Fooling Around with More Statistics

In a previous post I talked about the PGA Tour's new 'Putts Gained' statistic. I started fooling around with other statistical ideas.

The first was combining the Putts Gained and the Putts per GIR rankings. I think this gives a good indication of how good of a putter somebody is and probably a good indication of their ability to score (hitting approach shots in the right spots and/or just being able to make putts). Here's what I got:


1. Luke Donald
2. Greg Chalmers
3. Brian Gay
4. Aaron Baddeley
5. Joe Ogilvie
6. Tiger Woods
7. Jim Furyk
8. Charlie Wi
9. Bob Heintz
10. Kevin Na
11. Matt Kuchar
12. Brandt Snedeker
13. Jason Day
14. Webb Simpson
15. Geoff Ogilvy
16. Brad Faxon
17. Corey Pavin
18. Vaughn Taylor
19. Zach Johnson
20. Pat Perez
21. Harrison Frazar
22. Stephen Ames
23. Anthony Kim
24. Tim Clark
25. Parker McLachlin
26. Mike Weir
27. Daniel Chopra
28. Bryce Molder
29. Steve Stricker
30. Fredrik Jacobson
31. Ben Crane
32. Dean Wilson
33. Ryuji Imada
34. Jerry Kelly
35. Bo Van Pelt
36. Hunter Mahan
37. Chris Riley
38. George McNeill
39. Retief Goosen
40. Bob Estes
41. Scott McCarron
42. Jeff Quinney
43. Justin Leonard
44. Mark Wilson
45. James Nitties
46. Ryan Moore
47. Paul Goydos
48. Stewart Cink
49. Ben Curtis
50. Dustin Johnson
51. Lucas Glover
52. David Toms
53. Scott Verplank
54. Charley Hoffman
55. Jeff Klauk
56. Padraig Harrington
57. Tim Petrovic
58. Lee Janzen
59. Michael Letzig
60. James Driscoll
61. Steve Marino
62. Bubba Watson
63. Eric Axley
64. Jeff Overton
65. Ryan Palmer
66. Kenny Perry
67. John Mallinger
68. Kevin Sutherland
69. Brian Davis
70. Richard S. Johnson
71. David Mathis
72. David Duval
73. Ian Poulter
74. Spencer Levin
75. Jeev M. Singh
76. Scott Piercy
77. Matt Jones
78. Angel Cabrera
79. Nick Watney
80. Nathan Green
81. Marc Leishman
82. Carl Pettersson
83. Bill Haas
84. Woody Austin
85. Rod Pampling
86. Justin Rose
87. Michael Allen
88. Colt Knost
89. John Merrick
90. Phil Mickelson
91. Chad Campbell
92. Steve Lowery
93. Jason Dufner
94. Ted Purdy
95. Martin Laird
96. Matt Weibring
97. Kevin Streelman
98. Kris Blanks
99. Cliff Kresge
100. John Rollins
101. Fred Couples
102. Matt Bettencourt
103. D.A. Points
104. Tim Herron
105. John Senden
106. Charles Howell III
107. Johnson Wagner
108. Nick O'Hern
109. Cameron Beckman
110. Brett Quigley
111. Todd Hamilton
112. Andres Romero
113. Brian Bateman
114. Rory Sabbatini
115. Troy Matteson
116. Tommy Armour III
117. Aron Price
118. Tag Ridings
119. Jonathan Byrd
120. Y.E. Yang
121. Sean O'Hair
122. Sergio Garcia
123. J.J. Henry
124. Chris Stroud
125. Jimmy Walker
126. Brendon de Jonge
127. Jason Bohn
128. Brad Adamonis
129. Tom Pernice, Jr.
130. Chris DiMarco
131. Steve Elkington
132. Scott Sterling
133. Alex Cejka
134. Rich Beem
135. Bart Bryant
136. Bill Lunde
137. Mark Brooks
138. Camilo Villegas
139. K.J. Choi
140. Marc Turnesa
141. Derek Fathauer
142. Chez Reavie
143. Patrick Sheehan
144. Mark Calcavecchia
145. Leif Olson
146. Davis Love III
147. Mathew Goggin
148. Briny Baird
149. Robert Garrigus
150. Kent Jones
151. Steve Flesch
152. Ernie Els
153. Kevin Stadler
154. Heath Slocum
155. Brendon Todd
156. Charles Warren
157. Jarrod Lyle
158. Shaun Micheel
159. D.J. Trahan
160. Ken Duke
161. Tommy Gainey
162. Jonathan Kaye
163. Jeff Maggert
164. Joe Durant
165. Nicholas Thompson
166. Casey Wittenberg
167. Glen Day
168. Peter Lonard
169. Greg Owen
170. Darron Stiles
171. Rick Price
172. Greg Kraft
173. Gary Woodland
174. Boo Weekley
175. Rocco Mediate
176. Vijay Singh
177. Tom Lehman
178. Jason Gore
179. J.B. Holmes
180. Stuart Appleby
181. Matthew Borchert
182. Robert Allenby
183. Peter Tomasulo
184. Kirk Triplett
185. Adam Scott
186. Billy Mayfair
187. Will MacKenzie
188. Jay Williamson
189. Ricky Barnes

Again, that top 10 of players sounds right with guys like Luke Donald, Baddeley, Gay, Tiger and Wi all in that top. Congrats to friend of the 3Jack blog, David Orr, for his pupil Charlie Wi making the top 10.

Anyway, I then wanted to see what the DIFFERENCE in Putts Gained and Putts per GIR was and how golfers stacked up. I think these rankings help give an indication of a golfer's SCORING capability versus their putting skills. If a golfer does really well in putts per GIR versus Putts Gained, it shows to me that they at least have an ability to score well, be it by placing their approach shots in a good position or their mentality to get the birdie when they need it.


1. Jonathan Byrd
2. David Duval
3. Kris Blanks
4. Fred Couples
5. Phil Mickelson
6. Rory Sabbatini
7. Alex Cejka
8. Jason Bohn
9. Scott Verplank
10. Brian Davis
11. Matt Weibring
12. Tag Ridings
13. Joe Durant
14. Derek Fathauer
15. Dustin Johnson
16. Justin Leonard
17. Brendon de Jonge
18. Steve Stricker
19. Michael Allen
20. Heath Slocum
21. Darron Stiles
22. Rick Price
23. Anthony Kim
24. Tommy Armour III
25. Tommy Gainey
26. Brett Quigley
27. David Toms
28. Tim Herron
29. Daniel Chopra
30. J.B. Holmes
31. Jason Dufner
32. Ken Duke
33. Harrison Frazar
34. Robert Garrigus
35. Nicholas Thompson
36. Peter Lonard
37. Bill Haas
38. Charley Hoffman
39. Kirk Triplett
40. Bo Van Pelt
41. D.J. Trahan
42. Dean Wilson
43. John Mallinger
44. John Merrick
45. Vijay Singh
46. Will MacKenzie
47. Paul Goydos
48. Bubba Watson
49. Camilo Villegas
50. Adam Scott
51. Colt Knost
52. Briny Baird
53. Ernie Els
54. Billy Mayfair
55. Martin Laird
56. Shaun Micheel
57. Vaughn Taylor
58. Jeff Quinney
59. Mark Calcavecchia
60. Leif Olson
61. Ricky Barnes
62. Jimmy Walker
63. Stuart Appleby
64. Woody Austin
65. Jason Gore
66. Rocco Mediate
67. Jay Williamson
68. Charles Howell III
69. Chris DiMarco
70. Jarrod Lyle
71. Scott Piercy
72. Mathew Goggin
73. John Rollins
74. Ian Poulter
75. Michael Letzig
76. Sean O'Hair
77. Chris Stroud
78. Casey Wittenberg
79. Boo Weekley
80. Corey Pavin
81. Lucas Glover
82. Tim Clark
83. D.A. Points
84. Peter Tomasulo
85. Jerry Kelly
86. Steve Marino
87. Y.E. Yang
88. Bart Bryant
89. Charlie Wi
90. Andres Romero

Note, I didn't put in golfers whose difference in putts gained ranking and putts per GIR were somewhat miniscule. I considered 'miniscule' as any difference between -20 and +20 in ranking points.

148. Tiger Woods
149. Tim Petrovic
150. Eric Axley
151. Steve Lowery
152. Rod Pampling
153. Patrick Sheehan
154. John Senden
155. Brandt Snedeker
156. George McNeill
157. Angel Cabrera
158. Marc Leishman
159. Ryan Moore
160. Kenny Perry
161. Brian Bateman
162. Ted Purdy
163. Fredrik Jacobson
164. Brad Faxon
165. Brendon Todd
166. Nick Watney
167. Kevin Streelman
168. Parker McLachlin
169. Troy Matteson
170. David Mathis
171. Stewart Cink
172. Scott McCarron
173. Scott Sterling
174. Mark Brooks
175. Brad Adamonis
176. Bill Lunde
177. Richard S. Johnson
178. Aron Price
179. Bryce Molder
180. Padraig Harrington
181. Todd Hamilton
182. Carl Pettersson
183. Jeff Klauk
184. J.J. Henry
185. Nathan Green
186. Marc Turnesa
187. Spencer Levin
188. Ben Curtis
189. Matt Jones

Problem with this stat is there really is no trend here. If you finish high, you're probably doing a little better stroke average wise than if you finish poorly, but nothing that really stands out.

Next, I put together the following rankings:

Total Ballstriking Ranking
Putts Gained Ranking
Putts Per GIR Ranking

I think I would call this 'Total Game' statistic. Here this measures the golfer's ballstriking skills, their putting skills and their 'scoring' skills.

Not bad for a guy coming off a serious knee injury last year.


1. Tiger Woods
2. Zach Johnson
3. Jim Furyk
4. Tim Clark
5. Steve Stricker
6. Hunter Mahan
7. Stephen Ames
8. Bob Heintz
9. Brian Gay
10. Bo Van Pelt
11. Bryce Molder
12. Charlie Wi
13. Justin Leonard
14. Brandt Snedeker
15. David Toms
16. Ben Crane
17. Harrison Frazar
18. Matt Kuchar
19. Luke Donald
20. Vaughn Taylor
21. Kenny Perry
22. Kevin Na
23. Lucas Glover
24. Scott Verplank
25. Mark Wilson
26. Jason Day
27. Steve Marino
28. Greg Chalmers
29. Jerry Kelly
30. Chris Riley
31. Dean Wilson
32. Bob Estes
33. Corey Pavin
34. Ryan Moore
35. Joe Ogilvie
36. Scott McCarron
37. Dustin Johnson
38. Charley Hoffman
39. Michael Allen
40. Aaron Baddeley
41. Webb Simpson
42. Geoff Ogilvy
43. Mike Weir
44. Pat Perez
45. Jeff Klauk
46. Chad Campbell
47. Marc Leishman
48. Jason Dufner
49. Daniel Chopra
50. Kris Blanks
51. Jeff Quinney
52. Anthony Kim
53. Brad Faxon
54. Retief Goosen
55. Bill Haas
56. Fredrik Jacobson
57. John Senden
58. George McNeill
59. Ted Purdy
60. Paul Goydos
61. Stewart Cink
62. Ryan Palmer
63. Kevin Sutherland
64. Michael Letzig
65. Colt Knost
66. Matt Weibring
67. Parker McLachlin
68. Nick Watney
69. John Mallinger
70. Ryuji Imada
71. Justin Rose
72. Rod Pampling
73. John Merrick
74. Tommy Armour III
75. Jason Bohn
76. Lee Janzen
77. Brian Davis
78. Fred Couples
79. Tim Petrovic
80. James Nitties
81. Matt Jones
82. Kevin Streelman
83. Bubba Watson
84. Troy Matteson
85. Chris Stroud
86. Scott Piercy
87. Woody Austin
88. Spencer Levin
89. Martin Laird
90. Sean O'Hair
91. Angel Cabrera
92. Jonathan Byrd
93. Richard S. Johnson
94. Sergio Garcia
95. Ben Curtis
96. Nick O'Hern
97. Steve Elkington
98. Alex Cejka
99. Padraig Harrington
100. Scott Sterling
101. D.A. Points
102. J.J. Henry
103. Patrick Sheehan
104. Ian Poulter
105. Steve Lowery
106. Jeff Overton
107. Eric Axley
108. Heath Slocum
109. John Rollins
110. David Mathis
111. Y.E. Yang
112. David Duval
113. Tag Ridings
114. Bill Lunde
115. Cameron Beckman
116. Robert Garrigus
117. Charles Howell III
118. Rich Beem
119. Phil Mickelson
120. Briny Baird
121. Nathan Green
122. Carl Pettersson
123. Johnson Wagner
124. D.J. Trahan
125. Chez Reavie
126. Camilo Villegas
127. Cliff Kresge
128. Joe Durant
129. Todd Hamilton
130. Bart Bryant
131. Charles Warren
132. Ernie Els
133. Chris DiMarco
134. Davis Love III
135. Greg Owen
136. Brett Quigley
137. Kevin Stadler
138. K.J. Choi
139. Jeff Maggert
140. Brendon de Jonge
141. Rory Sabbatini
142. Aron Price
143. Matt Bettencourt
144. Tim Herron
145. Mathew Goggin
146. Andres Romero
147. Robert Allenby
148. Kent Jones
149. Boo Weekley
150. Mark Brooks
151. Darron Stiles
152. Brian Bateman
153. Nicholas Thompson
154. Tom Pernice, Jr.
155. Tom Lehman
156. Steve Flesch
157. Jimmy Walker
158. Kirk Triplett
159. Jay Williamson
160. Glen Day
161. Brad Adamonis
162. Casey Wittenberg
163. Mark Calcavecchia
164. Vijay Singh
165. Will MacKenzie
166. Marc Turnesa
167. Jason Gore
168. Billy Mayfair
169. Leif Olson
170. Derek Fathauer
171. Jarrod Lyle
172. Rocco Mediate
173. Ken Duke
174. Rick Price
175. Ricky Barnes
176. Peter Tomasulo
177. Peter Lonard
178. Brendon Todd
179. Gary Woodland
180. Greg Kraft
181. Adam Scott
182. Stuart Appleby
183. J.B. Holmes





3JACK