Fairways Hit? Fuhgeddaboudit!

Ability to hit fairways has long been the traditional measure of golf driving accuracy. It is, after all, our goal when we stand on the tee of a par 4 or par 5 hole. But, like most traditional golf statistics, it is one-dimensional. That’s because it asks for a simple Yes/No answer to a question that forces us to focus mainly on the Yes. Why? Because conventional wisdom has us believing that ‘Yes’ is the most positive outcome. But think about it – is that really the case?

Over the past 18 years we have analyzed golf performance at every level – including PGA Tour players – and have concluded that hitting or missing fairways is a statistic of limited relevance. Of far greater importance is the character and severity of the miss. Did the ball land just in the light rough, in a bunker, behind a tree (with or without a shot?), disappear in a pond, or worst of all – go lost or OB?

The higher the level of the player’s golf game, the less relevant is the number of fairways hit to improvement or performance. A recent study of performance on the PGA Tour conducted by two professors at Northeastern University in Boston cited the declining importance of driving accuracy due primarily to increasing driving distances. To support this, during his 2007 seven-event winning streak, Tiger Woods hit only 61% of the fairways. In the final event of that streak at Torrey Pines, Tiger hit only 46% of the fairways en route to victory. Of far greater importance was the fact that Tiger’s tee shots resulted in an ERROR in only 2% of his total attempts. (ERROR = a result that was a penalty, or in a position from which he did not have a normal advancement opportunity for his next shot.)

At the amateur level, the frequency and severity of errors tends to be directly correlated to the handicap. In a study of single-digit handicap golfers that I conducted several years ago, I determined that over 80% of double bogeys began with an error from the tee. A double bogey is the dreaded, scoring anathema for this low handicap group. I have found that these errors have much more to do with long game effectiveness. And developing a strategy to avoid errors is much more important to the improvement process than focusing on the number of fairways hit.

Test your game:
•Step #1: Play your normal game and track your tee shot errors (Remember, ERROR = a penalty, or in a position from which there is not a normal advancement opportunity for your next shot) in your next few rounds to see where you stack up on the chart below. In a typical round, you will have 14 driving opportunities. One error would be 7% (1/14).

PGA Tour 5% errors
0-5 hcp 10%
6-10 hcp 19%
11-15 hcp 30%
16-25 hcp 42%
26-35 hcp 57%

Step #2: Next, play a few rounds where you make conscious choices to avoid these errors and see what effect it has on your score. This means selecting both the club and target that provides the greatest guarantee of success. It might mean using 3-wood or even 5-iron off the tee and playing away from potential trouble. It will take discipline. But if mistakes off the tee are a problem, you will be surprised at the improvements you will see.

(For more detailed information on your own personal Driving Performance, check out the game analysis options available at http://www.shotbyshot.com/.)