Tweaking Stats Spreadsheet

[Hacker James]

Yes, I know there are various apps that give you all the stats you would ever need, but I prefer to maintain my own as it gives me the opportunity to create "what if" scenarios.  I have recently added some flexibility to my spread sheet (Excel) and enjoy fiddling with it. Raw data manually entered, but calculations are automated for indices, course handicap, differentials, personal running index. Plus reference chart for ESC.

I added the following columns: (also wanted to make sure that all data appears on a single sheet without need for scrolling in any axis.)

pars/birdies/bogeys/doubles/ trips+/GIR/FWYS  (these are manually entered for each round)

then I provided automated feature(s) that gives me  running Averages and Percentages per round. Example  86% FWYS, or 22% Bogeys or whatever. I can make certain assumptions and deductions, such as "Since I am hitting most fairways, but very few G.I.R., I can say that I am hitting straight shots,but coming up short, need to work on approaches and putts". (or somehow increase distance off tee). 

anyways...works for me. 

 

 

 

[Hacker James]

just in case someone wants to examine the spreadsheet, here is a link. I would suggest you do a "save as" in excel format. That way you can make any modifications and customize to your needs.

New Golf Handicap Sheet-JamesHunt-HP.ods

[Club Rat]

20 hours ago, Hacker James said:

Raw data manually entered, but calculations are automated for indices, course handicap, differentials, personal running index.

Hi James, Your spreadsheet has no formulas which calculate any results.
Also, what is the purpose of "running index"?

Handicaps are based on date sequence of rounds played. You have rounds in a random order?
Also, the spreadsheet only shows 2 rounds of data in "pars/birdies/bogeys/doubles/ trips+/GIR/FWYS"
I'm not sure how your analysis is beneficial in determining the good, bag and ugly of rounds played other than your not achieving many "GIR"
Even if you miss every approach shot, the ability to save a par or make no worse than bogey should keep scores in check.

Making one par, one birdie, 7 bogeys and 7 dbls and 2 trips while hitting 15 fairways indicates very poor iron play or bad short game or really bad putting in that round.

So where do you start with improving using the spreadsheet you have generated?

Sorry, but I can not grasp your concept?

[Hacker James]

21 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Hi James, Your spreadsheet has no formulas which calculate any results.
Also, what is the purpose of "running index"?

Handicaps are based on date sequence of rounds played. You have rounds in a random order?
Also, the spreadsheet only shows 2 rounds of data in "pars/birdies/bogeys/doubles/ trips+/GIR/FWYS"
I'm not sure how your analysis is beneficial in determining the good, bag and ugly of rounds played other than your not achieving many "GIR"
Even if you miss every approach shot, the ability to save a par or make no worse than bogey should keep scores in check.

Making one par, one birdie, 7 bogeys and 7 dbls and 2 trips while hitting 15 fairways indicates very poor iron play or bad short game or really bad putting in that round.

So where do you start with improving using the spreadsheet you have generated?

Sorry, but I can not grasp your concept?

it works fine. There are forumlae. I have not looked at the downloaded version, perhaps they did not carry over, or you are not using the edit function. It is in accordance with GHIN, which calculates the "best" average over a given number of rounds, you then need to run a sort as described at the very top, first by column "H" which places the rounds in the order of lowest to highest, then by column A, which sorts according to date. This way you get the appropriate average of most recent rounds. The running or current index would be the one adjacent to the bottom of the list which if you look would be the lowest average the lowest ten rounds in the most recent 20. The sheet shown is in "open office" format, which can be saved in Xcel. The rounds are not in"random" order, they are as described, i.e. lowest of most recent. It is not until you have twenty rounds does it use the best ten. It starts out lowest (1) of 5, then lowest (2) of 7 & 8, then lowest (3) of 9,10,11 and so forth.  Take a closer look, I think you will see. If not, that's okay too. It works for me.

oh...the 2 rounds of data is because those are the only ones I had the score cards for, as those fields are the ones recently added. Thanks for your interest.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Hacker James

[Hacker James]

@Club Rat oh....just noticed one thing and it is important!  when I added the additional fields to the right, they are beyond the "sort" range and therefore will not line up with the appropriate rounds, I will have to move them to a location they will be included.  I am glad you pointed that out (or not use them at all).  Thanks

[Club Rat]

18 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

Thanks for your interest.

James please send me your spreadsheet via PM.
For some reason, the link does not have an "edit" option.

[Hacker James]

19 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

James please send me your spreadsheet via PM.
For some reason, the link does not have an "edit" option.

OK. I did a little cut and paste and I think I fixed the problem. I sent attachment to your PM

[Hacker James]

for the general population....."Uh,  it needs a little work".

[iacas]

I'd be cautious about putting a lot of effort into something when all it can really tell you is some basic stuff.

I didn't see a ton of useful stats in there. Your scoring average and handicap? This feels like you're re-creating a worse wheel than has already been invented.

A decade ago I had a piece of software called "Scorecard" that took five stats from each hole in a round and calculated 35+ stats, and you could filter the stats by course, par 5s, tees, months, or whatever to track GIR % from the left rough, average distance of first putt after being in a greenside bunker, etc.

I'm sure the state has advanced significantly since then. Your time is worth something, too.

[Fairway_CY]

Do what works for you, man.  What others may not find value in, you may have a specific use for.  For instance, some people read a book and believe it to be the end-all, be-all on a subject.  Others may read the same book, not take anything of value from it and decide to use it to level their table.  

I have a stats spreadsheet on Google Docs that I've created and tweaked over the course of the last few years.  I use information obtained from Game Golf and my scorecards to input onto that spreadsheet and then I can compare, year-over-year, how I performed in certain categories.  

I still use the Scorecard program that iacas mentioned above.  It helps to digitize those scorecards and I can go back and look at them whenever I like without having to go through a book or a box or something.  I absolutely love the program, to be honest.

The way I figure it... if it's adding to your enjoyment of the game... that can't be a bad thing.  I'm a stats geek, so... compiling and perusing the data is something I enjoy.  It also helps me to figure out what areas of my game I'm struggling in as compared to weeks, months or years past.  I find it to be a valuable tool.  If you find yours to be of value to you and you enjoy it... do your thing!  

CY

[Hacker James]

15 minutes ago, Fairway_CY said:

Do what works for you, man.  What others may not find value in, you may have a specific use for.  For instance, some people read a book and believe it to be the end-all, be-all on a subject.  Others may read the same book, not take anything of value from it and decide to use it to level their table.  



 

Precisely!  There is a bit more to it than he alluded to as I have made some revisions. After all, as you aptly point out...It is MY time. I share things that I find helpful, others can choose to use or not.  It is simple, easy to use, and automated. Gives me what I want or need for that matter. I only need enter raw scores, then optionally other data (pars, birdies, e.t.c.).  I had stated quite clearly from my OP, that I am well aware of the various apps avail, which I do not have a need for. I added a table of my favorite courses and their slope. Once I plug in my current index, the course handicap is automatically calculated for each of those courses, in the event I am in a group of  players who may wish to use handicaps for the round. (seldom in my case).  Thank You.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Hacker James

[socalsharky]

On 11/16/2016 at 2:54 PM, Fairway_CY said:

Do what works for you, man.  What others may not find value in, you may have a specific use for.  For instance, some people read a book and believe it to be the end-all, be-all on a subject.  Others may read the same book, not take anything of value from it and decide to use it to level their table.  

I have a stats spreadsheet on Google Docs that I've created and tweaked over the course of the last few years.  I use information obtained from Game Golf and my scorecards to input onto that spreadsheet and then I can compare, year-over-year, how I performed in certain categories.  

I still use the Scorecard program that iacas mentioned above.  It helps to digitize those scorecards and I can go back and look at them whenever I like without having to go through a book or a box or something.  I absolutely love the program, to be honest.

The way I figure it... if it's adding to your enjoyment of the game... that can't be a bad thing.  I'm a stats geek, so... compiling and perusing the data is something I enjoy.  It also helps me to figure out what areas of my game I'm struggling in as compared to weeks, months or years past.  I find it to be a valuable tool.  If you find yours to be of value to you and you enjoy it... do your thing!  

CY

Speaking of Scorecard, whatever happened to that?  It was a great program. I still use it, but when I migrated to a Windows 10 machine, it no longer works.  I still have the original installation files, the license file, etc., but when I try to run it, nothing happens.

[Hacker James]

56 minutes ago, socalsharky said:

Speaking of Scorecard, whatever happened to that?  It was a great program. I still use it, but when I migrated to a Windows 10 machine, it no longer works.  I still have the original installation files, the license file, etc., but when I try to run it, nothing happens.

I dunno for sure, I thought I saw something like that recently, but the name changed slightly. I think I just googled scorecard. My latest changes to my home grown spreadsheet is working very well for me. It provides all I need, and I have added stats pars, birdies, bogies, dbls, rips, G.I.R., Fwys. It now has a separate section that will automatically calculate the course handicap for several local courses and adjust to my current index. The best feature is that I can add in a "what if" round and see how it will affect the running index, then simply "do not save" and it goes back to actual.

[iacas]

3 hours ago, socalsharky said:

Speaking of Scorecard, whatever happened to that?  It was a great program. I still use it, but when I migrated to a Windows 10 machine, it no longer works.  I still have the original installation files, the license file, etc., but when I try to run it, nothing happens.

The company closed. We moved on to other things.

[boogielicious]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

The company closed. We moved on to other things.

I think I was one of the last holdouts. It was so easy to use.

I'm using Foursum Golf's app now. They asked users for enhancement ideas and I suggested some of the features from Scorecard like first putt length and penalty shot tracking. They have a drive distance feature that links with their GPS, but you have to remember to use it.

[Hacker James]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I think I was one of the last holdouts. It was so easy to use.

I'm using Foursum Golf's app now. They asked users for enhancement ideas and I suggested some of the features from Scorecard like first putt length and penalty shot tracking. They have a drive distance feature that links with their GPS, but you have to remember to use it.

That looks pretty neat. I do not have a smart phone right now. I had an app years ago, but found it was so hard to see (probably due to the phone at the time) and a hassle to enter data during a round. If I get a phone, I will probably d/l this. Right now, it is so easy just to jot down basic stats on a paper score card while playing and input to a spreadsheet after the round. Thanks for the info.

[iacas]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I think I was one of the last holdouts. It was so easy to use.

I still have my copy on my computers, and it has all my old stats and rounds through probably 2012. I had 288 rounds in it and I was a +1 when I stopped using it, and a 1.8 anti.

[Fairway_CY]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I think I was one of the last holdouts. It was so easy to use.

I have an old laptop running Windows 7 on it that I keep around solely for the purposes of continuing to use Scorecard.  I have tried, multiple times, to get it to run on Windows 8 and Windows 10 machines using compatibility mode, but it just doesn't work... so I keep that old Dell around just to enter my rounds in Scorecard.

I believe I'm just shy of having 200 rounds entered at this point.  I believe the program is still one of the best out there despite not being updated for a few years at this point.  I've tried other sites like oobgolf.com and things like that, but... I love having access to create and adjust courses locally rather than having to send an email, wait for a reply and hope it gets fixed.  

CY