The future for playing statistics

They’re changing the way pros prepare, gear is designed and courses are set up; and now club golfers are seeing the benefits.

Pop quiz. Which PGA Tour player has missed the most putts inside three feet this year? Who covers 57% of the yardage on the par 5s he plays with his tee shot alone? And who is the best player at hitting the green from more than 200 yards out? Step forward, Lucas Glover, Bubba Watson and Will Wilcox. 

The only reason we know these stats – and millions more – is because of ShotLink, the sophisticated tracking system that is changing the way golf is consumed by us fans, played by pros and being copied for consumers.

The PGA Tour has had electronic scoring dating back to 1983. Originally, the scoring was maintained solely for an electric scoreboard system. Then in the early 1990s, it was upgraded; and scoring information was extended to the media, broadcast partners, and hospitality guests. By the middle of this decade, all these parties became accustomed to this system and wanted more from it. So in 1999, the Tour developed ShotLink.

At first, it required greenside operators who had a custom built terminal to enter scores. The scorers would walk around carrying paper ‘tear slips’ in order to write down player’s scores, passing them over to the greenside operators at the end of each hole. In the beginning, the greenside terminals were connected to the scoring trailer by copper wire. It wasn’t until 1998 that the terminals became wireless.

Steve Evans, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of information systems, told us that two distinct factors presented a tipping point to change the system. “The previous system had a key process problem: the scoring process of walking scorers handing tear slips to greenside operators was not real-time; and there was really no way to make it real-time without completely changing the process.

“The mid-90s was the time the internet exploded on the scene. We perceived there would be great value in collecting more data, computing new statistics and developing new visual presentations of play.”

Today’s ShotLink system records the position of each player’s shot throughout the golf course, exhibiting real-time intel sending relevant data to fans, media and the players themselves. There’s a lot more accessibility to new datasets, too. The PGA Tour collects over eight attributes of every shot in real-time. There are 32,000 shots in a golf tournament, with 12 million characteristics obtained in the last decade alone. Given how much data they have at their disposal, they can create new concepts, stats, and unique analytics. For example the development of the Strokes Gained statistics has come from utilising past data in real-time, which is changing the way the game is measured. 

“Early in the development of ShotLink, we debunked the myth that laying up to a full shot distance is better than hitting the ball closer to the green,” adds Evans. “Today on Tour, there are typically fewer than five par 5s in an entire year that are not reachable by at least some players. They always try to hit the ball as close to the green as possible. Prior to ShotLink, players were split on this topic, with the conventional wisdom being lay up to a full shot distance. Players are now using ShotLink data to analyse how to play the game and how to prepare for a given course. 

“Architects use ShotLink data every time they are hired to make a change to a Tour course, with regards to the most important uses for the technology. When Tom Weiskopf redesigned TPC Scottsdale he used ShotLink to help him place tees and hazards.” 

“I’m not a big computer guy,” says Gil Hanse, the architect who has built the Olympic course for the 2016 Rio games. “When they first gave me the data, I thought it would be useless. Boy, was I wrong.”

So what’s next, and could it change how we watch golf? “Poker shows how excitement can be created by building anticipation,” says Evans. “Golf has the opportunity to do the same. We’ll show probabilities related to every shot. For example, a player is in the fairway 150 yards from the hole, while his partner is 90 yards away in the rough. Statistically, who has the better chance of making birdie, hitting the green, hitting it inside eight feet? These stats will be able to tell us.” 

Track your own stats!

TG’s Rob Jerram uses GameGolf to improve.

Unlike Tour stars, we don’t have 150 volunteers following our every move in the roll-up. But we do have access to GPS-based shot-tracking devices that do a similar job to ShotLink, including GameGolf. After six months of use the system has changed my 16-handicap game dramatically.

Firstly it’s worth explaining how simple GameGolf is to use. Pre-assigned tags screwed into your grips are tapped against a GPS tracker on your belt before each shot. It actually helps you build a focused pre-shot routine. Post-round simply connect the device to your computer and upload your round for analysis.

Not only have the stats helped me understand my yardages, but also my accuracy. For example I no longer pull an 8-iron from 155 yards despite having the distance because I’m prone to pushing the full shot. Instead I’ll hit a soft 7-iron. It has also changed my bag set-up. Stats showed that I hit my 19º Ping hybrid an almost identical distance to my 23º TaylorMade hybrid, but with less accuracy. I’ve replaced the 19º with a 5-wood.

And it’s highlighted that my biggest area for improvement is from 120-yards and in. It’s easy to look at putting figures and blame them for a higher score, but because I leave myself a lot of 50ft-plus putts due to poor wedge play it’s inevitable that I’ll rarely one-putt.

Finally the system has made practice rounds competitive as I’m constantly striving to beat stats, from longest drive to FIR and GIR.

GameGolf’s classic system costs £159.99. See www.gamegolf.com