Learning Your Dispersion

Strategy
#1

One of my focuses for 2021 is finding the actionable stuff in my golf game and getting better at it… I’ve talked a ton about my plans for putting, but I’ve been thinking about my game as a whole, and what I want to learn, improve on and really dial in… I was listening to Hack it Out Golf with @ScottFawcettDECADE (glad you are better! Hope the whole family is healthy) and he was talking about dispersion and data and basically building a strategy around the actual numbers…

I have access to a simulator, and I have some free time… so my ACTIONABLE GOAL for my full swings is to dial in my dispersion… Not necessarily even worry about improving it, but just figure out what my “shotgun” spread is with each club so that I can better pick targets on the course and avoid making mistakes.

I think having access to the simulator is a really large advantage for this, and a good way to build out a better mapping system for my game… I’m hoping I can also use it to better dial in my “normal” swing and see what effort level leads to the most consistent dispersion.

The other thing I am planning on doing is testing my current SM7 50 degree wedge against the CMB GW I’m building and see if I can tighten my dispersion with a more forgiving club.

Anyone else have any plans to map our their “misses” and figure out their shot patterns? It’s part of my big improved strategy push for 2021.

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#2

I’ve done exercises like these on my SkyTrak and they are very helpful for a number of reasons.

For example, I actually got more confidence with my driver knowing that my dispersion is quite reasonable for my distance. Hitting a bad shot here and there is part of the deal, but it’s helped me “stick with the plan” rather than abandon driver in favor of shorter clubs after an errant shot or two.

On the flip side, with iron play, it really shows why trying to thread the ball in small spots is a losing strategy for the most part.

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#3

Great article! I think the strategy side of dispersion is a huge opportunity for me (and likely others), so I’m looking forward to spending some time in a simulator and figuring out my dispersion across the whole bag. Hopefully it will help me on the course!

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#4

I would love to do this, but don’t have access to a simulator/monitor and also don’t have enough ceiling height anywhere in my house to support this anyway.

Guess I have to move.

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#5

It’s not really about using your data to pick better targets, it’s about using your data to trust the DECADE math and targets. There is SOOOO MUCH that goes into processing what your “in practice” shot pattern is vs on the course making figuring out your own relatively futile. When I created DECADE I did it with my shot pattern standard deviations of directional and distance control. I then made the shot pattern materially bigger and a little smaller and reran the strategy math. Strategy, shockingly, comes out relatively similar if you can break about 85. So my point is rather than attempting to recreate DECADE for YOUR shot pattern trust the math I did and then use your time on the range to learn to center your shot pattern over your target and recognize you don’t know if a shot 10 yards left or right or dead straight is coming next. Thus you MUST COMMIT to your target and let variance within your shot pattern stuff the occasional shot.

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#6

Love this…also see my longer reply to the original post in this thread

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#7

EVERYONE has a ton of room to learn more about strategy and the accompanying mindset, even Tour players. That said, also see my longer reply to the original post in this thread about figuring out your own shot pattern.

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#8

Always nice to have a Fawcett sighting on here!

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#9

It is easy to select a target and aim for it, the difficulty comes in committing to that target. Tracking the mental side in DECADE has changed my mindset on the course. It has been my biggest takeaway from DECADE.

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#10

Ha…I try! I’m somewhat catching up after Covid quarantine so hopefully I’ll have time to address more times when I’m tagged

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#11

Picking a target that isn’t the flag and the TRULY TRYING to hit the ball there is, IMO, the hardest thing to do in golf. It is so obvious and such common sense once you understand it all, but it is very hard to do shot after shot, round after round, week after week. Trusting variance and not “trying to win” every single week is the key to consistency.

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