How to Hit More Greens in Regulation
On Thanksgiving, my dad and I talked about golf, and he lamented about his lack of Greens in Regulation (GIRs). I then asked him a hypothetical. What yardage would you play to a front pin 130 yards out? He answered, probably about 130 yards.
Wrong answer. Sorry, Dad, I didn’t mean to throw you under the bus, but it’s for a good cause. Let’s get started.
First off, let’s establish just how important GIRs are to your handicap and scores. In the chart below, we can see that as GIR % rises, handicap drops in unison. I don’t think you need much convincing on this front. Approach shots are crucial to improving your game.
So, how do we hit more greens?
How to Hit More Greens
I won’t bury the lead. The answer is simple.
Aim for the center of the green, with a slight bias towards the back yardage.
Thats it. I promise if you take this approach your GIRs will improve. No changes to your swing, no fancy tricks. You can quit reading now.
But I have a feeling some of you aren’t entirely convinced. And not too long ago, I felt the same way. Let’s dig into some of the math of why aiming at the center of the green and not flag-hunting is the answer.
Take More Club
Amateurs of all handicaps seldom take enough club. The chart below illustrates this issue:
As you can see, amateurs of all levels (even scratch golfers) rarely ever hit their approaches over the green, whereas shots short of the green are much more prevalent.
Lou Stagner had an excellent tweet that showed 0-5 handicappers hit 72% of greens with back pins and only 56% with front pins. They’ve found this to be true with pros as well.
No matter how you slice it, amateurs are biased toward leaving the ball short. So, give yourself a bigger margin for error by taking a middle and slightly back yardage!
Avoid Trouble
The next low-hanging fruit is avoiding trouble. Aim away from bunkers and towards the fat part of the green. The surefire way to big scores is hunting short-sided flags or flags that are closer to bunkers, water, or OB. Don’t be tempted! Play the odds. That’s it!
Fun fact: Jon Sherman said in his book that 72% of the trouble is located on the front side of the green—just more reason to take that middle back yardage.
According to Lou Stagner, For a 10 index, A 15-yard shot from the rough takes the same number of average shots to hole out as a 91-foot putt. I was somewhat surprised by that statistic. But it just shows that the risk of being short-sided or in the bunker isn’t worth it.
Tiger and Scottie
Still not convinced? Tiger Woods has said numerous times publicly that he takes direct aim at a flag maybe once a round. Scottie Scheffler, who leads the tour in GIR %, said this:
"I'm almost always aiming slightly away from the pin. It's a very rare occasion that I'm aiming anywhere near a pin on the short side of the green."
The best in the world know that avoiding trouble and getting the ball on the green is key to lower scores.
An Example of Smart Target Golf
This photo shows exactly what we’ve been talking about. Think of your target as an oval like the one above. You want to overlay that oval the best you can with the fat part of the green while avoiding trouble.
You can see on the left that if you aim at the flag it brings the bunker and a significant portion of the rough into play, leaving you short-sided. The picture on the right gives you a much higher chance of getting the ball on the green, which, as we’ve learned, is much easier to score from.
Parting Words
Caveat
One quick caveat. As you get closer to the pin, 100 yards and in, you can be more aggressive with your targets. The goal should still be to avoid bunkers, not being short-sided, etc, but you can pick targets that are closer to the pin.
Other Factors
There are a few other things you can do to improve GIR % that aren’t strategy-based, such as knowing your true CARRY yardages, improving strike quality, and practicing your wedge game.
Knowing your true carry yardage is extremely important for approach shots. Also, realizing that each club doesn’t have one specific yardage but a range of yardages. For example, my nine iron is my 150 club, but I know that, in reality, it’s somewhere between 145 and 155. I use this range when trying to overlay my dispersion oval to the fat part of the green.
Strike quality comes from improving your swing, which is best done by getting lessons. Your dispersions will start to narrow as you improve strike quality, and GIRs will increase.
Practicing your wedge game is paramount if you want to lower scores. I made it a point of emphasis to focus on 125 and in. I did this by having a stock shot for 125, 100, 75, and 50 yards. By practicing those shots you start to develop a feel and confidence, which should translate to the course and more GIRs.
You Will Be Tempted
Despite all of the information I just laid out, you will most likely abandon this strategy at some point during a round. Even if you nodded your head in agreement this whole time, the allure of the flag is sometimes too strong to resist. I know because I still do it! But you must resist! Wait for the moments where the smart play coincides with the flag. Those can be your green lights.
Remember this, if nothing else:
Aim middle back
Take more club
Avoid trouble at all costs
Good luck and til next week.
I feel --- better about future GIRs, even from under the bus.
Preach.