Credit to Vinne W

Shot IQ is developed using accuracy and precision.  Accuracy and Precision are two words that are often used together, yet have different meanings. The best way to describe accuracy would be the bulls eye method.  If you were to throw a dart at the dart board, the accuracy could be measured by the distance to the bulls eye. When applying this technique to golf, we would use on course reference points like the fairway or the green.  Most beginning golfers have a low degree of accuracy, while PGA Tour players have a high level of accuracy.  Which might explain why they get paid to play!

Look at your game.  Think back to a round of golf you played.  How many fairways did you hit? How many Greens? Did the lack of accuracy result in a higher score? Were you “on” and that resulted in a low score?  All these questions lead us to an important thought process….IMPROVE your accuracy and Shot IQ.

Shot IQ

When we break it down, the ability of most golfers to recover from bad situations depends on their Shot IQ.  What I mean by Shot IQ, is do you have the ability to recover from a bad shot by making a better shot. Does your skill set allow you to make that recovery shot, which can make the difference in saving par and making a double bogey.  Shot IQ requires precision

called reproducibility or repeatability is the degree to which repeated measurements

under unchanged conditions show the same results

Build Your Shot IQ Database

We have all heard the “practice as you play, play as you practice” mantra.  I think that it has some strength.  If you practice with a purpose, and take inventory of what you are doing, the outcome is a stronger Shot IQ.

To build your Shot IQ, you will need to write down some information. (Hint place this in your journal) The next time you are at the range warm up hitting 10-15 balls.  Then make two sets of 10 balls.  Pick two clubs (I suggest a short iron 7 or 8, and a long iron/hybrid) Pick out a target and imagine a fairway width or green.  Hit to the target and mentally keep tab on how many of the ten balls landed within your target area.  Write down your percentage in the journal as well as the club used.  Rotate clubs each practice session. Over time, you will begin to see data that will be used in your Shot IQ database. Remember the more information you have the easier it will be to see your strengths or weakness.

Having Fun

Once you have a few data points under your belt, have fun with the process.  Give yourself bad lies on the range, imagine that there is a tree in your way (either go under or over), hit into cross winds, headwinds, downwind.  The Shot IQ becomes a valuable tool when you can replicate on-course conditions to your practice.  It becomes even more valuable when you can honestly measure your skill level by using your Shot IQ.  The tough part is then using it on the golf course (a whole different post).

Remember, it’s not how it gets in the hole, but how many!

I want you to think of the best round of 2009.  Where did you play it?  What was the day like?  What was the key shot that made it your best?  Who did you play with?  What time of day was it?  If you are like me, you can answer all these questions.  You can feel the weather, you can remember the smell of the course, you can maybe even remember what you wore that day…..Golf is funny in how it programs itself into your mind.  Everyone that reads this post has a desire or hunger to make golf a part of their fabric.  That is exactly why I’m writing this now!  I want to give you my ideas, observations and love of this game.  I also want you to become active in building your game.  So the first thing you will do is to go get a notebook (paper) and make that your golf journal.  This is where you will write down everything you learn…or forget.

Journals are great for golfers.  They give you a way to go back and see what worked, what didn’t and most of all it keeps a tab on your progress!

I’ll give you a couple minutes to get the journal………Great, now write down your Goal for 2010.  It has to be specific.  We need to have one major goal….this will be the guide to making our game 100% ours.  What did you write? My goal is to Win the 2010 Illinois State Amateur.  WHOA….that’s a big goal.

Think about it for a minute.  I said that I want to win the 2010 Illinois State Amateur.  The goal needs to be measurable as well as obtainable.  In my case, both of these are true.  I can measure my progress, and yep it is obtainable (I’ve played in 3 as well as 3 Illinois Opens) so there, I have a goal for 2010.  It’s written not only in a journal (mine is about 8 years old and loaded with stuff) but I’ve posted it online.  In this BLOG!  For everyone to read.  If I didn’t feel that I could do what I said, I would have been better off not writing it!

So write it down.  Let it sit for a day or two and then go back.  Think about what your goal is, and then come back to dlrgolf.com and build up your resume!