Equipment
How often do you make GIR?
Hitting a green in regulation, no matter your ability, is always a fantastic feeling. Striking the ball just as you wanted and watching it sail down to land on the short grass knowing you have a birdie putt to look forward to feels like golf as it’s meant to be played.
Think back to last round of golf you played. We know most of our readers are weekly golfers, so hopefully it wasn’t too long ago. How many greens in regulation do you think you made on that particular round? Is it something you take notice of?
Today we want to take a look at the Green in Regulation (GIR) data collected from a wide range of players, from tour pros right through to high handicap players to help you consider how your own performance weighs up.
What does the data tell us?
First let’s take a look at how the pros perform. If we asked you how many GIR you thought the best players on tour made per round, you may well think 15 or 16. Surely at that level players must be hitting the greens pretty regularly? What if we told you that on any given tournament round, pros are making GIR only 66% of the time.
Having consulted trusted Shot Scope data, GolfMonthly.com found that Tour pros regularly hit 12 out of 18 greens while mid-teen handicap players only find 4 out of 18 greens on their approach shots.
Still, being able to hit 2/3rds of all greens on your approach shot is no small feat, and it demonstrates how great the pros are at scrambling around the greens. How does that make you feel about your own game? It should make it feel all the more of an achievement when you do make GIR!
Now that we’ve established how often players of differing handicaps make landing the greens on their approach shots, we want to dig a little deeper. When you happen to miss the green, do you feel you’re more likely to over or under hit the green? Are you more prone to missing it to the left or the right?
Shot Scope themselves found that according to data taken from players who have faced a 150yard approach shot, the most common means of missing the green was hitting it to the front right of the green:
There are multiple reasons why players might miss their approach shot to the left or right of the green. Not only may you not know your distance to the green, you may not know the gap between each of your clubs. For example, if you knew you hit your 3 wood 210 yards and your 7 iron 140 yards, do you know which long iron you’d take for a 168-yard approach shot?
We offer gapping sessions in the pro shop whereby we take you on the range, have you strike each club in the bag, and record the range of distances you strike each one. It’s a hugely beneficial experience that will help reduce the inconsistency in your game and have you selecting your club with more confidence ahead of each and every shot you take.
Going back to the graph above, Shot Scope also found that the closer we get to the green, the more chance we have of successfully landing our approach shots. So, what does all this data tell us?
Essentially, the lower your handicap is, the more likely you are to make GIR. The more greens in regulation you land, the more likely you are to score well on any given hole.
We're here for you
As we’ve been saying throughout, we’re here to help you play your best, and both custom fitting and gapping sessions will set you on the right path to playing better, more enjoyable golf.
The data tells us that finding more GIR is the key to cutting your handicap, and you’ll strike the ball better with more accuracy if you’re equipped with the right irons in the bag and you know each of their relative strike distances. If you’re unsure of which clubs may be right for you, we have an excellent recommendation…
The latest Mizuno irons
Here in the pro shop, we’re always available to help you get the most out of your game. If you want to land more greens this season, the latest Mizuno Pro irons will help you get the job done.
Serving as direct successors to the highly acclaimed Pro 243 and 245 models, both the M-13 and M-15 irons utilize Mizuno’s unique Grain Flow Forged construction with a copper underlay to maintain the brand’s signature soft feel while pushing the boundaries of ball speed and launch.
The M-13 is a compact iron designed for single figure handicap players who prioritize precision and consistent gapping over distance. The longer irons feature a thin Pocket Cavity that improves launch while the scoring irons have a Micro-Slot that provides a more consistent speed on strikes. With a tour-preferred profile and a slightly more penetrating ball flight compared to the M-15, the M-13 is the ideal choice for discerning golfers.
While the M-13 has a Chromoly Pocket Cavity to improve workability, the M-15 features 51g of internal tungsten low in the clubhead to make achieving launch and height a breeze. It maintains the signature Mizuno feel through a laser-welded multi-material design that ensures the short irons provide the control and spin consistency required for aggressive approach shots. The sole on the M-15 has also been shaped to offer an improved interaction with the turf, ensuring that you’ll pull off a great shot from the rough as well as the fairway.
Another excellent iron entry from Mizuno, the JPX925 Forged benefits from a triple cut shole that improves turn interaction, helping you get a good club on the ball across varying lie conditions. This club has a bevelled leading edge, and the face has been engineered to give you a forgiving performance on every strike.
If you’re ever in need of coaching or you fancy adding some new clubs to the bag, we’re always happy to help you with your golfing needs in the pro shop.
