Shot Scope Case Study #2: George’s Poor Greenside Play

George is a long-time user of both Shot Scope V1 and now V2. We met George when one of our team members happened to play with George at an event last month. George mentioned his scoring and handicap had climbed from 4 to 6 over the past year and that he couldn’t pinpoint the cause. George hadn’t made any significant swing changes although he did change his wedge set-up.

In 2017, Shot Scope identified poor gapping with his PW, 49°, and 56° wedges. This season, George altered his setup to use a PW, 50°, 54°, and 58°. The Shot Scope team decided to work with George on a case study and see if we could identify a cause for his increased handicap.

George’s Stats

George’s game overview shows he is now a 6 handicap, and his general game is in a good state. George mentioned that he plays 4/5 times a week (he is retired) at different courses and in competitions. He doesn’t hit the ball too far, but with 64% fairway success he is accurate with the Driver. With no obvious red flags, the team decided to look at George’s wedges, since that is the only change he has made.

Avg. Wedge Distances

As you can see from the Shot Scope V2 Data, George’s gapping has improved with the new wedge set-up. When he added the extra club, George removed his 4-iron, which he hardly used since he carries a 23° Hybrid. This was definitely the correct decision for George, and it’s great to see the difference between his 2017 and 2018 distances.

Short Game Performance

When looking into George’s short-game performance data, we found something intriguing. George uses a lot of clubs around the green, playing predominantly at a links course there should be a lot of chip and runs. He has a poor proximity to hole average with his 50°, 54°, 58°, 50°, and 23° hybrid. Those clubs account for 64% of his greenside shots. It’s possible there could be a bias towards using the new wedges at an increased frequency, and the inaccuracy could boil down to a lack of practice with the new lofts. There are obvious reasons to use high-lofted wedges around the greens; e.g., out of bunkers or other situations where obstacles must be carried, but on true links courses like the ones George plays, he could play more chip and runs. There is little reason to use the hybrid as the data suggests that George is not very good with this shot.

Short Game Potential

We sent George an example of what his short game could look like if he decided to use specific clubs for short game shots, and how without changing technique, he could improve his scoring. We are aware that there will still be an occasional need to use high-lofted clubs around the green, but most golfers can benefit from lofting down around the green.

Not only could George improve his average proximity to the hole by 2.3 feet, but he could also potentially get up and down 11.5% more often.

Showing George the potential performance of his short game should encourage him to loft down around the greens and ultimately lower his handicap. George may not be able to resist using the higher lofted clubs around the green, but that is the goal.

Recommendation

George should attempt to use his putter, PW, 9i, and 8i more around the greens and not to use the H23 or 50 at all. George should monitor his stats to see if can attain the potential usages per club and maintain the up and down ratios.

GET YOUR SHOT SCOPE GAME EVALUATION

Would you like to take part in a Shot Scope Case Study? If you are a Shot Scope user with over 15 rounds in your account, enter your details below – including handicap, location, and the area of the game you think requires work. Shot Scope will select different users and compile reports.