Percentages
Percentages are what helps you lower your score. This means that you are aware of what your misses are, and you play to them. Let’s say for the sake of diagnosis, “Ruth” is a 60-year-old golfer who enjoys golf all summer long. She is part of 3 different women’s leagues and enjoys it immensely. The issue with Ruth’s game is she always picks the longest club to hit with down the fairway, every time. She understands that golf is about distance, and at her age, she cannot sacrifice distance for control or accuracy, she’d never finish a hole that way.
Here is what a golf coach has discovered with Ruth. Her 9-iron can carry 118 yards, and her numbers suggest a dispersion of 2 yards left or right of center. Feet wise, that’s 6 feet to the left or 6 feet to the right of the pin, maximum. She is accurate with her 9-iron. Consequently, her pitching wedge carries 108 yards, with a dispersion of 3.7 yards left or right of center. That’s 11.1 feet left or right of target. So, the numbers suggest that when Ruth plays, she would want to attack the greens with the 9-iron until she can understand what is happening with her pitching wedge.
Here is where the problem is. Ruth will hit driver off of the tee, and then is left with pitching wedge distance into the flag in most cases. In her mind, 3 fairway wood off the tee is NOT an option, because she needs distance, so it is always driver. As golfers, some of us are playing checkers, and some are playing chess, and even others are playing elite chess. If Ruth did use 3 Wood, or even choke up on her driver, she would be left with 9-iron distance to the pin. That increases her chances of making par, because the next club is more accurate in its dispersion.
You hear of golf coaches and instructors always tell you to play backwards from the hole. This means the most comfortable, accurate, and consistent distance is what you play back from. So, if Ruth plays from the green backward to 9 iron distance of 118 yards on a Par 4 310-yard hole, her tee box club must have a carry distance of 182-184 yards roughly, with a roll out of about eight to ten yards. Compare that to Ruth hitting driver/pitching wedge and being on the edge of the green, with a potential three putt. Again, dispersion matters.
Now, most would ask, “Can’t she just work on her pitching wedge?” Long term, that is the goal. As I mentioned, Ruth cares about distance, so any practice that isn’t about distance she thinks will hurt her game. Checkers versus chess.
Only someone from the outside can tell Ruth how to change her gameplay and start managing percentages. This is one of the easiest ways to improve your golf game.
David