Putting with the Flagstick In

Dave Pelz published an article in which he says this:

The test results were conclusive: You will hole a higher percentage of putts when you leave the flagstick in.

The hits just keep on coming. From shortly before Christmas, we got this gift:

The Cliffs Notes at the end give it away: leave the flagstick in. It’s going to help you.

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Rickie Fowler Goes 57 of 57 Inside 7′

File under: “Misleading Stat of the Week”

Rickie Fowler went 57 of 57 putting from inside 7′ in winning the Honda Classic at PGA National the past four days, and the statistic is being touted across the Internet and on Morning Drive as an astounding feat.

Rickie Fowler was fifth in strokes gained putting (SGP) for the week. So that’s a great week of putting. But was it his success from inside of 7′ that vaulted him to the top of the SGP list and the leaderboard? Rickie putted really, really well this week.

But did he putt as well as “57 of 57 inside 7′” implies?

No.

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You Are a Bad Fairway Bunker Player – but Don’t Bother Trying to Improve

We hope the title of this article got your attention… because in only the few minutes it takes to read we are going to give you important, ACTIONABLE, information which WILL have you shooting lower scores this season. First, let us assure you that the title wasn’t meant to be a mean spirited shot at your golf game but, rather, it was meant to make you aware of just how UNIMPORTANT fairway bunker shots (as one example) are to your ability to shoot lower scores (and later we’ll tell you about a few of the important skills that really matter). You see, fairway bunker shots have an extremely low Separation Value (SV: a measure of a skill’s potential to affect your score) and spending time attempting to improve your fairway bunker play is, for the most part, a waste of your time.

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Instructors: Now Teaching Lowest Score Wins Clinics!

Lowest Score Wins was the greatest golf book you’ve ever read, right? 🙂 Reading a single book changed your game for the better and changed your practice habits? Yes? Then imagine expanding on the important concepts, first hand, with an instructor personally trained by us (Dave and Erik). Starting this February, instructors will be teaching Lowest Score Wins clinics nationwide and it’s easy for YOUR instructor (as long as they’ve read the book) to be part of this quickly expanding group of top-notch, cutting-edge instructors.

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Jordan Spieth is Great from 15-25 Feet… and It Doesn’t Matter At All

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard – particularly from certain announcers or commentators – about how great Jordan Spieth is from 15-25 feet. And the statistic is true: Jordan has ranked very highly (often #1, currently #2) in that stat on the PGA Tour. It’s right here if you want to have a look: http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.02328.2015.html .

But… we rank 15-25 feet as an SV① skill. We say that there is almost no separation to be had in this area. Yet… Jordan Spieth has had a pretty great year, that’s undeniable. And he’s been one of the leaders in the 15-25′ category all year too, so… maybe we missed something? Maybe there’s something to this?

Let’s take a look.

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Pitching Four Balls at Once

If you buy Lowest Score Wins, you’ll learn about “Separation Value.” We break down the skills in golf that allow you to shoot your lowest score by their ability to separate yourself from others.

Something we call “Greenside Shots” are an SV③ skill, and thus fairly important.

This video highlights a fun, easy way to test whether your pitching skills are allowing you to properly use the club’s “glide” to slide the clubhead on the ground and properly pitch two, three, even four golf balls with the same swing. Maybe even five…

Have a look.

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Be a Hero this Holiday Season with LSW

“Just bought 50 copies of your book. Please let me know if there are any shipping delays as this book is the Christmas gift for all my instructional clients. They are going to love it. I love it!”

The quote above is an example of one of the comments we’ve received with large orders of books over the past couple months. We’d like to give a huge thanks to all the pros out there who have purchased multiple copies of Lowest Score Wins to give to their members and clients. We knew that other instructors would be able to use lots of the information in LSW to help their students but we didn’t consider, upfront, how many books would be purchased in this manner. Hundreds and hundreds of them have gone out to students that we would never have had the chance to share this information with…so thank you again for that!

The book really makes a perfect gift for any golfer and that time of year is here (as I’m sure you know). We have a number of options available to purchase at a volume discount (as low as $13.98 per book) and offer your business associates, clients or students a gift they will REALLY appreciate. Here is some more feedback we’ve received recently:

“I don’t play as much as I would like to but pretty much everybody on my client list plays golf. I keep 10 copies of your book on hand at all times and give it away to anyone I don’t have to play against! Seriously though, great book, and I am a hero when I give them such a great gift.”

“I need 100 copies for a holiday gift to the 100 members in my shop’s VIP Club. The concepts work for everyone and who wouldn’t want lower scores for Christmas this year. Thanks guys.”

“EVERY playing lesson gets a copy of Lowest Score Wins. I’m pretty sure I’m your best customer and I’m planning to increase my lead. People love the added value of getting a gift with the lessons.”

Be a hero this holiday season. It’s never been so easy.

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Putting is ______ % of your Score

We received this email a few days back and thought it provided a good opportunity to discuss just what percentage of a typical score putting amounts to:

Does putting really account for 42% of your score?

Does putting really account for 42% of your score?

If you look at a broad overview of the numbers it stands to reason that the 40+% range is fairly accurate. Consider an 80s shooter who averages 36 putts and you end up right about at the 42-43% number. Makes sense… right? Well, maybe not.

Let’s look at the numbers again — this time keeping Separation Value in mind. Of the 36 putts the 80s shooter takes approximately nine of them are tap-ins (putts with absolutely no Separation Value). This leaves only 27 other putts. Subtract, further, the four putts (an average) that are within the 15-25 foot range (very little Separation Value) and only 23 putts remain. All of these remaining putts have reasonable Separation Value so they are worth counting in this breakdown. Take those 23 putts and weigh them against, say, 73 total shots (86 minus the nine tap-ins and four 15-25 footers) and it’s easy to see that putting actually accounts for only about 30% of the total strokes taken in a normal round… not the generally accepted 40+%.

We aren’t by any means suggesting you stop practicing putting but we are suggesting that you look hard at Separation Value and the statistics that govern your PracticePlan and GamePlan. Practice with a proper breakdown of skills and shoot lower scores.

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