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Data that Breaks 90
Here are the handful of stats that separate golfers who shoot in the 80s from those stuck in the 90s…
Greens in Regulation (GIR)
Greens in regulation is one of the only traditional stats that actually correlates to scoring. Others like number of putts and fairways just don’t matter… but greens? Greens are king.
If you don’t know what a Green in Regulation is, it is real simple. A green in regulation is when you get it on the putting surface in PAR-2 or less for a given hole. That means:
3 shots for a par 5
2 shots for a par 4
1 shot for a par 3
Keep in mind that hitting greens in regulation is hard. The best in the world (think PGA Tour) only average about 13 greens per 18 holes.
So how many do you need to hit to break 90?
To break 90 you need 3-5 Greens in Regulation.
Not 10. Not elite level ball striking… You need 3-5 Greens in Regulation.
Hopefully thats less than you thought. Most of those are going to come on short par 4s and par 5s.
So what happens when you miss the green?
Get the GIRp1 (GIR-pee)
I just made up a stat and it might be the most important idea in this newsletter.
What in the world is a GIRp1 (pronounced GIR-pee)?
It sounds a little funny, but bear with me. A GIRp1 is a Green in Regulation plus 1. That means you now have an extra shot to hit the green or:
4 shots on a par 5
3 shots on a par 4
2 shots on a par 3
This is a mental unlock. It’s difficult to hit a green in regulation, but a GIRp1?
Thats just two competent shots and a short wedge on a par 4. We can handle that. Just avoid the big trouble.
Think about it. On your typical par 72, 18 hole course… To break 90 you just need 17 bogeys and 1 par… Bogey is your friend. For every double you make, you need to make an additional par.
If you were able to get 18 GIRp1s, thats 18 putts for par. You are going to several of those in an 18 hole round. So how many GIRp1s do you need to break 90?
You need 13 or more GIRp1s to have a great chance to break 90. So that’s still not perfect golf. But if you can take the stress out of trying to be perfect and just get GIRp1s… Thats a lot of par putts and hopefully some easy 2 putt bogeys.
The whole goal of the GIRp1?
Avoid Doubles+
Doubles (or worse) are scorecard wreckers. We need to avoid them as best we can, but again… To break 90 we don’t have to be perfect.
Players that break 90 consistently are making 4 or less Doubles. You are allowed to make mistakes. You’re going to make doubles. Just know that realistically for every double bogey (or more) that you make, you need an additional par. That’s making a putt on a GIRp1 or hitting an additional GIR to cancel out the double.
You’re going to avoid doubles by:
aiming away from hazards
choosing a club off the tee that gets in play (not always driver)
when in trouble… prioritize getting out!
no super hero shots
And lastly… one of the biggest causes of doubles…
Avoid 3 putting
It’s a lot of hard work getting the ball on the green. The last thing we want to do is throw it away with a careless 3 putt.
Putting is hard. The hole is small, but we’ve been trained by seeing highlight reels on TV to think we should make every putt.
To break 90, we just need to avoid 3 putts. That means great speed control and discipline to not be overly aggressive on the greens… but still… you don’t have to be perfect
To break 90, Tangent Golfers are making 3 or less three putts. Similarly to Doubles… every time you 3 putt, you need to make up for it with a 1 putt GIRp1 or another GIR.
But 3 putts happen. Especially with putts outside of 30 feet. Putting is hard. Work on speed control and everything gets easier.
Putting it all together
Breaking 90 doesn’t require elite level ball striking. It requires good decisions, managing your misses, and aiming for a lot of GIRp1s!
At Tangent, we aim to make this easier. In an upcoming app update we’re releasing goal oriented checklists in your round report.
We’ll give you the key metrics that help you break through your next scoring milestone and how you stack up.
Quick way to digest it:
If you’re not hitting enough GIR, you need to work on ball striking. Getting yourself in position to hit a few greens.
If you’re not hitting enough GIRp1s, then you’re likely being too aggressive or putting yourself in trouble situations and struggling to get out.
If you have too many doubles, these are big mistakes. Aim away from hazards. Favor the rough over penalties. Make sure you’re not two-chipping.
If you have too many 3 putts, work on speed control. Lag putting is key.
New goal oriented checklists coming to Tangent in the next update.
The round report you already know and love is still in Tangent and an walk you through how to tackle beating any of these metrics with details like green reading, miss directions, etc.
In a future newsletter we’ll show you exactly how to use the rest of the round report to improve your metrics, but hopefully now you see that you don’t have to be perfect to break 90!
Let’s make better decisions, focus on the right tasks, and we can do this consistently. Let’s improve together.
If you want to accelerate your path to breaking 90 and beyond, consider subscribing to Tangent Golf.
Subscribe today to unlock all these features and more.
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