Data drives decision-making on TOUR

Innovators often must endure criticism, and Sam Snead was no exception. Snead’s strategy off the tee would fit right in on today’s PGA TOUR, but it was anathema when he was a star in the middle of the 20th century. His contemporaries, Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, were lionized for their accuracy. Snead was sometimes portrayed as a simple country bumpkin who swung for the fences. But he was on to something when he wrote, “I’d rather play a wedge second shot out of rough than a 5-iron from the fairway. … To me, playing terrain had to come second to reducing distance from tee to pin with the opening shot.” Snead reasoned that if the aim of the game is to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible, then it’s advantageous to advance it as far as possible. Not everyone agreed. Grantland Rice, the renowned sportswriter, was among those who criticized Snead’s seemingly careless approach. “You’re going against the book,” Rice said, according to Snead. “Golf is a position game.” Some may argue that Snead’s propensity to pound drivers is the reason he never won a U.S. Open, but it also helped him set the PGA TOUR’s wins record (82), a mark he now shares with Tiger Woods. “I powdered them hard and into possible trouble because the percentage was with me,” Snead wrote. He’s been vindicated by the hard data, specifically ShotLink powered by CDW. ShotLink’s ability to track every shot allows players to replace intuition with objective measurement. Just as analytics assaulted many of baseball’s long-held beliefs, ShotLink has led to changes in golf’s orthodoxy. “You’re just trying to gain that little bit of an advantage,” said Joel Dahmen. “Out here we’re looking for microscopic advantages, we’re talking tenths of a shot.” ShotLink powered by CDW allows players to achieve those small, but incremental, gains by helping them make better decisions. By showing the scoring averages from different portions of the course, ShotLink allows an optimal course-management strategy to be devised. And players can receive answers to questions like, “Is it better to be 150 yards from the hole, but in the rough, or 180 yards away and in the fairway?” ShotLink can prove whether it’s better to aim at the flag with a wedge or 15 feet to the left. Some players like Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods intuitively knew the best way to navigate a golf course. Now the data allows more players to master the mysteries of proper course management. The data can be especially helpful to new pros, giving them knowledge that it used to take multiple seasons to accrue. It could be one contributing factor to the five wins we’ve seen since July from players under the age of 23. “With ShotLink, with all the data the club companies can give you to help you map out the course, that tells you where you’re making birdies and which is worse, the left rough or the right rough. All that stuff helps,” said Collin Morikawa, who won the Barracuda Championship in his sixth start as a pro. An array of analysts are now employed by TOUR players. Their spreadsheets determine the veracity of the game’s conventional wisdom and help players effectively balance risk and reward. They’ve become valuable members of players’ teams, alongside their caddie, coach, psychologist and trainer. Driving and approach play are two of the areas where data has had the biggest impact on decision-making. While no analyst worth his salt would advocate a one-size-fits-all approach, some themes have emerged. ShotLink has largely confirmed Snead’s theory, that the penalty one receives from finding the rough slightly more often is offset by the gain of being closer to the hole. And an even bigger advantage is accrued when the longer tee shot finds the fairway. But when hitting approach shots, players often take on too much risk, especially with short irons. Traditionalists may hate the “bomb and gouge” style of play, even if Snead was advocating for it in the middle of the 20th century, but it’s backed up by data. Scott Fawcett, a course-management consultant to several pros and collegiate programs, says players should hit driver as long as the landing area fits a couple criteria, most importantly that there’s 65 yards between penalty areas. The criticism of “aggressive” play from the tee is often based on a false dichotomy that says the safe play was guaranteed to find the fairway while the longer club was destined for the rough. That, of course, isn’t the case. Even when a longer shot may leave the tricky half-wedge shot that TOUR players purportedly hate, it’s still advantageous in most situations to hit the ball closer to the green. The data shows that it takes TOUR players almost an identical number of strokes to hole out from 90 yards in the fairway (2.76) as it does from 40 yards in the rough (2.77). From 40 yards out and in the fairway, a TOUR player takes 2.59 strokes to hole out. “Unless there’s water guarding the pin, I try to get it as close to the green as possible on my second shot (on par-5s),” FedExCup leader Webb Simpson wrote in Golf Digest. “I used to lay up to 90 or 100 yards, but I studied my stats and I’m just as good or better from 60 yards. So now I go for it.” Charles Howell III points to the 13th hole at Bay Hill as an example of how the stats have changed his strategy. He often laid back on the 370-yard hole because he didn’t want to be left with a touchy wedge shot to a green fronted by water. Laying back meant hitting between two fairway bunkers, though. Now Howell hits driver off the tee, even though the tee shot often runs through the downhill fairway and into the rough. For Dahmen, the data led to a different conclusion. It showed that he should be less aggressive on reachable par-5s. He likes his long clubs, but he was making too many bogeys in an attempt to make eagle. Now he’s trying to leave himself an easy up-and-down or two-putt instead of aiming at the flag and risking being short-sided. “I’m try to get it in the right position, which isn’t necessarily on the green,” Dahmen said. “That’s probably the biggest one for me. My par-5 scoring has improved a ton and it’s because I’m not even trying to hit it on the green sometimes.” While the math favors more aggressive play off the tee, it often asks players to temper their expectations into the greens. Nelson once said he was trying to hole any approach with a 7-iron or shorter, but the data has shown that TOUR players, though they’re the best in the world, may not possess such pinpoint accuracy. In reality, TOUR pros average three strokes to get the ball in the hole from 170 yards and in the fairway. If a player feels invincible with a short-iron in his hand, he may be taking on more trouble than he should. “I think about 50-60% of your swings are effectively the same, but there are so many small, random variables – a couple millimeters difference in contact, a couple miles per hour of wind – that impact where your ball ends up,” Fawcett says. If a player averages 30 feet from the hole from 150 yards, then he or she should imagine the target as the center of a circle with a 30-foot radius. Fawcett likes to say that even though players like to imagine they’re firing a sniper rifle, they actually should imagine it’s more like a shotgun pattern. In simple terms, Fawcett uses Strokes Gained numbers to find the circle that covers an area with the lowest expected scoring average. This often means hitting closer to the center of the green than pros are accustomed to. Using quantitative methods to select targets also allows players to have more confidence in their target selection. “When you hit a shot, you observe only one outcome, but you need to plan for the range of outcomes that could happen, taking into account the likelihood of each,” Broadie wrote. “Football coaches develop game plans to take advantage of the opposing team’s weaknesses. Baseball managers have a strategy toolkit that includes lineups, pitching changes and defensive alignment. “Coaches, managers and players in many sports engage in constant strategy sessions to try to maximize their chances of winning. Although we don’t always think of it, in golf a good game plan also increases our chances of (shooting) a better score.”

Click here to read the full article

Did you win, but don’t know how to collect your winnings? Our partner site Hypercasinos.com will explain how online casinos pay out winnings.
Hero Indian Open
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Jordan Smith+650
Joost Luiten+750
Keita Nakajima+750
Matteo Manassero+1100
Ewen Ferguson+1400
Sam Bairstow+1400
Adrian Otaegui+1600
Romain Langasque+1600
Fabrizio Zanotti+2800
Alex Fitzpatrick+3000
Click here for more…
2nd Round 3 Balls – D. Ravetto / A. Sandhu / P. Figueiredo
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
David Ravetto+110
Ajeetesh Sandhu+185
Pedro Figueiredo+275
2nd Round 3 Balls – S. Baisoya / D. Lawson / R. Gouveia
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Ricardo Gouveia+155
Deyen Lawson+185
Sachin Baisoya+185
2nd Round 3 Balls – R. Khan / D. Van Tonder / Y. Sandhu
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Daniel Van Tonder+120
Rashid Khan+180
Yuvraj Sandhu+250
2nd Round 3 Balls – E. Kofstad / L. Scalise / J. Weon Ko
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Jeong Weon Ko+130
Lorenzo Scalise+150
Espen Kofstad+280
2nd Round Match-Up – S. Bairstow v A Fitzpatrick
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Alex Fitzpatrick-130
Sam Bairstow+110
2nd Round Match-Up – J. Luiten v R. Cabrera Bello
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Joost Luiten-175
Rafa Cabrera Bello+145
2nd Round 3 Balls – R. Cabrera Bello / A. Fitzpatrick / S. Kapur
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Alex Fitzpatrick-115
Rafa Cabrera Bello+180
Shiv Kapur+400
2nd Round Match-Up – J. Veerman v M. Kieffer
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Johannes Veerman-110
Maximillian Kieffer-110
2nd Round Match-Up – J. Morrison v T. Lewis
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
James Morrison-110
Tom Lewis-110
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Veerman / A. Hidalgo / J. Morrison
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Angel Hidalgo+150
Johannes Veerman+170
James Morrison+210
2nd Round Match-Up – M. Kawamura v A. Sullivan
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Andy Sullivan-120
Masahiro Kawamura+100
2nd Round 3 Balls – E. Ferguson / M. Kieffer / A. Sullivan
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Ewen Ferguson+125
Andy Sullivan+175
Maximilian Kieffer+250
2nd Round Match-Up – C. Jarvis v M. Penge
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Casey Jarvis-145
Marco Penge+120
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Penge / M. Kinhult / L. Nemecz
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Lukas Nemecz+165
Marco Penge+170
Marcus Kinhult+190
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Parry / D. Hillier / S. Bairstow
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Sam Bairstow+130
Daniel Hillier+180
John Parry+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Schneider / C. Jarvis / M. Schwab
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Matthias Schwab+150
Casey Jarvis+180
Marcel Schneider+190
2nd Round Match-Up – B. Stone v G. Migliozzi
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Guido Migliozzi-125
Brandon Stone+105
2nd Round Match-Up – S. Sharma v A. Otaegui
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN
Adrian Otaegui-120
Shubankar Sharma+100
2nd Round 3 Balls – R. Palmer / M. Kim / B. Taylor
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Michael Kim+135
Ryan Palmer+160
Ben Taylor+250
2nd Round 3 Balls – B. Cauley / D. Lipsky / R. Sloan
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Bud Cauley+145
Roger Sloan+180
David Lipsky+210
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Bramlett / D. Thompson / S. Gutschewski
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Davis Thompson+125
Joseph Bramlett+140
Scott Gutschewski+320
2nd Round 3 Balls – H. Norlander / J. Suh / C. Yuan
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Carl Yuan+160
Justin Suh+175
Henrik Norlander+190
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Trainer / V. Whaley / M. Schmid
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Matti Schmid+135
Vince Whaley+185
Martin Trainer+210
2nd Round 3 Balls – P. Kizzire / R. Moore / C. Tarren
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Ryan Moore+130
Patton Kizzire+180
Callum Tarren+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – D. Berger / J.B. Holmes / S. Stallings
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Scott Stallings+120
Daniel Berger+125
J B Holmes+400
2nd Round 3 Balls – W. Clark / T. Finau / S.W. Kim
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Wyndham Clark+135
Tony Finau+190
Si Woo Kim+200
2nd Round 3 Balls – V. Norrman / D. Riley / C. Ramey
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Vincent Norrman+160
Chad Ramey+180
Davis Riley+180
2nd Round 3 Balls – S. Theegala / J. Day / P. Harrington
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Sahith Theegala+110
Jason Day+140
Padraig Harrington+400
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Hughes / B. Horschel / T. Hoge
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Mackenzie Hughes+160
Tom Hoge+160
Billy Horschel+200
The Galleri Classic
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Steve Stricker+350
Steven Alker+650
Miguel Angel Jimenez+1100
Jerry Kelly+1200
Stephen Ames+1400
Ernie Els+1600
Alex Cejka+1800
Brian Gay+2000
KJ Choi+2500
Kevin Sutherland+2500
Click here for more…
1st Round 3-Balls – R. Pampling / D. Barron / S. Flesch
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Doug Barron+140
Rod Pampling+150
Steve Flesch+260
1st Round 3-Balls – R. Goosen / F. Couples / J. Leonard
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Retief Goosen+115
Justin Leonard+220
Fred Couples+230
1st Round 3-Balls – S. Stricker / D. Clarke / S. Alker
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Steve Stricker+105
Steven Alker+150
Darren Clarke+400
1st Round 3-Balls – D. Toms / M.A. Jimenez / J. Furyk
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Miguel Angel Jimenez-105
David Toms+180
Jim Furyk+350
1st Round 3-Balls – S. Ames / E. Els / T. Jaidee
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Stephen Ames+150
Ernie Els+160
Thongchai Jaidee+220
2nd Round 3 Balls – G. Higgo / R. Werenski / B. Burgoon
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Garrick Higgo+130
Bronson Burgoon+200
Richy Werenski+210
1st Round 3-Balls – J. Kelly / V. Singh / J. Durant
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN
Jerry Kelly+105
Vijay Singh+225
Joe Durant+240
2nd Round 3 Balls – T. Montgomery / H. Hall / R. Fox
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Taylor Montgomery+150
Ryan Fox+160
Harry Hall+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – A. Baddeley / J. Teater / D. Wu
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Dylan Wu+140
Aaron Baddeley+170
Josh Teater+230
2nd Round 3 Balls – C. Davis / C. Hadley / A. Rai
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Aaron Rai+130
Cam Davis+180
Chesson Hadley+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Hahn / J. Lower / S. Stevens
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Sam Stevens+150
Justin Lower+160
James Hahn+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – P. Malnati / S. Scheffler / W. Zalatoris
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler-160
Will Zalatoris+225
Peter Malnati+475
2nd Round 3 Balls – N. Hardy / T. Moore / C. Reavie
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Taylor Moore+110
Nick Hardy+210
Chez Reavie+240
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Knapp / A. Bhatia / A. Svensson
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Akshay Bhatia+160
Jake Knapp+160
Adam Svensson+200
2nd Round 3 Balls – R. Brehm / K. Kisner / S. Cink
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Stewart Cink+105
Ryan Brehm+220
Kevin Kisner+240
2nd Round 3 Balls – N. Dunlap / L. List / K.H. Lee
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
K H Lee+150
Luke List+160
Nick Dunlap+230
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Wallace / G. Woodland / B. Snedeker
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Matt Wallace+120
Gary Woodland+140
Brandt Snedeker+350
2nd Round 3 Balls – M. Laird / A. Cook / M. NeSmith
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Matt NeSmith+150
Martin Laird+160
Austin Cook+220
2nd Round 3 Balls – K. Mitchell / D. Ghim / G. Sigg
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Keith Mitchell+140
Doug Ghim+170
Greyson Sigg+225
2nd Round 3 Balls – J. Dahmen / L. Griffin / K. Chappell
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Joel Dahmen+110
Lanto Griffin+210
Kevin Chappell+240
2nd Round 3 Balls – B. Wu / T. Detry / A. Novak
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Andrew Novak+150
Thomas Detry+150
Brandon Wu+240
2nd Round 3 Balls – Parker Coody / Pierceson Coody / J. Bridgeman
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Parker Coody+140
Jacob Bridgeman+150
Pierceson Coody+260
2nd Round 3 Balls – D. Skinns / T. Whitney / S. Bennett
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
David Skinns+175
Sam Bennett+175
Tom Whitney+175
2nd Round 3 Balls – N. Xiong / M. Greyserman / P. Fishburn
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Max Greyserman+135
Norman Xiong+185
Patrick Fishburn+210
2nd Round 3 Balls – T. Olesen / J. Highsmith / D. van der Walt
Type: 2nd Round 3 Balls – Status: OPEN
Thorbjorn Olesen+110
Joe Highsmith+160
Dawie Van Der Walt+330
Major Specials 2024
Type: To Win A Major 2024 – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+125
Jon Rahm+225
Rory McIlroy+225
Viktor Hovland+225
Brooks Koepka+350
Ludvig Aberg+350
Patrick Cantlay+400
Collin Morikawa+450
Justin Thomas+450
Wyndham Clark+450
Click here for more…
The Masters 2024
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+450
Rory McIlroy+1100
Jon Rahm+1200
Brooks Koepka+1800
Jordan Spieth+2000
Xander Schauffele+2000
Hideki Matsuyama+2500
Joaquin Niemann+2500
Justin Thomas+2500
Ludvig Aberg+2500
Click here for more…
PGA Championship 2024
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+700
Jon Rahm+1000
Rory McIlroy+1000
Viktor Hovland+1400
Brooks Koepka+1600
Bryson DeChambeau+2000
Patrick Cantlay+2000
Wyndham Clark+2000
Xander Schauffele+2000
Cameron Smith+2500
Click here for more…
US Open 2024
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+700
Rory McIlroy+800
Jon Rahm+900
Viktor Hovland+1000
Cameron Smith+1600
Brooks Koepka+1800
Cameron Young+2000
Collin Morikawa+2000
Ludvig Aberg+2000
Patrick Cantlay+2000
Click here for more…
The Open Championship 2024
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
Scottie Scheffler+800
Jon Rahm+1000
Rory McIlroy+1000
Viktor Hovland+1100
Brooks Koepka+2000
Cameron Smith+2000
Cameron Young+2000
Collin Morikawa+2000
Jordan Spieth+2500
Ludvig Aberg+2500
Click here for more…
Solheim Cup 2024
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
USA-140
Europe+135
Tie+1200
Ryder Cup 2025
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN
USA-135
Europe+135
Tie+1000