The Best of 2023
Longer Drives, Avoiding Doubles, More GIRs, Chipping vs Putting, Intension, Continual Improvement, Bias and Variance
Below is a compilation of some of the most popular posts from 2023, along with a few of my favorites.
Skip around or read them all. The links for the full post are at the beginning and end of each section. Enjoy.
How to Hit Longer Drives
What factors lead to longer drives?
There are roughly four factors that affect distance:
Swing Speed
Strike Quality
Launch Angle
Spin
Some of these factors are connected, but improving any of these four factors will generally lead to longer drives.
The PING chart above perfectly visualizes the relationship between these various factors.
On the Y axis, you have Driver/Ball Speed; on the X axis, you have Angle of Attack*.
The chart shows two things:
Faster swing speed = more distance
Positive your angle of attack = less spin and more distance
If you look at the top right of the chart (the best possible scenario for distance), you see a combination of higher club speed, higher angle of attack, and low spin.
*Angle of attack is the angle at which the club moves at impact. A negative angle of attack would be hitting down on the ball more like an iron shot. A positive angle of attack would be hitting up on the ball, which is desirable for the driver. (See below)
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Avoiding Double Bogeys
Avoiding double bogeys might be one of the most important, if not THE most important, factor in lowering your scores. Too often, our pursuit of birdies is the exact cause of our double bogeys.
Jon Sherman of Practical Golf likes to call this “the war on double bogeys.” I couldn’t agree with Jon more. In an old Daily Divot called “Avoiding Doubles,” I used a quote from Jon’s book:
“No matter what level of golfer you are, one of the keys to improvement is limiting double bogeys (or worse). Many players assume that it’s more about making biridies and pars because those scores are more fun.”
In this piece, we’ll discuss the math behind why avoiding doubles is so important and then get into the how-to’s of course management, tee shots, approach shots, putting, and finally, the mental game.
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
How to Hit More Greens
Link: How to Hit More Greens in Regulation
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.
Remember this, if nothing else:
Aim middle back
Take more club
Avoid trouble at all costs
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Chipping vs. Putting
There is not a round that goes by where I don’t see a fellow golfer who’s just off the green, walking up to the ball with a wedge in their hand. I cover my eyes in horror at what’s about to happen.
Just putt it! Fringe, fairway, light rough. If you are just off the green, putting is almost always the best option for mid to higher-handicap players.
Yes, there are exceptions to this, and I’ve made this mistake many times. Here are the stats from Lou Stagner himself:
In this example, a ten handicap player averages the same amount of strokes to get it in the hole for a 5-yard chip as a 58-foot putt. As I said, there are exceptions: bad lies, sprinkler heads, no path to the hole for a putt, etc., but by and large, putting will win out on average.
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Incremental Continuous Improvement
Viktor Hovland took home $18 million this weekend after winning the FedEx Cup Championship, capping off a phenomenal year for the 25-year-old.
Three years ago, after a poor round, Hovland told a reporter that “he sucked at chipping.” He wasn’t joking. Hovland ranked near the bottom of the pack, losing strokes to the field from 2020 to 2022.
But in 2023, Hovland steadily improved his short game, course management, and mental game, leading to three wins with ZERO missed cuts and finishing #4 in the world.
“Throughout the year I feel like obviously short game has improved massively, course management has been a big deal — I’m not short-siding myself as much as I used to — and just handling adversity a lot better because I believe in my game and if I hit one bad shot or make one mistake it’s not the end of the world.”
Hovland is analytical, open to new ideas, and extremely curious. These are all great traits for getting better at anything in life.
Another important factor in Hovland’s success is his understanding of continuous incremental improvement. Not only does he understand how impactful tiny improvements over time can be, but he matches it with the patience required for it to bear fruit.
James Clear of Atomic Habits put it best:
“We convince ourselves that change is only meaningful if there is some large, visible outcome associated with it. Whether it is losing weight, building a business, traveling the world or any other goal, we often put pressure on ourselves to make some earth-shattering improvement that everyone will talk about.
Meanwhile, improving by just 1 percent isn’t notable (and sometimes it isn’t even noticeable). But it can be just as meaningful, especially in the long run.”
Maybe we get just a 5% better at putting, a little smarter at target selection, and a little better at keeping mentally calm throughout a round. Those little (and unnoticeable) improvements start to stack up and compound, leading to lower scores on the course.
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Interview with Club Fitter Kevin Kraft
Link: Interview with Club Fitter Kevin Kraft
T2C: I know you are in the business of fitting clubs, but how often should we be replacing our drivers, irons, and wedges?
KK: Depending on how much someone plays and practices, most drivers should last about 5-10 years. That doesn't mean that technology might not pass that driver by in that time, but drivers aren't disposable. Use for a season and trash. For an average golfer, they should easily get at least 5 years out of a driver.
When I fit a set of irons, I expect the golfer to be able to use those irons for a decade if they want to.
Wedges...I fall in line with what Bob Vokey says...after 75 rounds, you start to lose bite. Someone who plays 100+ rounds a year would do themselves a service by getting new wedges yearly. At least sand wedge and lob wedge. Those are the scoring clubs and we want the most control possible at all times!
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Atomic Habits and Intention
In the bestselling book “Atomic Habits,” author James Clear discusses what is known as implementation intention.
“Implementation intention is a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement a particular habit.”
According to Clear, in a research study of 248 people, researchers divided everyone into three groups with the goal of building better exercise habits.
Control Group
Motivation Group
Intention Group
The control group was only asked how often they exercised. The motivation group was shown material on the benefits of exercise, and researchers explained how it could improve their health.
The intention group got the same material as the motivation group; however, they were also told to formulate a plan for when and where they would exercise over the following week.
They had to write the following: “During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of vigorous exercise on [day] at [time] in [place].”
The results were conclusive. Groups 1 and 2 exercised at least one time a week 35-38% of the time. The third group exercised 91% of the time, double the rate of the first two groups.
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Cognitive Bias
Cognitive bias is a systematic thought process caused by the tendency of the human brain to simplify information processing through a filter of personal experience and preferences. The filtering process is a coping mechanism that enables the brain to prioritize and process large amounts of information quickly.
Cognitive biases are hardwired in all of us and are extremely tough to alter. Knowledge or awareness of said bias does not preclude you from succumbing to that very same bias (although it does help).
Case in point is myself and this newsletter. Writing the newsletter has definitely made me a better golfer, but I am still susceptible to all of the faults and biases I write about.
Every round, there is a shot or multiple shots where I make a dumb decision. I look back on the decision and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Yet I still do it.
We require constant reinforcement. This is why you’ll see various ideas repeated here frequently. No matter how good we become or how many years we’ve been playing, the core lessons of golf will remain the same, and we’ll always be susceptible to those same biases.
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
Accepting Scoring Variance
It took me a long time to accept that my golf scores would fluctuate (a lot). Not every round can be great. Everyone, including pros, has scores that fluctuate, sometimes as much as 15 - 20 strokes. Why would we be any different?
Our scores are like a barbell curve, with most of our scoring being within a certain range around our average. Outside of this first standard deviation, we start getting into lower-probability events (good or bad).
I’ll use myself as an example. In my last ten rounds, I’ve averaged 81 strokes. My standard deviation is four strokes, which means about 70% of my rounds are between 77 and 85. That last 30% is either a really good round or a really bad round. It’s not going to happen that often, but it’s going to happen.
So what can we control?
<CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FULL POST>
If you have any questions or comments about the newsletter, please comment below or email me at the2ndcut@substack.com. I love hearing from readers; don’t be shy.
Have a great weekend!
Today I had 8 pars along with 4 double bogies. Too easily I lose my tempo when I have to wait to long for my next shot. Need to work on my composure. Thanks 2nd Cut. You already told me that. I will do better Monday. 😁