Stroke Saver: The One Stat You Should Care About

It always seems that golfers want to know their numbers. Their club yardages, putts per hole, number of fairways hit and even their long drive distance. The strange thing about all of this is that the one stat that is the most important stat on the block is often the most overlooked, greens in regulation. GIR’s are the true measure of how well you are playing. Your fairway percentage doesn’t mean anything if you miss the green on your next shot. Saving yourself from the trees won’t matter if you only hit 5% of the greens the rest of the round. While posting a 92 with 28 putts sounds good, the fact that you took 64 shots to reach the green is not ok.

Golf is set up to be a simple game, taking 36 shots to get to the green and 36 to hole out from there. That makes an even par 72 (or maybe a few more or less depending on the course you play.) When you look at a tour player’s stats, you will see, more often than not, when they hit greens, they place higher. For the majority of players, this means working on your 150 and in game harder than you work on your drives. If you are playing a 350 yard hole, you can hit a tee shot 200 yards into the fairway and nail that green from 150 or you can hit a 250 yard shot down the middle and nail the green from 100. Either way, you have got to hit that green to score better.

For this, I recommend the 150-125-100 drill at the driving range. Begin with the marker closest to 150 yards (at my range, it’s a 151 target) and hit your approach shot at it. Then move to the 125 (mine is 131) and do it again. Finally move in to the 100 yard target (mine happens to be 94 yards) and repeat the process a few times. Try imagining your favorite approach shots at the various yardages. Imagine that big bunker on the left or that water to the right of the green. Try to shape your shot to match the safe route to the hole. That way, the next time that shot faces you on the course, you have it in your bag already.

Hitting greens is obviously the fastest way to shave strokes from your card. If you can hit the center of every green on your course in regulation, you should walk away with a score that will make you proud. Stop worrying about front or side pin placements and start worrying about nailing those greens. From there, it’s just a 2 putt and a par.

Budget Beater: Only Buy The Clubs You’ll Use

One of my favorite moments from a golf movie is the scene in Tin Cup where Kevin Costner questions Don Johnson about if he had ever shot even par with just a 7 iron. Johnson’s response of, “It never even occurred to me to try,” is so fitting for the golfing industry and the status quo that it makes me laugh every time. You see, I’ve never been a ‘conventional’ golfer. Back in the day, when my friends all wanted Ping Eye 2 irons, I wanted tour blades. When spent hundreds of dollars on private lessons each month, I spent hours on the practice green working on my short game. I went toe to toe with many great players back then and managed to hold my own almost every time. It’s this line of thought that brings me to a challenge for you. Take a look in your bag and see how many clubs you actually use during your rounds.

“You need to know how far you hit your clubs to hit greens and you need to hit greens to score better.”

I like to break down holes in 50 yard chunks. So starting at a 100 yard par 3 and moving out to a 600 yard part 5, you can take the hole apart to fit a very simple formula. If you know the clubs that you hit 200 yards, 150 yards, 125 yards and 100 yards, you can master any hole on any course. You need to know how far you hit your clubs to hit greens and you need to hit greens to score better. It’s a very simple approach to a very complicated game. Using myself as an example, I need a 5 iron to reach from 200 yards. I need a 9 iron to reach from 150, a pitching wedge from 125 and a sand wedge (54 degree) to reach from 100. Given those 4 clubs, I can work my way through any course very quickly.

“Breaking down the long holes into manageable shots will help you score better on them.”

There is nothing worse than staring down a long par 5 thinking that you can’t reach it unless you hit a perfect drive. Even at 600 yards, I know that I can drill three easy 5 irons to get home. That may be a #3 hybrid for you or even a 3 wood that you never miss with, but it’s the same concept. Breaking down the long holes into manageable shots will help you score better on them. Instead of hitting a poor drive that leaves you in trouble off the tee, playing it safe and calculating your way through the course will make it easier and lower your stroke count on every hole.

“If I’m not going to use them, why do I have all these clubs in my bag?”

This takes me to the budget buster portion of this post. If I’m not going to use them, why do I have all these clubs in my bag? That’s a great question and one you probably should have asked your salesperson before you left the store with them. Of course, those are the ones you have already, not that new $!200 set of irons you were looking at last week. If you use the numbers above and pick out your 200, 150, 125 and 100 yard clubs from your current bag, how many clubs would you need to purchase for that new set? Beginner sets have worked off this principle for quite some time, remember the sets that had a driver, 3 wood, 3 iron, 5 iron, 7 iron, 9 iron and putter? Those starter sets were inexpensive, but also made it easier for golfers to learn the game since they weren’t focusing on which 5 yard gap they needed to hit that shot. They simplified the game.
Why then do manufacturers sell sets that have so many options. Well, it’s more money in their pockets when they sell you 8 clubs, even if you’re only ever going to use 3 of them. That $1200 set features a single club price of $150. If you can remove yourself from the want to have a pretty matching set of 3-LW and everything that goes with them, you can actually get a set that will help you perform better and make play a bit more fun. Chart your clubs the next round you play and see how many ‘new ones’ you would really use during your typical round. Your results may surprise you.

Playing A Round: The Golf Club At Echo Falls, Snohomish, WA

 

With the threat of showers in the forecast, I rescheduled my Maplewood round in favor of a round at The Golf Club At Echo Falls Country Club. The 5952 yard, par 70 layout winds its way through the hills of Snohomish and protects itself with tight fairways and narrow greens. The Blue Tees feature a rating of 69.5 and a slope of 126. There are also white (5484/67.1/1122 men – 71.9/131 women), gold (4883/64.2/112 men – 68.7/124 women) and red (not rated for men – 4342/65.7/114 women) tees for golfers of almost any skill level. With blind tee shots and even tougher shots into the small greens, Echo Falls is a great challenge to longer hitters and almost favors the shorter player, with the exception of a few holes.

 

 

I want to start with the fact that I teed off at 6:30 in the morning and was the only player on the course. No warm ups, no swings, no putting. Just paid  up and hit the first tee. As I walked up to the first tee, the first thing I noticed was the narrow fairways that were carved out between the trees. The 340 yard hole set up nicely for a 1 iron draw off the tee, which I caught a bit thin. That left a solid 9 Iron to the back pin. My second shot flew the green, but I was able to chip on and 2 putt for a bogey out of the gate. The 2nd hole was a slightly uphill par 4 that measured 350 yards from the back tees. I hit a solid tee shot up the hill that checked up at 190 yards. I took an 8 iron from 160 up the hill to land on the right edge of the green. A 2 putt finished out my par on the second hole. The 3rd hole lays out nicely for my game with trouble right and a narrow fairway in the landing area. The 284 yard hole is tempting to drive, but the water coming in from the right makes it difficult to pull out the big stick to go after it. Instead, I opted for a 1 iron draw, over the water, back into the fairway. A chipped wedge put me on the green for a simple 2 putt par. After 3 holes, I was one over par.

 

The par 5 4th hole plays a short 470 yards, which my 305 yard drive made short work of. A quick 8 Iron in from 165 yards missed the green just right. A chip and 2 putt scored a par. This brought me to my first par 3 of the day. The 5th was playing a solid 190 yards and there was a bit of a breeze coming into me. It was slightly out of my 6 iron range, but I pushed hard to get it there. Of course, I had to escape the embarrassment of the grounds crew telling me I hit to the wrong green before hitting about 40 yards over to the correct green and two putting for bogey. The 6th was the second par 5 on the front side. The my drive on the 526 yard hole just missed the down hill slope and settled in at the top of the hill. A nice 5 iron found the rough left and short of the green. Again, a simple pitch and 2 putt left me with another par and a two over score through 6.

 

 

The 186 yard par 3 7th was another hole that stretched approach shots to the extreme from the back tees. My 6 iron once again found the area just right of the green, but this time a chip and a 1 putt made a par on the tough hole. The 366 yard par 4 8th played straight up with a solid 1 iron off the tee and a sand wedge into the green for a 2 putt par. The front ended with a huge 430 yard par 4. My 265 yard drive found the fairway and my 8 iron landed on the right edge of the green. A simple 2 putt par left me with a 2 over par 38 on the front side.

 

 

Moving on to the back 9 and the, finally, short par 3 10th. The short 110 yard hole took only a strong sand wedge to reach. After landing 10 feet to the left of the flag, I managed to drain the putt for my first birdie of the day. The 379 yard par 4 11th was definitely a change of pace from the short par 3 that opened the back side. A long driver up the center of the fairway left me a half wedge to the green. A simple 2 putt for par and I was on my way to the 12th. Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come next… The Hill. This was no ordinary climb, but really more of something that involved day packs and a base camp. Once I finally reached the top (and caught my breath) I grabbed the driver to hit down the wide open fairway. The 501 yare hole had no chance after rifling a 345 yard drive down the center of it. A simple 8 iron in to the green left me a 2 putt birdie to bring myself back to even par.

 

 

Moving on to the 13th hole, a nice 202 yard par 3, I felt the urge to hit a 5 iron into the wind and roll it up on to the front edge. My plan worked perfectly and the shot found the right front edge. A quick two putt and I was off to the races again. Moving back to reality again, the 13th was followed up with a short 136 yard par 3 at 14. A solid pitching wedge landed just right of the green and left me an easy chip to 3 feet for a 1 putt par. That brought around another 502 yard par 5 that took a 90 degree turn about 240 yards off the tee. A solid 1 iron rifled down the center of the fairway left a 5 iron down the hill to the green. The wind caught the shot and pushed it just right of the green for a chip and a two putt finish. Again, another par. This was shaping up to be quite a great round.

 

 

As I stood in the tee box on 16, I realized that my goal of beating a 75 was within my reach. With the par 70 course, my adjusted total would be a 3 over 73 at Echo Falls. 16 set up with a slight fade at 368 yards. A 290 yard fading driver landed dead center of the fairway. The wedge that followed that landed just right of the target in the greenside bunker. A beautiful out left me a 3 foot tap in for par. Then the devastating par 4 17th came along. Measuring at 460 yards, I have no clue how this snuck through the loop and didn’t get classified as a par 5. I hit s very solid drive, avoiding the trouble right, but still faced a 180 yard approach with more water in the way than I wanted to play with. I played a short left shot to the green to stay dry and chipped on. I missed the par put by inches and settled for a bogey 5. That brought me to the signature 18th hole with their ‘island’ green. The 151 yard short might seem dangerous to some, but a simple 9 iron fell softly on to the putting surface for me and two putts later, I walked off the course with a  one over par, 71.

 

This was my first 9 hole round that I finished under par and, in all honesty, that 17th needs to get updated folks, the best round I’ve played yet. With solid ball striking, great putting and the best driving performance I may have ever had, this round will go down in the books as one of the best of the year. The fact that I didn’t miss a single fairway and really didn’t miss a green by more than 10 yards really made for a fast paced and great scoring round.

 

As far as my thoughts on The Golf Club At Echo Falls go, I would give it a mixed rating. Starting with the layout, it’s challenging and fun, but it’s not a great setup for those that like to walk during a round. Carts are almost a requirement for most players here. Next up, the pricing. At $35 for an early bird weekday round, it was quite a good deal. At $62 for a peak weekend round, I would have a seriously hard time recommending it when you can play courses like Washington National or even Chamber’s Bay for not much more cash. That said, if you are local to the area and don’t want to drive an hour to get to a course, Echo Falls is a challenging layout that will test just about every aspect of your game. Longer hitters may be frustrated by the smaller, narrow greens. Target golfers will lose out on the longer par 4 and 5 holes. It’s a great mix for just about everyone to play. Probably the most telling sign about the course is if I would be willing to tee it up there again. My answer would have to be a resounding, yes, but… I would probably opt for paying for the cart this time around.

 

If you are interested in checking out the course layout an amenities, you can visit their website at www.echofallsgolf.com.

Stroke Saver: Don’t Get Into More Trouble Than You Need To

I always love watching those videos where the guy takes off his shoes and socks, rolls up his pants and wades out into the water to try and hit an impossible wedge back to the fairway to save a shot. They make me laugh and cry at the same time. That quest for immortality often costs us 5 or 6 strokes a round and most people don’t even realize it. To put it in more simplistic terms, if we hit a tee shot out into the woods, too many times we try to move the ball forward from there to set up the next shot instead of just punching it out. That shot ends up catching another tree and now we are facing an even harder out from the woods on our third shot. Par is basically out the window and a bogey would end up being a great score at that point. It’s the avalanche of strokes that leads to those 6’s, 7’s and 8’s that plague most amateur’s cards.

The first step in avoiding these huge numbers is to stay out of trouble. Given that golf is golf though, it’s not always the easiest thing to do. There are a few things you can do to limit your bonus strokes though, and here they are:

• Always use the drop area when you hit the ball in the water. Don’t try to hit the shot again because you know you can. If you drive it into the lake, take the distance with the penalty and move up to where it went in. This will save you a full shot catching up to where you are.
  
• If you hit into the trees, don’t be afraid to play the ball sideways or backwards to escape. Losing 5 yards on your next shot vs. staying trapped in the trees is a small price to pay for a good third shot. If you can still get to the green, you’ve taken double bogey out of play and brought par back to the table.
  
• Don’t ever, ever, ever, perform a golf shot that requires you to remove your shirt, shoes or socks. When you see the guy on TV do this, it makes a $10k to $20k difference in his placing. For you, it’s a bet that may involve a beer. Instead of trying the impossible and losing another shot to your competitors, do the smart thing and drop a ball. Lying two dry is much better than lying 4 wet.
  
• Probably the biggest tip that there is regarding trouble spots on any course is knowing the local rules. Every course has them, and most of the time they are posted. But let’s say that there is a lake on 15 and you hit it in there right from the tee box. You walk up to the point of entry and drop your ball. You failed to see that there was a drop area 50 yards from the green that is for ALL shots that entered the water hazard because you didn’t know the local rules. Many courses set these up to avoid issues and speed up play. Knowing this can save you hitting a second ball in the water and will move you closer to the hole for your third shot.
  
• Finally, and this one isn’t as much of a avoiding trouble as it is avoiding frustration, if you feel that your ball may have gone OB, make sure to announce you are hitting a provisional ball. Drop where you are and hit a second ball. This can be done in any circumstance where you would be facing a stroke and distance penalty. It will save you time and frustration if you arrive at your ball to find it out of play.

Golf is hard enough to play well without having to deal with water, bad lies and poor decision making. When you make your way on to the course again, think about the strokes you have wasted getting out of trouble and look for an easier out. Even if it costs you an extra stroke, the safe play often wins. Remember, we aren’t tour pro’s playing for a million bucks, we’re just some regular guys looking to beat our buddy (or ourselves) during a relaxing round. Playing it safe makes sense for us.

Equipment Deals: Bushnell V3 And A Buy More Save More For The 4th

 

 

Our weekly deals are screaming this week and being led off by the Golfsmith.com special on the Bushnell Tour V3 Rangefinder. Regularly $299.99, they are currently $70.00 off and priced at just $229.98. If you’ve been eyeing one of the top laser rangefinders in the game, this is your perfect chance to save a bundle on one. The “Patriot Pack” edition a Tour v3 Rangefinder, a protective blue neoprene Skinz, a battery, and a premium carry case. It’s also worth taking a look at the Tour V3 Slope version that is regularly $399.99 and is on sale for $309.98. That’s a $90 savings on the top rated Bushnell model. This sale ends soon, so grab yours while you can. There is also a $50

 

Save Up To $90 When You Shop Bushnell Rangefinders at Golfsmith.com!

 

 

Edwin Watts Golf is currently running a buy more, save more deal. When you spend $125 ore more, you get $15 off. If your purchase tops $250, you save $35. If you clear the $400 mark, you save $60. Of course the usual restrictions on non-discount clubs and apparel apply, but if you were looking to stock up on a few things, this is a great time to do it.

 

Buy More, Save More during our 4th of July Sale! $15 off $125, $35 off $250 and $60 off $400! Plus get FREE SHIPPING on orders over $99 – restrictions apply

Budget Beater: Practice This Way To Save Par And Cash

One of the biggest frustrations on the planet is the cost of playing golf. Unfortunately, the cost of practicing can be just as bad. In fact, there are even some locations where practicing can cost more than a round of golf. This is why it is so important to get the most from your practice dollars. Understanding where to work on parts of your game is one of the biggest money saving tips around, and will keep more in your pocket for playing on the weekends.

Right now, most golfers make the mistake of hitting the range once or twice a week to work on their swing keys, timing or correcting an issue from their round the week before. Sure, it’s a helpful practice, but it’s not where they bled the majority of their strokes away last weekend. Shots taken from 100 yards in usually are the culprits in scores rising from 70 to 85. When you play through your last round in your head, how many wedges did you have to the green that missed the flag by more than 10 feet? How many missed the green and resulted in a poor chip. How many long approaches just missed the green resulting in a poor lag putt or pitch? Every one of these easy shots, whether a simple wedge to the green or a pitch over a bunker is what kills a score, not that one drive that missed a fairway or a slice that didn’t go away during the round. If you had an approach to the green, you should be able to get it close enough to save that par.

If you aren’t supposed to just go to the range mid week, what are you supposed to practice then? Let’s start with the busiest club in your bag, the putter. With 30-36 shots a round, the putter is the most active club in your bag during every round of golf. Sure, if you have a lights out putting round, that number could become as low as 27, but that still ranks it as #1 in your bag for 99.9% of any round you’ll ever play. While some tour pro’s pound balls at the range, the smarter players are on the putting green tweaking their stroke for the week. Getting on to a real green is the best way to practice, but since most of us don’t have one in our yard, a practice green can rank a close second. Learn about the pace of your swing, the distance the ball travels and how to read a break. If you get better and better at putting, you’ll start to see strokes fade from your card quickly. If you don’ have time to make it to the course to practice, you can easily bring your putter inside and practice that stroke for 15-20 minutes a day in the living room, office or anywhere you have a decent piece of carpet. Don’t work on anything longer than 6-8 feet. You just want to keep working on making your stroke consistent.

As you continue to practice putting throughout the week, make sure to work in some chipping or pitching time as well. Which one you work on the most will depend on what sort of area you have to practice in. If you are stuck inside, you can work on your tempo and club head position. If you can make it outside and have a little yard or park near you, you can work some full shots. Try for about 10 yards on a pitch and shorter on your chips. Remember, your chipping practice will only work well if you have a green to roll out on to, but the pitch and chip swings should be very similar, which means even just working on being more consistent by making 25-50 swings a day indoors will help your short game cut some strokes from your card.

The 100 yard wedge shot. It’s the tour pro’s bread and butter and most amateur’s weakest shot in their bag. If you could set your ball down at the 100 yard marker on every course and hit it to the green, how many of them would you hit? How many could you put inside 10 feet? How many could you get inside 5 feet? This is the scoring zone and this is where you need to hit the ball close to score your best. So much is made of 300 yard drives and 200 yard 5 irons that almost everyone forgets that those shots are needed once or twice a round. The rest of the time, that 300 yard drive leaves you with a strange approach shot in or brings major trouble into play when you shouldn’t need to worry about it. Working that 100 yard wedge (or 9 iron or whatever club you need to hit from there) will lower your score dramatically more than gaining 10, 20 or even 30 yards on your driver. Developing an accurate approach from that 100 yard mark is what will shave those pitches and chips off your card and leave you staring at a few more birdie putts. When you can start knocking them stiff from that 100 yard marker, you’re scores will start dropping like the putts you’re holing out.

The hardest part of practicing your 100 yard game is where to do it. I know as a younger kid, we took our wedges up to the local football field and set up a few yards behind the end zone and hit balls out on to the field. This really isn’t much of an option today since so many fields are locked or field turf, but any wide open space will work nicely. If you have a GPS or a targeting scope, you can set your distances that way and just hit balls back and forth. If you’re parks system doesn’t allow golfing, check and see if it is ok if you do it with a small hitting mat there. Often times, the parks department will let you do it if you aren’t damaging the soil. If you have no available option for spaces to hit a 100 yard shot, during that range session (or even your on-course round) make a note of the swing you use to hit that 100 yard shot and practice full swings just like it during the week. If you a paved area, grab a portable hitting mat to practice on. if you have a small yard or an indoor space, you may want to do this as well – since the grass you save will be your own.

Overall, you can’t say enough about nailing your shots from 100 yards in. If you set up your round for 100 yard approach shots and your putting is sharp, that 75 is just a few rounds away. The only way to get there is to practice those critical shots on a regular basis, but that practice doesn’t have to cost you a dime. Remember, if you take the average par 4 at 320 yards and can hit a 220 yard tee shot, a 100 yard wedge and 2 putt from anywhere on the green, you will shoot par. The same goes for a 170 yard par 3. If you miss the green with that long tee shot, a great chip solid short putt will save your par. Of course, I don’t want to leave out those 500 yard par 5’s. That same 220 yard drive, that 180 yard par 3 tee shot and a perfect 100 yard wedge has you putting for birdie instead of struggling for par. It works across the board. When you start to allocate time for your practice next week, and especially over the off season, make sure you practice the shots you use the most.

Blog Babble: Leave A Comment–Where Is Your Game Struggling?

If there is one thing I have learned while helping people with their golf games, it’s that no single person has the same problem as someone else. Whether it’s at the range, on the course or even just having a cup of coffee, everyone seems to have a different issue with their game. From hitting the ball in every direction to yippie-putting that destroys an otherwise good hole, I’ve heard them all and have some simplistic tip that can really make a difference in their games. The question now is, how can I take this to the internet and get those tips out there?

This is where I need your help. I need you to tell me what you need help with. Just leave me a comment below and I will make it a priority to include your issue in an upcoming Stroke Saver post.