With the offseason approaching, there's no better time to take a good look at your own game and figure out which part to fix.
But which part should you fix first?
That's the question we addressed in the most recent episode of the Golf IQ podcast, sparked by my colleague's recent article: Who are golf's five-tool players?
It's a clever analysis which uses Strokes Gained to describe the strengths and weaknesses in a player's game. It inspired me to run a smaller, impromptu analysis on 80s shooters' games (which we wrote about here).
What good tools do low 80s shooters have? And which ones do they need to add?
Here are two quick takeaways inspired by Jamie's analysis:
How to know if you need more distance
Somewhat surprisingly, the most common one-tool skill among low 80s shooters is putting. Meaning, putting is the clear strength of someone's game. The most common two-tool skill among low 80s shooters is putting and chipping. These are the golfers whose crafty short game makes up for their substandard long game.
If this sounds like you...
You're probably a prime candidate to go chasing more swing speed. Adding distance may sound daunting, but in many ways it's the simplest skill to add compared to a bad putter learning how to be a better one.
It can be as simple as investing in a speed training aid, or even getting a new driver fitting, and it's why you see lots of one and two-skill tour players try to make more distance their third tool.
When to chase the boring solution
You know what was the least common tool among the 80s shooters we analyzed? Driving. Meaning, it's pretty rare to find a low 80s shooter who is a really good driver of the ball.
Sure, there may be an 80s shooter who hits the ball far, and hits good drives, but those good ones are offset (and then some) by foul balls that fly out of bounds.
If this sounds like you...
It's tempting to want to overhaul your weaknesses when you see them, but when there's a clear weakness in your game remember that it's your atrocious shots that are SG: Killers. That drive OB, or stupid three-putt.
Often the solution won't be as glamorous or revelatory as you might think. It may mean playing a little smarter, or nailing down your fundamentals. It's just about doing the boring stuff, a little bit better.
You can listen to the full episode below (and subscribe here!)