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6 Things All Scratch Golfers Do That You Don't!
Joel Tadman outlines the six things all scratch golfers do with the help of data from Shot Scope
Joel Tadman outlines the six things all scratch golfers do with the help of data from Shot Scope
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00:00In this video, you will learn the six things
00:02that scratch golfers do that you don't.
00:04Now, I'm not a scratch golfer, I'm very close,
00:07so I've enlisted the help of Shotscape
00:09and its vast aid to set up actual scratch golfers
00:12so that you will learn exactly what you need to do
00:14to get down to scratch.
00:16Should we get started?
00:28Well, the first thing that scratch golfers do
00:30that you don't is they have an intimate knowledge
00:32of how far they hit each club.
00:34They know exactly how far each club sends the ball
00:37in terms of carry distance as well as total distance.
00:40They know how much playing a fade shot
00:42will affect the distance versus a draw shot.
00:45And they also know how far they can get each club
00:48in terms of maximum distance.
00:49They know if they swing as hard as they can,
00:51what are the maximum yardage they can get out of each club.
00:54And actually, if you look at the Shotscape data,
00:56scratch golfers have only a 20 yard gap
00:58between their average distance with each club
01:02and their performance average.
01:03Now, performance average removes things like miss hits,
01:06poor strikes, chips out from the trees.
01:08So it gives you a better indication
01:10of how far you hit each club.
01:11And that 20 yard gap is good for a scratch golfer.
01:14It increases to 27 yards for a 15 handicap golfer.
01:18So clearly getting that gap as small as possible is key.
01:21And actually, if you do use Shotscape products,
01:23you get a really good sense of how far each club goes.
01:26It will tell you what your average is,
01:28what your performance average is,
01:29and also what your maximum,
01:30or your longest shot you've ever hit with that club is.
01:33So it's really good, useful information to have
01:35on any particular given shot.
01:37Like I've got here, I've got 165 yards to the flag,
01:40and there's bunkers short left and short right.
01:44So I know that I need to hit a club
01:46that's going to cover those bunkers.
01:48Because the most common miss that amateur golfers struggle with
01:51is short of the green.
01:51Obviously, because you're misstriking the club a lot of time,
01:55and scratch golfers do a better job
01:56of striking their iron shots consistently.
01:58And obviously, if you can strike your clubs more consistently,
02:02you're going to get more consistent distance out of it the other end.
02:05But the most important thing is pick a club that you know
02:08is going to take those hazards out of place.
02:10So I know Seven Iron here,
02:11I've got 160 yards to cover that bunker.
02:14I know this club is going to be plenty of club
02:16to take those bunkers out of place.
02:18So let's see if we can put that to the test here with this Seven Iron.
02:31Pretty happy with that one.
02:33So definitely invest in some technology.
02:36Get on a launch monitor.
02:37Find out exactly how far you hit each club.
02:40And just like a scratch golfer,
02:41you're hopefully going to be finding more greens with your approach shots.
02:44Okay, the second thing that scratch golfers do,
02:47which feeds off the first one in terms of knowing their numbers,
02:49is they pick smarter targets when they're approaching the green.
02:53And this is a classic example here.
02:55There's a lot going on.
02:56And the three things that scratch golfers do
02:59when choosing a target for their approach shot
03:02is they veer away from tight flags.
03:05They try and leave themselves an uphill putt where possible.
03:08And they absolutely know their cover number.
03:11So the cover number,
03:12you know, a lot of golfers work off fronts of the greens here.
03:15But as you can see here, the front of the green is here.
03:17But then the lip of the bunker is a lot further on the green.
03:21So you really need to know what your cover number is.
03:23So what is the distance you need to carry the ball
03:26to take all the trouble out of play?
03:28You can see this bunker here, this bunker here,
03:30it's a similar distance up the green.
03:31So if you know you can hit a club
03:33that's going to cover both of those bunkers,
03:36that's going to leave you in a much safer spot
03:38than if you hit a club that's bringing the bunkers
03:41and other things into play.
03:43So again, this is a really good example.
03:44This pin is tucked super tight to that right side of the green
03:48and just over that bunker.
03:50So scratch golfers are picking smart targets.
03:52They're veering away from that pin.
03:54They're aiming at the middle of the green
03:56and they're going to try and leave themselves
03:58an uphill putt where possible.
03:59It's not always possible.
04:00On this particular hole,
04:01you probably want to be just past pin high
04:03putting back down this way.
04:05So scratch golfers are hitting seven more greens
04:07in regulation on average than a 15 handicapper.
04:11So clearly hitting more greens in regulation
04:12is going to help your scores come down.
04:14So if you can do those three things,
04:16you're hopefully going to leave yourself far fewer
04:18sort of nervy chip shots or short game shots around the green
04:21that you're not going to be comfortable with
04:22and you're not going to get up and down that often.
04:24Scratch golfers don't hit perfect shots all the time.
04:27They miss hit shots,
04:28but what they do is they allow for that with their aim,
04:31with the distance they're trying to hit the ball
04:33and that distance is not always to the pin,
04:35it's to the safest spot on the green.
04:38Now the third thing that scratch golfers do that you don't
04:42is avoid those blow up holes,
04:43those holes that you compound errors,
04:46you go from making a bogey to double bogey,
04:48maybe a triple bogey.
04:49And if you look at the ShotScape data,
04:50you can see there's a big difference
04:52in the number of double bogeys
04:54that 15 handicappers make per se versus a scratch golfer.
04:57Scratch golfers are only making 0.2 double bogeys per round.
05:01So clearly they're managing their misses a lot better
05:04because if you look at the driving accuracy data
05:06from ShotScape,
05:07you can see actually scratch golfers
05:08are not hitting many more fairways than a 15 handicap,
05:11but only 3% more.
05:13So clearly it's not about finding more fairways,
05:15it's about minimising the risk
05:17with where they hit their tee shots
05:18and not finding those,
05:20that big troublesome hazards that you get on the course,
05:23fairway bunkers, trees or penalty areas.
05:25Scratch golfers, as you can see from the data,
05:27are much better at hitting fewer tee shots
05:30that land in those situations.
05:32So there's a few things that I think you can do
05:34when it comes to your aim and your strategy
05:36on a hole like this,
05:37particularly one here we've got here,
05:38on the 17th hole at Fulford Heath Golf Club.
05:41It's very tight, there's trees on either side,
05:43but there's also a penalty area down the left.
05:46So clearly right is the favoured side that you want to be on.
05:49And obviously with your strategy and how you aim it,
05:51you can try and mitigate that as best you can.
05:53And one way is obviously to aim down the right
05:55and favour that side.
05:56And if you've hit a draw shape,
05:58allow for that, aim a little bit further right.
06:00Or you could really try and curve the ball away from the trouble.
06:03That's something that's worked for me in the past,
06:05is having a shot shape that you know is going to go one way
06:08and you can allow for that with your aim
06:10and move the ball away from the trouble.
06:12That's going to ensure your ball hopefully stays in play.
06:15If you do get in the trees,
06:16you're not trying to take on that miracle shot.
06:18You're taking your medicine, chipping it out,
06:20knocking it on the green, making a bogey at worst,
06:22and you're not making those really penal double bogeys.
06:25So in this particular hole,
06:28I know there's more trouble down the left,
06:29so I'm going to aim down that left side.
06:31I'm going to make a really exaggerated move
06:33to make sure the ball curves away from that trouble.
06:38And therefore, we should be able to keep the ball in play
06:42and avoid those blow up holes.
06:50There you go, a little gentle fade.
06:52Started on the left side of the fairway,
06:53cut back to the middle of the fairway.
06:54I'm absolutely delighted with that
06:56and do very well to make a double bogey or worse from there.
06:59Now, another area where scratch golfers are especially good is on the greens,
07:03and that is, in particular, avoiding three putts.
07:06Three putts are the silent killers on your scorecard.
07:09And if you look at the data from ShotScape, you can see
07:11you can save yourself four shots around just by avoiding three putts
07:16through far better distance control from long range.
07:19Obviously, it helps to be pretty solid from that inside six-foot range as well,
07:23but lag putting is the key to reducing three putts.
07:27And there's a few things that golfers can do to improve your lag putting.
07:31Obviously, one of them comes down to reading greens,
07:33but when it comes to reading greens from distance,
07:36really focus on that final third of the putt.
07:38When the ball's slowing down, it's going to break a lot more
07:41than at the start of the putt where it's moving faster.
07:43So really focus on the final third of the putt,
07:46look at the slope around the hole,
07:47and see what the ball's going to do when it's slowing down.
07:50The other thing you can do is have a little bit of a system
07:52for controlling your distance.
07:54So I like to use the stroke length to adjust my distance
07:57versus things like speeding up my tempo.
08:01I think having a system whereby you just change distance
08:04by how far you move the putter is going to give you more consistency
08:07in the long run.
08:08So I know that if I move the putter back about 12 inches,
08:11that's going to send the ball 10-foot.
08:13And if I move it back another 10%, that's going to roll the ball 20-foot,
08:17and another 10% is 30-foot.
08:19So if you've got a system in place for controlling distance,
08:21that's certainly going to help.
08:22But the last thing that I think is going to probably help golfers the most
08:25is just that consistency of strike.
08:27Scratch golfers don't miss the middle of the putter all that often.
08:31Obviously it helps if you've got like a mallet putter,
08:33a more forgiving putter,
08:34that's going to mitigate the strike pattern moving around
08:37if you do miss the middle.
08:38But striking the ball out of the middle of the putter phase
08:41is going to give you more consistent distance at the other end.
08:44So a drill that I would thoroughly recommend to all golfers out there watching
08:47is this tee peg drill.
08:48So I've put two tee pegs just outside the width of my putter here.
08:53And obviously the goal is to swing the putter through the gate
08:57and not hit the tee pegs.
08:59That means I know I'm going to be hitting the putt out of the middle of the putter,
09:03and that's going to improve my distance consistency.
09:06So try those few things.
09:07It should definitely help you improve your lag putting from distance.
09:10If you're rolling the ball close to the hole from distance,
09:13that should reduce the number of three putts you have.
09:15Now another thing that scratch golfers do that you probably don't
09:19is they treat shots from within 70 yards as a scoring opportunity.
09:23If you look at the data from ShotScape, you can see 20 handicappers and above
09:28averaging 5.6 holes where they have to take multiple shots to reach the green
09:33from inside 70 yards, whereas a scratch golfer is down at 1.6.
09:37So they very much see, as I said, shots from within 70 yards as a scoring opportunity.
09:42They're getting on the green first time most of the time,
09:45but also when they're getting on the green from that distance,
09:48they're getting it pretty close to the hole.
09:49So they're going to give themselves a chance for a birdie or a par.
09:53So I think there's a few things that I've taken away from this data.
09:56The first is that you really need to practice your pitch shots.
09:59Like not a lot of golfers actually practice pitch shots from between
10:0340 yards and 80 yards.
10:05You see a lot of golfers practicing their putting and chipping before they tee off,
10:08and obviously their long game on the range.
10:09But those in-between distances are actually really important.
10:12So it's important A, you practice them, but B, if you can practice them,
10:16try and practice off grass because when you're hitting off a mat,
10:19it can really mask your areas in your ball striking.
10:22If you do catch the ground slightly heavy on a mat,
10:24the club just glides along it and you strike the ball pretty cleanly.
10:28Whereas if you're striking the ball fat on the grass,
10:31you're going to chuck the ball 10, 20 yards in front of you.
10:33So try and practice on the grass where possible.
10:36And the other thing you really need to do when you're pitching is have a system
10:40for controlling distance, right?
10:41So for me, choose your favorite club to pitch with.
10:44For me, it's my 54-degree wedge, and I like to make three swings to control distance.
10:49So I know with my 54-degree wedge, if I swing my hands to sort of hip height,
10:53that's my 50-yard shot.
10:55If I swing it to sort of belly height, that's my 70-yard shot.
10:59If I swing my hands to shoulder height, that's my 90-yard shot.
11:03And then the full swing goes about 105 yards with a 54-degree wedge.
11:07So have a system that controls distance for you,
11:10and obviously practice that on the grass where you can.
11:13That should hopefully improve your pitching performance
11:16and your scoring ability from this distance.
11:22Nip that one nicely.
11:24Okay, and the last thing that scratch golfers do,
11:27and by no means the least important, is they really lean into their strengths.
11:31Whether that's playing to their favorite yardages, trusting a certain shape off the tee.
11:36They know what they do well, and they build a strategy around that.
11:40And no such example is better here than this particular shot.
11:44They've missed the green.
11:46They've really short-sided themselves.
11:48And, you know, probably a scratch golfer, a good golfer,
11:50could pull a flop shot off here from a tight lie
11:54on more occasions than most abilities of golfer.
11:56But the percentage play is to play a pretty standard chip shot,
12:01pass the pin, and give themselves a putt for the par.
12:04Scratch golfers, they don't hit perfect shots a lot of the time.
12:07And the reason they're scratch golfers is they don't compound errors,
12:10which they clearly have made here by missing the green,
12:12with another error by duffing it in the bunker,
12:14or blading it over the back of the green.
12:16They play the percentages and give themselves opportunities to make par,
12:20and take the double bogeys off the card.
12:22So in this particular situation, we're not going to go for that mega high flop shot.
12:26We're going to play it safe.
12:27Just play a pretty standard elevated pitch shot.
12:30Take our medicine.
12:31Give ourselves a putt.
12:33Coming back the other way, which we might make for a par,
12:35but at worst, a bogey.
12:42So there you go.
12:43Play it safe.
12:44Take your medicine.
12:45Keep those big numbers off the card.
12:47And more importantly, play a shot you're comfortable with under pressure.
12:51You know that you can pull it off.
12:52That's going to help your scores come down.
12:54So that concludes our look at the six things scratch golfers do that you don't.
12:58If you're already doing some of these already, well done you.
13:01You're already on your journey down to scratch.
13:03And if you don't, definitely worth giving some of these a try.
13:05It's going to help you lower your handicap hopefully over the next few weeks and months.
13:10If you're interested in trying out any of the ShotScape products that we've featured in this
13:13video, I've put some links in the description so you can get your hands on those.
13:16Whether it's rangefinders, golf watches, anything that's going to help you get more insights on
13:21your play and accurate distances to the hole, which we've talked about how important that is.
13:25And don't forget to check out all the other videos on the Golf Month YouTube channel.
13:28There's definitely going to be something there that's going to help your game.
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