Every Shot Counts book

2,043 Views | 13 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by ddub96
lazuras_dc
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AG
To preface: Trying to break that 85 mark on my home course. Have shot 82 on a shorter par70. But my golfing buddy has been saying our strategy is what's killing us. So I thought this would be a good book to read.

Anyone else? It was really good for seeing strokes gained stats and the author showing his work to get to his conclusions of why putting only accounts for X% of strokes gained and how it can be over-rated in terms of importance and all these Malcom Gladwell-esque obserations and data.

Honestly, it was hard for me to garner a whole lot of tangible takeaways for my game that I haven't already considered. For me, reading putts and compensating aim points away from where there's trouble and OB. For those of you that read it, what did you take away that shaved strokes off your game?

I kept some more detailed stats over a 9 hole round. Seemed like i was short and low sided on most all my putts- so I know that's where I need to work. Only had two truly awful shots. but really just didn't chip and putt super well. I feel like every round is different though where sometimes I chip and putt well but can't do other things well. so I'm not consistently good or consistently bad at any one thing ...
G Martin 87
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lazuras_dc said:

To preface: Trying to break that 85 mark on my home course. Have shot 82 on a shorter par70. But my golfing buddy has been saying our strategy is what's killing us. So I thought this would be a good book to read.

Anyone else? It was really good for seeing strokes gained stats and the author showing his work to get to his conclusions of why putting only accounts for X% of strokes gained and how it can be over-rated in terms of importance and all these Malcom Gladwell-esque obserations and data.

Honestly, it was hard for me to garner a whole lot of tangible takeaways for my game that I haven't already considered. For me, reading putts and compensating aim points away from where there's trouble and OB. For those of you that read it, what did you take away that shaved strokes off your game?

I kept some more detailed stats over a 9 hole round. Seemed like i was short and low sided on most all my putts- so I know that's where I need to work. Only had two truly awful shots. but really just didn't chip and putt super well. I feel like every round is different though where sometimes I chip and putt well but can't do other things well. so I'm not consistently good or consistently bad at any one thing ...
My number 1 takeaway was to limit awful shots. e.g., going OB, double chips, not advancing the ball, hitting from trouble into more trouble, etc. Top priority for a HH is to stop killing your score with those shots. A related tip is to aim for your shot shape. If you've got 20 yards of slice in your game that day, aim 20 yards left. Fix the slice at the range some other day.

Some readers will tell you that the main point of Brodie's study is that distance off the tee is king, no matter where the ball winds up. The truth is more nuanced than that for HH. If you can't keep the ball in bounds with a driver, stop using it.

Another key takeaway for me was to spend way more time practicing putts under 5 feet. Even the pros don't sink a lot of putts beyond that on the first try. Stop wasting time practicing shots that pros don't make either. The highlight shots you see on TV are exactly that: highlight shots.
DannyDuberstein
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Absolutely correct about the short putts. My practice green routine includes enough medium and long putts just to get a feel for speed, which is more focused on eliminating 3 putts than making a meaningful amount more. The bulk of my practice green routine is spent on 6' or less. Those are the putts that keep pars from slipping to bogeys and meaningfully impact your score every round. I don't care how good of a putter someone is, only so many 12-20' putts are going in over time. Those 5-6 footers are what finish off up-and-downs and lag putts all day long, or ensuring you convert that stiffed birdie chance.
bagger05
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You should check out Lowest Score Wins.

Another good one on course management.
schwabbin
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My short game almost always makes or breaks my round. Those days where I'm missing 70% of greens or worse, it helps a ton to be able to go up and down 50% of the time.
bagger05
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AG
50% is crazy good

For most of us I think the more important stat is down in three 99% of the time. That's what I find usually kills me. Turning a missed green into a double or triple because I left it in the bunker, bladed it over the green, chunked it from the rough, etc.

This is another reason lag putting and five footers are so important. If you have the confidence you can two putt from almost anywhere it takes some pressure off chipping and trouble shots.
G Martin 87
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schwabbin said:

My short game almost always makes or breaks my round. Those days where I'm missing 70% of greens or worse, it helps a ton to be able to go up and down 50% of the time.
This is where I've spent most of my practice time this year. I've dropped my average score about 7 strokes just from working on pitching, chipping, and < 5 foot putts. That not only helped me get up and down more often, but also dramatically reduced the dumb mistakes around the green like double chipping and 3 putting inside 10 feet.
Texmid
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Three-putts are killers in my opinion. It is extremely frustrating to hit a par 5 in two and walk off the green with a par. My buddies sure did enjoy me doing it this past Sunday.
Poot
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Texmid said:

Three-putts are killers in my opinion. It is extremely frustrating to hit a par 5 in two and walk off the green with a par. My buddies sure did enjoy me doing it this past Sunday.


That's just a "stress free par."
98Ag99Grad
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He has an app called Golf Metrics the Chasing Scratch guys use but I haven't. Not sure how much it costs but might help you track your rounds better and see what's hurting you. John Sherman (another Chasing Scratch guy) is also all about eliminating the double bogey, staying in bounds, etc to lower scores. not exactly rocket science but anyway.
Ag_07
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Yeah I was gonna say I don't need to read a book or use an app to know that hitting it OB or in the water or 3 jacking hurts your score.
ChoppinDs40
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course management is something we could all get better at... it isn't always the sexiest thing but it can improve scores.

Good example, I was playing with some younger guys on a work trip a couple months ago. Guys just swinging out of their shoes. Going for greens. Trying to hit it 200 yards from a fairway bunker with a lip.

Could one of them bomb it 300 on a hole here or there? sure, but it was going off the fairway, or in a trap. Hell, I even suggested we play up (windy, Vegas golf and we played about 6300 yards - plenty of teeth for this group of 10+ HDCP).

There were plenty shots where my cart partner is like "damn, you're not going for it here?" and I'm like... "no, there are 2 layers of bunkers between me and the hole, the hole is surrounded by boulders and bunkers and it's 225yards to carry the green. I'm hitting a 6i about 180-195 and avoiding all that crap." I'll gladly take lying 2 from 30-40 yards out on a par 5 vs the alternative.

Sure, would hitting the green from that far out be awesome?! hell yeah. could still very well 3-putt. Give me the lower risk shot and better "floor" for scoring. I'm not going to break 80 out there but I sure could screw up and shoot a 95 like the rest of them did.
TechPracAggie
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One thing that I have been focusing on that has helped my handicap go from 12 to 8 is choosing what I want to do, visualizing it and never allowing "don't **** up" in my head. One way the ensure I will **** up is to thing about not ****ing up.
ddub96
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I believe that is by the same guy that did the Golfmetrics app. If you haven't used it you simply log your shots based on distance from hole. Then you can analyze those rounds to give you actual data to better quantify your strengths and weaknesses. You can see SG data and compare to a scratch handicap (or a pro). Pretty interesting if you haven't used it. I've logged a few rounds and while it does give feedback you would expect in general it also presents it in much more detailed tangible way to help you focus on what needs improvement.

In terms of where most wasted shots come from it is almost always the big misses (penalty shots, hitting a tree and not advancing, etc), chipping, lag putting, and missing inside 5-6 feet.
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