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I don't keep stats on my game anymore. My guess would be I hit near 50% of fairways, but my GIR average is higher.

The stat I keep on my tee shots is simplified. I measure driver success by this...
DID MY TEE SHOT GIVE ME AN UNALTERED APPROACH TO THE GREEN.

So if I miss a fairway but I am in the first cut and have a good view of the green I check it off. This gives me a better idea of my misses and what they cost me. Sometimes a miss will be under a tree...I may still have a punch to the green, but if there is an obstacle then I cannot check that particular hole.

I am a 1.1 hdcp and my FIR is 52% ang GIR is just a bit under 60%. My wedges really hold my game together and I very very rarely 3 putt.

I've thought this for years: the good drive/bad drive stat.

I missed four fairways by a combined 5 yards Thursday. In fact, I think I went 13 for 13 hitting tee shots that left me a good approach to the green. It was a good driving day for me.

But by the technical definition, I only hit 7 of 13 fairways. And I do that a lot. A whole lot. I'm probably 70% or better on good drives vs. bad drives but only hit about 50% of the fairways.

You get legitimate tradeoffs on the greens in regulation vs. putting vs. up-and-down stats when you miss a green by 4 inches.

You get nothing for missing a fairway by 4 inches ... except typically a really good lie and good shot at hitting a green. But no bump on the stat sheet.

This is exactly how I measure it as well. If I'm three inches off the fairway into the first cut, then I still mark it as a fairway hit.

If I did this then my stats would be a good bit higher because I have alot of misses that are within 1 or 2 yds of the fairway.

Thomas, the key question is average compared to what?

All golfers? Male golfers have an average score of 97 on a regulation par 72 course and your FIR, GIR is way above that average according to data published last year in Golf Digest.

Compared to the average golfer active on this site? We'll see.

Compared to golfers with a handicap of "x"?

Compared to me?
My 2011 stats.
FIR = 71% (and if it's just in the first cut of rough it's a miss in my book)
GIR = 49%
Putts = 30.2/round
Up/Downs = 53%
Sand Saves = 50%

But I'm a 2 handicap.

The only reason I made this stat up is that my country club there are probably 3-4 holes where you can hit the fairway but you have no shot at the green.

So by my stats if I hit that fairway but am obstructed I cannot call that a good tee shot. On those holes I might be better off hitting into the rough 5 yards.

Yep, seen that one. I got a hole on one of my "home" courses that has a similar situation. Not that extreme, but I completely follow you there.

When being in the fairway is a bad shot, why hit the fairway?

They actually changed the par on one hole at my home course because of
something like this. The hole is a double dogleg right that almost makes a horse shoe. You cant hit a drive more than 250 or you go into a pond and if you hit your drive less than 230 you have no chance at hitting the green in two. If you do hit it in the right place you will have a 180 to 200 yd shot that has to go over a wooded hazard area and to a green that is narrow with a hazard to the right and a steep drop off to the left. It was a par 4 until about a year ago but it is now a par 5.

A lot of things to think about. I guess my thoughts would be, am I average to a 8.7 handicap? I can hit the fairways and the greens pretty regularly.

I just looked up my putts and this may be my failure. 2.04 putts per hole. That seems like a lot of putts when I am going for birdie so many times.

I'd agree.