Know Your Numbers
Stat targets for a 10- and a 5-handicap, the order to fix leaks in, and how to split practice hours.
Track one line per hole — tee / fairway / approach / short game / putts — and read it as rolling 5–10-round averages. Never react to a single round. The stat furthest below your target range is your biggest scoring opportunity; work there first.
| Stat | 10-handicap | 5-handicap |
|---|---|---|
| GIR % | 30–40% | 45–55% |
| Fairways hit % | 40–50% | 50–60% |
| Putts per round | 32–34 | 30–32 |
| Up-and-down % | 30–40% | 45–55% |
| Sand save % | 20–30% | 35–45% |
| Penalty strokes | < 2 | < 1 |
| 3-putts | < 2 | < 1 |
Find your leak, in order
Earlier items cost the most strokes. Fix one per 4–6 weeks:
- Penalties > 2/round → a tee-shot decision problem. Cheapest strokes to recover.
- 3-putts > 2/round → lag speed. Practice long putts, not short ones.
- GIR below range → approach distance control. Drill ¾ wedges + mid-iron dispersion.
- Up-and-down < 30% → short-game technique. Hours here pay off fast.
- Fairways < 40% → driver accuracy. Club down off the tee more often.
Note what's first: penalties are a decision leak, not a swing leak, and they're fixed on the tee box before the swing starts — see Risk in Strokes for what the bad decision actually costs.
Practice budget
Scale the hours, keep the ratio: 60% short game and putting · 25% wedge distance · 15% full swing. Run 70% random / 30% block reps so it transfers to the course.
The 25% is the wedge matrix — measured carry numbers, not feel.
Related pages
- Wedge and Chip DistancesDistance control by backswing length across the wedges, plus carry-to-rollout ratios for chips on a firm green.
- Risk in StrokesExpected strokes to hole out from common positions — the math behind every go-versus-lay-up call.
- Mid-Round FixesSymptom-to-fix table for when a miss pattern shows up mid-round — simplest fix first, one swing thought at a time.
- Yardage AdjustmentsWhat wind, cold, altitude, slope, and rough do to your carry number — and how to stack the corrections before you pull a club.