Started tracking my up and downs and oof, 31%

[EagleEye_Ed]

Decided to actually track up and downs for my last 8 rounds instead of just vibing and guessing. 31%. I genuinely thought I was way better than that lol.

What's killing me is everything inside 40 yards. Lag putts aren't really my problem, it's getting the chip close enough to have a real look. I'd chip to 8ft, miss the putt, and tell myself it was a good shot. It wasn't. A good shot is one you can actually hole.

Biggest eye opener was how often I had the wrong club in my hands. Pulling the 60 for stuff I could bump with a 9 every single time. Went down a rabbit hole on wedge setup after reading this thread and it settled a lot of my second guessing:

https://usagolfers.com/threads/wedge-gapping-messed-up-with-48545862.889

Anyway if you've never tracked it, do it. It'll humble you fast. What number are you guys actually living at, 50% or higher? Or are we all just out here guessing like I was?

[IronMike72]

31% is brutal but honestly I respect that you actually counted it. Most guys never do because they don't want to know. I tracked mine for a full month last summer and landed at 38%, and I was CONVINCED I was a 60% guy. Nope. The brain lies to you.

The wrong club thing is the whole ballgame though. I did the exact same crap with my 60. Every chip, every tight lie, out comes the lob wedge because it looks like the hero play. Then I watched a scratch player at my club bump a 7 iron from 15 yards off the green and nearly hole it, and something clicked. Now the 60 only comes out when I've got nothing but green to work with or I'm short sided badly. My chipping got better overnight just from that one change.

Curious what your actual up and down rate is from inside like 20 yards vs the 20-40 range? I found those are two completely different problems. The close ones are a technique thing, the longer ones are more about reading the rollout. Also did you track it by hole or by shot? I did it by shot and it was way more useful.

Anyway yeah, welcome to the humbling club lol.

[TeeTimeTina]

The "a good shot is one you can actually hole" line is where I'd push back a bit. Tour guys only get up and down about 60% of the time. That's the best players on earth, from perfect lies, with green maps and a caddie. So if 50% is the bar you're measuring against, you're basically asking to scramble like a tour pro and then feeling bad when you don't. 31% is probably right around average for a mid handicapper who actually counted honestly.

Mike's question about splitting 20 yards vs 20-40 is the real insight though, and I'd go further. I tracked mine by shot for two months and the number that mattered wasn't distance, it was lie. Tight fairway lie vs sitting down in the rough changed my up and down rate by like 15 points. Same distance. Same club. The rough just kills your ability to control the first bounce and that's what gets you close.

So yeah if you're tracking by shot, add a lie column. Otherwise you're gonna blame your technique for what's actually a course management problem, which is the same trap as pulling the 60 when you should bump the 9.