Any stats or proof of just how good/precise a pro golfer is?

[saevel25]

Tiger putted out of his mind over the weekend, that's were he made up the stats. He was a much better iron player earlier in his carrier than he is now

Proximity to the hole for the average tour golfer from 125-150 yards is 23'3" in 2012, the elites were at or just under 20' from the pin from that distance

Inside 100 yards your looking at average 17', with the elite being sub 15'

These are from the fairway, from the rough, if they are inside 100 yards, there looking at average 25'6" to the whole, adding 8.5' to there proximity

[Stretch]

To the OP, if you think your friend is capable of understanding this, then send it to him. Because the numbers tell the story.

http://www.columbia.edu/~mnb2/broadie/Assets/broadie_wscg_v_200804.pdf

Particularly like this pro vs. am driving illustration (bearing in mind it's based on actual measured data, rather than just what people say on the Internet. )

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by watty

I was showing my buddy (who thinks he knows everything) the Mickelson shot off the cart path. He was claiming that it was a lucky shot, and of course, knowing golf, I pointed out that for a guy like Mickelson, it wasn't luck. It was skill and he was confident in his ability to hit that shot. So my buddy asks how many times out of 10 would Mickelson hit a decent shot onto the green, and I said 10. And out of 100, I said, probably 97 or 98 would be on the green. Maybe 2 or 3 would have missed, but anyway, he's going to basically always execute that shot. He was also asking how many times out of 100 a guy like Mickelson could bottom out his club in an exact spot, and I said again, basically every single time. He thought I was incredibly stupid.

So anyway my friend gets all worked up and high and mighty and telling me how stupid I am, but I am pretty sure I'm right. But I was looking around the internet to see if I could find any support. Anyone know of good links that have info on just how consistent and repeatable a pro's swing is?

There is a simple answer.  He COULD have taken a free drop off of the cart path but he chose not to because he knew the cart path shot was an easier shot.  With his short game the cart path shot gives him a relatively HUGE margin for error.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by turtleback

There is a simple answer.  He COULD have taken a free drop off of the cart path but he chose not to because he knew the cart path shot was an easier shot.  With his short game the cart path shot gives him a relatively HUGE margin for error.

and to add, more predictability than out of the rough.

[saevel25]

I think they were playing in Florida, if that was burmuda or a hyrbid of then, the cart path would be much easier shot.

[tuffluck]

i tend to think the tiger's and phil's could be the most gifted athletes in the world, even more than the michael jordan's, wayne gretzky's, etc.  i say that just because hand eye coordination that requires accuracy at 250+ yards avoiding obstacles...well, this is the only sport that competes on that front.

i played with a guy who was on the nationwide for a little while once.  there was a 285y par 4 over water that he hit a 3h on the green with and then made the eagle putt.  pretty much every other shot he had was also impressive, but i remember that one more than any.  i've never seen anyone else come close to doing that when i play...so if he's only half as good as the top pros, i'd say they are pretty darn good.

[David in FL]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

i played with a guy who was on the nationwide for a little while once.  there was a 285y par 4 over water that he hit a 3h on the green with and then made the eagle putt.  pretty much every other shot he had was also impressive, but i remember that one more than any.  i've never seen anyone else come close to doing that when i play...so if he's only half as good as the top pros, i'd say they are pretty darn good.

It's a good point....

All it takes is to actually play with someone that's that good.  Start with an honest scratch golfer.  Play with a +2, who's barely competitive on some of the mini tours.  If you're really lucky, get out with someone who was there, but couldn't stay on the Nationwide (Buy.com) Tour.  All of them are so much better than the rest of us schlubs that it's almost hard to believe.  Now realize that those guys aren't even CLOSE to good enough to earn, let alone keep, a card on the PGA Tour.  Take it one step further, the guys that have their PGA Tour card and are struggling to keep it, aren't in the same league as the Phils and Tigers.

It's honestly mind-boggling how good they are.  So much so that most golfers, let alone non-golfers, don't really understand what they're capable of with a stick in their hands.

[MS256]

Originally Posted by tuffluck

i've never seen anyone else come close to doing that when i play...so if he's only half as good as the top pros, i'd say they are pretty darn good.

I wouldn't say that guys on the Nationwide Tour are necessarily half as good as the top pros.

Like breaking into the top of any other sport it's more like a razor thin line, and a line that most players can never cross for any number of reasons. It could be distance, any part of the short game, ball striking, and probably most common mental focus.

There's a local guy here that has been on and off of the Nationwide Tour and missed the PGA Tour by one stroke at Q School. If he makes that last putt he's on the PGA Tour and who knows what could happen. Some people get a boost of confidence when they make the PGA Tour and actually play better. To stand on the range and watch him hit balls looks exactly like standing on the range and watching the top guys hit balls. He just was never able to put everything together often enough to match them.

The equivalent in baseball is the guy at Triple A that looks every bit like a Major League player and can tear the cover off of the ball but can never cross that thin line to hit Major League pitching.

[saevel25]

There's a finite spots available, usually just under 200 people will play on the PGA tour in a given year. With stroke play being the way to enter the PGA, you can see how tough it can be, when its one stroke that can make or break your year. For other sports, you can sit and learn, for golf you have to be ready.

[joekelly]

Sure it's mind boggling  for a 20 H'capper to play with a young stud scratch. Envy oozes out of your  ears.  But when that young buck goes up against his peers, that's the game.  For the money on offer only the strong and best survive. Why do you think we find so many golf teaching pros?