Meet Ed Crossman, one of Clippd's co-founders. Ed plays off a 3 handicap at Sunningdale GC and has been using Clippd's insights to shape his practice and drive his game towards scratch. "Clippd is making me better faster," he says. "But I would say that!" As everyone who has faced him on the course or on the Clippd office putting green will testify, Ed is a tough competitor and a demon with the flatstick. But what does his What To Work On priority list reveal about his game? How is he using the feature to become even more annoyingly good? And what upcoming features is he most excited about?
Ed's 1-year trend for Player Quality, showing a peak at 92.4
Looking at your performance in 2022 (above), you hit 92.4 for Player Quality in February but what happened in May?
Ed Crossman: I cracked my ribs after falling over when out running. Interestingly, I could hit driver without any problem but anything off the fairway was very painful, which has seen a serious drop off in my APP game.
You've talked about Clippd highlighting that your short game was good from light rough but not so good from the fairway and that as a result you worked on this part of your game. How does your current WTWO Importance to Scoring graph and the top-3 items on your priority list (above) reflect where you feel your game is currently at?
EC: I’ve always thought that chipping was a strength of my game; I have lots of memories to draw upon of those glamour flop shots from the rough to two feet. Clippd confirmed that my ARG from the rough was indeed very good (for me) but that from the fairway and bunkers I was startlingly weak. I had no idea. Cue much thinking about my fairway ARG play and a change of club that I normally use, from Lob Wedge to Sand Wedge or a straighter faced club. I’ve seen significant gains in this area and a sharp rise in my overall ARG Player Quality. However, my bunker play clearly needs work so I’ve recently spent plenty of time working on it. We’ll have to see how I progress!
Ed Crossman in his 'office' in the Clippd office
I’ve always known that putting was a key component of my game, but I had no idea quite how much putting from 8-15 ft is. I’ve always focused my putting practice on inside 7ft, and that is shown in my strong scores in this range. It’s also helped that there are Clippd putting drills I can work on at home, which is crucial given I have a one-year-old daughter and limited time to practice! But clearly I need to work on those longer putts. I’m waiting for the new Clippd practice drills to include an 8-15 ft putting drill. I’ve seen that this distance is a key driver for a lot of tour pros, too. I wonder how they practice?
Putting between 8-15ft is indeed the top item in your What To Work On list. Do you feel like this is the area that is letting you down or was it a surprise to see this at the top?
EC: The way I think about it is it’s top because it’s so important. It might be a strength but if I let it drop it will have a major impact. I can also be quite streaky at that distance. Now it’s a case of how can I become more consistent?
Ed's PUTT dashboard in Clippd
You have a Player Quality of 96 for putting and it's at 44% in your Importance to Scoring chart. How much of your practice time goes into putting?
EC: I love the office putting green and practicing at home but it’s not often that structured. That said, I maintain that putting skins with some small stakes on the line really focuses the mind on putting performance!
You have a lot of practice drills in My Activities. Do you feel like your attitude to practice has changed since you started recording it?
EC: Massively. Until the last six months, the driving range has been somewhere I thought I was “grinding” or “working on a feeling” when in hindsight I was basically bashing golf balls and mostly hitting my driver. The Clippd drills, especially around wedge ladders, have been hugely useful. I love the random yardage generator and feel my ability to hit a yardage on the course has improved out of sight. I also really enjoy seeing my Trackman Combines in Clippd, especially with the Clippd Quality metrics giving an easy way to understand my performance. My local range is Toptracer so I can’t wait for that integration to Clippd to happen!
What’s your favourite practice drill within Clippd?
EC: Must Make Putting! I’m obsessed with it. I recently scored 19/20 with a wedge. I think I might need to get out more!
Before Clippd, what did you think was the weakest part of your game?
EC: My driving. But I’ve been working really hard over the winter on my driving with Benn Barham and I’m really starting to see a difference now. If only someone had told me about his 3-ball drill 20 years ago.
Ed's OTT 1-year trend
Your OTT, APP and ARG have all trended positively over the last year. What do you put this down to and did Clippd help to highlight any flaws?
EC: As ever, it’s a combination. Clippd has made it clear what my strength and weaknesses are. Some of those I could address myself, especially using the practice drills. But to improve my driving, my coach Benn has made all the difference. The consistent uptick in driving performance this year [see above] has been great for both of us to see.
Which new Clippd features are you most excited about seeing launched in the weeks ahead?
EC: The Garmin integration and more drills are two massive wins for me. I love my Garmin watch as I use it for running, cycling and general health, as well as recording my round data on course. Being able to seamlessly integrate it to Clippd is going to be a big win. As we add more drills to Clippd and allow coaches to upload their own, I think we’re going to open up practice with a purpose to golfers everywhere. Focused and targeted practice is how you get good at anything. Combined with What To Work On, Clippd will offer golfers a completely new way of improving their game.
