Connect with us

Opinion & Analysis

The data behind Luke Donald’s decision to change instructors

Published

on

Luke Donald recently made an instructor change to Texas-based swing coach Chuck Cook.

Back in 2011, Donald had an epic season. He finished first on the PGA Tour money list and the European Tour’s Order of Merit. He also became the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world. So the next obvious step for Donald was to win a major championship. But the fine play he exhibited in 2011 rarely resurfaced in 2012. He regained some of his old magic in 2013, but not enough to leave him satisfied.

So, what has happened to Donald’s game to make him switch instructors? First, let’s take a look at some basic scoring analysis, comparing his 2011 season versus his 2013 season.

Metric 1

The order of importance of these metrics when it comes to mathematically correlating to success on Tour is as follows:

  1. Par-4 Scoring Average
  2. Bogey Rate
  3. Par-5 Scoring Average
  4. Birdie Rate
  5. Par-3 Scoring Average

So, the major drop-offs were in metrics Nos. 2, 3 and 4.

Bogey Rate is the most important metric here. Having a low Bogey Rate is about two aspects of the game:

  • Being able to save par.
  • Being able to hit your approach shots close to the hole, where it greatly decreases the odds of making bogey.

The latter is what many golfers do not understand about why Bogey Rate is more important (from a mathematical standpoint) than Birdie Rate. The best way to avoid bogeys is to not put yourself in position to make them. Even the worst putters in the world are not going to make bogeys if they hit 16 or more greens per round and have an average birdie putt of less than 20 feet.

With that said, let’s take a look at Donald’s key performance metrics of 2011 versus 2013:

Metric 2

First, we should acknowledge that Luke’s 2011 season could very well never be replicated again. He ranked No. 1 on shots from 75 to 125 yards and shots from 125 to 175 yards. He also ranked first in Putts Gained. It is no small wonder why he played so brilliantly in 2011; if he had an approach shot from 175 yards or less he was by far the best player in the world. And if he was farther than 175 yards away from the hole, he was very good.

With that said, we start to see a noticeable difference in his play on the longer approach shots. When we examine it more closely we start to see a fairly large regression. Here are Donald’s rankings on long approach shots from the fairway/tee box in 2011 versus 2012.

Metric 3

This would explain the increase in Bogey Rate. Longer approach shots, particularly those from the Danger Zone, is where golfers tend to put themselves in position to make a bogey or a double bogey. Donald has seen a fairly large drop off on shots from 150 to 175 yards, but a massive drop off on shots from 200 to 225 yards.

Donald has never been very effective off the tee since he has been on Tour. In fact, his 2011 season (where he finished 132nd in Driving Effectiveness) was his best year with the driver on Tour. I believe that is what has held him back from winning a major, and why a course like Augusta National ends up fitting him the best out of all of the majors championship venues. It is very much an approach-shot-oriented course, and one where putting is extremely important. The other majors often require more precise and effective driving of the ball. The drawback is that Augusta also favors long hitters, which hurts Donald’s odds of winning a major there.

I would imagine that part of the change to a new instructor was that Donald hoped he could improve his tee play. At his club-head speed and distance off the tee, he needs to be able to hit about at least 68 percent of his fairways and get his Average Distance to the Edge of the Fairway to around 22 feet or less. Here is Donald’s data in these metrics during the past four years:

Metric 4

While Donald is not very far away from hitting 68 percent plus of his fairways and having an average Distance to the Edge of the Fairway of 22 feet or less, it goes to show that the slightest discrepancy can be the difference between being forecasted to win a major or two and having yet to win a major.

What I find interesting about Donald’s driving is in the radar data. Last year, there was a launch monitor report circulating on the web of Donald’s impact data. The launch monitor had Donald with a 2.5-degree downward attack angle with the driver. However, if you look at his radar metrics for this year on Tour there are some things that do not quite add up.

Metric 5

What we know about downward attack angles with the driver is that they result in golfers not hitting the ball as high or as far as they normally would with a “flat” attack angle or an upward attack angle. Furthermore, the downward attack angle will produce a higher spin rate.

What we see is that Donald’s distance ranking is noticeably worse than his ranking in clubhead speed. That is part of what we would logically assume given his downward attack angle. Furthermore, he has the 19th highest Spin Rate on Tour (2,922 RPMs). This is also in line with a golfer that hits the ball with a downward attack angle with the driver.

However, there are some contradictory metrics. His launch angle is fairly high (11.25 degrees), and he has the 41st highest ball flight on Tour. And as we know, higher clubhead speed players will generally hit the ball higher as well. Donald is a lower clubhead speed player who has a high ball flight. He is also doing it with a fairly high launch angle, but the spin rate is high.

I think the key piece to this is his ranking in Smash Factor (91st). And I believe what is happening for Donald is that he is hitting above the “sweet spot” on his driver. Tom Wishon has discussed how hitting above the “sweet spot” affects the ball’s flight with this diagram.

Wishon Diagram

Drivers are not designed to have a perfectly flat face. They have something called “vertical face roll,” which means that the face of the driver has a bulging design and the bulge runs horizontally (face bulged) and vertically (face roll).

With the larger 460cc drivers, this produces a club where if the golfer hits below the “sweet spot,” there is less loft. Conversely, if the golfer hits above the sweet spot, there is more loft. From there, the horizontal gear effect comes into play and if the golfer hits the ball above the sweet spot, that means the gear effect will reduce the spin on the ball.

Here are Donald’s radar metrics during the past four years.

Metric 7

Perhaps changes in equipment are a reason behind Donald’s unorthodox radar numbers given his 2.5-degree downward attack angle. But, his spin rate has lowered while his trajectory has gotten higher. And he still has an issue with getting his distance off the tee to match his club-head speed.

Donald will have his work cut out for him. But if he can get his long approach shot play back to his 2011 performance he will be very close to his old form. And if he can figure out his driving woes on top of it, he can be even better than he once was.

Your Reaction?
  • 0
  • LEGIT0
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK0

Richie Hunt is a statistician whose clients include PGA Tour players, their caddies and instructors in order to more accurately assess their games. He is also the author of the recently published e-book, 2018 Pro Golf Synopsis; the Moneyball Approach to the Game of Golf. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Richie3Jack. GolfWRX Writer of the Month: March 2014 Purchase 2017 Pro Golf Synopsis E-book for $10

21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. MartyMouse

    Oct 12, 2013 at 8:02 am

    Enough about dynamic Loft!! Luke still has all the tools to get right back on top. Very interesting and well written! Thank you Richie!

  2. timmy

    Oct 11, 2013 at 5:57 pm

    whats the significance of distance to edge data?

    isn’t it possible, if not probable, that these pros intended to land the ball on certain spots of the fairway?

    middle of the fairway is not always the best spot for second shot

    • Richie Hunt

      Oct 14, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      Distance to the Edge of the fairway is based on shots that *miss* the fairway. The significance is it helps measure how large a player’s misses are.

  3. Andrew Cooper

    Oct 4, 2013 at 7:09 pm

    No disrespect, he’s a very decent player, but how he got to world no.1 beats me..

    • rdred

      Oct 10, 2013 at 7:07 am

      What part of it aren’t you understanding? This article has the stats right there, infront of your eyes…Did you read the article before typing your embarrassing comment?

      Best from the birdie zone.
      Best from the safe zone.
      Most Putts Gained.
      Best scoring average on par 4s

      What part of this are you struggling to understand?

      • Andrew Cooper

        Oct 13, 2013 at 8:33 am

        No argument Donald is a very good player-but he’s not a great player. He has strengths, but he also has big weaknesses (162nd in ball striking in 2013).

        The key stats are 251 PGA Tour starts, 5 wins, 0 Majors-a very nice career but not World no.1 material…

  4. Roger

    Oct 4, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    Richie,
    Really appreciate the analysis of the info!
    The huge drop in 150/175 and 200/225 accuracy is easy to see.
    Looks like the 2011 Irons are worth going back too……..

    I got into a negative impact around 2 degrees around xmas
    after being a +- Zero degrees hitter…took a while to fix!
    Keep up the Very Interesting Articles please!
    You know you can’t win over all the viewers in todays Instant Expert
    World……………………………………………………………………………………

    • naflack

      Oct 5, 2013 at 3:53 am

      passive aggressive and snarky, yes. subtle, no.

  5. FS

    Oct 3, 2013 at 11:23 am

    Very interesting!
    Did he also change balls during this same period? Has the change in the ball affected the numbers that much?
    The driver change obviously has affected it, for sure, but I wonder about the ball itself too. I wish there was some kind of machine that could tell us bit more about compression data of balls at impact besides just the Trackman smash factor data.
    How about the shaft? Did he change shaft when he changed the head?
    We all know that he also struggled with the change from the MP-62 to the 64.
    Obviously if his proximity to the hole suffers he has to work harder on the greens so the putting suffers and it shows.

    Nothing wrong with having a new set of eyes take a look at you. I hope he makes a good comeback next year.

    • Richie Hunt

      Oct 3, 2013 at 2:07 pm

      I don’t know if he changed golf balls or shaft, etc. That’s why I stated that perhaps the equipment causes his unorthodox radar numbers with the driver.

      Putts Gained is based on putts made percentage, BUT with relation to the field. And it’s where the golfer putts from. So not hitting your irons as well is technically separate from Putts Gained because it’s basing it on your ability to make putts from certain distances. If you’re leaving yourself with 20 foot putts instead of 10 foot putts, obviously…you’ll make less putts. But, that doesn’t matter in putts gained because it’s testing how well you can make those 20 foot putts (in this example) versus how well the field does from 20 feet.

  6. naflack

    Oct 3, 2013 at 8:43 am

    If you already know that…why are stating the hitting down creates backspin when you clearly know that it doesn’t?

    • naflack

      Oct 3, 2013 at 8:55 am

      Sorry but that makes no sense…
      I watched the maestro explain the entire thing.
      I’ll trust his explanation over yours, it’s makes more sense.
      Besides the fact that trackman data tells us that hitting down does not create spin by itself. Otherwise guys who hit down with their drivers would need less loft not more.
      I don’t understand with your knowledge how you draw such a conclusion that the player exhibited alone disputes?

      • Eric

        Oct 3, 2013 at 10:10 am

        https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDUQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrackmangolf.com%2Fmedia%2F5bf8af87-1695-42f4-9bab-7235dff40c5c%2F-366222283%2FPDF%2F3.%2520Newsletter%2Fnewsletter7.pdf&ei=FXpNUqWRBaLbyQGUr4GICw&usg=AFQjCNH1hgUOtwI3ycrzx71h-aRqhw-kXA&sig2=55oagnKooa6ICoqpsr7bdQ&bvm=bv.53537100,d.aWc

        If by “hitting down” you mean increasing downward angle of attach while also tilting the club face down by the same amount, you’re right, no change in spin rate. But if your angle of attack is increased downward while the clubfaces remains the same, result is higher spin rate.

        So, if Donald knows he should have a launch angle with a driver of about 11-12 degrees, and is changing the driver static loft to achieve it while using a -2.5 deg AoA, the spin will increase. He should do the opposite to increase distance…raise AoA, but use loft that continues to get about 11 degrees of launch angle.

        • naflack

          Oct 3, 2013 at 11:13 pm

          i wonder how many golfers understand the subtext involved, im guessing not many…

      • Richie Hunt

        Oct 3, 2013 at 10:34 am

        I can guarantee you that Trackman Maestro would agree with me that dynamic loft by itself (as well as attack angle) will not increase the spin rate. It’s the increase in the difference between AoA and dynamic loft, otherwise known as Spin Loft, that increases or decreases spin rate.

        • naflack

          Oct 3, 2013 at 11:08 pm

          im sure he would agree with the above premise…
          i dont however believe he would agree with the statement in the article that downward angle of attack increases spin rate.
          ive watched his videos, he states over and over again that the statement “hitting down increases spin” in and of itself is a myth. the distinction is important because the average golfer doesnt understand the difference between hitting down and spin loft. they see hitting down increases spin when unless they know how to do it properly it oly hurts their game.
          perhaps im the idiot and all the readers know the distinction, either way i felt the need to comment and appreciate your responses none the less.

          • Richie Hunt

            Oct 4, 2013 at 8:58 am

            I think we typically see golfers generating more spin when they hit down because their spin loft is *likely* to increase. They may bring their dynamic loft down with it, but generally not enough to keep the spin loft consistent (at least IMO).

            The real point of that portion of the article was to explore Donald’s struggles with the driver over his career. I don’t know his average dynamic loft, but I did know his average attack angle. What I found interesting was his launch angle would increase and he had very unorthodox numbers when we look at his club head speed, spin rate, max height, distance, etc.

            It could be an equipment thing, but it could be where he is hitting the ball. And I’ve worked with a couple of clients that changed how high they tee the ball up and that has affected their radar metrics and subsequently their driving off the tee.

            I usually try to tie these articles in with what the average amateur could possibly learn. There’s a popular myth that hitting above the sweet spot on the modern driver is a ‘hot spot’ on the driver. It’s actually not and I was trying to bring that to the attention of the reader and show a possible case of where this may be detrimental to a player like Luke Donald.

  7. naflack

    Oct 3, 2013 at 4:03 am

    downward angle of attack DOES NOT produce a higher spin rate, more dynamic loft produces a higher spin rate.
    the fact that he is as high as 19 in spin rate indicates that hitting down with the driver isnt increasing his spin rate.

    dont believe me…google “track man maestro” then watch him on youtube.

    • Richie Hunt

      Oct 3, 2013 at 7:59 am

      Sorry, but that’s incorrect. Dynamic loft by itself does NOT produce a higher spin rate. It’s about Spin Loft which is the difference between the Dynamic Loft and the Attack Angle. So all things being equal, if the attack angle gets steeper the spin loft increases and thus the spin rate increases. Conversely, all things being equal…if the dynamic loft increases the spin loft increases which means the spin will increase.

  8. td

    Oct 2, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    “The best way to avoid bogeys is to not put yourself in position to make them.”

    Haha…I swear this guy is Tim Mccarver’s prodigy.

  9. Lawrie Montague

    Oct 2, 2013 at 8:39 pm

    Rich thank you for sharing your analysis of Luke Donald’s current challenges with his game.

    With the wealth of statistical data available to us it is fortunate that we have people like yourself who can drill down into the data and present it in a way that makes sense.

    I wonder whether Luke Donald will be able to change his game enough to improve the numbers you suggest if he has to change some aspect of his golf swing.

    I imagine that someone as knowledgeable and experienced as Chuck Cook will guide him carefully, but as someone who works with tour players and elite amateurs helping them to improve their numbers in key areas of their game it’s indeed a slippery slope.

    Get it wrong and even great golfers are lost to the golf swing change wilderness, but get it right and Luke Donald might be able to bag himself a major or two.

    Only time will tell. Thanks again for an insightful article.

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting preview

Published

on

As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.

Past Winners at Memorial Park

  • 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
  • 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
  • 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Memorial Park

Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:

Strokes Gained: Approach

Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.30)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
  3. Keith Mitchell (+0.97) 
  4. Tony Finau (+0.92)
  5. Jake Knapp (+0.84)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
  2. Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
  3. Cameron Champ (+0.86)
  4. Rafael Campos (+0.84)
  5. Si Woo Kim (+0.70)

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.

Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):

  1. Adam Svensson (+1.27)
  2. Harry Hall (+1.01)
  3. Martin Trainer (+0.94)
  4. Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
  5. S.H. Kim (+0.86)

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.

Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
  2. S.H. Kim (+0.68)
  3. Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
  4. Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
  5. Jason Day (+0.60)

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past. 

Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
  2. Ben Griffin (+1.75)
  3. Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
  4. Ben Taylor (+1.53)
  5. Tony Finau (+1.42)

Course History

Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park. 

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

  1. Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
  2. Ben Taylor (+3.40)
  3. Tony Finau (+2.37)
  4. Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
  5. Patton Kizzire (+2.16)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Wyndham Clark
  3. Tony Finau
  4. Joel Dahmen
  5. Stephan Jaeger 
  6. Aaron Rai
  7. Sahith Theegala
  8. Keith Mitchell 
  9. Jhonnatan Vegas
  10. Jason Day
  11. Kurt Kitayama
  12. Alex Noren
  13. Will Zalatoris
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Adam Long

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.

Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions.  The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.

In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.

In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.

Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.

Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.

Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.

Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.

Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.

Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.

In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.

MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.

It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.

Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.

 

Your Reaction?
  • 13
  • LEGIT1
  • WOW1
  • LOL0
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP0
  • OB0
  • SHANK1

Continue Reading

Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Why the race to get better at golf might be doing more harm than good

Published

on

B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.

To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).

Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).

Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing

In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.

Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.

The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!

The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.

Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.

The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.

Your Reaction?
  • 14
  • LEGIT4
  • WOW1
  • LOL2
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB0
  • SHANK11

Continue Reading

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Valspar Championship betting preview: Elite ballstrikers to thrive at Copperhead

Published

on

The PGA TOUR will stay in Florida this week for the 2024 Valspar Championship.

The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort is a par 71 measuring 7,340 yards and features Bermudagrass greens overseeded with POA. Infamous for its difficulty, the track will be a tough test for golfers as trouble lurks all over the place. Holes 16, 17 and 18 — also known as the “Snake Pit” — make up one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf and should lead to a captivating finish on Sunday.

The field is comprised of 156 golfers teeing it up. The field this week is solid and is a major improvement over last year’s field that felt the impact of players skipping due to a handful of “signature events” in a short span of time. 

Past Winners at Valspar Championship

  • 2023: Taylor Moore (-10)
  • 2022: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2021: Sam Burns (-17)
  • 2019: Paul Casey (-8)
  • 2018: Paul Casey (-10)
  • 2017: Adam Hadwin (-14)
  • 2016: Charl Schwartzel (-7)
  • 2015: Jordan Spieth (-10)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Copperhead

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach grades out as the most important statistic once again this week. Copperhead really can’t be overpowered and is a second-shot golf course.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds (per round)

  1. Tony Finau (+.90)
  2. Nick Taylor (+.81)
  3. Justin Thomas (+.77)
  4. Greyson Sigg (+.69)
  5. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+.67)

2. Good Drive %

The long hitters can be a bit limited here due to the tree-lined fairways and penal rough. Playing from the fairways will be important, but laying back too far will cause some difficult approaches with firm greens that may not hold shots from long irons.

Golfers who have a good balance of distance and accuracy have the best chance this week.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+91.3%) 
  2. Zach Johnson (+91.1%)
  3. Sam Ryder (+90.5%)
  4. Ryan Moore (+90.4%)
  5. Aaron Rai (+89.7%)

3. Strokes Gained: Ball Striking

Adding ball-striking puts even more of a premium on tee-to-green prowess in the statistical model this week. Golfers who rank highly in ball-striking are in total control of the golf ball which is exceedingly important at Copperhead.

SG: Ball Striking Over Past 24 Rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1.32)
  2. Keith Mitchell (+1.29)
  3. Tony Finau (+1.24)
  4. Cameron Young (+1.17) 
  5. Doug Ghim (+.95)

4. Bogey Avoidance

With the conditions likely to be difficult, avoiding bogeys will be crucial this week. In a challenging event like the Valspar, oftentimes the golfer who is best at avoiding mistakes ends up on top.

Gritty golfers who can grind out difficult pars have a much better chance in an event like this than a low-scoring birdie-fest.

Bogey Avoidance Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (+9.0)
  2. Xander Schauffele (+9.3)
  3. Austin Cook (+9.7) 
  4. Chesson Hadley (+10.0)
  5. Greyson Sigg (+10.2)

5. Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions

Conditions will be tough this week at Copperhead. I am looking for golfers who can rise to the occasion if the course plays as difficult as it has in the past.

Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Xander Schauffele (+1,71) 
  2. Min Woo Lee (+1.39)
  3. Cameron Young (+1.27)
  4. Jordan Spieth (+1.08)
  5. Justin Suh (+.94)

6. Course History

That statistic will tell us which players have played well at Copperhead in the past.

Course History Over Past 24 rounds

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+3.75) 
  2. Sam Burns (+2.49)
  3. Davis Riley (+2.33)
  4. Matt NeSmith (+2.22)
  5. Jordan Spieth (+2.04)

The Valspar Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), Good Drive % (15%), SG: BS (20%), Bogeys Avoided (13%), Course History (13%) Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions (12%).

  1. Xander Schauffele
  2. Doug Ghim
  3. Victor Perez
  4. Greyson Sigg
  5. Ryan Moore
  6. Tony Finau
  7. Justin Thomas
  8. Sam Ryder
  9. Sam Burns
  10. Lucas Glover

2024 Valspar Championship Picks

Justin Thomas +1400 (DraftKings)

Justin Thomas will be disappointed with his finish at last week’s PLAYERS Championship, as the past champion missed the cut despite being in some decent form heading into the event. Despite the missed cut, JT hit the ball really well. In his two rounds, the two-time major champion led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach per round.

Thomas has been up and down this season. He’s missed the cut in two “signature events” but also has finishes of T12 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T12 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the Pebble Beach AT&T Pro-Am and T3 at the American Express. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking in the field.

Thomas loves Copperhead. In his last three tries at the course, he’s finished T13, T3 and T10. Thomas would have loved to get a win at a big event early in the season, but avoidable mistakes and a balky putter have cost him dearly. I believe a trip to a course he loves in a field he should be able to capitalize on is the right recipe for JT to right the ship.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout +6000 (FanDuel)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is playing spectacular golf in the 2024 season. He finished 2nd at the American Express, T20 at Pebble Beach and T24 at the Genesis Invitational before finishing T13 at last week’s PLAYERS Championship.

In his past 24 rounds, the South African ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and 26th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. Bezuidenhout managed to work his way around TPC Sawgrass last week with minimal damage. He only made five bogeys in the entire week, which is a great sign heading into a difficult Copperhead this week.

Bezuidenhout is winless in his PGA Tour career, but certainly has the talent to win on Tour. His recent iron play tells me that this week could be a breakthrough for the 35-year-old who has eyes on the President’s Cup.

Doug Ghim +8000 (FanDuel)

Doug Ghim has finished in the top-16 of his past five starts. Most recently, Ghim finished T16 at The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field.

In his past 24 rounds, Ghim ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 5th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. In terms of his fit for Copperhead, the 27-year-old ranks 12th in Bogey Avoidance and 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in Difficult Conditions, making him a great fit for the course.

Ghim has yet to win on Tour, but at one point he was the top ranked Amateur golfer in the world and played in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup and 2017 Walker Cup. He then won the Ben Hogan award for the best male college golfer in 2018. He certainly has the talent, and there are signals aplenty that his talent in ready to take him to the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.

Sepp Straka +8000 (BetRivers)

Sepp Straka is a player who’s shown he has the type of game that can translate to a difficult Florida golf course. The former Presidents Cup participant won the 2022 Honda Classic in tough conditions and should thrive with a similar test at Copperhead.

It’s been a slow 2024 for Straka, but his performance last week at the PLAYERS Championship surely provides some optimism. He gained 5.4 strokes on approach as well as 1.88 strokes off the tee. The tee-to-green game Straka showed on a course with plenty of danger demonstrates that he can stay in control of his golf ball this week.

It’s possible that the strong performance last week was an outlier, but I’m willing to bet on a proven winner in a weaker field at a great number.

Victor Perez +12000 (FanDuel)

Victor Perez is no stranger to success in professional golf. The Frenchman has three DP World Tour wins including a Rolex Series event. He won the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as well as the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which are some big events.

Perez earned his PGA Tour card this season and enters the week playing some fantastic golf. He finished in a tie for 16th in Florida at the Cognizant Classic and then tied for third in his most recent start at the Puerto Rico Open.

In his past 24 rounds in the field, Perez ranks 11th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 1oth in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, 6th in Good Drive % and 15th in Bogey Avoidance.

Perez comes in as a perfect fit for Copperhead and offers serious value at triple-digit odds.

Your Reaction?
  • 16
  • LEGIT3
  • WOW2
  • LOL1
  • IDHT0
  • FLOP1
  • OB2
  • SHANK6

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending