The 4 golf statistics that are the most important to track

By: Jim Murphy , Nick Dimengo October 3, 2023

GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jim Murphy shares the four most important golf stats that players can learn from in order to improve their game.

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While your score doesn’t always reflect what you did well or where you struggled on the golf course, statistics from your round are like an MRI — they will tell you exactly what you need to know.

Since the quickest way to see improvement is by working on your weaknesses, you first need to figure out what those are.

With so many golf apps available that can track every shot during a round, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jim Murphy explains which stats are the most important to focus on in order to see improvement. And, since not all numbers are created equally, Murphy provides his insights below.

These golf stats are the most important for instant improvement

From fairways hit to greens in regulations to the amount of putts during a round, most players enjoy keeping track of their stats throughout a round. It makes sense, too, since this is the best way to find your strengths and weaknesses. But Murphy says the four golf stats below are the ones you should focus on the most!

1. 3-putts

It’s hard to get better at this game if you can’t putt — and 3-putting is like throwing away strokes, so it’s important to track the amount of time you do it during a round.

Every player should have a goal of avoiding 3-putts, so work on things like lag putting and speed control, as well as 3-footers, to start seeing some improvement.

2. Unobstructed drives

Many players like tracking the amount of “fairways hit” during a round, but, in Murphy’s opinion, it’s an overrated golf stat.

Instead, he suggests slightly altering that stat to how many drives you have in a playable position for your next shot without impediment (like a tree, deep rough, or a difficult lie).

Fairways hit is too limiting, and a player may only hit four fairways in a round and feel like they aren’t good off the tee. But if the other drives were all playable, then they’re better than the numbers would indicate.

3. Unforced penalties

Golf is already a tough game as it is, but it can be crippling when you come across penalties that add unnecessary strokes to your scorecard.

These types of penalties are things like going out of bounds, hitting into water hazards, landing in penalty areas, or doing things that add strokes during a hole (which can even be mishits like chunked iron shots from the fairway).

4. Mental mistakes

One of the more challenging things about golf is this: You have to be locked in for every shot.

Just when you hit a beauty of a drive and only need to chip it onto the green for a chance at a birdie, you decide to get fancy by using the wrong club — mishitting it and costing you a stroke (or more!).

Or when you find yourself in the rough with trees in your sight line, you try hitting a hero shot instead of simply punching back out into the fairway.

These are both examples of bad mental mistakes, which will inevitably cost you strokes throughout a round.

After your round, go back and add up the number of times this cost you a shot or two — if it’s over one per round, it’s imperative that you play smarter next time.