Was July your best month yet? Compare your game with the average iGolfer

Was July a good month for your golf? Maybe your Handicap Index® finally started moving in the right direction. Maybe you played more often. Or perhaps it felt like every promising round still had one or two holes that got away from you.

We analysed 99,552 scores submitted by 39,012 iGolfers during July to find out what the average month looked like.

Here are the numbers – and, more importantly, how your own July compares.

July at a glance

The average active iGolfer in July:

  • Submitted 2.55 scores
  • Saw their Handicap Index® change by -0.15
  • Recorded 1.09 birdies
  • Made 9.61 pars
  • Recorded 15.90 bogeys
  • Made 9.94 double bogeys
  • Recorded 6.24 triple bogeys or worse

And across the whole iGolf community, there were 55 holes-in-one, 14 albatrosses and 1,059 eagles.

So, where did you sit?

How often did you play?

July was a busy month for iGolf.

Almost 100,000 scores were submitted, up around 18% from June’s 84,299 and only slightly below May’s season-high 105,455.

The average active iGolfer submitted 2.55 scores – the highest monthly average this year so far.

Where did you fit?

Scores submitted in July iGolfers
1 38.1%
2-3 39.5%
4-5 14.7%
6-9 6.6%
10+ 1.1%

If you submitted two or three scores, you were firmly in the most common group.

If you submitted four or more, you were among the most active 22.4% of iGolfers during July.

And if you reached double figures? You were in the top 1.1% for playing frequency.

The season is getting busier

Back in March, the average active iGolfer submitted just 1.99 scores and more than half submitted only once. By July, the average had climbed to 2.55, while the proportion submitting four or more scores had risen from 12% to 22.4%.

Month Average scores submitted
March 1.99
April 2.39
May 2.54
June 2.37
July 2.55

If you feel like you’ve been playing more golf as the summer has progressed, the rest of the iGolf community seems to be doing the same.

Did your Handicap Index® come down?

For the average active iGolfer, Handicap Index® movement in July was -0.15.

That continues a clear change from the start of the season.

Month Average Handicap Index® change
March -0.03
April -0.02
May -0.13
June -0.14
July -0.15

July therefore produced the largest average downward movement in the series so far, marginally ahead of June.

However, that doesn’t mean everyone’s Handicap Index® was falling.

24.9% of active iGolfers recorded a reduction during July.

So if yours came down, you were part of roughly one in four active iGolfers who managed it.

And if it didn’t? You certainly weren’t alone.

Handicap Index® movement isn’t always linear. One month of higher scores can move it upwards, while a strong new score replacing an older counting score can move it quickly in the other direction.

What did the average iGolfer actually score?

This is where the July data gets particularly useful.

Across their submitted scores, the average active iGolfer recorded:

Outcome Average in July
Eagles 0.03
Birdies 1.09
Pars 9.61
Bogeys 15.90
Double bogeys 9.94
Triple bogeys or worse 6.24

While the average iGolfer recorded 1.09 birdies across July, some of the more useful numbers are further down the table.

The average golfer recorded 16.18 double bogeys or worse across their July scores – and 6.24 of those were triple bogey or worse.

In other words, almost 39% of the double-or-worse outcomes were actually triples or worse.

That’s where a lot of shots can disappear.

Forget birdies for a moment – how many good holes did you play?

Because golfers submit different numbers of scores, comparing monthly totals isn’t always particularly useful. The percentage of holes in each scoring category gives us a much better benchmark.

For the average active iGolfer in July:

24.11% of holes were par or better

That means roughly one in four holes resulted in a par, birdie, eagle or better.

74.82% were bogey or worse

Approximately three in four holes finished bogey or worse.

1.07% were recorded as blobs

That gives you a simple way to compare your own game.

Look back through your July scores.

Were more than one in four of your holes par or better? If so, you were ahead of the July iGolf benchmark.

How costly were your bad holes?

There were:

  • 15.90 bogeys
  • 9.94 double bogeys
  • 6.24 triple bogeys or worse

for the average active iGolfer across July.

Bogeys are part of almost everyone’s scorecard. The difference becomes much bigger when a bogey turns into a double – and bigger again when a difficult hole becomes a triple or worse.

Think back over your own July rounds. If you’re looking for somewhere to improve, your worst few holes may tell you more than your birdies do.

Did you do something genuinely exceptional?

Of course, sometimes golf isn’t about averages at all.

Across July, iGolfers recorded:

  • 55 holes-in-one
  • 14 albatrosses
  • 1,059 eagles
  • 42,367 birdies

With 39,012 active golfers, that works out at roughly one hole-in-one for every 709 iGolfers during the month.

An albatross was rarer still – approximately one for every 2,787 active iGolfers.

If you managed either, you can safely ignore the averages!

Your July benchmark

You played more frequently than average if…
You submitted three or more scores.

If your Handicap Index® came down…
You were in the top 24.9% for the month.

You beat the average scoring mix if…
More than 24.11% of your holes were par or better.

And if none of those sound like your July? That’s part of the reason to keep tracking.

From March to July, the average number of scores submitted has increased from 1.99 to 2.55. 

How did your July compare?

Check your scores and Handicap Index® in the MyEG app, then join the 3,000+ iGolfers in the iGolf Community Group on Facebook and share how your month went.