Capitalise on Par 5s to go from a 10hcp to 5hcp

3 November 2023

Despite their length, Par 5s provide golf players with the most favorable chances to score well. However, what sets apart a golfer with a 5 handicap from someone with a 10 handicap?

Let’s examine some important statistics to find out.

Many players will think of Par 3s as an opportunity to make birdie due to the shorter length of the hole but this could not be further from the truth. It is the longer Par 5s that give the best scoring chances for players.

Why? Players can find themselves out of position off the tee, hit a recovery shot, and still have three shots to make their par compared to a Par 3 where a misplaced tee shot requires an up and down attempt. 

When we look at some top-level statistics two stand out compared to the rest:

We can see that in terms of distance and fairways hit, there isn’t much between the handicaps. However, when we look at greens hit and successful up and down attempts, we notice some key differentiators between the handicaps.

A 5 hcp player hits 11% more greens per round compared to a 10 hcp, and when missing them, will get up and down nearly 10% more often. This shows on the whole, how the different handicaps perform but let’s take a closer look at Par 5s.

Off the tee, as previously mentioned, there isn’t much to note so we will move on to the approach shots. 

The typical second shot into a Par 5 green will vary in distance but for this article, we will look at 190-230 yards.

With these distances in mind, we considered the club selection that players may use when playing into the green. From the Shot Scope database, we noticed an interesting bag set up difference between the two handicaps, a 10 hcp player elects to play a 4 hybrid rather than 4 iron.

Stats that immediately jump out in the data are that a 10 handicapper has greater green success with their 3 wood compared to that of a 5 handicapper. This could be for a variety of reasons and we will let you ponder over what it could be.

Another interesting stat that would suggest the 4 Hybrid is a good addition to the bag set up of a 10 handicapper is the strokes to finish. 

From the data, a 4 Hybrid holds its own in effectiveness and requires only 0.2 more strokes compared to the 5 handicappers 4 Iron. 

The 10 handicappers 3 Wood, 3 Hybrid, and 5 Iron require on average, 4 strokes to finish. Hybrids offer golfers greater forgiveness and if you struggle with longer irons, it could help lower your scores, find out more here.

We also notice that as the clubs get shorter, the difference between a 5 handicappers green success and 10 handicappers begins to increase with a significant increase at the 5 Iron. 10 handicappers may benefit from a 5 Hybrid, it may have the same impact as that of the 4 Hybrid – something to consider.

We have pulled data on green success and strokes to finish from these distances and it reveals something interesting. 

We can see that there is a slight increase in green success from 190-210 yards for a 5 handicapper but this does not translate to a significant change in strokes to finish. When we compare the two handicaps, we see a greater change in strokes to finish from 210-230 yards despite the green success being very similar. 

What could explain this gain? 

The answer may reside within short game.

With both handicaps, from the distances studied, and the club selection, chances are that they will miss the green. When we move closer to the green we start to see some small differences adding up.

When playing into a green, a 10 hcp player typically needs to leave themselves a foot closer than that of a 5 handicapper to make the same score. 

For example, when playing their short game shot from inside 20 yards, a 5 handicapper will typically leave themselves 9ft to the pin whereas a 10 handicapper is closer to 10ft.

Typically, from inside 50 yards playing a shot onto the green, a 5 hcp will leave themselves inside 6ft 42% of the time and a 10 hcp 37% – not much of a difference but as we know in previous articles, being inside 6ft is crucial on the greens (LINK)

Getting inside 6ft makes a key difference on the green.

Why? Because when we putt from 0-6ft our chances of successfully making the putt skyrocket in comparison to 6-12ft.

A 5 hcp player has a make percentage of 90% from 0-6ft and a 10 hcp is close behind at 89%. Whereas, from 6-12ft both 5 and 10 handicappers’ chances of making the putt are halved to 40% and 38%.

One key differentiator we see between the two handicap ranges is that a 10 handicapper is twice as likely to three-putt compared to a 5 hcp. 

Reduce the three putts, maximise the scoring opportunities that Par 5s present and a general refinement on approach play will help close the gap on 5 handicappers.

You may be thinking there are very few differences between a 10 and a 5 handicapper, and the reality is, there aren’t

This is a generalised view of the different handicaps and if you want to know how you can reduce your handicap index, Shot Scope performance tracking products are for you.

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