Five Common Golf Shots Where Amateurs Have Only a 50/50 Chance
By Staff Writer
3 min read
Mheref36 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Key takeaways
- Single-figure handicappers hit the fairway with driver or 3-wood only about 50% of the time.
- Scratch golfers have roughly a 50/50 chance of hitting the green from 100-150 yards.
- 25-handicappers miss short from 100 yards half the time; 20-handicappers miss short from 150 yards at the same rate.
- 10-handicappers hit the green from 75-100 yards only about half the time.
- 20-handicap golfers hole 3-6 foot putts roughly 50% of the time.
Shot Scope data has identified five common golfing situations that amateurs succeed at only about half the time. Top 50 coach Adam Harnett breaks down a fix for each one.
How can golfers hit more fairways off the tee?
Single-figure handicappers have roughly a 50/50 chance of hitting the fairway with driver or 3-wood, according to Shot Scope's data. Harnett recommends knowing where trouble sits on a hole before choosing a club, and reaching for 3-wood when a dogleg, hazard or narrow landing area calls for accuracy over distance. To measure it, he suggests the goal-post drill: pick two range targets roughly a fairway width apart and track how many of 14 drives, the typical number in a round, pass between them.
Why do approach shots from 100-150 yards miss the green?
The average scratch golfer hits the green from 100-150 yards only about half the time, often from being too aggressive at a tucked flag. Harnett advises playing away from a pin on the side of a player's common miss, and around 100 yards, dropping to a shorter club with a partial swing rather than a full wedge to control spin.
A coin-flip shot becomes a lopsided win once a golfer knows the real odds and adjusts the target.
Why do golfers come up short of the green?
A 25-handicapper misses short from 100 yards about half the time, and a 20-handicapper does the same from 150 yards. Harnett recommends clubbing off a player's average carry distance rather than a best-ever shot, and playing a practice format that scores a short miss as a bogey, an on-green-but-short shot as a par, and anything past the flag as a birdie.
What about wedge shots from 75-100 yards?
The average 10-handicapper hits the green from 75-100 yards only about half the time. Harnett suggests a clockface method, taking the lead arm back to 9, 10 or 11 o'clock with the same tempo on each swing to produce three repeatable, different carry distances.
How can golfers hole more short putts?
Golfers in the 20s handicap range hole 3-6 foot putts roughly half the time. Harnett recommends a compass-point drill popularized by former Ryder Cup player David Howell: place tees at three, four, five and six feet from the hole at four compass points, hole a putt from each, then move back a foot and repeat.
| Situation | Golfer level | Success rate |
|---|---|---|
| Fairway from tee (driver/3-wood) | Single-figure handicap | ~50% |
| Green from 100-150 yards | Scratch | ~50% |
| Short of green from 100 yards | 25 handicap | ~50% miss short |
| Green from 75-100 yards | 10 handicap | ~50% |
| 3-6 foot putt | 20s handicap | ~50% |
Frequently asked questions
What is the goal-post drill for driving accuracy?
Pick two targets on the range roughly a fairway width apart and track how many of 14 drives, a typical round's worth, land between them.
Who created the compass-point putting drill?
It is associated with former Ryder Cup player David Howell, placing tees at four compass points around the hole from three to six feet.
Why do approach shots miss short of the green so often?
Golfers frequently club based on their best-ever distance rather than their average carry, leaving shots short more often than expected.
- shot scope
- adam harnett
- golf instruction
- approach shots
- putting drill
- driving accuracy
- wedge play
