Data Dictionary

These summary statistics of PGA tour golfers is vastly different from a typical casual golfer who plays on the occaisonal weekend. For example, a golfer who averages a bogey per hole, their driving distance on average is 80 yards shorter than those on tour.

Who were the top 10 winners between the four seasons?

In this list of top 10 money earned in a season, three golfers cracked this list multiple times. Dustin Justin appeared 3 times and Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth each appeared twice. Jordan and Justin were each 22 and 24, respectively, at the time of their top performing season. Both of these golfers won the FEDEx cup that year, which has the largest purse of any event on tour. Dustin Johnson, although he was 36 at the time of his highest performing season, was one of the top performers for three years straight.

Who has won the most money between 2015 and 2018?

Between the 2015 through 2018 PGA Tour seasons, there is a wide range of prize money won between the top performing golfer and the tenth best golfer. In fact, Dustin Johnson won nearly double the tenth best golfer that season. This data honestly surprised me as I thought this number would be a larger over four seasons. Golf feels like a high paying sport, yet compared to other sports, there are professional athletes making well over $30 million a year. This difference in salaries is one of the leading arguments for golfers to leave the PGA Tour and join the LIV Tour.

How does average driving distance change each year?

Years 2015 and 2016 had very similar driving data, with an average distance around 290 yards. In 2017 there was a shift right, with a slight increase in average driving distance off the tee. In 2018, we begin to see an obvious increase in driving distance, with almost a 10 yard increase in driving distance. In 2018, manufacturers rolled out new drivers, with Callaway, Talyormade, and Ping topping the rankings. These drivers included major changes that increase forgiveness, the distance for drives that were not hit center on the face. By increasing this distance on mishits, it reduces the number of drives that negatively impact the distance.

How does average driving distance affect fairway percentage?

So many amateur and casual golfers are so caught up in trying to hit their drives further, yet there is another metric that may have a better impact on scoring than distance. Fairway percentage calculates the percent of holes where your drive lands in the fairway rather than the rough. By increasing this number, you will have a better lie and can have fewer obstacles while trying to hit the green. Although increasing your driver distance can be beneficial, you run the risk of losing accuracy. Looking at the graph, there is a distinct negative relationship between driver distance and fairway percentage. As driving difference increases, golfers on tour are tending to find the fairway less.

Does GIR or FW% have more of an affect on scoring?

Although there is so much importance placed on driving and getting off the tee, approach shots into the green are also an important aspect of the game that have a large impact on scoring. A green in regulation is defined as hitting the putting green in two strokes under par or better. For example, hitting the green 2 stokes on a par 4 would be a GIR. GIR% calculates the percentage of holes that a GIR was recorded. Looking at the two graphs, it is apparent that golfers who have a higher GIR% score better compared to golfers with a high fairway percentage.

Does Total Strokes Gained affect money won?

Strokes gained is a metric that helps calculate a golfer’s performance compared to the rest of the field. This can apply for areas of golf such as Off the Tee, Approach, Putting, etc. It is a good metric for golfers use to understand areas for improvement and areas of strength.

Drive for show, putt for dough?

Which golfers have the most postive sentiment in their Wikipedia page?

Rory McIlroy is the clear leader in positivity scoring, which is calculated by subtracting the number of negative words from the number of positive words in their page. Rory is often touted as having the best swing and golf, and he has had a lot of success in his career. Tiger Woods is a golfer who has found a lot of success, winning 82 tournaments and 15 majors. 82 tournaments is tied for the most ever and will likely not be broken for a long time. Tiger Woods’ Wikipedia paage has 4,687, which is a little over 100 more words than Rory McIlroy. Although Tiger has the highest word count, when you compare his positivity scoring to Rory, Tiger only has a positvity score half of Rory’s. Tiger has had a long and successful career, yet his Wikipedia page’s scoring has likely taken a hit due to controversy and his life away from the golf course.

What are the most common words across all golfer Wikipedia pages?

Looking at the graph, a lot of these words are not surprsing to see, as Wikipedia addresses the golfer young and professional lives. One thing that was interesting to me in this graph is that tour is found in these Wikipedia pages almost twice as much as its counterpart PGA. I was really surprised that there was such a differencem until I thought about how it may be used in a sentence. For example, it was used in this context on Jordan Spieth’s Wikipedia page: “for leading the tour in scoring average.” It is also used in the Korn Ferry Tour, and other amateur or minor golf leagues.

Does winning more money increase the word count of a golfers Wikipedia page?

This graph is really interesting to look at, as there is a positive relationship between money won and the word count of the respective Wikipedia page. One draw back to this graph is that it does not highlight the total money won by the golfer in their career. This would be a better way to look at the correlation. For example, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els won a majority of their tournaments in their career before the 2015-2018 window. They have a lower total money won in this time period compared to other golfers in their prime at this time.