The 5% training model

Fredrik Jendelid gave up his own career as a professional player in the mid-1980s and instead concentrated entirely on coaching other professional players.

After 15 years of searching for the definition of a good golf shot, Fredrik decided that a golf shot that landed within 5% of the starting distance was a good shot. If you train to always reach this 5% corridor, you gain a lot of understanding of what a good shot is and most players are particularly motivated by this challenge.

Of course, this “rule” does not apply to every player. For a player with handicap 23, a good shot will be different than for a tour player. The parameters change with the player's level of skills.

5% table:

So if you tee off and hit the ball about 200 meters, it should stay within a 10 meter radius of the intended goal (for example, from the middle of the fairway).

You can calculate the strokes for par 3, par 4 or par 5 holes. If the ball always stays within a 5% distance, it is practically impossible to get a worse result than par.

Training model

It is of course up to each coach and player to change the parameters so that the exercises can be adapted to the respective skill levels.

Tools required:

• 10 practice balls
• Meter stick
• Laser measuring device
• Duct tape
• Ropes and cords
• Notepad
• 5% table
• Small cones
• Large cones

The practice balls for training should be the same quality as the balls you play with in the tournament.

With the cones you first mark the points from which you want to putt, chip, pitch or hit the balls. Then measure the distances to the target with the laser rangefinder or meter stick. After this, use the 5% table to find the radius within which you have achieved a good shot. Stake out the corridor with tees or mark it with a rope, a string or the little cones.

You can then write down the respective exercises in a notepad and enter your results so that you can follow your improvements over a longer period of time.

Psychological effects

One of the greatest advantages of these exercises is probably on the mental level. By constantly being under psychological pressure to reach a certain goal (the 5% corridor) you’ll learn to perform under high pressure. This pressure is comparable to the tension that can be experienced during the tournament.

Physical effects

With this model you can learn to train with great concentration over a longer period of time without losing interest in the exercise. This is how you can build up extreme physical endurance for hard training.

Limits of the model

Putt

For putts up to 6 meters away, it is not recommended to stake out a circle, but a semicircle that begins at the height of the hole. With putts of this distance, most players train to punch them. Therefore a putt that stays in front of the hole would not be a good putt in this aspect.

Tee shot

When teeing off, length control is not necessarily important, but primarily directional control. The model should therefore be adjusted so that only the direction is evaluated. Instead of measuring the radius you measure from the middle of the fairway (for example) 5% to the left and 5% to the right.

Difficult positions

The model should not be used in those situations, otherwise it will be too difficult. In suboptimal positions it is already difficult enough to get the ball somewhere close to the goal.

Conclusion

Fred Jendelid recommends using the model especially for short games. Bunker strokes are often not trained enough, which is why they appear to be the most difficult for players.

It is important to emphasize again that the 5% model is not suitable for all skill levels. Starting at a handicap of 10 it makes the most sense to start with this type of training.

Lots of fun and success!