Updated stats, handicap, press and travel plans

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, but I finally had a chance to update some of the info on the stats page. I posted a current list of my handicap trend, new graphs breaking down the last 15 rounds, a scorecard from the best round to date and also updated the stopwatch with the most recent number of hours remaining. All things that I would like to upload more often, but at times these have to take a back seat to practice and the rest of life’s mini-journeys.

A couple more of those journeys are coming up this week. This time they are all interview oriented; two where I am the subject and two where I am asking the questions. First off, NPR is finishing up a story. I’ve been speaking with a sports correspondent there for some time and we finally managed to meet last week. He has a few other audio pieces to get before the story if finished and hopefully we can do that while I practice or play this week. Also, CNN is doing a longer piece and are flying to Portland to follow me around both Wednesday eve and all day Thursday. I have a lesson on Thursday they might film and a round Wednesday. It’s always fun to hit balls and play with the added pressure of it being captured for TV. Reminds me of the first TV interview early on in The Dan Plan. At the time I was pretty new to the full swing and was so nervous that I might actually miss the ball on camera. I didn’t miss, but did have a bit of the shanks going on. Three years later and my set of concerns has drastically changed. Now I sit here wondering if I can eagle the first par 5 and capture it on tape

After that interview I am going to NYC for two days to meet with David Epstein and Gary Marcus. Both Gary and David have written wonderful books on learning and I have been hoping to meet up with them for some time. They will both be available this weekend so it’s a good time to make the trek east. There may be a free day so if anyone is around and wants to meet up let me know. Hard to say what the exact schedule will be right now, but it should be a good trip and a fast one. If all goes as planned both of their interviews will be up on the site one day soon.

In other news, I had not checked on my handicap in a while and was pleasantly surprised to see it had dropped below a 4 to a new record low. Today it is a 3.3, which is great from a progress point and just means I need to start playing the game even better to get it to continue to drop. I’ve had a couple of rounds that posted under a 2 and one that was my first negative number: the round two under par posted as -1.7. I have also had a couple of high rounds recently, but that’s the way of golf. Even the pros go from shooting a 63 one day to 76 the next, a-la Phil Mickelson last weekend. It’s so interesting how at any level and on any given day such a wild variety of outcomes is possible. To me, that’s what makes this game so special.

The good news is that I have been shooting decent scores lately without making any putts. Not sure if it’s the fact that a lot of greens around here are punched and bumpy or if my putting is just off or if my irons are not tight enough, but I’ve been having rounds where I shoot between 75-80 with way too many putts. A year ago if I shot in the 70s it was because I had less than 28 putts and made everything. Lately I’ve been hitting the ball well and chipping well then lipping a lot of close ones out. The next progress leap will be from both hitting the driver better and making putts like I know I can. Just a matter of time, as everything is.

To make that next leap, though, I need to really focus on making sure I am actually improving. I spoke with Dr. K Anders Ericsson yesterday and he reminded me just how important keeping track of performance is. In particular, he wanted me to find a new way to measure my current driver ability so that I can be certain that I am moving in the right direction. He said that just noting how often I miss left, right or hit the fairway is not enough and that I need to figure out a system that measures my current level (base level as of today) and allows for regular updates as I progress. Having the ability to measure progress is a huge part of deliberate practice. I just need to figure out what that looks like when working with the driver in particular.

No matter what system I create for keeping tabs on the driver, a very large part of that progress will be made by working more with Bruce Furman. Bruce just returned from Palm Springs and will be here throughout the summer. We met last week and after just one lesson I had a much better feel for what I need to work on and exactly how to improve my game. I’m not exactly sure how I progressed (or if I really did) while he was away, but now that he is back I will see him once a week to make sure I am moving in the right direction. Without good eyes on you it’s so easy to revert. In an ideal world, I would be able to afford about 4 hours of lessons a week as well as a 9 hole round once a week for some on course playing lessons. However, this isn’t an ideal world and I will make due with one lesson a week. It’s so much better than zero a week and I love going down there to see Bruce so am happy that he’s back in town. Langdon might be my home every Thursday.

Onward and upward. Time to step it up to get to the next level of play. My current goal is to dramatically improve my tee shot game while getting my putting back. Everything between the driver and the putter is also in for some major practice time. Lesson of the day is that in order to improve you need to know where you are at and then make sure you are moving in the correct direction.

17 Responses to "Updated stats, handicap, press and travel plans"

Aaron says:

May 6, 2014 at 7:03 am

I think if you want to crowd fund for tournament entries, if you make it very transparent and allow people to really follow your progress, you would get funding to do it.

Not sure about getting extra money to take more lessons but maybe there would be spillover from whatever you get for the tourneys, could also cover a bit extra….

But I assume tourneys are next and money will be an issue. Crowdfunding it could definitely work, especially if you promise videos and documentary material to supplement for fans…

Thanks for updating stats!
Brian Kuehn says:

May 6, 2014 at 11:03 am

You discussed a recent round: “…shot a 78 but can’t post it as it poured on a couple of holes creating conditions that did not allow putts so we all just took two putts instead of finishing out, there was a river on the green.”

The USGA handicap system makes allowances for this type of situation.

“4-2. Holes Not Played or Not Played Under The Principles of The Rules of Golf

If a player does not play a hole or plays it other than under the principles of the Rules of Golf (except for preferred lies), the score recorded for that hole for handicap purposes must be par plus any handicap strokes the player is entitled to receive on that hole. This hole score, when recorded, should be preceded by an “X.”

Example: A player with a Course Handicap of 10 receives a handicap stroke on the first 10 allocated handicap-stroke holes. If the player does not play the sixth allocated handicap-stroke hole, which is a par 4, because of construction on the green, the player must record a score of par plus one for handicap purposes, or X-5. (See Decision 4-2/1 and Section 5-2b.)”

So depending on the handicap rating of the hole, you could record either par or bogey even though you did not putt. The score would be eligible for posting to your handicap. You really ought to review the USGA Handicap Manual [ http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Handicap-Manual/ ] If you use your handicap as part of a tournament, people get upset when you haven’t posted all eligible scores. In your case, I doubt the missing scores would likely make a big difference.
Dave Petersen says:

May 6, 2014 at 9:00 pm

1) I’ve read/heard/believed that three strokes a year is good progress in reducing the handicap of a serious golfer. Looks like you are right on line.

The issue of measuring driver is true of all performance driven practice. It’s not just the direction of the miss but the distance. So, what’s the target? It can’t just be “over there” or “out there”. My suggestion is get out the yardage book, and mark a target on each hole, for each shot (tee, second/approach/ green. Then measure +/- based on that target. This will get you working on both accuracy, and course analysis.

Just my 2 cents, and probably worth all of that.
nick ehret says:

May 8, 2014 at 11:17 pm

Dan, in regards to your putting…. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out a putting genius by the name of Geoff Mangum. He is on youtube, there is a hour long video by gotham golf blog where he talks about his credentials and theories. It is incredible. Just give it a look. It will help, I PROMISE.
Joel says:

May 9, 2014 at 8:39 am

A potential idea regarding driver scoring.

If you are left or right of target (regardless of fairway or not) you record a 1, 2, or a 3 beside left or right. 1 being off by maybe 10 yards. Not a ‘miss’ persay, but not perfect. 2 being 20 to to either side and 3 being 30 yards, or a bad miss. And then record initial direction, and flight path, like SD for straight draw, LH for a pull-hook, etc.

Then you’ve got how FAR you landed from your target, and why you landed there. (in air movement or initial direction) This gives you a way to measure shots off target even if they are in the fairway, (because if you are trying to line yourself up for a corner by landing on the right edge, ending up on the left edge of the fairway is likely a much larger miss than landing in the deep stuff just right of the fairway.) and it gives you an indication of what made the majority of the shots miss target.

It’s not super simple, but writing 2R, SF (20 yards right, straight fade) on the card isn’t going to take that much time, and you could easily run analysis using a spreadsheet on which misses you are having most often, and which are hurting you the most (or which have the highest degree of severity in terms of yardage)
Steve says:

May 9, 2014 at 10:41 am

I enjoy reading about your progress. You have been my inspiration on learning as well. Not in golf but putting in the time at Poker. It takes hours of playing and studying to accomplish anything you want to do. Everyone has something they want to be good at but are they willing to put the time in to achieve the dream. I am trying and have spreadsheets to document my time to show myself what I am doing. Having fun. Keep up the good work.
thedanplan says:

May 9, 2014 at 2:13 pm

That makes sense to me, Joel. Good idea.
thedanplan says:

May 9, 2014 at 2:13 pm

I’ve heard of Mangum from a couple of people, they love his style/methods. I looked him up a while ago and will do so again. Cheers
BG says:

May 9, 2014 at 8:03 pm

I’ve been reading Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie and started tracking my putting using the Strokes Gained Putting statistic, it’s been much more useful than counting putts. Also knowing the probability of making putts from different ranges has positively influenced my attitude towards putting and my practice sessions.
The book also talks about Strokes Gained in other categories like Driving. Worth a read.
thedanplan says:

May 12, 2014 at 7:48 am

Good to know Brian,

I remember once playing a round that was rained out after 14 holes and the guy I played with was going to post the score. He said the same thing as you and even though that makes sense, it seemed odd as the last 4 holes of that particular track were by far the most difficult and often this guy is 5 or 6 strokes over par for those holes. But, under that system he took two additional strokes and posted a very low, for him, score. It was by the rules and all, but seems a bit odd to me. Makes more sense with the standing water to take pars on those two holes, but to me still seems like it’s not quite a finished round. I appreciate the insight,

Dan
thedanplan says:

May 12, 2014 at 7:49 am

Good point Dave,

It’s more about the intention of the shot versus the outcome than just whether or not a fairway is hit.

Cheers,

Dan
thedanplan says:

May 12, 2014 at 7:49 am

Steve,

How is the poker coming along?
thedanplan says:

May 12, 2014 at 7:50 am

BG,

I need to check that out, thanks for the reminder,

Dan
thedanplan says:

May 12, 2014 at 7:50 am

Thanks Aaron,

Good ideas and I think that makes sense to do moving forward,

Dan
Dale says:

May 13, 2014 at 7:42 am

I second the motion on Every Shot Counts. The book points to the areas that statistically are the most important to improve in order to lower your scores. Approach shots are way more important than they are given credit for. A 3 foot difference in your average approach means a much lower score over the course of a round. More so than putting improvement if you believe the stats.
Brian Kuehn says:

May 14, 2014 at 11:41 am

You are using your handicap to measure your improvement in scoring. That is reasonable. So it probably seems odd to have a system that artificially helps you post a low score under the “Holes not Played” handicap rule. The USGA is not trying to keep people from having a slightly lower than expected handicap index. The USGA, however, does actively work to prevent people from having an inflated handicap.

Having a low handicap is great for slightly bragging about one’s golf prowess. Having a HIGH handicap is great for handicap tournaments. The USGA doesn’t want a player to manipulate his scores to obtain a HIGHER handicap. So the “Holes Not Played” formula gives one an artificially LOW score which will tend to lower one’s handicap. Same with the ESC process. Same with using an average of your 10 lowest scores (differentials) out of 20 as opposed to just an average of all 20. Same with multiplying the computed index by .96 Essentially the system is designed to produce the lowest handicap index possible.
So circling back to that guy who only played 14 holes. Yes, he was going to post an artificially low score. His handicap index was going to probably be a bit lower than if he had finished the round. That’s the system; if you don’t finish you will get a low score. Did it enough times and when you play in the Club Championship you will get thrashed on a net basis because your index is lower than it would have been if you finished all those rounds.
phades74 says:

June 14, 2014 at 8:19 pm

I think this is analysis by paralysis. You have to be careful about how deep you look into things. Golf is not a game of perfect. Its about managing your misses. According to Mr. Hogan, once you have a fundamentally correct swing, course management is the key to lower scores.

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