Practical side of data collection

General Discussion
#1

I was wondering how you juggle focus, data collection and pace of play on the course. Since starting golf again 2 years ago I’ve tried various methods to collect data on the course and I still haven’t quite figured it out. Found that the mobile apps and arcoss just don’t work for me. The mobile phone breaks my concentration (even just entering putts after a hole). Arcoss had other issues for me like not picking up certain clubs and greenside shots. Currently using a garmin watch for distance and basic stats. For the last 4/5 rounds of the season I settled on writing down stats on a scorecard and entering the stats to Golfmetrics after the round. My Scorecard looks something like this for a par 5:

Tee shot : no note as I use yardage on scorecard
320r (320 yards from rough)
132f (132 yards from fairway)
35ft (on green 35ft)
5ft (5ft putt = holed)

My common struggles are close to and on the green when I chip on and want to get to my ball to mark it/read a putt. In these cases I try to remember the previous shot for later entry while I need to hit the next shot. Same story with long putts. Especially on puuts I tend to stand over a putt and think “this is 20ft, no it’s more like 18ft” then proceed to hit a terrible putt. Another thing I struggle with is with measuring putts. I mostly guess them as I don’t want to pace them off over other players line.

How do you handle the practical side of data collection on the course?

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#2

I just record strokes and putts on a paper scorecard and when I get home I transfer it to a spreadsheet. I know my struggles are missing left with my irons. I don’t need stats to tell me that.

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#3

I use Shot Scope. The only thing you have to do is mark your number of putts over the hole. Actually you don’t have to. You can just play and then edit after if you have a decent memory. It is the simplest way to collect valuable data and once you get a few rounds recorded it allows you to get as technical as you like about your game.

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#4

I also use Shotscope. The software is a little wonky and for whatever reason I seem to miss a couple of shots every round (but the misses are easy to spot and fill in later). IMO, it’s not great, but it’s worthwhile

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#5

Measure your stride. For me a leisurely pace is 4 steps = 10’. Once I’ve placed my ball, I drop my ball marker nearby (behind me). Whenever I pull the ball from the hole i count back to retrieve the marker. Ex: 2nd putt a shade over 1 pace = 3’; 6 paces to marker = 15’ first putt. Scorecard: 15/3.
Not exactly Shotlink, but close enough.
I use Arccos for everything else, making any necessary adjustments between holes waiting for others to tee off. Works fairly well and doesn’t disrupt my focus much.

Hope this helps!!

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#6

Mark down the basic info on the golf course and then re-trace the round afterward if you are so inclined to keep a detailed information for data collection.
The important data which you could easily collect are;
-fairway/greens hit.
-GIR
-number of putts
Plenty of space on a score card if you do not need to keep track of your playing partner’s scores.
I use one line fore score, simplified by marking down the relative stroke to the par. meaning, par is a -, birdy is a -1, bogey is marked with +1 and so on. Much easier and more accurate to track than adding the actual numbers.
Track fairway-hit and greens-hit with a check mark or a cross-out.
number of putts individually marked for tracking the total putts.
If other data is needed, then re-tracking the rounds while memory is still fresh.
I can care less regarding the distance measurement. Each day out on the golf course will be a little different. The climate, the golfer and the condition of the golf course. Somedays will be a little shorter in distance than the next.
During cold morning rounds I’ll have shorter tee shots and longer approach shots; simply because the sole of the golf club will glide through the frosted ground with a little more club speed. Typically one more club length.
Humid warm weather will produce a little shorter distance, dry weather will produce a bit more …so on.
The professional arena does not track everything any of the golfer does on any given day. Even the driving distance is taken from a few selected holes then average the distance, the distance produced on a few selected holes designated to measure driving distance are not all played with a driver.
Data is good, for referencing and give someone the basic information who needs to know absolutely, everything.
Will the finest in detail needed for improving the golf game? Probably, not.

#7

I agree that every day is different and the finest detail won’t make a difference on my level. But for me collecting the data was eye opening. Especially on the green. I thought my short putting was a problem, but it turns out I gained strokes in each of my 5 rounds tracked from 6ft and in. My putting from 7-22 varied wildly and my putts from 22ft+ were losing strokes on all my rounds. Further I saw that over the last 5 rounds my driving hc is 19 whilst my approach is 6. I used to hit probably 5 iron shots for each driver on the range. Now I know this is silly.

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#8

I also use shot scope. I like reviewing the round later that day or the next. I think going back over it is helpful.

On the card, I use the box below the score: Dot in upper left is fairway hit, X in upper right is GIR, total putts in lower left, total penalties in lower right. An S in the center is a sand save and a dollar sign is a missed sand save.

Then below that, I write down how many steps each putt was. I step off each one. I don’t feel like that slows my pace since I’m going to look at the putt from both sides anyway. But if it does, I must make it up in other parts of my game because I don’t play slow. If it’s a really long putt, as I approach the green I try to find the half way point and then walk back to the ball. I don’t need to see a 50 foot putt from both sides and I’m not that worried if I step off 18 paces when the total putt was only 32 paces.

Most of the on-course stuff is to jog my memory when I’m editing shot scope later and to make sure shot scope is right. Sometimes it’s a few feet off, which can put you in a fairway when you’re not or out of a bunker when you were in.

PS I’ve played two brand new courses this past Summer and both of them felt the need to reinvent the scorecard and not for the better. I have no idea why, but it made it really difficult to use my system. I hope it’s not a trend.

#9

If you know by collecting data that you had been losing strokes from the lag putt; then the speed is most likely the issue.
Refine your long putts by learning to read the breaks and the speed of the green. It will come from experience. First by accumulated knowledge from the golf courses you play often, then expanding the knowledge by applying what you learned to other golf courses.
Practice long lag putts on the practice green, this will improve your touch and feel for the day.
I see lots of golfers on the practice green before their rounds drilling the 3’-5’ putts; of course this exercise will boost one’s confidence. I prefer to lag putts from 20’-30’ on different slopes instead of the short practice putts.
It helped me to get a sense of controlling the speed of the green to minimize chances of needing more than 2 putts per green.

#10

Shotscope is solid. Step off putts like others say (1 long stride=3 feet), which you should do as part of preshot routine. If it’s a long lag putt, use your rangefinder (yes, it’ll work up to 6 yds away). Above all, keep the record keeping simple…don’t get fixated on being exact because patterns will emerge regardless. That’s where Shotscope is so useful. Good luck!

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#11

I used Arccos for a few years, but I got tired of dealing with missed shots. Especially as sensors died. I bought a premium subscription for 18Birdies and used that when I played alone, but that gets tiresome as well. And there’s no way I want to mess with that and slow things down when I’m playing with other people. I decided to try something different after:

  1. Reading The Four Foundations
  2. Listening to last week’s pod
  3. Thinking about what I can get my daughter (high school golfer) to do

I liked Jon’s idea about reviewing the round when you’re done playing. So with that in mind, I created a quick Google Sheet to track every shot and a few pivot tables to analyze the data. It may sound crazy, but I can enter 18 holes in less time than it took me to fix my rounds in Arccos. I’ll give every shot a 1 or a 0, depending upon whether or not it was “good.”

  • Drive - Average distance or close to it, unobstructed approach to green or layup area.
  • Approach - Hit the green or left it in an easy place to chip from.
  • Short Game - On the green and within 20 feet.
  • Short Putt (under 3 feet) - Made.
  • Medium Putt (3-10 feet) - Made.
  • Long Putt (over 10 feet) - Inside 3 feet.
  • Layup - Leave yourself the desired approach shot.
  • Recovery - Leave yourself an unobstructed shot to advance down the hole.
  • Penalty - Always a 0.

I’m not going to pretend that this is as precise as Strokes Gained, but when I miss 10 of 18 greens or 6 of 8 putts between 3 and 10 feet, I know where I need to do some work.

PM me if you want a copy of the Google Sheet.

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