When I was 19, I practised 30–40 hours a week on my swing and got worse. After 20 years of coaching, here’s what I wish I’d known: the shots you want are already sitting in your scorecard.
Below are three ways to look at your own rounds, with benchmarks to compare against. Watch the video, or use this page as your reference. It works whether you’re a 25 handicap or scratch.
Step 1: Know your number
Your stroke average is the golden metric. Your handicap follows it.
Benchmark 1
Stroke average by handicap
Average score per round, compared with par
| Handicap | Average vs par | Typical score (par 72) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | +2.0 | 74 |
| 5 | +8.0 | 80 |
| 10 | +13.0 | 85 |
| 15 | +18.4 | 90 |
| 20 | +23.2 | 95 |
| 25 | +29.9 | 102 |
Your handicap is built from your best rounds, so your average sits 2–5 shots above it. The gap widens as handicaps rise.
Pick the handicap you want, then work out the average you need:
Step 1 · Set your target
Target average ≈ goal handicap + 2
Add 3 if your goal is in double figures. The gap between your current average and your target is the number of shots you need to find.
Example: I’m averaging +6 and want to get to a +1 handicap, which means averaging about 1 over par. That’s 5 shots to find.
It’s the same at the top of the game. On the PGA Tour in 2026, players who averaged half a shot lower roughly doubled their earnings.
Lens 1: Where on the course?
Your score is the sum of three types of hole. Work out your average on par 3s, par 4s and par 5s from your last 5–10 rounds, then compare it with the handicap you’re aiming for.
Benchmark 2 · Lens 1
Par 3, 4 & 5 scoring by handicap
Average score per hole
| Handicap | Par 3s | Par 4s | Par 5s |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 5 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.3 |
| 10 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 5.6 |
| 15 | 3.9 | 5.1 | 6.0 |
| 20 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 6.3 |
| 25 | 4.2 | 5.9 | 7.0 |
The longer the hole, the bigger the gap between handicaps. Multiply each gap by how many of those holes your course has: a typical par 72 has 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s and 4 par 5s.
Small gaps multiply. A 15 handicapper loses about 9 shots a round to a scratch golfer on par 4s alone, simply because there are 10 of them.
My example: I average 5.44 on par 5s, against 4.8 for a scratch golfer. My home course has 3 par 5s, so that’s about 1.9 shots a round on those holes alone. The next question is why: the tee shot, the lay-up or my strategy?
Lens 2: How is your score built?
Most golfers think they need more birdies. The data says otherwise.
Benchmark 3 · Lens 2
Birdies, bogeys & doubles by handicap
Average per round
| Handicap | Birdies | Bogeys | Doubles+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2.34 | 3.87 | 0.27 |
| 5 | 1.26 | 6.12 | 1.44 |
| 10 | 0.72 | 7.20 | 2.88 |
| 15 | 0.36 | 8.10 | 4.68 |
| 20 | 0.36 | 7.38 | 6.66 |
| 25 | 0.18 | 6.12 | 9.18 |
Birdies barely change as handicaps rise; doubles explode. From around a 13 handicap, doubles cost more shots than all your bogeys combined.
If you’re a 15 handicapper, turning half your doubles into bogeys is worth over 2 shots a round, without a single extra birdie.
Worked example
My score mix (1 handicap, 21 rounds)
Average per round, compared with the table above
| Score | Per round | Plays like a… |
|---|---|---|
| Birdies+ | 2.14 | Scratch golfer |
| Bogeys | 4.43 | 1 handicap |
| Doubles+ | 2.00 | 7 handicap |
Birdies+ includes 2 eagles; doubles+ includes 1 triple. Total: +6.24 per round.
I make birdies like a scratch golfer, but doubles like a 7 handicapper. Getting my doubles down to scratch level would be worth about 1.7 shots a round.
To find where your doubles come from, go through each one and ask what started it:
- A lost ball or penalty off the tee
- A mishit approach
- Two chips and three putts around the green
Patterns show up quickly. Mine come from trouble off the tee, then a few missed putts inside 6 feet. One rule helps: bogeys are fine, but don’t follow a bad shot with a stupid one.
Lens 3: Which skill?
Strokes gained shows how many shots you lose in each part of your game, and it’s one-to-one: gain one stroke and your score drops by one.
Lens 3 · Strokes gained
Zoom in three levels
Each level narrows down what to practise
Main areas
Driving, approach, short game, putting. Where are you losing the most shots per round?
Sub-areas
Zoom into your weakest area by distance or lie. For example, putts from 0–5 ft vs 20–30 ft.
Miss direction
Which way do the misses go? Left vs right off the tee, or short vs long with wedges, tells you how to practise.
My example: I lose 4.03 shots a round off the tee, almost half my total. And the direction matters. My misses left cost me 3.1 shots a round, against 1.3 for my misses right, so more than twice as much. Putting costs me 2.46 shots, and nearly all of it comes from inside 10 feet.
Worked example
My 5-shot plan
Strokes gained per round vs a tour baseline, and what I’m aiming to win back
| Area | Shots lost | Target gain |
|---|---|---|
| Driving | −4.03 | 2.5 |
| Putting | −2.46 | 1.25 |
| Approach | −1.68 | 1.0 |
| Short game | −0.43 | 0.25 |
| Total | −8.59 | 5.0 |
Nearly all of the putting loss comes from inside 10 feet. Baseline: [CONFIRM: tour-level strokes gained baseline].
Put it together
Each lens points at the same leaks from a different angle. For me, that’s par 5s (lens 1), doubles (lens 2), and driving and putting (lens 3). That’s a far better plan than beating balls on the range and hoping.
Your 10-minute check
Use your last 5–10 rounds
- Work out your current and target stroke average. The gap is the number of shots you need to find.
- Check your par 3, 4 and 5 averages against the benchmark for your goal handicap. Note the biggest gap.
- Count your birdies, bogeys and doubles per round. Look at where each double started.
- Use strokes gained to find the area, sub-area and miss direction holding you back.
Get all three lenses from your own rounds
Enter a round and Break X Golf works out your strokes gained, shows you where your shots are going and builds a practice plan around them. Free for 7 days.
Benchmarks: [CONFIRM SOURCE]. PGA Tour figures: adjusted scoring average and official money, 2026 season through 27 September.
