How do the stats compare between golfers that regularly shoot in the low 70s (scratch players) to those who shoot in the low 80s (10 indexes) and those in the low 90s (20 handicappers)?
In this piece we take a look at the stats and numbers on how the different abilities compare and contrast in all areas of the game – and there’s some really interesting findings. The numbers are from Arccos Golf, with data gleaned from more than 540 million shots from 11.5 million rounds worldwide.
We’ll start with the vital scoring data and then work from the tee all the way up to the green to see how each of these different abilities of golfers fare.
Obviously scratch players shoot lower scores, make more birdies and less bogeys, but just what do those numbers actually look like?
Scratch golfers who use Arccos to track their stats make on average 2.2 birdies per round, which is a whopping 1.5 more than 10 handicappers and a huge 1.9 more than 20 handicappers.
Zero index golfers make an average of 4.6 bogeys per round, which is 3.1 fewer than 10 handicappers and almost half the number that 20 handicappers make, who bogey half the holes they play on average.
There’s even bigger differences when it comes to doubles or worse, with scratch golfers making just 0.7 per round, compared to 2.9 for 10 handicappers and 6.6 for 20 handicaps. Want to shoot lower scores? Avoid doubles!
(Image credit: Future)
But how do scratch golfers shoot those lower numbers? Let’s take a look at the data from drives, approaches, short game and putting.
Driving isn’t always considered the most important part of the game but hitting it long and straight definitely helps, as these numbers show.
Scratch players average 259 yards off the tee with 51% of fairways found, while 20 handicappers average 46 yards less and hit 10% fewer fairways. The 10 handicap numbers are in the middle of those, as you’d expect, with a 233 yard average and 46% of fairways found.
(Image credit: Future)
Scratch golfers’ ability to hit longer, straighter drives then translates into more greens in regulation, closer approaches and therefore more birdies.
The average scratch golfer hits 56% of greens in regulation, which equates to 10 per round. That number drops down to 36% for 10 handicappers, around 6.5, and even further to 20% for 20 handicappers, which equals 3.6 greens in reg per round on average.
(Image credit: Future)
And on the eight occasions when scratch golfers miss the green in regulation per average in each round, they can…
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