I’m all for deeper data. Strokes Gained, dispersion patterns and tendencies are great tools, especially when you’re trying to practice smarter. But if you want to understand why your scores look the way they do on the card, you don’t need to overcomplicate it.
You have to accept the boring truth.
The stats that explain scoring better than anything else aren’t exciting. You’ll read them and think, yeah, I know. Fairways, greens and putting. But the reality is this: if you focused on just one of these areas, you’d likely make more progress than chasing swing changes or tracking a dozen different numbers.
We asked Shot Scope to analyze scoring data across different scoring ranges and these three stats consistently explain why golfers shoot in the 100s, 90s, 80s, 70s or 60s.
Tee shots in trouble
This is the most influential scoring stat in amateur golf.
Tee shots that end up in trees, deep rough, bunkers or penalty areas immediately put on more pressure, often turning a routine par opportunity into damage control.
Average tee shots in trouble per round
- 100s: 6.5
- 90s: 4.9
- 80s: 3.3
- 70s: 2.0
- 60s: 0.9
If you’re shooting in the 100s, you’re hitting roughly seven times as many troublesome tee shots as golfers shooting in the 60s. That gap alone accounts for a large portion of the scoring difference.
Greens in regulation
Greens in regulation remains one of the cleanest indicators of scoring potential. We just did a deep dive into greens in regulation (Does GIR really help your score?) and how much of an impact it has on your score.
Hitting more greens means fewer scrambling attempts, fewer short-sided misses and far fewer holes that turn into big numbers. Where the ball lands on the green is important but getting it on the green is the bigger part of the battle.
Average greens in regulation per round
- 100s: 1.8
- 90s: 3.6
- 80s: 5.4
- 70s: 9.0
- 60s: 10.8
Golfers shooting in the 70s hit five times as many greens as golfers shooting in the 100s. Greens in regulation and fairways hit also go hand in hand. If you have five tee shots in trouble, you’ll likely have a chance at five fewer greens in regulation.
Three-putts
Many higher scores are often driven by poor putting distance control rather than missed short putts. Long putts that run well past the hole or come up short create stress-filled second putts that add up quickly.
Average three-putts per round
- 100s: 3.2
- 90s: 2.3
- 80s: 1.5
- 70s: 0.9
- 60s: 0.5
If you’re shooting in the 100s, you’re giving away at least two more strokes per round through three-putts than golfers shooting in the 70s. Preventing three-putts doesn’t require a perfect stroke, just better pace control and awareness.
Final thoughts
None of these stats is exciting.
However, if you simplified your focus to just one of these areas, you’d probably see improvement faster than you expect. I’ve always hated the general blanket advice given to golfers to just “work on your short game.” Yes, it’s important and it will save strokes but keeping the ball in play off the tee may be the first project you want to tackle.
Gary
5 months ago
This is all great, but in order to hit more fairways and greens you need to know the advance numbers of how you hit and your tendencies.
Saying hit more fairways is useless, just like this article. Knowing the details of how you need to manage and navigate the course is important.