For the last year we have been posting and writing about our belief in ways to “play smarter, better, for longer”. Here’s a quick recap of the top five!
1. “The 80% Wes”. The eighty percent swing discussion is by far the runaway leader in the category! What is it? By reducing your maximum swing effort, Chris Stoudt (our staff professional) showed us (with Wes as the frustrated subject) that efficiency–contact, face angle, dynamic loft–is increased while sacrificing very little, if any, distance. Just by focusing on a controlled swing, with acceleration, that allows you to maintain your balance and posture you will ensure you find the center of the face more often and keep the ball moving down the track! It is absolutely, unequivocally worth exploring! Next time out, try a few shots with less than a full swing. No…we are not talking about a half swing, or less…a “chippy” one. No! Just a little less than full throttle! It works. A bonus is that it encourages a more repeatable and confident swing. Watch!
2. “Fairways matter!” We have shown time and again that playing from the fairway lowers your scores. We did this with actual on-course testing. As GreyDogs, muscling a shot from the rough is harder than ever and when we try, results are shabby, at best. Sure, the tour pros can catch the occasional “flyer” and send the ball shooting long, with nospin. Not us! We just aren’t able to fill the club groves with grass & soil and create a flat face that produces a knuckleball. Sorry…just true! And here’s proof. A 225 yard tee shot in the fairway yielded lower scores by .21 per hole than a 235 yard tee shot into the first cut of rough (and it just gets worse the further wayward you are!) Numbersmatter…find a fairway!
3. “Short from 150…again!” This is without question GreyDogTommy’s favorite finding of the year! Here itis…again, statistically! We employed caddies to measure/collect data from 1,560 shots by experienced players from ~150 yards, and revealed that 62% of the shots are short of the pin-high target. Of those, >60% were short right! As we ask/answer, “you know that right front bunker? It’s for you!” Hey folks, only 10% of shots in our study were pin-high! C’mon man! Club up!
4. “Carry distance!” Our next reveal, also a GreyDogTommy favorite focuses on the actual carrydistance you have with each club. It’s uncomplicated and that’s what makes it so easy to understand. It is essential that playing your best golf (as well as you can, anyway) requires knowing these data. We suggest you ONLY focus on carry distance on every club below three-wood. These are approach clubs and attack clubs. I hate to say it so bluntly but telling us (or yourself) you can carry a seven-iron 150 yards when you’re asking the ball to carry a 140 yards stream becomes problematic. Roll out? Fine, 150 yards with roll out. OK. But, brother, the ball isn’t rolling trough the stream, or the trap. We even published an article, “Carry Distance, Scary Distance”. Be comfortable knowing your actual carry numbers for each club. Don’t guess on-course. Know them beforehand. And…also know them for the 80% controlled swing!
5. “70/70” In this finding, we highlight that fully 70% of your on course strokes are from within 70 yards of the hole! It’s just a fact! So, quite simply, you should spend 70% of your practice time on these shots! Imagine an hour practice session where 15 minutes were spent on putting green, 10 minutes from 10 yards, 10 minutes from 30 yards and 10 minutes from 60 yards! The other 15 minutes? Sure, rip those headcovers off! Bombs away! Do this once a week and watch the handicap go down! At events we do, we often ask the Head Professional of the host club “how many chipping and putting lessons did you give this year?” Ohhhboy. Most times, we are greeted with a dropped head, a shrug and a slow shaking of the head. We stress “practice with a purpose”!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this recap. With that, ask us a question or pose a subject you’d like us to explore. It’s you that makes us better.