One of the major keys to lower scoring is hitting greens in regulation, but this isn’t always easy.
Inevitably, over the course of your round you will miss a few greens and need to get up and down to save your par, so which clubs should the average golfer use? 
We will look at up and down success, proximity to the hole, and shots to finish with wedges (GW, SW, LW) and then compare them with the clubs typically used for chip and runs (8i, 9i, PW). Having a dialed in short game is a great way to save strokes, and lower scores.
With the averages for these clubs we will be able to see what club can give you the best chances of success around the green.

Do these numbers surprise you? Or does it confirm what you already knew?

There is a time and place for every club in the bag and the beauty of short game is that we can be creative. However, the next time you are looking at a simple shot around the green perhaps less loft may help.

A lot of amateurs are very quick to reach for loft when around the greens, we can see they are almost twice as likely to use a high lofted club. However, this may not be in their best interests when it comes to scoring. 
From the data shown, for the average golfer, on every measurement the lesser lofted option is better. Proximity to the hole is 6ft closer, this is significant in terms of putting make percentages. 
Likewise, the average golfer is 8% more likely to get up and down when using an 8i/9i/PW in comparison to a GW/SW/LW. This further emphasises the benefit of using less loft. Proximity to the hole is better and the likelihood of a successful up-and-down increases.
With less loft in hand, the average golfer is likely to leave themselves within 6ft of the pin almost 1 in 3 times. As previously mentioned this helps with putting make percentages and is reflected in the shots to finish data.
Still not convinced?Think about the last time you played. How many times do you thin or fat a wedge around the greens and cost yourself a shot that could be easily saved. The chip and run is a very reliable shot to have and potentially less damaging than using a wedge around the greens.

When on the course, it is easy to try and replicate the shots that we see on the television, the only difference being that they are the top 1% of golfers in the world. So should we be trying to play like them? Probably not unfortunately.
However, we can learn from them when it comes to scoring. As we saw with Brian Harman, short game and putting can transform an average score into a great score. Harman gained almost 12 strokes on the field at the 151st Open Championship and would go onto win the Claret Jug, his first Major.

Remember – putt if you can, chip if you can’t putt, and pitch or use a lob hot only if you have to.

The above stat is the percentage of greens hit in regulation over the course of an 18 hole round of golf, are there any numbers in there that surprise you?

This may upset some players, in fact, a lot potentially.

Speaking to the masses here, the most common handicap in golf is somewhere between 10 and 15. Unfortunately, you guys do not hit as many greens in regulation as you might think.

The typical 10 handicapper hits 6.3 greens per round and this drops to 4.14 for the 15 handicapper – this translates to about 1 every 3 holes for a 10hcp and 1 every 4 holes for a 15hcp. 

Golfers are eternally optimistic and this is by no means intended to dishearten anyone thinking of teeing it up at the weekend but instead to help with the mental side of the game.

This helps to manage our expectations and should prevent us from being too tough on ourselves when we miss greens – easier said than done I know!

Often where players can be heard saying ‘I can’t believe I missed from there!’
100 yard – Fairway – Green Hit%

Does anything surprise you here?

Again, an interesting stat that we can see, is once again the typical golfer, 10-15hcp, is still pretty close to a 50/50 chance of hitting the green from 100 yards in the fairway.

The golfers  / members, that play off scratch, misses 1/4 of attempts at this distance and at the opposite end of our handicap spectrum, the 25hcp golfer misses ⅔’s of their attempts.

What does this mean for the amateur golfer ahead of their next game? Don’t be so hard on yourself! Missing the green is a lot more common than you think.
The worst thing you can do is let a bad break or bad shot completely derail your game. 
We have all played with someone that seems to think every shot should be perfect and when they are not, things spiral out of control.

So..... If you are the emotional type?! (Aren't we all???), 
Here is a summary of topics that could help you.

Missing the green forces us to try and convert an up and down attempt, which is not easy and often leads to dropped shots.

Give yourself the best chance to successfully get up and down by reading this blog. Short game saves strokes when out of position and like a lot of things in golf, it isn’t that easy, the tips i share can and will help.

All credit goes to the Author. The following information is courtesy of ARCCOS.

Greens in Regulation by Handicap

Greens hit from 100y by Handicap