To analyze your data, you first need to request and download it from Garmin's website. Follow these steps:
1. Why these metrics? Driving, Approach, Short Game, and Putting are the "Big 4" areas most correlated with lowering handicaps.
2. Trend Determination: We compare your Last 20 Rounds against your longer-term baseline to see if you are Improving, Maintaining, or Declining.
3. Peer Comparisons: We compare you to a Peer Group based on your Handicap Index, Age, and Sex.
Strokes Gained is a popular metric that compares every shot you hit against a professional PGA Tour baseline. While technically precise, it essentially tells you how much better a professional is than you. For most amateurs, this can be discouraging and difficult to turn into a practical practice plan.
Peer Benchmarking compares your performance against a group of golfers with your exact profile—matching your Handicap Index, Age, and Sex.
Why it's better: Peer benchmarking provides "Attainable Excellence." Knowing you are trailing your own peer group in a specific category (like Scrambling or Driving Accuracy) identifies a realistic area where you can gain a competitive advantage. It helps you focus on the improvements that will actually help you beat the players you compete against every weekend, rather than chasing a professional standard.
Greens in Regulation (GIR) is a standard scoring metric that tracks whether you reached the putting surface in "Par minus 2" strokes or fewer. For example, hitting the green in one shot on a Par 3 or two shots on a Par 4 counts as a GIR. It is a strictly result-based measurement used to evaluate your overall scoring efficiency on a hole.
Approach Shots focus on your intention rather than just the final scorecard result. We identify every shot where you realistically tried to hit the green by looking at your distance to the pin and your historical capability with the club used. Unlike GIR, which is calculated once per hole, you can have multiple approach shots on a single hole—such as hitting an initial approach that stays well outside the green and then successfully hitting the putting surface with your next full swing. This allows us to provide a detailed breakdown of why you missed the green, such as a tendency to miss short or pull the ball to the left.
GPS data isn't perfect, and neither is every swing. Occasionally, a signal glitch might record a shot as 500 yards, or a severe "topped" ball might travel only 2 yards. We use an automated cleaning process to find and remove these extreme errors. This ensures your club distances and averages represent your actual game rather than being distorted by a few fluke numbers.
For clubs marked as "Short Game" (like the Lob Wedge), we must separate short chips from full swings so your distance stats remain accurate.
Stability: Compares Last 20 vs. Last 40 rounds. Better for long-term consistency.
Sensitivity: Compares Last 20 vs. Previous 20 rounds. Better for seeing immediate impacts of practice or equipment changes.
Mode (Typical): The distance you hit most often (the "Stock" shot). Use this for planning shots you are confident in.
Median: The mathematical middle. Use this for general course management and clearing hazards, as it accounts for your typical dispersion.
Hover over any chart and click the Camera Icon in the top-right to download a high-quality PNG image for printing or sharing with a coach.
Make Life Great, Inc. is the small company behind Golf Insights, dedicated to building tools that improve both your personal and professional life.