A top instructor reveals the tool that has helped his own game the most

Recreational players tend to look to their instructors for game-improvement advice, but what about the instructors themselves? Many teachers are also competitive players too, eager to improve their games alongside their students.

Tim Gillis, who teaches at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, Fla., is one of those teachers, and recently shared a takeaway that has helped him make strides in his own game.

For starters, Gillis says he’s realized the importance of practicing the right things and not just aimlessly hitting balls.

“A lot of times what I see on the lesson tee is that people don’t practice the right way,” he said. “They’re not evaluating their practice because there’s no direction to it. I think that’s helped me a lot with my practice and understanding what I need to work on the most and the best way to shave strokes off.”

For Gillis, that understanding is gleaned from the GHIN app, which he uses to track statistics during his rounds.

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“Having stats to actually go to and evaluate has been so effective, especially with the amount of golf we’re playing,” he said. “Rounds can be very few and far between.”

Stats can also offer surprising revelations about your deficiencies — something Gillis experienced last year.

“There was a situation last summer in the section championship where I felt like I was hitting the driver terribly, and I just missed seven fairways in the round, but it was by a couple of yards. And looking at the stats after the round, I realized I had over 30 putts. And that’s really where it comes down to. I felt unhappy about how I was hitting the driver, but really, I was losing most of my strokes with putting.

“That was pretty surprising to see,” he continued. “And if I didn’t have that app, I think it would have been harder to understand.”

Give stats-tracking a try during your next round to help identify the areas of your game most in need of attention.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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