
I am sure your next score on the par 3 will be your lowest,and it will get lower as you practice more.My bunker play has been good recently,and as my fear of sand is not what it once was i have been trying out flop shots which i am sure you know are some of the harder techniques to master.Stone me if my first atempt with the face wide open(usually a big bugbear with me)sails over the bunker to two feet of the hole and stop dead!Happy days!Having a few different shots in my short game arsenal will be of much use when i finally suss out my long clubs,i am going to the range today,will let you know how i get on,cheers.