Category: The Numbers Game

We all know how hard the U.S. Open is, and we knew how hard the it was going to be at Oakmont Country Club, but did it live up to expectations?

This week we’ll take a look at a few of the more interesting statistics from the 107th playing of the U.S. Open.

Continue reading “2007 U.S. Open Scores”

The U.S. Open is notorious for its idea of par as a standard. The courses that host the tournament are usually set up to be quite penal. “Par is a good score” you’ll hear pros say, and this year’s event at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, PA is looking no different.

The typical U.S. Open course has pinched fairways, long holes, super-fast, super-firm undulating greens, and the nastiest, thickest, juiciest rough you’ll ever want to see.

And yet the U.S. Open typically plays to about even par, and is actually trending lower. Let’s have a look.

Continue reading “Par is a Good Score”

While baseball may be a game of inches, golf, it’s been said, is a game of angles. It’s better to approach Augusta National’s 11th green from the far left edge of the fairway than, say, what used to be the far right edge of the fairway. It’s better to leave yourself an uphill putt than a downhill putt. If you play a fade, you’re better off teeing up on the right-hand side of the teebox.

Yes, in addition to being a mental exercise, a stroll in the park, and one of the few solitary sports in the world, golf is a game of angles. This week in The Numbers Game we take a look at some of those angles: how far offline can you start a three-foot putt and still expect to make it? How about a ten-foot putt? How hard is it to hit the green or fairway?

Let’s find out.

Continue reading “Angles of Error”

With his win this week at the Wachovia Championship, Tiger Woods surpassed the $4 million mark for the eighth straight year. And it’s only May!

It’s unquestioned that Tiger Woods has had a dramatic effect on the game, and certainly on the money list. Though you can ask the old codgers about the days winning barely paid for the gas to the next tournament, the modern-day PGA professional must make over half a million dollars just to keep his Tour card!

The money list is one of the few stats that measure actual performance on the course. It’s also one of the few areas in which we can statistically and visibly see Tiger’s effect on the game of golf.

Let’s have a look.

Continue reading “Money List Trends”

This week, The Sand Trap is throwing hard light on slow play on America’s golf courses. We’re fed up, tired, and sick of spending five hours traversing four miles of course, especially when there are so many incentives to play more quickly: more time with family, more time at the 19th hole, more time to play another 18 holes, and the increased likelihood that our spouse will let us play to begin with!

In this week’s The Numbers Game, we’re going to look at how much time one can save doing simple, efficient things on the golf course, ranging from walking more quickly to being ready to play when it’s your turn.

Read on, because I think the amount of time you can save may be impressive.

Continue reading “Slow Play Calculations”

The Masters is over. Zach Johnson is the winner, Tiger Woods failed to mount a Sunday charge (as did most of the rest of the field), and Augusta put up more than a fair fight. So be it.

While we’re between Numbers Game columnist, I thought I’d fill in with some quickie stats from this year’s playing of the U.S. Open, errr, Masters Invitational.

Continue reading “2007 Masters in Numbers”

It has come to this. In every sport it’s possible to find predictions, whether in the Las Vegas sports books or in your weekly fantasy league. But what if you could have a slight advantage over the rest of your league mates? What if you could predict the future?

Well, you’re looking in the wrong place! This article is basically just a proof of concept from my last article in that I am going to make some minor tweaks to the 40-30-20-10 Rule to see if they can predict the outcome of a tournament more effectively than The Golf Channel‘s WinZone.

Continue reading “Reformulating a Formulated Formula”