Data Action Golf with Dr. Aaron R. Stewart

Winter is a perfect time to work on our putting strokes. In this podcast we will go over 3 drills that won't cost you anything, are easy to set up and do, and will transform your putting game into a strength. These drills focus on making a precise stroke, making sure the putter face is dead square at impact, and insuring you are not moving during the stroke. Use these three drills until Spring and get ready to take money from your buddies pockets. Let's tee it up!

Do you expect to get better while playing golf? Why? What do you do to make sure you are working on the weaknesses of your game? Are there strategies that make getting better possible while playing? Or is there a time to perform and a time to practice? Should our mindset be different for each? Let's tee it up! 

After his first round of the Sony Open many "experts" were discussing their worries for Jordan Spieth and his game. Robert Damron (who is one of the most entertaining guys on Golf Channel) claimed it was DEFCON 7 for Speith (whatever that means). But Jordan has a plan and he is going to be just fine. Let's tee it up!

What can we expect from Jordan Spieth this year? Are you optimistic he will play better than last year? Why or why not? Based on some of his comments this might be a very, very important year in his long-term success. Let's tee it up!

Maybe one of the most under discussed topics in golf. How should we choose targets to better improve our performance and clearly communicate our intentions? There are some common mistakes to avoid, but better target strategies can drastically improve your scoring, and in some cases, instantly. Let's tee it up!

If someone asked you how do you swing the golf club, how would you answer that? Could you answer? Can you describe your golf swing? Do you know if well enough to classify it? Explain it? Critique it? And if you can, will it make you a better player? Let's tee it up!

Wow!! I hope you had the chance to watch at least the last few holds of the Sentry Tournament of Champions yesterday. What an amazing finish, what an amazing display of golf!! Xander Schauffele and Gary Woodland put on an amazing show. On this Data Monday, we will dive into some of Xander Schauffele's statistics and see how his 2018 averages hold up to the benchmarks we have established to improve our golf games in 2019 (listed below).

Driving Accuracy: 50-60%

Greens-In-Regulation (GIR): 55-65%

Scrambling: 45-55%

Sand Saves: 30-50%

Putting from 20': Make 3-7%

Putting from 10': Make 20-40%

Putting from 5': Make 65-80%

With the new rules of golf much is being discussed, but probably no rule has caused as much discussion than the one allowing golfers to leave the pin in while putting. So what will you do? Will you leave the pin in our out? And is there any research that can help us decide for our own games?  It is a great question and discussion. Let's tee it up!

CLICK HERE: for Dave Pelz Research Article 

How do you plan to improve your golf game in 2019? In the last show of our Data Driven series we will review some 2018 PGA Tour statistics to calculate some reasonable benchmarks to measure our own games, and use those to set proper expectations for maximum enjoyment and maximum game improvement in 2019. On today's show, we examine proper expectations for putting and Greens-in-Regulation statistics. Let's tee it up!