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Driving distance, statistics & what's really important in golf!

This week has seen Lee Westwood return to the top of the world rankings once again with his win at the Indonisian Masters. There was a battle for the number 1 spot going on in different continents with Luke Donald also able to hit the dizzy heights of number one with a win in America, unfortunately for Luke he lost in a play off and remained as number 3 in the world. Interestingly the battle between the two English golfers came on St Georges day weekend. With three English golfers taking there place in the worlds top 10, English golf has never been so strong this can also be said of European golf with the 6 of the top 10 being European.

With Luke Donald performing so well recently I thought that I would take a look at something that most amateur golfers are obsessed with and something that is probably the most talked about sat in the bar after your round - Driving distance. So I thought I would consult the statistics and see if it really is important to success in golf.

I have searched the internet and found out the average driving distances of the top ten golfers in the world, here they are in world ranking order:

World Ranking	Name	Driving Average (yards)
1	Lee Westwood	288.3
2	Martin Kaymer	295.7
3	Luke Donald	274.7
4	Phil Mickleson	295.7
5	Graeme Mcdowell	285.8
6	Tiger Woods	289.1
7	Rory Mcilroy	300.1
8	Paul Casey	301.1
9	Steve Stricker	279.9
10	Matt Kuchar	282.4

* Stats taken from European Tour and PGA Tour web sites.

So is it all about distance? Well looking at these statistics there is 26.4 yards between the shortest driver in the top ten; Luke Donald and the longest hitter Paul Casey, that's 2 clubs difference. But Donald is 3rd in the world and Casey number 8.

But how many of these appear in the top ten in driving distance on their respective tours?

First lets look at the European Tour. Alvaro Quiros tops the driving distance with a ball crunching average of 314.8 yards. Interestingly of our worlds top ten only Paul Casey just slips into the top ten at number 10.

Now for the PGA Tour. JB Holmes tops the tours driving distance with an average of 314.5 but interestingly not one of the top 10 in the world appear until Phil Mickleson at number 14.

Both the European Tour and PGA Tour's top ten big hitters contain names that unless you are an avid watcher of both tours you may never of heard of. Why? maybe because they are not winning to make them a house hold name? Of course there are names that you will know, big hitting lefty Bubba Watson, Angel Cabrara, Dustin Johnson and Robert Karlsson.

So at present the Number 1 golfer in the world Lee Westwood is lagging behind the worlds longest drivers by 26 Yards, again 2 clubs difference. If we compare to this Luke Donald who very nearly was number 1 this week he is a whopping 40 yards behind Alvero Quiros. However whilst Westwood and Donald sit at number 1 and 3 respectively Quiros is number 26 in the world.

So I would say that this shows that it is not all about distance off the tee. Although all the pros hit it a good distance (because they have to with the courses they play) it is not the be all and end all. Yes i agree its great to crunch a drive over the 300 yard mark but its not necessarily going to give you automatic success on the course. For long hitting to be effective it also has to be coupled with accuracy. I would also argue that distance is of less importance to amateur handicap golfers as for one they are playing on courses that are a lot shorter than the pros, and secondly they have more shots to play with as they have a handicap.

So what is important?

To research this I took a look at the statistics from The Masters at Augusta and where eventual winner Charl Schwartzel appears with his stats for the week. The Masters web page has a leaderboard for the following stats:

Birdie leaders
Greens in regulation
Driving distance
Driving accuracy
Sand saves
Putting
Par 3 birdie leaders
Par 4 birdie leaders
Par 5 birdie leaders

So which of these stats do you think Schwartzel appeared in the Top 10?

Only 2! You are probably thinking he was in the top 10 for birdies for definite? but no he finished 14th for birdies with a total of 17, 6 behind Jason Day with 23.

The two sets of stats he was in the top ten for the week were birdies on par 3's where he was 8th with 4 and putting where he finished 2nd behind Luke Donald with an average of 1.42 putts per green. Interestingly the best putter for the week Luke Donald with an average of 1.42 putts per green recently had some coaching on his putting.

Unfortunately there are no stats for up and downs. But what these stats do show is that to win a tournament you have to be putting well and be consistent through out your game. There were 13 guys that had more birdies than Schwartzel but they didn't end the week wearing the green jacket, why? because they were to inconsistent and had more bogeys. Whilst putting takes up 40% of the game so it is always important to putt well if you are going to play good golf.

So what can we learn from this?

Well currently the world ranking are showing that consistency is king. Neither Lee Westwood or Luke Donald have won a major yet both could be sitting on top of the pile as number one this week. Why? because they have consistently performed week in week out. With the world ranking points being heavily weighted towards the Majors this just goes to show just how consistent the likes of Westwood and Donald have been.

So on your next trip to the range what are you going to practice? are you going to stand there beating your driver trying to get the ball to dissapear over the trees at the back? or are you going to work on consistency and get out on the putting green and start holing more putts?

Best Wishes and Happy Golfing

Tom

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The Masters, Rory & dusting off the clubs

So the first major of the year has come and gone and it was all smiles and cheers for South African Charl Schwartzel who took the green jacket with an impressive last round 66 to finish 14 under par. I cant remember the final day of a major being anywhere near as exciting with so many changes at the top of the leader board. Tiger showed glimpses of his former self with some excellent golf, however cant help but feel that the Tiger of old would not have missed such putts as his eagle attempt on the Par 5 15th. The final day also saw some great golf from fellow English men Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. Both are yet to win a major, but surely these guys are to good not to? Another highlight of the Masters was to see Sergio Garcia's name at the right end of the leaderboard, a man with so much talent untill he gets the flat stick in his hand. Would be great to see Garcia rekindle his feel with the putter and get back to his best during the 2011 season.

Whilst the likes of Schwartzel, Woods, Donald and Westwood were moving in the right direction unfortunately for Rory Mcilroy he did the opposite. I for one felt sick watching his collapse on the 10th hole on his way to recording a final day 80 to finish tied 15th. It is easy to forget that Rory is only 21. The way that he conducted himself in interviews throughout the tournament was a credit to himself, he came across as a very mature 21 year old and I am positive that he will soon be slipping on green jackets and winning majors. In one of his interviews he talked about his aggression and how he plays attacking golf. He said that he cant be as attacking and aggressive at Augusta with the sloping greens and tough pin placements. But he then went on to say he has to be aggressive to where he is aiming, in other words he needs to commit to the shot that he has chosen. This is very important in golf, you need to select your shot and commit to it for the best results!

The way Mcilroy has conducted himself since the Masters has also been very commendable. Rory shared a flight from Augusta to Malaysia with the winner Charl Schwartzel and posted a picture of him with his arm round Schwartzel in his green jacket with the comment "Flying to Malaysia with Charl, glad one of us has the green jacket on". On another one of his Tweets he also posted a picture of him on the 10th at Augusta right next to the club house along with the comment "Apparently i was spotted house hunting last week.....LOL". I think these two tweets really do show the character of Mcilroy and along with his 3rd place finish at the Maybank Malaysian Open the week after the Masters shows that he will not let his final day Masters experience haunt him. I for one would be very surprised if he wasnt world number one in the future and have a number of majors to his name.

The Masters has also inspired me to dust of the clubs and get out there playing again. I have taken to the range to get some practice in. First port of call the basics! My posture was looking lazy and tired so lots of work has been done to get myself in a position to let the golf swing happen. This has meant i have had to work hard on getting my back and weight in the right position, it feels very uncomfortable but this is only because its a position I am not used to, it will soon feel comfortable the more I do it. Posture is so important in golf, golfers need to be in a balanced position in order to get the best out of their golf swing. During my coaching it is one of the most common faults I see but is also a simple thing to change. (If you need help with your posture look out for my posture tip on my web page!)

I have also spent a lot of time on the short game area developing my touch and feel. The short game is such an important part of golf and is essential to posting low scores. With 60% of golf being played within 100 yards 60% of your practice should be dedicated to chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting! At The Shropshire we are lucky enough to have a Par 3 course which is fantastic to help develop your short game however I hardly ever see members use it which just baffles me.

I have also entered my first tournament of the year the Glenmuir Club Pros Championship qualifier at Little Aston. Little Aston is one of my favorite courses, it was my home course when I was at Uni so I know it well and hopefully this will help come the day of the tournament.

The intend to keep up the hard work on my swing with a coaching session next Saturday and back in the gym working on my fitness tomorrow morning, lets just hope the good weather continues!!

Best Wishes & Happy Golfing

Tom

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The Masters Is Here & Its time for my first ever blog!

The masters is here and signals the start of the golf season. This year it is being televised on Sky Sports and will also include the Par 3 Championship. This is the first time that the Par 3 competition has been televised so should be a very interesting spectacle! The winner of the Par 3 championship has never won the main event! Maybe this year someone could buck the trend?

Every year I have a little flutter on The Masters and this year will be no different. I will be firing up my Sky Bet account to back 3 or 4 golfers who take my fancy. I can never bring myself to back an American, maybe this is a failing that may have caused me to lose more than I win but this year will be no different and I will be backing our own Europeans. First that takes my fancy is Paul Casey, he has done well around Augusta in the past and the course set out suits him with his long hitting and high ball flight, he will just need a good week with the flat stick! Secondly Luke Donald has been playing really well in recent weeks and after a change in putting grip has seen his putting improve with him reporting on Twitter that he had 19 putts in 18 holes during a practice round last week! My final bet will be Lee Westwood, this guy is just to good and consitent not to win a major and it would be great for him to finally break the duck at Augusta in the first major of the year!

Other news that has come from Augusta is Ian Poulter claiming that Tiger wont make the top 5 this year. Tiger has responded by saying "Poulter's always right isnt he". I think it would be dangerous to back against Woods finding his form even though he hasnt been at his best the man is sure to repeat his old form at some point if not just for a week. His preperations are always geared around peaking at majors so it will be a case of watch this space with Tiger! Heres just a little taste of what he can do around Augusta http://bit.ly/gPahNU

As well as the Masters this weekend sees Shropshire and Herefordshire searching for golfing talent at both Shrewsbury Golf Club and my base at The Shropshire Golf Centre. Youngsters will be put through there paces with a number of skills challanges testing there long game and short game in a hope that they have the talent to grab themselves a place on the County Coaching Program. If you know anyone who would be interested in taking part in the talent spotting please visit http://bit.ly/eu5I9j for more details.

A nice little short article for my first Blog. I hope you all enjoy watching The Masters and it inspires you to get out on the golf course and range and start improving your games!

Best Wishes and Happy Golfing

Tom

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Driving distance, statistics & what's really important in golf!

The Masters, Rory & dusting off the clubs

The Masters Is Here & Its time for my first ever blog!