Golf stats benchmarks
What is a good sand save percentage for a scratch (0–5 handicap)?
45%
From greenside bunkers, a 0–5 handicap golfer saves par roughly 45% of the time. Bunker play is the most technique-dependent short game skill — and the one where amateurs are furthest behind better players.
What this stat means
A sand save means getting up and down from a greenside bunker — out in one, then one putt. The gap between handicap bands is bigger in sand than anywhere else around the green, because bunker technique has to be learned deliberately.
Sand saves by handicap
How to improve it
The goal from sand is not to get close — it is to get out, on the green, every single time. Eliminating the doubled bunker shot is worth more than the occasional one that finishes stiff.
Where do you stand?
TM Stats tracks every one of these numbers automatically — plus Strokes Gained, the tour-level stat that shows exactly where your shots go. Free to start, no card needed.
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