Raymond Floyd "The Elements of Scoring" and the 90% iron shot

[me05501]

Raymond Floyd's "The Elements of Scoring" was one of the books I really enjoyed when I first got serious about golf. I've been re-reading it this week and it holds up quite well after 30-odd years on the shelf. 

 

A lot of the concepts Ray recommends will sound familiar to fans of Decade or stats-based analysis though this book was written before the data existed to support these ideas. Turns out the "tribal knowledge" learned on Tour was already aligned with what modern stats have shown. 

 

One of the ideas I really like is what Floyd calls "playing comfortable." This is essentially resisting the temptation to attempt low-percentage shots you haven't practiced when you're playing for a score. He says when you're in a situation that seems to call for such a shot you can almost always find a way to use a higher-percentage "comfortable" play instead. He says good scorers almost always do this. 

 

The real biggie in the "playing comfortable" area was his comparison of how pros view their irons and wedges compared to amateurs. I've seen @MonteScheinblum post on this idea several times too. 

 

Ray says that most amateurs pull the wrong club on approaches because they only consider the maximum/ideal distance that club will provide in their hands. We think our "stock" distances are the same as our "ideal" distances while pros know those are two different numbers. Pros almost always opt to use the "stock" distance and ams use the "ideal" distance to their peril. 

 

I know if I'm on a driving range or Trackman hitting 7 irons one after the other I'm going to see most of those shots end up around 165y total. But the first shot I hit with that club is rarely among the prettiest of the bunch. It's usually straight enough but probably a little short of my ideal. 

 

So when I find myself in the fairway 165 yards from the middle of the green I need to realize that my shot is more likely to turn out like that first swing than the tenth. I could get perfect contact but I'd be crazy to expect it. Floyd would say to swing an easy 6 iron and enjoy the relatively effortless and stress-free success. 

 

Food for thought...

 

 

[golfinbrad]

100% agree.  Seen too many times, a guy hits an iron that flew the green or goes 15 yards further than normal.  Just one time and it becomes his new distance.  Who knows why that even happened, but his new 7 iron distance is 185 and comes up short every time after. 

[nitram]

"Playing comfortable" and "putting with loft" (also a Ray Floyd saying) has allowed me to shoot more rounds in the 60's than any I ever tried with max effort. I was very fortunate to have an old school guy teach me the game and this was one of his primary points of emphasis. He had several one-liners as it pertained to golf and one I'll never forget is " just because you can hit it that far doesn't mean you should try to". I've seen more guys (and won their money) who attempt to crush a shot and can't or don't execute the shot.

 

It's great advice, and anyone aspiring to shoot better scores can and will if they can back out of the throttle a little bit.

[Sabre3]

Reminds me of my first lesson. I was an adult when I got it so I had already ingrained a lot of the bad that is still there. The pro had me warm up with my 5 iron. I was hitting it well and he asked how far I hit it. I told him usually around 200. He said that he can hit his that far but doesnt. He only plays it 185. He was saying how there is no need to be playing them to your max number and as much as I will never forget it, I have never been able to incorporate it.

 

Of course now my max is 185 for a 5 but that has come with age.

[aenemated]

Love that book.

 

And this is one of the things that SEEMS to obvious but I simply never applied at all till my round at Carnoustie - thanks to my amazing caddie. First few holes he'd give me a yardage and ask what I wanted ... then just started handing me a club, not giving any yardage but instead just telling me the line and to just "knock it down." Proceeded to have one of the best ballstriking days I've ever had and a great round (Not mad at an 80 on the Championship Course for the first time playing - and that was missing pretty much every putt outside of 3 feet. Never did get a hang of putting over there).

 

Walking off 9 green counting a 38 he says to me "Ay lad, you go back to California, learn how to putt and come back. That should have been a 34." 😂

 

Definitely something I need to stick to more frequently. Both bits of advice ... except the "go back to California" part!

[Jeri6gt]

I often find when I am going for maximum distance it ends incredibly bad.

But sometimes you can't resist the Hero Shot, because that 1 time when you do make it,

it feels really good.

[me05501]

3 minutes ago, Jeri6gt said:

I often find when I am going for maximum distance it ends incredibly bad.

But sometimes you can't resist the Hero Shot, because that 1 time when you do make it,

it feels really good.

 

Right? We place too much value on limited success and not enough on consistent competence. 

 

Ray addresses these feelings in the book. He says you have to get used to judging your round by the score you posted rather than focusing only on the highlights. Playing comfortably may lead to having less highlights to think back upon and that requires a mental adjustment. 

 

I have noticed this in my own best rounds. To date I have a 75, a 76 and a couple of 78's. They all have the same thing in common, which was that I never did anything spectacular. It was just hitting more than my average number of fairways and more than my average number of greens. There were no dramatic moments. It almost felt like cheating, or a letdown. This is something I have to get over if I'm ever going to live in the 70's. 

[aenemated]

27 minutes ago, me05501 said:

Ray addresses these feelings in the book. He says you have to get used to judging your round by the score you posted rather than focusing only on the highlights. Playing comfortably may lead to having less highlights to think back upon and that requires a mental adjustment. 

 

My best score last year was a 74 at TPC Vegas - NOT an easy track. 

 

And with the exception of rolling in a 25 footer on 1 for birdie ... it was the most boring round ever. Didn't even realize my score till I rolled up to the clubhouse after 18 and my homey by the carts was like "How'd it go out there?" "Ummm ... *looks over scorecard* ... dang, not bad!" 

[me05501]

9 minutes ago, aenemated said:

 

My best score last year was a 74 at TPC Vegas - NOT an easy track. 

 

And with the exception of rolling in a 25 footer on 1 for birdie ... it was the most boring round ever. Didn't even realize my score till I rolled up to the clubhouse after 18 and my homey by the carts was like "How'd it go out there?" "Ummm ... *looks over scorecard* ... dang, not bad!" 

 

Exactly!

 

The main thing I remember about my 76 was that I missed 13 birdie putts. We were playing a two-man match play and I was trying to carry my partner, so my goal was to lag the long putts close enough to tap in. Lots of pars is sort of boring. 

 

I'm going on a 28-man trip this weekend and unfortunately I threw out my back last Saturday. My condition is gradually improving but with 72 holes to play Fri-Sun I could not have reread this book at a better time. Definitely committed to playing comfortable. 

[PracticeSwinger]

Stolen, but relevant :

 

"Friend of mine played in a Firestone Pro Am and was warming up next to Tom Weiskopf. Steve always hit his wedges too high, too far and too erratic. I always advised him to take a shorter swing and hit it lower but he liked to brag about how far he hit his irons. So Tom is hitting his pitching wedge into a Hula Hoop circle and Steve asks him how far he is hitting those shots. Tom replied 125 yds. Steve was incredulous and replied "WOW! I hit my pitching wedge 155" and Tom sighed then said "Well so could I but then what would I do with my 8 iron?"

[golfortennis]

6 hours ago, Varry_Hardon said:

Stolen, but relevant :

 

"Friend of mine played in a Firestone Pro Am and was warming up next to Tom Weiskopf. Steve always hit his wedges too high, too far and too erratic. I always advised him to take a shorter swing and hit it lower but he liked to brag about how far he hit his irons. So Tom is hitting his pitching wedge into a Hula Hoop circle and Steve asks him how far he is hitting those shots. Tom replied 125 yds. Steve was incredulous and replied "WOW! I hit my pitching wedge 155" and Tom sighed then said "Well so could I but then what would I do with my 8 iron?"

 

There was a story about an amateur getting on Jack Nicklaus because he was hitting his 7-iron 160 or something, and NIcklaus wasn't using his on shots of that length.  Finally Nicklaus had enough and came to a shot that was 195, made sure the guy knew how far and what club he was hitting, and hit it stiff.  Shut him up right there.

 

[naj959]

Read this book about 2 months ago. Went out and posted my low round of the year thus far. I need to start re-reading it because I've forgotten a lot of what was gone over. Thanks for the reminder. 

[Hawkeye77]

It's a great little book.  But nothing earth shattering.  "A Round of Golf with Tommy Armour", written 40 years before is as good as any book on course management.  Watson's "Strategic Golf" written 5 years before is great also.  None of these are any Tour "secrets" - it's all the same basic stuff that has been preached forever and that most ams never learn and then when we read these things they seem like revelations or a lot of the time "duh" because it's pretty obvious - just like reading Rotella's books - all good little reads, lots of anecdotes, but he could have just written one book, lol.

 

If Floyd says hit "90%" effort irons I missed that.  He quotes Snead as talking about 85%, and talks about swinging "comfortable", which is really just saying don't overswing and swing efficiently - ams need to be careful about all the "swinging easy" advice and take that with a grain of salt, the same with the light grip pressure.

 

I don't see anything in the book as a precursor to the current wave of strokes gained or DECADE - Floyd still advocates even when there isn't real trouble on a par 5 the old standby that ams lay up to 80-100 yards which isn't the current view and I see so many guys blindly trying to lay up to what they claim is their layup of 100 or whatever because they hear about it on TV without understanding why pros really do it, when it is obvious if said ams could get within even 30 yards of the green their results would be better.  10-15 caps laying up to 100 when they could get within chipping or easy pitching distance of the green otherwise with little risk of consequence just isn't smart golf.

 

I enjoy them and read them and reread them because they are good reads and good stuff to "relearn" and think about and because there aren't that many good ones out there.   

Edited May 6, 2023 by Hawkeye77

[nkurz]

Available to read online for free here: https://archive.org/details/elementsofscorin00floy

 

You need an account, but it's easy.  

[msg]

"One of the ideas I really like is what Floyd calls "playing comfortable." This is essentially resisting the temptation to attempt low-percentage shots you haven't practiced when you're playing for a score. He says when you're in a situation that seems to call for such a shot you can almost always find a way to use a higher-percentage "comfortable" play instead. He says good scorers almost always do this. "

 

I have been trying to change some things in my game lately, especially with par 5's. I usually play copy paste golf. Driver, 3 wood and wedge on typical par 5's where I play which are about 530 - 480 yards and I am an average hitter, so I rarely get on the green in 2 unless there is a wild wind from behind. Usually I am successful but as amateur, hitting a 3 wood off the deck, can create some bad situations. 

 

In the last two games that I have played this year, I have purposely hit my 5 to 7 iron as my second shot, just to see the difference in scoring. So far I have par'd all the par 5's and always had a great look at the green from anywhere from 80 - 100 plus yards. When I look back at Shot Scope and try to remember how I felt doing this versus to my old copy paste method, I don't feel excitement lol. But I can feel the ease and stress free feeling when playing such holes as compared to the 3 wood off the deck. As Floyd mentioned, I was playing comfortable.

 

Of course we all know that getting as close as we can should be the right play, as long as we do not bring the trouble into play. The courses I play usually has trouble going into the green from the second shot of these par 5's. So far, I have not flirted once with trouble with a 5 - 7 iron on hand. I like the feeling, I really do. It is boring but it is efficient and stress free and will continue to do this, majority of the time this year and will compare my scores from last year when the 2023 season is over. 

 

Same to be said when playing short par 4's that are around 350 - 280 yards, that suckers me in blasting a driver. I have been hitting anywhere from 5 wood to 6 iron off the tee and have noticed a huge difference when it comes to being in trouble and again, the feeling of stress when playing. Between my old way and this new thing I am trying, I think I like hitting comfortable shots instead, as much as I can. 

[KD1]

I went out for a quick 9 the other day after work with this thread and tips from monte in mind. I clubbed up twice for most every shot into the green and this *forced* me to hit relaxed 3/4 swings. Rando playing partner commented that I really 'like to let the club do the work'. I hit 6/9 greens in reg! I don't know about you guys but considering my normal game anytime I'm putting for birdie I'm pretty excited, even if it's a hopeless 30ft lag putt!

[msg]

34 minutes ago, KD1 said:

I went out for a quick 9 the other day after work with this thread and tips from monte in mind. I clubbed up twice for most every shot into the green and this *forced* me to hit relaxed 3/4 swings. Rando playing partner commented that I really 'like to let the club do the work'. I hit 6/9 greens in reg! I don't know about you guys but considering my normal game anytime I'm putting for birdie I'm pretty excited, even if it's a hopeless 30ft lag putt!

I have been doing this too for a few season now and swallowed all my pride and ego lol I mapped out my carry distances with my irons using a launch monitor. I usually would hit relaxed punch shots with 1 club more and aim at the middle of the green. 2 putts and get out of there with a par. Birdie when lucky.

 

GIR rate went up. Scores went down. Game became easier than before. Simple adjustments and mindsets like this, truly makes a big difference. 

[aenemated]

7 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

Watson's "Strategic Golf" written 5 years before is great also.

 

I don't even know what it was that compelled me to pick that book up when I was a kid - I was probably 14 or 15 or so - but reading that is what took me from being a kid who could hit a golf ball pretty well to actually being able to score. Total game changer and what lead to me having a pretty successful run on my high school team. 

[Hawkeye77]

4 hours ago, aenemated said:

 

I don't even know what it was that compelled me to pick that book up when I was a kid - I was probably 14 or 15 or so - but reading that is what took me from being a kid who could hit a golf ball pretty well to actually being able to score. Total game changer and what lead to me having a pretty successful run on my high school team. 

I bought it when it came out (not a kid, lol) and thought it was good but kind of lost track of it.  Found it a year or two ago in a tub with books I had packed away and read it again and now I'm a much better golfer than I was then and can actually execute some strategy on occasion it has a lot more meaning to me.  

[iacas]

14 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I don't see anything in the book as a precursor to the current wave of strokes gained or DECADE

 

Ha. 🙂

Edited May 6, 2023 by iacas

[Hawkeye77]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

 

Ha. 🙂

Ha Ha? 😀😀

[parmark]

23 hours ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I bought it when it came out (not a kid, lol) and thought it was good but kind of lost track of it.  Found it a year or two ago in a tub with books I had packed away and read it again and now I'm a much better golfer than I was then and can actually execute some strategy on occasion it has a lot more meaning to me.  

Funny you should say this. After seeing this thread dug my own copy out also.  Been struggling this year so far, though a bit of that could be traced to weather (so I keep telling myself!)

 

Played my best round in three years today keeping some of the keys he writes about in play today. There's hope in the world after all!