GIR Stats; What's yours? How did YOU improve?

[jabwind51]

Just saw my last score card at end of the season and here are my stats. Boston Golf Club (73.4/136) which felt like a pretty hard track. It was my first time playing there

GIR 7....

thoughts?

 

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Same range, was also hitting MP32, switched to i20s. Hit less greens than you, but more often closer to the greens. My misses are far better with more spin and forgiveness of the i20.

Thinking about the P790s.

7.4 HC, 5-6 GIR, 2-3 Fringe, 16 within 15 yards of the greens or on the greens, about 2 bogey type of holes per round but can be 3-4 in adverse conditions like high winds.

Play from shorter tees and watch your handicap drop?

Honestly, those are the scratch tees you are playing.

[jabwind51]

Interesting. I will definitely try to move up a tee box. I usually play from one less than the tips when I play somewhere bc my driver is about 270 carry give or take.

Cant believe a round stat of 7 GIR when I hit 13 fairways. Seems crazy.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

I used to play one from the tips for the exact same reason.

Admittedly, our handicaps are the same even though I play up, so my scores aren’t a solid indication, but rounds are much more “casual” for me now. I can score pretty consistently without really having to think too hard. I just played 9 holes not 2 hours ago on a short course with 5 greens and all but one near because I hit a tree I though was farther away in the dark. Even that was only 30 yard away.

Golf has been much more relaxed these past two years. My buddies hate me joking around too much. Maybe I should move back? Lol!

Why make it harder?

[jabwind51]

Haha stay relaxed!

 

Definitely worth a try when the golf season starts back up again for me though.

[jabwind51]

Hah! I’d say keep doing whatever you’re doing that works!

 

Definitely will try to play up a tee box when the season starts back up or sooner if I get to make a warm weather winter trip (fingers crossed!)

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

I used to see a ton of unhappy golfers at my home course until everyone started talking about moving up during that USGA campaign to speed up pace of play.

Now that there’s no shame moving up, most golfers are happy while playing.

I see a lot less club throwing, and more throwing down beer after the rounds.

 

Cheers!

[SNIPERBBB]

Chipping putting needs to be improved to get that scrambling percentage up. Though for a new course we can give ya some forgiveness as it takes a while to learn tricky greens

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Agreed that getting to know the greens helps, but not that much.

In general, there’s only a couple strokes you can save with short game. If you look honestly at why you’re missing near the greens, it generally comes down to where near the green you are landing.

For example, I’m generally “near” the greens 16/18 times...but in random locations. Bunkers are not an issue getting out, but I leave myself with 7-12 footers. Could I make a 7 footer every time? No, but could anyone? Statistics say roughly half if you are one of the best in the world. My chips typically leave me with the same 5-10 foot putts. I make half inside 5-6 feet.

My average drive is around 260 yards. Typical is 270, playing summers and spring playing from 6200 yards on average. This usually leaves me with 150-ish yards or less.

My GIR is usually 5-6 plus 2-3 fringe shots. 7 more are usually within 15 yards of the green. Typically, I’m only away from the greens two times a round. When I get in a ton of short game practice, I could shoot as low as 5 over, when I don’t have time to practice short game my best rounds are 7 over. That’s only 2 strokes.

Most of my buddies are the same. We’re 10-ish handicaps because we don’t have good enough approach games. Some better, some worse.

Scrambling percentages above 50% take a lot of skill, but still only save a couple strokes at most.

Typically, it’s the approach game that needs the skill improvements. That takes huge practice to become accurate enough to land in good locations, once you’ve got the distances down with a good swing.

Hitting greens or being nearer the pin can save a lot more strokes. Being closer to the hole from the tee helps shorten your approaches which allow you to target where on the greens you need to be. Otherwise, you have to aim for the center of the greens and hope for the best as I typically do.

So, hitting more greens usually means being closer to the greens off the tee. Or drive longer? Which is easier?

[davep043]

@Lincoln_Arcadia says:
"Typically, it’s the approach game that needs the skill improvements. That takes huge practice to become accurate enough to land in good locations, once you’ve got the distances down with a good swing.
Hitting greens or being nearer the pin can save a lot more strokes. Being closer to the hole from the tee helps shorten your approaches which allow you to target where on the greens you need to be. Otherwise, you have to aim for the center of the greens and hope for the best as I typically do.
So, hitting more greens usually means being closer to the greens off the tee. Or drive longer? Which is easier?"
From a skill standpoint, improving your full swing is going to improve your GIR. Improved swings mean more consistent drives, generally straighter and maybe longer. Improved swings mean more consistent iron distance, and more consistent direction. So Improved full swing mechanics are the top priority. This isn't EITHER improve driver OR improve irons, this is improve the full swing. And none of that is "easier", improvement takes effort.
From a shot planning standpoint, aim so that you hit the green most of the time. This means aiming for the center most of the time, not aiming at flags. Sure, with shorter shots, wedges, maybe up to 9-iron, you can start trying to get close to pins, but in general you're better off putting than chipping. Do you miss more short than long? If so, hit more club.

[Ty_Webb]

If you're hitting it 270 typically and leaving yourself less than 150 yards in, then 5-6 greens is pretty low. Unless that 270 is in the trees half the time. If you're good enough to hit driver in the fairway 270 most of the time, then you're good enough to hit 2/3 of the greens from 150 in the fairway. Work on that. If you're hitting half your tee shots in the trees, then it's going to be tough to improve those numbers without getting that fixed.

[davep043]

You might be overstating it just a bit. The mid-level PGA Tour players hit about 70% from 125 to 150 last year, to expect 7 handicapper to hit 67% is setting a pretty high bar.

[jholz]

For much of my life I have been a long-driving, fairway-finding, green-missing kind of golfer. I could hit 13 fairways and only touch 3-4 GIRs in a round. Ugly, ugly stuff. To address this issue I've focused on two things:

Ball striking: A shorter, simplified swing has improved my ball striking markedly. More solid strikes lead to more GIRs. Finessing rather than Powering Approach Shots: I am more conservative in my club selection, taking the longer club and hitting partial shots and knockdowns. This has improved my directional consistently tremendously with fewer approach shots missing left or right.Course management and strategy are good and helpful, but if you aren't striking the ball consistently, and your directional misses are all over the place, being 30yds closer to the green isn't going to help much.

[Obee]

Love this!

[Ty_Webb]

Maybe a little, but under 150 I suspect that those numbers are better since they will be better from inside 125. 100th in 2019 for the PGA tour inside 125 yards was 82%. DFL was 75%. They're also playing to pins cut within not a lot of the edges of the greens and likely not aiming at the middle of the greens. Those numbers I think include shots from rough and presumably in the trees as well. From a good lie in the fairway from 150 yards aiming at the middle of the green, I'd expect the PGA tour players, even the worst of them to hit that green 85% of the time or more.

My own stats have me at 77% for GIR from the fairway 100-150. Per DECADE, that's good for a scoring average of 72-74, which is slightly better than my actual scoring average (I lose shots on my short game - long story).

PGA Tour GIR percentage from the fairway (including shots outside 150) is 77% at the median in 2019 and 70% is DFL.

All in all, I don't think 12 GIRs is an unreasonably difficult goal for a decent player who hits it 270 in play most of the time on a course that is 6200 total. [Edit to add - unless the greens are small]

[MtlJeff]

I typically hit 11-13 greens a round , and play to a 0.0 in midsummer

Biggest thing that helped my game was finally working with a swing that gives me a 1-way miss. I guess it's a bit of a cliche but it's made me a better player, because i can hit more drivers off the tee and have more usable space on the green.

It depends on the course you play, but sometimes hitting a green is more about the tee ball than the approach. I play a 6700yd course that has a lot of trouble off the tee. Getting from say, 10 to 13 greens a round for me has a lot more to do with where my tee shots end up.

So yea, consistency with driver, one way miss. Makes the game a lot easier.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

That was exactly my point. If the best in the world do 75% there’s certainly no way I can.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

It’s not difficult to be near the greens for me, but factor in wind and the occasional block hook and at 150, I’m off the green.

You're right that if my tee shot is in even close to the fairway with a view of the pin, I’m likely making an eagle chip. That could be an easy par or possible birdie, but generally doesn’t materialize.

Yes, all improvements are hard. Seems to take years and tears.

[Hawkeye77]

Won’t do the passive brag, but on my trip last summer the conscious decision to hit 3w on every driving hole on a really nice course made all the difference in fairways found and consequently GIRs, although getting up and down was still the star of the day on a few holes.

 

My caddie quit encouraging me to hit driver after awhile. I was hitting the three wood great and I’d told him on the first tee the driver wasn’t coming out that day. One of the guys was struggling with his driver, other guy was hitting irons and finding fairways. The guy struggling had hit one off the planet right on one hole and when my caddie asked again why I wasn’t hitting driver while we were walking up the fairway I pointed off over yonder in some bad stuff where the guy had driven and told him, “trust me today I’d be there, too.”

 

The next week the 3w strategy the second time around (I’m stubborn) on a really nice course also paid off - but GIRs suffered because of mediocre iron play.

For me it is finding fairways and better ballstriking. Still think my ego gets in the way of finding fairways. Hmmmm, maybe that’s why I said some great up and downs were the star that one round vs. pretty much hitting almost every single fairway. Now banging head against desk.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Could the “mediocre iron play” just be the 20-30 yards you lost not playing the driver?

[aggiegolfer21]

If you are hitting a fair amount of fairways (50% or more) and you don't hit 11-12 GIR on average then you are either playing a hard course, your irons need work, our your course management is terrible. There's obviously not much you can do if the course you're playing is tough other than get more conservative. If your swing is good then you need to work on your course management. Go on YouTube and look up DECADE by Scott Fawcett. He works with some PGA Tour pros and really knows what he's talking about.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Winter Stats:

240-260 Driver total distances.

50% FW, 5-6 GIR plus 2-3 Fringe, 2 bogey style approaches typical. The rest within 15 yards or on the green.

 

Summer Stats:

250-270 Driver total distances

50% FW, 7-8 GIR plus 2-3 Fringe, a bogey style approach or 2.

Courses are rated 73.4/131 down to 72.4/125 (with lots of water carries) longest tees I play are 6800 yards, but try to stay on 6200-6400 in the summer. About 200-400 yards less in winter.

My irons aren’t that great, but I’m usually pin high.

I’m usually close on the approaches. My short game is about average,

[Hawkeye77]

Good question!

The round the week before I was striking the ball really well in general and except one hole where I hit just a horrible approach, even with some longer approaches they were hitting greens, running onto greens or short game was saving me when I missed.

The round where the mediocre iron play cost me I was just "off" a bit all day. The course was playing pretty firm, so yes, the iron shots were longer and a little more pressure on that part of the game no doubt, but it was firm enough and rolling out enough that although a good drive would have given me a lot better advantage, I could run up iron shots and still hitting fewer 5 or 6 irons or hybrid than I would have expected, just not well, especially from the rough. The poor ballstriking really showed up and was apparent on the par 3s that day.

So somewhere between those extremes I guess would be a "normal" round with only 3w and no doubt it puts pressure on hitting irons accurately.

[Club Guru]

Boston Golf Club has crazy greens. Ton of undulation and you need to know exactly where to aim, which is typically nowhere near the hole. Point being, I wouldn’t use your first round on that course as a barometer for your greens in regulation.

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

This is a great point. GIR really depends upon the courses you play. Easier courses it’s pretty easy to hit and hold greens. If the greens are flat with a couple bunkers, pretty easy. If they’re undulating and rock hard with raised features surrounding them, tough.

Still CR/slope kind of shows this. Play these tougher courses shorter.

[Atrayn]

This is right up my alley. GIR happened to be my #1 issue when I first started tracking stats.

How I improved -

#1 - I had to start analyzing why GIR was my main problem.

#2 - I tracked my drives over 10 rounds. Right Side, Left Side, Middle of fairway, OB, etc.

#3 - Found I had a 2-way miss and had to fix my swing overall. Driver and Irons.

#4 - Went from a flip draw to an intentional fade and the abililty to work it both ways and my FW percentage dramatically increased. This automatically increased GIR. Also lowered my proximity to hole numbers as I was now working the ball into pins and increasing my birdie opportunities which in turn decreased the pressure on my short game.

[HackDaddy360]

I average 12-13 greens a round.

the keys to that IMO are:

use clubs off the tee that ensure you find the fairway dont go for stupid pins - learn to hit to the middle of the green. hit enough club to get to pin high comfortably unless the trouble is long. hit to a target always - even if going for the middle of the green. More specific and more in line with where you want to go the better. If you can hit 6-8 greens you can absolutely hit 10+. Keep drilling your swing and simply think a little differently - you can do it.

[jabwind51]

Well, got out for a wintery 40s temp round today at a new course. Just wanted to throw out an update bc had some great progress. As I mentioned before, I took some lessons December/January to help make a more simplified, repeatable golf swing instead of lots of moving parts and early extension. Here were the stats. It was a really easy golf course so can’t dwell on it too much but:

 

-slope 113, 68, par 70

-score 75, +5

-13/18 GIR ? (All Par 3s)

-6/14 FIR...

-37 Putts... (3 Putt x 2)

-1 DB, 6 Bogey, 8 Pars, 3 Birdies

 

All in all some progress with the Irons. Still have to work on the tee ball and putting quite a bit. Easy course but still winter conditions etc. One thing I’ve noticed is straight drivers and baby draws on a stress free range turn into cuts on the course. Have to work on committing to the shot off the tee.

 

Thoughts on things to work on? Goal is to really work on getting down from 7-8 HCP this year.

 

 

[hack2489]

Quoting, using pro level stats ... Might help to remember they play on longer tougher courses too.

Consider what a pro would shoot on your regular course.

Having played in pro am events at my regular course, I know the pro level guys can get much better stats! YMMV.

Also, GIR misses, where n why are more important that the % hit.... Was it tee error or AS error? What was the AS error; left, right, short, long, miss hit, wrong club, other on course factor (wind, bad bounce, wet track, too dry and hard, etc.) ... Once a trend of cause, reason, error pattern is identified you can work on improvement of that aspect.

In my journey from struggling to break 100, to now mid 80s, (this on a par 72 138/74 rated course) the reason for miss and lost shots had been way more important than stats.

Currently trying to break 80 using the same approach. Unsurprisingly it's my mental approach bringing me undone most times .

[Lincoln_Arcadia]

Right, a pro was trying to break 60 at my home course from the 6800 yard tees. He mentioned casually that he broke 70 from 7400 yards the day earlier. They’re much better, and it’s much more fun to keep it looking that way.

Bifurcation really isn’t a good thing when it comes down to the big draw of golf. No one really like to explain things like grooves and one ball play when from a casual observation, they don't hit much farther than many amateurs. People like to see a big difference between a pro and amateurs. Distance makes for an obvious difference.