Amazing PGA Tour Stats from 2011

At the end of each year, with the help of ShotLink, the PGA Tour puts out a stat sheet that gives an in-depth review of various statistical categories. There are always some very interesting numbers - some of which I thought I'd share with you today...

Driving

• The PGA Tour average driving distance for all measured shots was 290.9 yards.
• The longest driver was JB Holmes at 318.4 yards while the shortest hitter was Brian Gay at 269.8 yards - that's almost 50 yards per tee shot!
• There were 21 golfers that averaged over 300 yards per tee shot. In 2000 John Daly was the first and only player to average over 300 yards.
• Rory McIlroy hit 51 out of 56 tee shots over 300 yards in the WGC-Bridgestone event.
• The longest drive of the year went to Dustin Johnson at 463 yards - it did involve a cart path!
• Joe Durant was the straightest driver hitting 75.65% of his fairways while Anthony Kim was the least accurate hitting only 46.99% of the fairways.
• No player led the field in driving accuracy en route to victory, while Bubba Watson led the field in driving distance for both of his victories.
• Seventy golfers had rounds where they hit every fairway  - a feat Joe Durant achieved four times!
• John Merrick had a streak of 36 fairways in a row!
• Darren Clarke only hit 41% of the fairways in winning the Open Championship.

Approach Shots

• Boo Weekley led the tour in greens in regulations (GIR) with 71.68% - that's just over 12.5 greens per round. Keep in mind the average golfer hits 4 greens per round.
• Robert Garrigus and Graeme McDowell both hit 92% of the greens at Kapalua - the easiest course on tour to hit greens.
• 15 players manged to hit all 18 greens in a round and no golfer accomplished this feat more than once.
• Webb Simpson had a streak of 32 greens in a row!
• The hardest green to hit on tour was the 6th Hole at PGA National (29.98%). The hole is actually a par five for the members and is truly frightening.
• The course with the most hole outs from off the green was Harbourtown GL at 101. Primarily because the greens are literally miniscule and very easy to miss.

Around the Green

• Brian Gay led the sand saves category with a 63.40 % up and down rate.
• Greg Chalmers led the scrambling category with a 65.17% up and in rate.

Note: I do have a problem with the PGA Tour scrambling stat in that they measure scrambling for any shot to the green that is one stroke higher than regulation. This means that tee balls hit OB should be up and downed from the tee to convert and that pitches and chips played to a par five in three are not counted...not too much sense in that.  (Thanks to Pete Sanders from ShotbyShot.com for pointing this out to me)

• Five players led the field in scrambling in the same week that they won.
• Jason Dufner was 23 out of 24 for scrambling in the Waste Management event.
• Brian Gay and Paul Stankowski each had 17 consecutive sand saves!

Putting

• Luke Donald led the tour in the best stat on tour in my opinion - Strokes Gained-Putting with +.844. That means he gained an average of .844 strokes on the most "average" putter for every round he played and has led the tour in this category the last three years.  Boo Weekley, for all his hitting prowess, was last on -1.102 and Luke gained almost two strokes per round on Boo - just with the putter!
• Luke Donald had 1 three putt for every 80 holes of golf he played.
• On average Tour winners out performed the field by +1.426 strokes per round with the putter. That's only +5.7 better than the field average in a four round event...
• 6 out of 38 winners in 2011 led the field in strokes gained-putting and 25 of 38 winners ranked in the top ten.
• Charlie Wi gained +12.68 strokes on the field in the Crowne Plaza Invitational.
• Hunter Mahan only managed to make 219 feet of putts in the 4th round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
• Three players managed to have 15 one putts in a round!
• Luke Donald had 483 consecutive holes without a three putt and Kevin Na made 676 out of 676 from inside three feet!

Scoring

• Luke Donald led the adjusted (?) scoring average at 68.86 while Webb Simpson led the actual scoring averages at  69.16.
• Webb Simpson had 60 rounds of scoring in the 60's and 13 out of 98 rounds that were bogey-free.
• Four players had 11 birdies in a round and three players made 27 birdies in a four round event.
• 4% of all rounds on tour were completely bogey-free.
• Luke Donald had 17 consecutive sub-par rounds (I have those all the time!) and Briny Baird had 12 consecutive rounds in the 60's.

The PGA Tour currently keeps a total of 416 various stats on each player for every round they play and with the help of some very smart people each stat category is getting deeper and better as they move forward.  Ever read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis? Well golf is finally starting to apply sabermetrics to the massive amount of data they collect every year - and they're better off for it.

You cannot improve upon something if you cannot measure it! I believe that statement to be true and I know that quality stats are vital in helping any serious golfer improve.  That is why I have aligned with noted statistician Peter Sanders and his fantastic site ShotbyShot.com. With this site you have the ability to truly assess your strengths and weaknesses. You even have the ability to judge your putting against scratch handicap golfers in a strokes gained type format - the only other way to get something similar is to become a Tour player!

To all my students: If you are serious, and I believe you all are, please contact me about a fantastic opportunity for us to participate at ShotbyShot.com. After all, if you want to improve something we have got to measure it....

No 5th Major at TPC Sawgrass

When was the last time the top 10 players in a major were a combined 55 under par on day one?  When in a major have 57 players shot under par on any day?  The PGA Tour is trying to buy their way into a major championship by touting The Players as the "5th Major". Not many people are aware that the PGA Tour does not operate or run a single major championship. The Masters is run by Augusta National, The US Open by the USGA, the British Open by the Royal and Ancient and the  PGA by the, well, PGA. With the Players Championship the PGA Tour is making a vain attempt to get into the mix. From the monstrous clubhouse, to the monstrous purse, to the monstrous PR spin they put on the event they are eagerly attempting to join a closed club.

My primary reason for voting out the Players is the golf course! Sure the holes we see all look frightening, with tremendous risk and reward, but what about the rest of the course. Ever notice how much the Tour focuses on the closing holes?  Please don't get me wrong - you must be a ball striker to do well here, but this is simply Harbourtown where rough has replaced trees.  Distance does not make a great course , but give the best in the world ten opportunities from inside 140 yards and look out. There are 10 short, legit birdie opportunities on the course (holes 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17).  Holes where every player in the field, from the longest to the shortest, should be thinking birdie or par at worst.

I have taken the rounds of those two players, the longest and the shortest, namely Bubba and Freddy Funk and broken them down for your perusal.  Let's start with Fred Funk who played earlier this morning.  When it comes to driving distance Fred Funk is currently 62nd on the Champions Tour with a distance of 265.9.  That would leave him at 183 out of 185 on the PGA Tour ahead of only Faxon and Pavin.  His driving distance was 260 today and he scored a +1 /73.  The following numbers indicate the yardage he had into each of the 10 selected holes in regulation. They include all four par fives and a par three.

1-156yds, 2-82yds, 4-115yds, 6-115yds, 9-87yds, 10-146yds, 11-101yds, 12-81yds, 16-4yds, 17-137yds for an average of 102.4 yards.

The shortest player in the field averaged just over 100 yds into 10 holes on a major championship course?

Now let's check in with Bubba Watson who is playing nicely and shot -5 /67.  He is currently the longest hitter on the PGA Tour at 313.8 yards per poke.  Today he averaged 318 yards off the tee.  His yardages into each of the ten selected holes were:

1-90yds, 2-53yds, 4-91 yds, 6-104 yds, 9-76 yds, 10-139 yds, 11-29 yds, 12-92 yds, 16-3 yds, 17-137 yds for an average distance in of 81.4 yards.  I wonder how many drivers Bubba used on these holes?

The facts indicate that every player in the field is faced with 10 holes on a supposed 'major championship' course where the longest shot they are required to hit is approximately 140 yards.  And this is with a rainy night before the tournament got under way.  What major course has a four hole stretch (9-12) where no approach shot of over 125 yards is required?

In 2008 the greens had just been reshaped and surfaced and as a result were rock hard.  The wind blew between 15 and 25mph each day starting at 10 am.  In other words conditions were as tough and challenging as they could get and yet, the playoff number was -5.  Can you imagine conditions being brutal at Winged Foot or Carnoustie and -5 playing off!  Grow all the rough you want, make the green rock hard and roll at 13 on the stimp, but my belief is this; if they have soft conditions and windless days the winning score will be lower than -15.  You heard it here first - this is no major, just an over-sized, over-promoted PGA Tour dream.

I love the event, just not the way the Tour is painting it!

The Shoulder Pivot (Part 3 of a Four Part Series)

The Proper Shoulder Pivot

I often hear golfers speaking about 'turn' and getting their lead shoulder 'behind' the ball.  In my opinion these thoughts very often cause a golfer to pivot the body incorrectly; thus making it difficult to get into a sound impact position.

In my research conducted on the top golfers of all time one of the few factors that was consistent to each of them was the manner in which they wound/pivoted their shoulders.

As the picture illustrates, at halfway through the backswing the right forearm is always above the left forearm (speaking as a right hander).  This forearm position indicates that the lead shoulder is traveling down and the back shoulder is, conversely, working up.  When executed correctly this move will give the golfer a sense of torque building up in the body, without a great deal of length to the swing.  A correct shoulder pivot also deters the upper body from any unnecessary lateral movement.

As an exercise, place a club across the front of your shoulders with the grip pointing toward the target.  Positon a ball where it would normally be and assume your normal posture.  As you pivot into the backswing try to get the grip of the club to point at the ball.  While this gets the shoulders a little too steep it will serve you well in conveying the sense required to get the shoulders to work correctly.

This is one of the very few elements that top golfers have in common.

Shouldn't you have it in your swing?

Things to ponder:

• Is Charles Howell really that bad with the putter?
• Boo Weekley will win the Players Championship!
• Jerry Kelly pulled an Angel - he vanished for most of the final round and then slipped back in the back door. Well done!
• How does Sabbatini play the way he does with that move of his?
• I played Callawassie Island for the first time yesterday and  would highly recommend it to anybody in the area!

The Grip and How it Pertains to Impact (Part 1 of a Four Part Series)

This is the first in a four part series looking at the three primary factors that pertain to a solid impact position.  They are:

1. A strong grip
2. A balanced set-up
3. Centered body motion (two parts)

In studying the top golfers of all time it has become increasingly apparent to me that the grip plays a big role in a golfer's ability to achieve a proper impact position.  The vast majority of major winners has a grip that favors the strong end of the spectrum vs. the weaker end.  In fact the only two golfers I can think of that have had a noticeably weak grip and managed to win a major are Ben Hogan and Jose-Maria Olazabal - all the rest have been neutral to strong! Patty Berg, the winner of more majors than any other woman, had a grip that would rival that of Paul Azinger, David Duval and Boo Weekley- all notoriously strong grippers.  I don't think this is by accident.

The primary reason why a strong grip is apt to be more consistent, and thus more successful than a weaker grip is because it allows the golfer to lead with the handle into impact without concern for squaring the clubface.  Try this: take an iron and set up.  Now push your hands forward, paying attention to what happens to the clubface.  Two things should have occured; firstly, the face should have been delofted.  Check... we want that!  Secondly, the face should have rotated slightly open... we don't want that!  This is where a strong grip serves to keep the face square while the handle leads the clubhead into impact.  A player who utilizes a weak grip is prone to active hands and that decreases the player's ability to lead with the handle and ultimately compress the golf ball.

A secondary reason why a strong grip proves to be more successful is due to the fact that now in order to hit a straight shot, the hands must remain quiet through the hit.  We all know that quiet hands are ultimately more consistent than active hands.  It is certainly easier to keep the hands passive than to attempt to time a flip through the impact zone.

Try a stronger grip - it should ultimately allow you to hit crisp and penetrating golf shots!

Notes from Heritage Week:

• Aaron Baddeley is no longer a Stack-n-Tilter! "Too low!" he said when asked why. The few tee balls I saw were definitely higher than I'd seen from him in the past.
• Trevor Immelman was kind enough to give my son his glove and I was amazed to see he wears a men's cadet small!
• Zach Johnson has only had two hole-in-ones!
• Boo Weekley is exactly what the PGA Tour needs.
• The players love Heritage week - the whole atmosphere is just so relaxed and enjoyable. Couple that with a great golf course and you've got a recipe for success.
• Brian Gay is an example of how the PGA Tour is an 'equal opportunity' employer. You don't have to be 6'5 and hit it 320 to win out there.
• The top five finishers at the Masters were a combined -55 and the top five finishers at Harbourtown were -58. Sure the field is not as strong as at Augusta, but Brian Gay did put up a record performance. The Pete Dye lowcountry gem is as good as any course in the world!
• Did anybody notice how steady Brian Gay was over the ball. No lateral move whatsoever!
• Ernie Els is a great supporter of the Heritage event. The tournament vibe just seems to fit with his own - he's not the "Big Easy" for nothing!
• Ian Baker-Finch is a class act and I am pleased to see his increased role with the CBS broadcast team.