Improving Your Game through Strokes Gained & Data Science
The annual multi-day PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando is underway this week. Reminds me of a great, timeless education session at the 2021 Show, which was all-virtual due to COVID 19. Here is a repeat that might make you think about how you practice and track your results on the course.
A major part of Adam Schriber’s approach to golf instruction is about unlocking and improving your athletic ability to produce more efficient and effective golf swings. We do this by training our body and mind to produce more effective biomechanical patterns. This in turn produces better ball-striking and higher levels of performance. With the advent of the digital age, we now have data demonstrating this is a powerful way to improve performance, on the course, as well as well as on the launch monitor.
SG Performance
Most are familiar with the “strokes gained (“SG”) performance measures used by the PGA Tour, and is available to all on the PGA Tour website. The foundation for SG is Mark Broadie’s landmark book “Every Stroke Counts”, the pioneering analysis using historical data to compare one golfer’s performance to others. Flightscope is a launch monitor producer, and its Founder & CEO Henri Johnson and Sr Sales Manager Alex Trujillo presented to the 2021 PGA Merchandise Show SG data analysis using the PGA Tour SG database, and a large data-base of scoring by Amateurs. They asserted:
PGA Tour Winners…
- Putting SG Performance made a 35% Contribution to Victory on Tour
- Shotmaking SG Performance made a 65% Contribution to Victory.
Top 40 finishers in PGA Tournaments…
- Putting SG Performance made a 15% Contribution to Scoring.
- Shotmaking SG Performance made an 85% Contribution to Scoring.
Amateurs, comparing the average 80s scorer’s vs the average 100s scorers….
- Putting SG made a 15% Contribution to Improvement
- Shotmaking made an 85% Contribution to Improvement
Takeaways (in plain English)?
- Improved Shotmaking (better swings/performance Tee to Green) has a larger impact on scoring improvement than previously understood, before mass digital data collection and computing power. This is a reasonable conclusion as better shotmaking yields fewer penalty strokes (more penalty strokes originate from tee and fairway/rough than from a green ( Ha!)), and proximity to hole after approaching the green has large impact on scoring ( fewer 3 putts/more pars & birdies).
- We each need to track our own data to better understand where we are losing shots to others/our competitors, and to guide our improvement plan.
- Putting is still important— accounts for one-third or more of shots in typical rounds.
What do you think?
Drop us a line and let us know what you think. We want to know how you feel and will share the results in future postings.