Scott recently updated the game boards to more accurately align with APBA’s boards. This post updates an earlier one about this tool by incorporating these changes and adding Sand lies to the table.
When pins are located at the very edges of greens (less than a full square away), the user may also want to consider the best path based on APBA board game tendencies for shot distributions. For Fairway, Rough and Sand lies, I have mapped these tendencies, and they are included in the table below.
How to Read the Table
- Everything shown is an Approach shot result from the respective yardage distance boards and from the point of view of the golfer.
- “Great” shots are PRNs of 12, 24, or 36 and are usually text-based outcomes (e.g., Hole + Dice). They are not shown in the table.
- “Good” shots are PRNs of 3, 6, or 9 and are within one grid-line of the target for shots from the Fairway or Rough. From the Sand, they are within two straight lines or one diagonal of the target.
- A “Miss” is one number up or one down from the PRNs of 3, 6, and 9 (i.e., 2, 4, 5, 7, 8). While they can be effective shots, they are just not termed “Good” shots for the table’s purposes.
- Really bad shots (i.e., double-digit PRNs) are not shown in the table.
- 0 means the shot was on target.
- Long means the shot is one grid-line long of the target; Short means the shot is one grid-line short.
- LR5 means the user chooses the result at either 5 yards left or right of the target.
- Short-LR5 means the shot was one gridline short and the user chooses the result at either 5 yards left or right of the target.
- SL means the result is one diagonal short and left of the target; SR is one diagonal short and right of the target.
- LL means the result is one diagonal long and left of the target; LR is one diagonal long and right of the target.
- -10L, which appears only in the Sand column, means the shot was 2 grid lines short and one gridline left of the target
- The results of working-the-ball are not factored into the table.
Notice that the tendencies change with distance from the target. For misses from the rough, consult the player’s Average I to see what works best for that type of player. For example, a player in the rough 55 yards from the target, with an Average I of 6, would miss Long Left or Long Right by one diagonal, with a PRN of 5 or 7.
A good shot (i.e., a PRN of 3, 6, or 9) for that same player in the rough at 55 yards from the target would be one grid-line short of the target. Were the player in the FW at that distance, a good shot would produce a LR5 result, and a miss (i.e., PRN of 5 or 7) would be Short Left or Long Right of the target by one diagonal.
Knowing these tendencies is particularly important around the tiny greens of Yatch Club and Seaside, or for any course with most of the pin placements at the edges of greens or adjacent to hazards, such as at Magnolia. This little table makes it a bit easier to quickly navigate these situations for best results.
The Chipping Tool can be downloaded here.