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TomTuckerGolf.com Golf Tips Newsletter Issue 522 - Wed. September 5th, 2018 Website Newsletters Archive |
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USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
WGTF "Top 100" Teacher IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach |
Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now! Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say Sponsors: Plum Creek Driving Range Batavia Country Club Chestnut Hill Country Club Click here: INDOOR GOLF LESSONS for details on how to improve your game over the winter. Plum Creek Driving Range, Batavia, NY, Open All Year Simulator Course Play Specials: BataviaGolf.com Call 585-993-0930 or Email Mark to reserve simulator time! Buy Gift Certificates for Lessons Sample Gift Certificate Golf lessons - Outdoor and Indoor - are available at Plum Creek, please call me at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html for details. Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe, thanks! The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Tom's Featured Tip: Q&A: "Strokes Gained Putting" For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective. Q: Hi Tom, first of all I've been reading your newsleter for years and I want to thank you for your useful information, it's helped my game immensly. My question is exactly what does "Strokes Gained Putting" mean? I hear the TV announcers saying that all the time during pro tournaments and I'm noit sure that I understand it, other than it's a good thing to have a high number. Thanks, Chris B. Rochester, NY A: Thanks for the question Chris. I had to do some research on this question because I needed to brushup on the whole scope of the term "Strokes Gained". As it turns out, the "Strokes Gained" statistic applies to more than just putting. I found a very comprehensive explanation on GolfWRX.com, and I found it to be very interesting. STROKES GAINED STATS In 2011, the PGA Tour introduced ShotLink, which is a real-time scoring system that captures data points on all shots taken during PGA Tour events. ShotLink measures the distance from the hole, as well as categorizing shot types like tee, fairway, rough, sand, and green. Mark Broadie, a professor at Columbia Business School, took the data from ShotLink and helped develop a new way to analyze putting performance. This new statistic was called "strokes gained: putting," and it measures the number of putts a golfer takes relative to the PGA Tour average from that same distance. Strokes gained putting recognizes that sinking a 20-foot putt represents a better performance than sinking a three-foot putt, even though they both count as a single putt and a single stroke on the scorecard. This was revolutionary because golfers no longer had to rely on the number of putts per round to understand their putting performance. Strokes gained also provided a unified way to measure an individual golfer against his opponents on the PGA Tour. In 2016, the same concept used for strokes gained: putting was applied to other areas of the game. The PGA Tour developed new statistics including "strokes gained: off-the-tee," "strokes gained: approach-the-green," and "strokes gained: around-the-green." This expansion allowed a PGA Tour golfer to precisely see where he excels and where he needs to improve. What Is "Strokes Gained" In the most simple terms, "strokes gained" is a way to measure a player’s performance compared to the rest of the field. It also allows you to isolate different parts of a player’s game. In order to understand the statistic, you have to know that the PGA Tour has historical data from ShotLink that has calculated the average number of strokes needed to hole out from every distance and location on a course. Below I have included four scenarios to better illustrate the idea of strokes gained. The scenarios below show how strokes gained could work on a single hole. Remember most strokes gained statistics are the aggregate of all the holes for a players round. Scenario No. 1: Driving You are playing a 450-yard par 4. The PGA Tour scoring average for a par 4 of that length is 4.1 strokes. You hit a drive that ends up in the fairway, 115 yards from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from in the fairway, 115 yards out is 2.825 strokes. In order to calculate strokes gained: off-the-tee you use the formula below (PGA Tour average for the hole) - (PGA Tour average left after your drive) - 1 = strokes gained: off-the-tee Next, plug the numbers from the scenario above into this formula to calculate the strokes gained: off-the-tee 4.100 - 2.825 = 1.275 - 1 = 0.275 strokes gained: off-the-tee Since you hit your drive in the fairway 115 yards from the hole you gained .275 strokes off the tee from the average PGA Tour player. Scenario No. 2: Approach Shot Let’s take the same drive from the first scenario. You hit a drive on a par 4 that ends up in the fairway, 115 yards from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from in the fairway 115 yards out is 2.825. You hit your approach shot on the green 10 feet from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from on the green 10 feet from the hole is 1.61 strokes. (PGA Tour average from your approach) - (PGA Tour average for your putt) - 1 = strokes gained: approach-the-green 2.825 - 1.61 = 1.215 - 1 = .215 strokes gained: approach-the-green Since you hit your approach shot to 10 feet you gained .213 strokes from the average PGA Tour player. Scenario No. 3: Putting Continuing the scenario from example scenario No. 2. You have a 10-foot putt left for birdie which you make. (Your # of Putts) - (PGA Tour average from that distance) = strokes gained putting 1 putt - 1.61 = .61 strokes gained putting Since you made that 10-foot putt you gained .61 strokes from the average PGA Tour player. Scenario No. 4: Total for the hole: To calculate strokes gained total use the formula below: Strokes gained off-the-tee + Strokes gained approach-the-green + strokes gained around-the-green + strokes gained putting= strokes gained total 0.275+.215+0+.61=1.1 Total Strokes Gained on that hole This makes sense because the PGA Tour average for the hole was 4.1 and you made a 3. Definitions of Strokes Gained Statistics
Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, Tom Golf Lessons I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com for more information. Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html Indoor Lessons Details and Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html Sponsors Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice! Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com Great rates, the best greens in WNY. Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State. Tee times online or by phone in season. Chestnut Hill Country Club (585)-547-3613 www.chestnuthillgolf.com THE WESTERN NEW YORK LEADER IN GOLF OUTINGS! Only minutes from Buffalo, open to the public. Tee times online or by phone in season. All the best, Tom Tucker Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher" USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach Cell: (716) 474-3005 Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com "There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!" ~ Ben Hogan |
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