Chris Bennett

Handicap: N/A Age: 49

Home Club: Chilworth Golf Club, UK

Started using Shot Scope: July 2020

Chris has played golf for 15 years but doesn’t keep a handicap. Since he started using Shot Scope he has gone from shooting mid 90s to mid 80s. While Chris doesn’t have a handicap, his average scores would suggest he is heading towards a 15 handicap, so this will be used as the benchmark for comparison to understand what Chris is doing well, and where there is room for improvement.

Chris' Shot Scope Journey

"Purchasing Shot Scope is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made, it has enabled me to manage my game more effectively, analyze my data after a game and look for small improvements just like a pro."

"Purchasing Shot Scope is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made, it has enabled me to manage my game more effectively, analyze my data after a game and look for small improvements just like a pro."

Key areas of focus in this case study

1. 5 shot improvement on average score
2. Benefits of using Strokes Gained
3. How his approach play has improved
4. How to improve going forward

Score versus Par

Looking at Chris’ average score v Par for 2020, 2021 and his last 15 rounds of 2021 shows that his game is trending in the right direction. In total, Chris is scoring nearly 5 shots lower per round since he started using Shot Scope in 2020. He has improved across all hole types, but the biggest improvement is on Par 5s – so what has changed?

Traditional Tee Shots Statistics

Traditional statistics show very little change between 2020 and now – a slight increase in Fairway Success % however his distance is consistent. Chris has improved his fairway success by only 3% which is good but not a drastic change and his P-Avg driving distance has fluctuated very little.

Shot Scope use their Performance Average when looking at how far golfers hit each club and shot. This removes all outliers good and bad to provide a distance based on how far a well struck shot would travel.

Strokes Gained Tee Shots

Strokes Gained has identified that Chris has improved his tee shots by nearly a full shot since using Shot Scope. In 2020 he was gaining 2.09 shots, and in his last 15 rounds he is now gaining 2.89 shots on a 15 handicap.

This shows that Strokes Gained allows you to find improvements in your game, that you wouldn’t see with traditional tee shot statistics. This deeper analysis highlights that by hitting a few more fairways, Chris has managed to improve by nearly a full shot compared to other 15 handicap golfers.

While the traditional Tee Shot statistics showed little change, Shot Scope Strokes Gained clearly shows that Tee Shots is a strength for Chris, and he is a good driver of the ball. Compared to a 15 handicap golfer he is gaining nearly 2.5 shots per round off the tee, yet overall he is losing a full shot a round on a 15 handicap golfer.

Why is Chris losing so many shots on approach play?

Strokes gained allows us to identify that the area Chris has improved the most, is also still his weakness.

While Chris loses shots in Strokes Gained approaches he has and is continuing to close the gap between himself and the 15 handicap benchmark. Chris has improved his strokes gained from -4.76 to -1.27 which is an excellent improvement in only one year.

How has Chris improved his approach shots?

Since using Shot Scope Chris has been able to measure his club distances, enabling him to make better clubbing decisions and reduce his proximity to the hole from an average of 114 ft in 2020 to 92 ft in his last 15 rounds in 2022. That is a large reduction giving him more realistic chances to 2 putt or get up and down for par.

Approach shots by distance

Even though there has been improvement in approaches it is still Chris’ weakest part of the game against 15 handicappers. Providing more ideas for improvement we can dig into SG approaches by distance to see that Chris is losing most shots between 50 – 100 yards and 150 – 200 yards. Knowing Chris’ driving distance we know that it isn’t a length problem.

How can Chris hit more greens from 150-200 yards?

Looking at Chris’ club distances suggests there is a gap of around 30 yards between his 6 iron and Hybrid. We would recommend Chris starts using a 5 iron, or the equivalent hybrid and this will undoubtedly help him improve from 150- 200 yards and cover the gapping issue in his bag.

From 50-100 yards it is a different story…

Shots are finishing short but also long-left. Chris’ wedges are all registering less than 30% chance of hitting the green from this distance.

As a first challenge, we would like Chris to concentrate on hitting the middle of the green from 50 – 100 yards. If we can raise that green success % up from 27.8% to nearer 40% then we will see a significant reduction in scoring.

Why performance tracking is helpful

Hopefully since Chris has started tracking he can see the value of Shot Scope to his game, but also how he can improve further. The aim of performance data is not to break down your swing but to change an approach to the game or area of the game. With a few simple thoughts hopefully Chris can put himself in a position to continue improving and reduce his scoring again.