Do You Hit Enough Fairways And Greens in Regulation

Continuing our series of stat-based articles to help you set benchmarks for your game, we are posing the question of whether you hit enough fairways and greens in regulation.

Now, the obvious answer would be NO, unless you are that improbably robotic golfer who somehow manages to never miss their target in the requisite number of shots. Perfection would be boring, so thankfully that player doesn't yet exist, but it would be informative to see how you compare to others who play to a similar or better standard to see just where you stand in two essential categories that can make a significant difference to your scoring.

Thousands of golfers submit their scores and statistics into the Golfshake Score Tracker weekly, and you can join them today as part of our free and easy-to-use service. 

But more than that, it gives us a vast resource of data to see how different handicap levels compile their scores. Golf is fundamentally an aspirational game. We all want to improve and hit better shots - and these stats show the pathway to accomplishing just that.

How Many Fairways You Need to Hit Per Round

If you want to look at the very best, in 2024, Collin Morikawa leads the PGA Tour for driving accuracy as he successfully finds the fairway 78% of the time from the tee. Solheim Cup stalwart, Lizette Salas can boast an even greater percentage than that, as she hits the short grass a scarcely believable 88% of the time.

Now, we obviously can't expect that from you, but what does the average golfer achieve? Well, we estimate that the median player has a handicap of about 15 and they will hit 8.88 fairways per round. 

Assuming there are four par 3s on your 18-hole course, that roughly equates to hitting the fairway on par 4s and par 5s somewhere around 64% of the time. That is a target for most of us to emulate.

Fairways Per Round - Handicap Categories

• Handicaps 1-5: 12.82

• Handicaps 5-10: 10.30

• Handicaps 10-15: 9.12

• Handicaps 15-20: 8.61

• Handicaps 20-25: 7.86

• Handicaps 25-28: 7.07

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Do You Need to Hit More Greens in Regulation?

Once you've hit the fairway, the opportunity to find the green is laid before you. Marrying these two qualities is the most effective route to shooting lower scores as by avoiding the rough, bunkers and associated trouble, you will naturally take disasters away from your card by giving yourself more birdie opportunities.

You won't be shocked to hear that world number ones Scottie Scheffler (73.90%) and Nelly Korda (74.80%) lead their respective tours for greens in regulation. That's why they are both currently the best on the planet.

That average golfer of ours - the 15-handicapper - hits just 5.22 greens in regulation per round, averaging 22.77%. If you are doing better than that, then, compared to the majority of the golfing population, you're not in a bad position.

Greens in Regulation Per Round - Handicap Categories

• Handicaps 1-5: 10.84

• Handicaps 5-10: 7.96

• Handicaps 10-15: 6.09

• Handicaps 15-20: 4.38

• Handicaps 20-25: 3.12

• Handicaps 25-28: 2.57

Consider where you relate to these numbers and whether that comes as a surprise or not. Wherever you stand, hopefully this has given you something to aspire towards this season and beyond, which you can keep a record of by regularly using the Golfshake Score Tracker - which we naturally recommend to you!

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