New PGA TOUR statistic: Strokes Gained-Putting

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA TOUR will begin to present player putting efficiency in a more accurate, meaningful way with Monday's introductions of Strokes Gained-Putting as a new primary statistical category.

Developed initially by Professor Mark Broadie of Columbia Business School and further analyzed in collaboration with a team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by Professor Stephen Graves, Strokes Gained-Putting (click here for stat) measures a player's putting performance relative to his fellow competitors in a tournament and will offer a more accurate portrayal of his overall putting performance.

Strokes Gained-Putting

COLUMN: Mike McAllister uncovers a startling example of how the new putting statistic is different than the usual measures. Read STAT DEBUT: The PGA TOUR is introducing a new primary putting statistic. Here's the background. Read Q & A: Here are answers to a few key questions about Strokes Gained-Putting. Read INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Alex Turnbull has crunched the numbers and offers some interesting insights. Read OLD VS. NEW: A look at the differences between the TOUR's new putting stat and the old ones. Read BASELINE CHART: A breakdown of the percentage of successful putts from each foot inside 100 feet. Read 2011 UPDATE: Who's the current statistical leader for Strokes Gained-Putting? Check it out. Read

While ShotLink, powered by PGA TOUR technology partner CDW, has provided a wealth of putting data to determine proficiency from various distances, the primary overarching putting statistic continued to be Putts Per Round, which simply measures the average number of putts a player takes over 18 holes and can be skewed by chipping close to the hole after missing a green.

Strokes Gained-Putting, however, takes into account putting proficiency from various distances and computes the difference between a player's performance on every green -- the number of strokes needed to hole out -- against the performance of the other players for each round. This ultimately shows how many strokes are gained or lost due to putting for a particular round, for a tournament and over the course of a year.

"ShotLink has allowed us to collect a wealth of data on the golf course, and this new stat is an evolution in the way we understand the game," said Steve Evans, the PGA TOUR's Senior Vice President, Information Systems.

"We've seen a very positive response as we've worked with academics, instructors, players and broadcasters because we're all looking for better ways to break down performance. For the first time in more than 15 years, we are modifying the core set of stats shown for every player on the PGA TOUR to include Strokes Gained-Putting as it is proving to be the best measure currently available of overall putting performance."

The "strokes gained" concept was initially developed by Broadie, utilizing ShotLink data that has been made available to academic institutions for research since 2007. In 2009, Graves, Douglas Fearing and Jason Acimovic from MIT used Broadie's "strokes gained" approach to rank putters on the PGA TOUR. In 2010, Broadie and Graves consulted with the PGA TOUR on the TOUR's final implementation.

The statistic is computed by calculating the average number of putts a PGA TOUR player is expected to take from every distance, based on ShotLink data from the previous season. The actual number of putts taken by a player is subtracted from this average value to determine strokes gained or lost.

For example, the average number of putts used to hole out from 7 feet, 10 inches is 1.5. If a player one-putts from this distance, he gains 0.5 strokes. If he two-putts, he loses 0.5 strokes. If he three-putts, he loses 1.5 strokes.

A player's strokes gained or lost are then compared to the field. For example, if a player gained a total of three strokes over the course of a round and the field gained an average of one stroke, the player's "Strokes Gained Against the Field" would be two.

"In my roles both as a player and a broadcaster, I'm very excited about this new statistic," said PGA TOUR member Brad Faxon, considered throughout his career as one of the TOUR's best putters.

"It moves us well beyond where we have been in the past in our ability to measure, teach and explain putting performance. A lot of work has gone into validating it both at the university and the TOUR level and when you look at the data it really identifies the strongest putters on TOUR."

While it is being introduced Monday, Strokes Gained-Putting tracks players' performance back through the 2004 PGA TOUR season, since it is based on ShotLink data that already has been collected.