Hitting a green in regulation - no matter your skill level - is a wonderful feeling. Striking a ball just as you had intended into the heart of the green and leaving yourself at least a birdie putt can take a lot of stress out of your game and, of course, ability to score.
And as a batch of data from Arccos has proven, successful birdie attempts can actually be few and far between for mid-to-high handicappers.
But how many greens in regulation does your average Joseph or Josephine hit when participating in a full round? Well, using the exhaustive data from Arccos, we can gain a very good idea.
If we take into account that the average UK male's handicap was 17.1 in 2022 and the average UK female's handicap was 27.2, and the median equivalent in the US was 14.2 and 27.5, respectively - the average handicap for all four categories equates to 21.5. Arccos data only allows the user to compare their own handicap to a maximum of 20, so that's what we'll use to start.
As a 20-handicapper, Arccos' statistics say a player will only record an average of 3.6 GIR per 18 holes. And even when they do, said golfer will be some way from the hole when attempting a birdie putt - around 36 feet, to be exact.
Moving up the scale, the incremental margins are quite slim. An 18-handicap golfer generally averages 4.14 GIR per round - that's just a 3% improvement - while a handicap which is three shots lower still only generates 4.86 GIR. That same 15 handicap player is likely to leave their birdie-or-better attempt at a range of 33 feet, too.
Once we reach the 12-handicappers and below, there becomes a noticeable difference in percentage chance of finding the green under par. The proximity to the hole is still 32 feet for those with an index of 12, but they record a GIR on 31% of holes (5.58 per 18).
After the 9-handicap golfers - who average 6.84 GIR per round - and the 6-handicap players, who can boast an impressive 7.92, only golfers who hold a handicap of 3 or lower give themselves a birdie-or-better opportunity at least half of the time (9).
And last but not least, we reach the scratch players and those lucky few golfers on Tour. According to Arccos, those off scratch leave their 10.08 GIR attempts per 18 holes at an average of 26 feet from the hole.
And if you want to compare yourself to the best, Tour-quality players tally up an average of 12.06 GIR per round (a shade over two thirds of their holes) while leaving their under-par putt at a median 23 feet away.
For the full stats across a range of handicap indexes, check out the table below...
How Many Greens In Regulation Does An Average Golfer Hit?
Source: Arccos
