We’ve had eight winners on tour so far and they have been a variety of players… some long, some short. Some people have focused in on one type of player and ignored the rest. The numbers of all eight show us that things really haven’t changed.
Eight tournaments up and eight tournaments down. We’ve had a long hitter (JB Holmes) win at the FBR and a few not-so-long hitters (David Toms, Arron Obelholser) win at Waialae and Pebble Beach. Another thing we’ve also had is a lot of talk, discussion and consternation in our forums and from an old friend.
I’ve taken each winner’s numbers and see if they agree with one side or the other… or even both. Read on to see what it says.
Michelle Wie may want to compete on the PGA Tour, but her game does not compare to Tiger, Ernie and Vijay. There are other golfers that she can model her game after if she continues competing against the men.
So is it possible? We’ve all had this discussion time and time again and we all know Wie is going to continue to try. After all, her ultimate goal is to play in the Masters. So not only is she going to have to play on the PGA Tour, she is going to have to be very good against those guys as well. I don’t think Hootie is going hand out any special exemptions to the youngster.
The best place to start with Wie is the numbers. There was a recent article by Mike Vitti posted on the PGA Tour’s website that did a great job on her stats and was able to post detailed info. The article ends by giving Michelle a few guys on the PGA tour to model her game after. I agree, but there is a better golfer for Wie to use as an example.
Golf is a great source of exercise. Whether you walk or ride, you are burning calories. The only problem is that we often consume quite a bit on the golf course as well.
There are a lot of debates about whether golf is a true “sport.” Tired of hearing people whine, I’ve decided to make “fitness” and “exercise” the focus of this week’s Numbers Game – the true “sport or not” debate can wait for another time.
What is not debatable is the fact that you get quite a bit of exercise in golf-related activities. How much? I’ll break down my previous year and see just how many calories I burned and maybe how to change a few things to burn a few more.
Tiger and Annika are the most dominant players in the world. If you compare one against the other though, Annika dominantes a bit more but Tiger still leads in major victories.
Tiger and Annika. Annika and Tiger. Either way you look at it, they are the two most dominant golfers in the game today. Period.
My question is who is more dominant? While you can’t send them both out on the course against one another (sorry ladies), you can look at how they did against their peers. I’ve done that, and the results are interesting.
Myths are just that until we look a little closer at them. Sometimes they can be busted, sometimes they can be proven… and sometimes they remain that way.
There are a few things in golf that are considered – or better yet – assumed to be true. I thought it might be interesting to run down some of these items and find out if they really are true or if the numbers say otherwise. I’m not looking to single out one certain area, but cover a few things that one might take for granted without looking a bit deeper.
Read on to find out if any myths were busted.
There are two values of your golf bag, its real value and its sentimental value.
I have friends that have had their golf bag stolen or lost. I’ve also heard stories of a bag being destroyed with all its contents… think of a Seinfeld episode here. Regardless, your bag and clubs not only hold a real value, but a sentimental one as well. The question is, how much is it all worth to you? I’ll run down my bag and tell you what mine is worth not only to be physically replaced, but in my mind (or heart) as well.
Will David Duval keep his card? That’s the question a lot of golf fans are asking. After his first tournament, there were some good and bad things I took away, but overall, things are looking better.
Imagine yourself in his shoes. Most everyone is rooting for you, but there are others. Others that doubt you and doubt that you can return to form. Then you start your first round of your last exempt year with a double bogey and follow it up later with four straight bogeys. Imagine yourself standing on #9 tee with that on you. What goes through your mind?
If you’re David Duval, you just shrug it off and make a birdie. Then four holes later, you make another. You salvage a 75 and proceed to make the cut. Which, by the way, is just as many as you made in 20 tournaments last year.
The numbers on the LPGA tour show the same characteristics as the PGA Tour and in some ways is more consistent and telling. The data also proves the 40-30-20-10 rule once again.
I’ve ignored the women too long. Sorry, its just a habit us men have. So far nearly all of my research has been based on the PGA Tour. This week, I’m going to look at the LPGA Tour and see if I come to the same conclusions.
Some of the first research found that Greens in Regulation (GIR) correlated closest to scoring followed by Putting (PA), Driving Distance (DD) and then Driving Accuracy (DA). Will it be the same for the ladies? Read on to find out. And, of course, check the “Numbers Game” archives for the original articles on these trends and numbers.
Looking into the past may gives us a better idea what will happen in the future. 11 years worth of data shows us a few things.
We’ve seen a lot of things over the last 11 years in golf. Most notably is the emergence of Tiger Woods. But there have been technological advances, course lengthening and a fitness revolution. All of these have had an effect on golf.
Some of these may negate others. Some may not. Hopefully the past numbers over the years will give us a little bit of insight into how future trends of stats will play out. Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it, they say. We can’t save you from such a fate, but we can look back and learn a little about the (possible) future of golf.
