Your driving stinks!

I am tired of hearing this from friends and acquaintances after a tournament, “ My driving was good but I couldn't putt.” I hear this every time I ask. I hate to tell you this but your driving stinks. There I said it. The good news is your putting is probably fine. It's a mistake to believe that you are a bad putter because you can't make 50' to 70' putts all day long. You are not even giving yourself a chance to be a good putter if your driving leaves you outside the putting circle on a regular basis or if your putting distances vary wildly.

One of the keys to good putting is finding a groove. It is nearly impossible to get in a groove if your putting distances aren't somewhat consistent and within the putting circle. If your driving is good you don't even have to be that good at putting. Here is an example: let's say that your home course is similar to mine, mildly wooded and all holes are reachable distances (400' and under). If you are driving well, that is to say you are putting for a birdie on every hole and you are a lousy putter, you only make 25% of your putts, you'll shoot a 7 under for 27 holes. In the weekly handicapped singles round at my home course that would put you in the money about 90% of the time and you'd win frequently. If you can drive well and have an average day putting you'll shoot a 13 or 14 under and you'll win every week. Conversely, if you drive poorly and are only putting for birdie 10 out of the 27 holes and then have an average day putting 5 under will be about the best you can do. That's assuming that your bad driving doesn't send you out of bounds or leave you with some tricky second shots which could lead to a bogie or two.

The solution to this is driving consistency. The way to gain consistency in driving is repetition. The key to repetition is to stop playing rounds of golf and use your time practicing shots. If you know there is something wrong with your game but you're not sure what it is or you aren't big on constructive criticism, download and print my practice scorecard and the sheet to explain how to use the scorecard here- http://discgolfer.ning.com/opensocial/application/show?appUrl=http:...

It's free and it will give an unbiased and accurate account of your game.

The bottom line is, if you don't give yourself a realistic chance to score (birdie) you probably won't. Even the great Ken Climo has stated that disc golf is 75% driving and 25% putting so get out there and practice your driving and watch your putting magically improve.

[mark ellis]

Rich Koski wrote: Mark, I know you do a lot of teaching, I would love it if you shared my scorecard idea with your students (perhaps the wrong word). I think it can really help target a players weaknesses without having to be told by a friend or coach. It's right there in black and white.

Are you and Kenny playing doubles again this year? If so good luck, and have a good Worlds.

Rich,
Perhaps "victims" would be a better term? :)
Happy to take a look at your scorecard. There are no divisional doubles at worlds this year Kenny Lee will not be allowed to carry me. Too bad, he is a putting wizard.

[Rich Koski]

This is why my practice scorecard is useful. Patterns develop after tracking your approach on each hole. If you look at that scorecard and your first putts are over 50' consistently, your driving is bad. If your first putts are consistently under 25' and you're 2 putting frequently, your putting is bad. If you are within 30' and you 3 putt a lot, your putting technique should be reassessed.

I think bad driving is a bigger problem than bad putting. I just don't think that it is as easily recognized. People tend to overlook bad drives and dwell on bad putts. I don't think that someone that can't make 70% of their 40' putts is necessarily a bad putter but someone that can't make 70% of their 20' putts is.

Mark, I know you do a lot of teaching, I would love it if you shared my scorecard idea with your students (perhaps the wrong word). I think it can really help target a players weaknesses without having to be told by a friend or coach. It's right there in black and white.

Are you and Kenny playing doubles again this year? If so good luck, and have a good Worlds.

[mark ellis]

Well certainly the best putting solution is to give yourself drop-ins. :)

But weak putting is a common curse among players. Probably THE most common curse.

You can look at it the opposite way, too. If you cashed every putt within 40 feet, how much would your score improve? For putting-challenged players, how much would their scores improve if they made every putt within 20 feet? For the really feeble (and I truly qualified for many years) how many 3 or 4 putt holes do you suffer from?

The better a player becomes the more precise their driving, upshooting and putting become. Continual improvement in every area is the goal of every dedicated player.

[biodarwin]

Great article. People often over-estimate how often they should hit 50' foot putts. For that matter, after 35ft the success rate drops dramatically for most players.