The Numbers in Your Head

During a round last year I got randomly paired with a good player (~ 1-2 handicap). We got to talking about some of the tournaments each of us had played in, and he lamented a crucial mistake he’d made that single-handedly led to him missing the cut in a State Am qualifier.

As he put it, “I rushed into a shot with just a single number in my head. And there should never be just a single number in my head.”

Admittedly, I was slow to learn this lesson myself. For a decade +, I’d get the number for the flag, pull a club for that distance, and go swing. I’d pay little or no attention to course strategy, a cover number, or where the “good miss” was. And often I’d get the results I deserved (not great ones).

These days it’s trivial to quickly get all the yardages you need. Most people I’m randomly paired with at the local public course have a rangefinder. Cart GPS systems let you point and click to any spot on a hole for a distance. I use a Garmin wristwatch (which I love), that shows me in a single glance front/middle/back numbers on approach shots, and distances to hazards off the tee (fairway bunkers, water, etc.).

Now when I play, having multiple numbers in my head helps me navigate the course smarter. I’m more diligent taking more club when missing short is the most penal miss. My strategy is governed less by a distance to the pin, and more by the distance(s) to avoid trouble.

This additional information is easily worth a stroke (probably more) per round. Birdies come by luck, and playing the flag yardage isn’t going to lead to more of them. Double bogeys (and worse) come from poor strategy, and eradicating them is the lowest hanging fruit to lower scores. Knowing your numbers – all of your numbers – leads to better decisions and lower scores.