When I think of Matt Fitzpatrick, one of the first things that comes to mind is just how deep he gets into the details of his game. This is a player who has built a reputation around tracking everything: yardages, speeds, tendencies and patterns. If there’s a number tied to it, there’s a good chance he’s looked at it.
But instead of looking at that and thinking it’s a bit extreme, I find myself more curious than anything. If you’re tracking that much, you’re doing it for a reason.
And that’s what stood out to me in this video.
It’s not that Fitzpatrick is looking at everything all the time. It’s that there are a few numbers he clearly pays attention to when he practices and at least one that he doesn’t seem to prioritize in the same way. Here’s what I found most interesting watching him practice and think.
He knows his carry distances (and what they should be)
The first thing that stands out is how clearly Fitzpatrick understands his carry numbers.
Throughout the video, he references how far a shot should go and compares it to what it actually did. You’ll hear him call out expected yardages and then check them against normalized numbers.
What’s important here is the consistency of that process.
He has a baseline for each club and uses it as a reference point. When something is slightly off, it’s noticeable. When it lines up, it reinforces that everything is working as expected.
The normalized numbers also play a role. Conditions can change from day to day, and those adjustments help him understand whether a difference is coming from the environment or his swing. Distance control, even for the average player, starts with knowing your typical carry, not just your best one.
His yardage gaps are intentional (and wider than you think)
Fitzpatrick mentions that his yardage gaps are usually around 12 to 13 yards and that he previously worked with gaps closer to 10 yards but found them to be too tight.
By spacing things out slightly more, he creates more defined roles for each club. That can make it easier to commit to a shot without second-guessing the selection.
For amateur golfers, this is often where inconsistencies show up. Gaps aren’t always evenly spaced and sometimes there are no gaps at all. It’s easy to try to compensate with swing changes. Fitzpatrick’s approach is very structured. The gaps are consistent and each club has a clear purpose.
He watches club speed—but uses it as a check
Club speed is another number Fitzpatrick pays attention to but not because he’s trying to push it in a practice session.
He mentions that he keeps an eye on it because a drop in speed can point to something being off, whether that’s fatigue or something in the swing.
If the number stays consistent, there’s no reason to focus on it. If it changes, it can help identify where to look next.
This is a useful distinction because a lot of golfers tend to treat club speed as something to maximize rather than something to monitor. If you’re constantly tracking speed for the sake of pushing the limit, you may want to try monitoring and see what that does for your game.
The number he doesn’t obsess over
Spin is one of those numbers you might expect someone like Fitzpatrick to really dig into but that’s not how he approaches it.
He explains that it’s something he’ll keep an eye on but not something he’s looking at in detail every time he practices. Instead, he’ll hit a few shots, typically with different irons, just to see where things are.
If the numbers look normal, he moves on. If something is clearly out of line, then it becomes worth a closer look. He’s not trying to fine-tune spin from session to session. He’s using it more as a quick check to make sure nothing has drifted too far from what he expects.
For a lot of golfers, spin turns into something they chase without really knowing what it should be. Fitzpatrick teaches a good lesson here. You have a general idea of your numbers, you confirm they’re still in a good range, and you only spend time on it if there’s a reason to.
Final thoughts
This video is a great lesson on how to approach practice with data.
Fitzpatrick isn’t trying to analyze everything at once. The numbers he focuses on help him understand how his clubs are performing and whether anything has changed. If you’re working with numbers in your own practice, it’s a good reminder that not all data needs the same level of attention. Knowing which numbers matter most can make the process a lot more manageable.
Top Photo Caption: Matthew Fitzpatrick hits a drive during a Masters practice round. (GETTY IMAGES/David Cannon)
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