The End of the Golfing Season
“What kind of year did you have Bobby?” It’s a good question that doesn’t have an easy answer. I’ve been asked that question several times in various ways. “Oh, you’re going to Q-School? What’s that mean?” Or I hear, “Thought you had a great year Bobby. How do you feel about it?” Well, golf is a process.
In my mind, I say, “It is what it is!” It is either a good year or a bad year, depending on the story you want to build around it. The same could be said of life. It’s all about one’s perspective.
But having an analytical mind, whenever I evaluate a year, I have to break it down. Golf is a process of building many different facets of the game and bringing them all together. One good place to start is to compare events and results with the previous year. Here is what the statistics say:
My 2010 Champions Tour My 2011 Champions Tour
Events Played 15 Events Played 17
Money Earned 389,811 – 45th Money Earned $229,645 – 57th
Scoring Avg. 71.0 – 31st Scoring Avg. 71.34 – 43rd
Driving Distance 285.5 – 11th Driving Distance 276.9 – 28th
Driving Accuracy 66.35% – 66th Driving Accuracy 61.59% – 73rd
GIR % 68.02% – 41st GIR% 68.00% – 46th
Sand Save 52.27% – 15th Sand Save 46.75% – 44th
Putts per round 29.24 – 22nd Putts per round 29.10 – 20th
Putts per GIR 1.779 – 29th Putts per GIR 1.776 – 28th
Scrambling % 55.21 – 57th Scrambling 57.99% – 38th
Birdies Per Round 3.94 – 16th Birdies Per Round 3.75 – 31st
Bounce Back 21.74% – 26th Bounce Back 24.49% – 17th
Top 10 Finishes 3 Top Ten Finishes 1
Best Finish T4 Best Finish T5
All-Around Ranking 28th All-Around Ranking 39th
So what does all this mean? The most glaring stat was driving, both distance and accuracy. I had switched drivers at the beginning of the year to one that was not a good fit for me. I used it for about half of the events, then went back to the driver I used the year before. My stats improved during the second part of the year. Now I have a new Nike driver after spending four days at “The Oven” (more on this incredible Nike facility and experience in a future article) that I am confident will be better than either of the other two I was using.
But it’s not all equipment. If I can simply raise my GIR (Greens In Regulation) stat by one green per round, I would be the leading money winner. That’s the fine line we live by on the Champions Tour. My driving accuracy will need to improve to accomplish this. I have made a recent discovery in my swing that I think will be the difference. I’ve also made some improvements to my putting and to my course preparation with regard to reading the greens better. All in all, I’m getting rid of the rust and can’t wait for next year!
