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  1. #1
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    Default I need to hit more fairways!

    For a while now I've been saying chipping & putting is the main weakness of my game. But let's look at some stats from a 2016 MGS article (https://mygolfspy.com/2016-report-ov...e-by-handicap/) compared to my stats in GolfShot.


    Putting:


    I averaged 31 putts per round over my last 20 rounds. So I'm actually doing OK there.

    GIR:


    This is an area I've been pretty happy with lately, and this backs that up. Over my last 20 rounds, I've averaged 46%. That's pretty good.

    FIR:



    So as a 4 handicap, this suggests I should be hitting above 50% of fairways per round. My average? 35%. And that's being bumped up a bit by me taking a driving iron off the tee a bit more often because my driver has been poor. Ouch. My average over the last ~2 years of keeping stats is 41%, which is only marginally better. I know "effective" fairways is a better stat, but my home course isn't exactly tight off the tee, so these numbers are a pretty good indication of my driver performance.

    Just looking at recent rounds, it's fairly obvious to me that my (in)ability to get in the fairway off the tee is costing me shots. Sure, I'll miss a couple of putts, and hit a few average chips, but if I could place my ball in the middle of the fairway on all 14 par 4/5s, I'm going to shoot pretty close to even par.

    So there's something I need to work on, and drawing some inspiration from Flavzz's thread on driver improvement, here's mine. My goal: I want to get to 60% FIW.

    I'm going to make a serious effort over the next few months to work on my game off the tee, and post my progress here.

    I don't have a really solid plan yet. Step 1 is probably to just hit more balls with driver/3w/3i, because that's not something I've been focusing on much when practicing recently. I'm also going to work on target selection - all the experts seem to think you need to pick a precise target, but I'm pretty slack there, usually just making a half-hearted attempt at picking a target line.
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  2. #2
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    Default

    35% does seem low. Good luck!

  3. #3
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    I'm very sceptical about that FIR table.
    25+ handicaps hitting 43% of fairways. I have plenty of mates that are in this category and the main reason is because they are always punching out of the trees from their drive.

  4. #4
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    Good luck with your quest.
    Don't get too obsessed with it though and neglect the short game in the process.
    From my own personal experience spending a fair amount of years playing in the 3-6 Hcp region hitting more fairways never equated to hitting more GIR for me. My home courses during those years had mostly small Greens with the bigger ones more considered medium size if that means anything.
    Hit Them Well or Hit Them Often

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wenz View Post
    I'm very sceptical about that FIR table.
    25+ handicaps hitting 43% of fairways. I have plenty of mates that are in this category and the main reason is because they are always punching out of the trees from their drive.
    That was initially my thought too, but I have seen a few other articles quoting similar figures. I play with a bunch of older guys in my weekday comp, and they are definitely getting those sorts of numbers (probably more) - just further back. I guess if you're a 20hcp hitting it 220+, you're not hitting 40% of fairways. But if you're a 20hcp hitting it 180m, maybe you are hitting 50%+.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wenz View Post
    I'm very sceptical about that FIR table.
    25+ handicaps hitting 43% of fairways. I have plenty of mates that are in this category and the main reason is because they are always punching out of the trees from their drive.
    I'd suggest that category is full of old Coffin Dodgers just bunting up the middle all day skewing the stats of younger and new players that don't have a compass with their games yet.
    Hit Them Well or Hit Them Often

    W.I.T.B


  7. #7
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    Uncke Bob, your solution is obvious.. get a lesson on a LM. And get fitted for a driver and look at a shorter shaft
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  8. #8
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    Very interesting numbers BYU. Have you kept stats of your misses (left/right, shot type etc, block, draw/fade)? I'm currently working on alignment and picking a small target, it doesn't help my poor swings but is starting to give me confidence that my setup is correct. This helps to try and swing freely.
    WITB
    Driver: Ping G430 LST 10.5 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 65g S
    5 Wood: Ping G425 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 75g S
    7 Wood: Ping G430 w Alta CB 65g S
    4 hybrid: Ping G w Alta R
    Irons: 5-PW Ping i210 w PX LZ 5.5
    Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 50-10*, SM8 58-10*
    Putter: 2022 Bettinardi BB-8W, 35 inch
    Bag: Jones Original Carry Bag

  9. #9
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    Default

    There is actually an awful lot to unpack and digest in these stats and how they apply to players in the real world. I'm hoping our resident stats man Bushy sees this thread and comments.

    I'll simply say that I don't fit the profile for my handicap at all, for games where I play close to my handicap. Should I even count the 24 point scores where I have 38 putts and hit zero greens in reg? And frankly, I don't care about those games from a stats point of view. I only care about games where I've played reasonably well and feel I'm capable of doing better if I could address certain issues. Then I might decide to work harder on short game or putting or middle irons. (But in reality I won't do any of these things)

    I'll also say I'm not sure I would want to fit the profile. I want to play my own game and have fun, not hit 6 iron off every tee to boost my fairway stats.

    Perhaps Bob should actually try something like that for a little while, hitting nothing but fairway finders, and then compare how he scores. Will it be as much fun as smashing driver, then playing miracle recoveries from wherever his ball has finished? Maybe, maybe not.
    "There are 50 things to remember in the golf swing. Trouble is that I can only remember 49 of them" - Bob Hope.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flavzz View Post
    Very interesting numbers BYU. Have you kept stats of your misses (left/right, shot type etc, block, draw/fade)? I'm currently working on alignment and picking a small target, it doesn't help my poor swings but is starting to give me confidence that my setup is correct. This helps to try and swing freely.
    I keep track of whether I miss left or right, but no shot shape. Lately (with driver) I've been missing left with a pull or (more often) right with a fade/slice. I've been working on my swing to fix that left-right shot shape.

    Played 9 this morning and the work on the swing has produced some results, a much straighter ball flight on the 3 holes I used driver. Hit 3/7 fairways, but only the miss on the 1st hole cost me, the others were in the rough with clear shots at the green.

    More detail:
    10: 3i pushed right, 2nd shot blocked by a tree
    11: Driver, straight, fairway
    13: 3i, slight draw, fairway
    14: Driver, pushed right but straight, rough
    15: Driver, pulled left with slight fade (heel strike), rough
    17: 3i, straight, fairway
    18: 3i, pulled left, 2nd shot slightly obstructed but got up and down

  11. #11
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    Pennants today (had a win) - didn't hit driver that much but hit it pretty well when I did. I seem to have eliminated the occasional slice that was plaguing me, but still pulling a few.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobsYourUncle View Post
    Pennants today (had a win) - didn't hit driver that much but hit it pretty well when I did. I seem to have eliminated the occasional slice that was plaguing me, but still pulling a few.
    Good man. What determined when you would hit driver?
    WITB
    Driver: Ping G430 LST 10.5 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 65g S
    5 Wood: Ping G425 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 75g S
    7 Wood: Ping G430 w Alta CB 65g S
    4 hybrid: Ping G w Alta R
    Irons: 5-PW Ping i210 w PX LZ 5.5
    Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 50-10*, SM8 58-10*
    Putter: 2022 Bettinardi BB-8W, 35 inch
    Bag: Jones Original Carry Bag

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flavzz View Post
    Good man. What determined when you would hit driver?
    Course I played has 6 par 3s, and bunch of shorter par 4s where driver isn't needed. I pretty much hit driver wherever it made sense, without taking too much risk. 6 times IIRC - 4 par 5s, the two longer par 4s. Probably 4 more holes where driver could work, but I played them more conservatively. Oh, and didn't play the 18th (matchplay), where I probably would've had a crack at the green with driver.
    Last edited by BobsYourUncle; 17th January 2021 at 06:38 PM.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobsYourUncle View Post
    Course I played has 6 par 3s, and bunch of shorter par 4s where driver isn't needed. I pretty much hit driver wherever it made sense, without taking too much risk. 6 times IIRC - 4 par 5s, the two longer par 4s. Probably 4 more holes where driver could work, but I played them more conservatively. Oh, and didn't play the 18th (matchplay), where I probably would've had a crack at the green with driver.
    Sounds like a good strategy if you can hit the par 5s in 2 or if danger is relatively low. I think the good part of writing down your goals like this is that you generally put more thought into getting off the tee and hitting smart / positive shots. Self analysing and being honest about any part of your game is always helpful IMO.
    WITB
    Driver: Ping G430 LST 10.5 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 65g S
    5 Wood: Ping G425 w Tensei Orange AV Raw 75g S
    7 Wood: Ping G430 w Alta CB 65g S
    4 hybrid: Ping G w Alta R
    Irons: 5-PW Ping i210 w PX LZ 5.5
    Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 50-10*, SM8 58-10*
    Putter: 2022 Bettinardi BB-8W, 35 inch
    Bag: Jones Original Carry Bag

  15. #15
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    Statistically not a great driving round today (5 fairways). 6 real misses, but still made par on 2 of those holes. Hit driver on a few holes I might not normally take it, for the sake of practice. Definitely showing some improvement in shot shape and direction though, which is something.

    1: D, fairway
    2: D, right trees
    3: D, just off the fairway
    4: 3i, right trees (terrible shot, wasn't committed over the ball)
    7: D, just off the fairway
    8: D, right rough, clear shot at green
    9: D, right trees
    10: 4h, fairway
    11: D, fairway
    13: D, just off the fairway
    14: D, right trees
    15: D, left trees
    17: D, right trees then D, fairway (cutting the corner over a large area of scrub/trees )
    18: 3i, fairway

  16. #16
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    Anyone here playing a shorter-than-standard driver shaft? I was playing around earlier with a 3w length tensei blue shaft (playing about 2 1/4" less than my normal driver shaft), and the results were better than I expected (see stats below). Felt a lot more in control of the club head, and didn't lose very much distance (maybe 3-5mph less clubhead speed, 10m less carry, slightly higher spin compared to my usual numbers). I did have the loft adjusted up a little bit too (10.5deg instead of 9), which will explain some of that difference. Felt good, might put it in play next time I'm on the course.



  17. #17
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    Whats standard?
    My driver is 44.25"

    If you go shorter you will need to increase weight, either heavier shaft or add weight to the head
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  18. #18
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    My usual driver shaft is 45". Yes, the swing weight will be a bit lighter, but it felt alright. I could always add some lead tape. I've got a heavier shaft I could try too.

  19. #19
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    Do what feels right for you.
    Its good to experiment around sometimes. I played with different shafts, lengths until settling on one when we played Strath.
    Last edited by wazamac; 22nd January 2021 at 06:12 PM.
    Once you go yellow, you will never go back

  20. #20
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    I cut my driver down to 43.5" inches and it's much better for me. May have lost 10 yards on drives that have been absolutely smoked but have game has benefited much more from the greater consistency.

  21. #21
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    My driver is 43.75". Luckily the F9 has 2 weight ports, so ordered some heavier extra weights to get the swingweight on point.

  22. #22
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    Played a quick twilight 9. Have to say it feels alright with the 65g shaft. I've got a 75g shaft in my 3w, I'll try it in the driver over the weekend.

  23. #23
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    I played 44” or shorter for years. My new G425 was ordered at ‘Ladies Length’ which I believe is 44.25”

    Standard these days is becoming 45.25 and 45.5.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobsYourUncle View Post


    What settings have you got the fairway on to get that much roll??

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by BUSHY View Post
    What settings have you got the fairway on to get that much roll??
    Whatever the default is. I find it's pretty similar to reality (outside of soft winter fairways).


 

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