I think you may be over thinking it. SG should give you good analysis after round. Adding something during a round is tough but to each his own.
Probably the best thing I have gotten out of DECADE is the mental scorecard. It is something that stays on my mind during a round and it is actionable which is what I look for if doing something different mid round.
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Is that something like this?
because that’s the type of thing I’m referring to, perhaps looking for something even a bit simpler to keep track of in round. Trying to be just about as far from “over thinking it” as I can get!
Not really. Honestly it is incredibly simple.
It separates execution from mental side of it. I can be in a mental fog and execution could still be good, or I could be locked in mentally and the execution fails.
If you haven’t I think today is last day @ScottFawcettDECADE is offering a free month. Jump on it. Although the mental scorecard does not come up until month 5, his system is great.
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I will play devils advocate here
Most of your improvement to break 90 is double bogey avoidance
Most of your improvement to break 80 is making more pars (ngir, saves, no 3 putt)
NGIR, Putts and some form of save % stat is going to tell you most of the story if you are north of a 5 handicap
Also, if you are playing skills games (driving, approach irons, distance wedges, chipping, putting) you should have a pretty good idea of where you need skill development
Decade foundations tracks 5 stats!!! Super simple
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Agree with all of that. I’ve looked into DECADE and am a big fan of the concepts. As you mentioned, there is still the “execution” piece, so I think an in round “execution” measurement that’s simple but more context than fairway or GIR can really be useful. I don’t think we’re talking about different things, just not on the same page for the explanation.
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I don’t keep detailed GIR, putts, etc stats. It makes me too obsessive. I do enough analytics in my day job that I don’t need it in my golf game.
Instead I focus on the things that are glaringly bad at different times. If I’m losing tee shots right. Fix it. If I’m yanking putts. Fix it.
I just look down at Fairways Hit 7/14 and see a number.
Instead I want to look at what caused me to miss those fairways and how far off was I. Was it still a good shot or was I consistently left of target by 25 yards?
The numbers just don’t tell me enough about what I truly need to work on.
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Very cool I love the detail!
I am simpatico with @Bigdadenergy. While I do keep NGIR and putts in the spread sheet so I can see those stats over time, most of my analysis of my game comes from jotting notes down on the round
I am asking qualitative questions about what led to bogey or double bogey. It is also a good opportunity to pick out opportunities where I stayed mentally tough and ground out a bogey from the trees after taking medicine or something gritty.
Guides what I end up working on in between rounds
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How do you track strokes gained for your shots?
Currently I use Decade. When my subscription is up on that I’ll probably switch to GolfMetrics as I won’t need all of the other bells and whistles of Decade (videos/etc) and will just want the stat tracking.
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I run an open office spread sheet for stats. Here is yesterday’s crappy round 06/10/20 98 Par 15 16 18 3p 6b 5d 4t 33 putts 6x1 9x2 3x3
That way I can use formulas to run my monthly average score and keep stats like putts, chip ins, how many pars/birdies on each hole over the year and whether I have more pars on the front or back nines. I can also compare month to month. Technically yesterdays round was no gir but one hole was 2 ft short and a chip and another hole was pin high on the fringe . And another pin high about 2m off the green but a simple chip. Only hit 9 good tee shots. Rest were wormburners or hooks. Too many drives dive after 50-100m and run run run.
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Sounds like you’re not hitting up with your driver. It and the putter are the only two clubs that should make upward contact with the ball. Maybe move the ball slightly more forward in your stance.
Tee it higher and hit a high hook. Tee it too low and wormburner. cant find the medium. But with driver I have a strong grip and open the face in my grip. Then through impact the right hand is under the shaft giving me a solid hit. Even with the open face I hit hooks. Or I sky it.
If you’re only tracking Fairways Hit and GIR for your own purposes and not comparing to others, all I do is allow a little flexibility in tracking. If I hit a good drive, as long as it’s between the trees, has a clear shot to the green, and the lie in the rough is reasonable, call that a fairway hit.
If you hit one on the fringe and can putt from there, call it a GIR.
For 99% of amateurs, those are completely acceptable shots.
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I would agree with your GIR stats but not so much the fairway stat, although I like the idea. The argument I have to your fairway stat is the way the ball spins and plays out of the rough. IT could be sitting up or sitting down, but either way its going to act completely different than if it were in the fairway. You are definitely going to lose a couple 100rpms of spin, which is huge in terms of stopping power on the green. Additionally, the long grass causes a gear effect on the club, causing it to close faster, often resulting in pulls.
I won’t go into all aspects but @jon made a point in his 101 mistakes book…which i use today still.
If you tee shot has a clear line to the green, isn’t impeded in anyway but isn’t on the fairway then you still have a shot! Therefore, you can class that as a successful tee shot.
Sometimes we’re too literal in our interpretation of stat recording.
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It’s more than just teeing it high… for me I’m focusing on hitting up on the ball, which is a significantly different swing feeling than an iron swing for me.
Getting driver sorted out is a huge help…
I am hitting my driver better now. Making sure my head stays behind the ball.
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I have my player’s track proximity to the target.
However, the most important stat for my players is proximity to their aim (mental target). For example, if I aim mentally at the middle of the green and pull it 2 fingers left, I note that down. The pin, in this stat, is irrelevant.
The latter stat guides your strategy more than anything else.
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‘The Scoring Method’ does something like this. It says forget GIR and just get inside 100 yards in 2 shots on a par4, 3 shots on a par 5. It sounds very negative and merely a recipe for bogey golf, but it takes the pressure off and you find you hit far better shots when not trying for max distance and accuracy. I’ve never been so close to a couple of long par 5s on my course than when I wasn’t trying to be. Its ‘good enough’ golf and can lead to stress free better golf too.
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