I'm somewhat of a golf stats nerd. I have a spreadhseet marking my stats from the various rounds I played in 2010. I figure it's a way for me to see what I need to work on to improve. I'm also just curious to see how the numbers end up at the end of the year.
With my 2010 Golf Trip in the books, I wanted to share some interesting stats with you.
- How many strokes does it take to get through a golf trip? If you're me, the answer is 429. In the five rounds we played (four regular and a scramble), I had a total of 429 strokes. If you take out the scramble, it's 351 strokes in fours rounds which comes out to 87.75 strokes per round.
- How Important is putting? Of the 351 strokes I made during my tournament, 132 of those were putts. It comes out to 33 putts per round. Clearly in golf the putter is the most used club of any.
- Greens in Regulation (GIR): The book I just finished by Doc Rotella said amateurs hit the green in regulation about 33.3% of the time. Pro's, it's closer to 66.6%. In my four rounds I hit 21 GIR. This means I hit the Green in Regulation 29.1% of the time. It also tells me I need to work on my chipping.
- Fairways in Regulation (FIR): I hit 29 fairways of a possible 56. That's about 51% which I think is pretty good but if it doesn't translate to a GIR, what good was it?
- Penalty Strokes: I hate penalty strokes. In total I had 10 penalty strokes from lost balls or hazards. On average, it cost me about 2.5 strokes per round. Factor in the cost of losing a ball and these strokes become even more frustrating.
(Losing golf balls can cost you money and strokes... don't try this on your own.)
- Visiting the Beach: Something most amateurs, including myself, never work on is our sand game. I played out of the sand 11 times during my trip. What this stat doesn't show you is the end result of playing from the sand. In most cases, I barely got the ball out and it in turn cost me another stroke. This is something I'd like to work on for next year.
Golf Trips are not just about golf. They're about hanging out with your buddies and sharing the same stories you shared the year before... and the year before that... and the year before that. For some reason, these stories are still funny.
Other Notable Golf Trip Stats
- Travel: I had the shortest trip this year traveling only going 136.1 miles. Easy for me but the furthest guy had to travel 422.2 miles.
- Cases of Beer: We bought 7 cases of beer while we were there. For those of you who didn't know, Delaware is home of Tax Free Shopping which saved us a couple bucks a case. This doesn't include other beverages purchased or consumed at the golf courses.
- BBQ: We got the most out of our grill. Of the four nights were at the house, we used the gas grill 3 times. It was cheap to run out and by food to cook on their and it left little mess in the kitchen.
It's Not Too Expensive
One of my biggest concerns about golf trips was thinking they're too expensive. We have 10 guys in our group who go every year and cost is always something I worry about. I want to make sure everyone can go but we still play some of the best courses in the area.
If you look at my previous posts, you can see we played some really great courses and stayed in an incredible house all for $537 per person. By staying in a house we cut back on eating out (we ordered pizza the first night) and going to the bar. If everyone chips in whatever they can, the cost is more affordable than you think.
Don't put off you're golf trip, you can afford it!
2010 Golf Trip Links
If you are intending on booking a golf holiday, then booked through a reputable golf travel company and your golf trip is covered by way of golf travel insurance.
Posted by: Golf Trip | 10/25/2010 at 10:37 PM
haha I have some pretty great stories to tell about my golf trip I recently took. Good times in Myrtle Beach!
Posted by: Myrtle Beach Golf | 01/15/2011 at 06:12 PM
Nothing better than a golf trip with your buddies!
Posted by: WAMGolf.com | 01/15/2011 at 10:35 PM