Which Area of the Golf Game is Most Important? A Statistical Analysis
Open Access
- Author:
- Clarke, Thomas Joseph
- Area of Honors:
- Statistics
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- David Russell Hunter, Thesis Supervisor
David Russell Hunter, Thesis Honors Advisor
Linda Clark, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- golf
statistics
standardized regression
scoring average
PGA Tour
driving
putting
scrambling - Abstract:
- Within the golfing community, the debate over which aspect of the game is most important has raged since the sport’s creation. Numerous studies within the past couple decades have used the large number of statistics available from the PGA Tour to determine the areas of the game which are most important to achieving success. Success in golf can be measured in numerous ways; some studies assert Money Earned or Top 10 Finishes are the best indicators, others believe shooting low scores is best and use Scoring Average as the indicator. Similarly, a vast array of statistics have been used to measure the various areas of the golf game and their effect on success. The current study differs from previous studies in two major ways. First, it benefits from the advances in technology made over the past decade which have allowed the PGA’s data warehouse to grow to over 450 statistics, with virtually every aspect of the game being measured. Secondly, this increase in specificity results in statistics that can isolate and measure only the areas of the game which they are intended to measure. With the advent of new statistics like Fairway Proximity and Strokes Gained-Putting, these areas of the game can be isolated and measured and thus give a better diagnosis of the true importance of these areas on success. Using a standardized multiple regression approach, the current study found that driving distance had the largest impact on scoring average, followed by driving accuracy and putting, while iron play was found to be least important.