Normally when I travel I forgo my typical non-fiction business books and find a trashy Clive Cussler adventure novel to read.
However, on a recent trip out to New York City I came across the book Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie – and figured it would be worth a read.
Every Shot Counts is essentially a book about shaking up the way stats are kept in golf. Traditionally we’ve tracked stats that have very little relevance towards actually improving your game.
Greens in regulation don’t necessarily mean a whole lot if we can’t tell how we got there in the first place.
Putts per round can be misleading, because it doesn’t factor in how good the approach shot is or the distances of your putts.
Broadie is an advocate for a new method of golf stat tracking called “strokes gained” – and that’s exactly what this book is all about.
About a decade ago, the PGA Tour dopted the strokes gained statistic for putting and now use it as one of their primary indicators of putting performance.
What does it mean exactly?
Essentially the putting strokes gained method shows how a player putted compared to other players on tour.
If he gained one stroke on putts, it means that because of his good putting, he shot one stroke lower than the average of the other players in a tournament.
As an example, let’s say a golfer holes out from 30 feet. If the tour average for a 30 foot putt is 2.0 strokes, then that person would gain 1 stroke on the putt.
if you're looking to leverage data to improve your golf game, the Strokes Gained methodology is the most accurate way to do it. Pair this book with a set of Arccos Caddie sensors? You have Tour Player level statistics.
It’s More than Just Putting…
What’s interesting about Every Shot Counts is that he then takes it and applies it to more than just putting. He uses the same metric for approach shots, drives, and more.
It’s a fascinating way to look at golf stats, but more importantly, some of the conclusions he’s come up with because of it defy traditional logic for what’s important in golf.
Some of the key things that are covered in the book are:
- Long approaches are more important than putts
- Distance is more important than accuracy
- Out of bounds is even more dangerous than you think it is
He goes on to cover a handful of other key ideas that will change the way you think about the game and how you practice it.
While I loved the concept overall, by the end of the book, I was a little overloaded on stats. It got a little dry at times, and the stories, while making an excellent case for the Strokes Gained methodology, all felt a bit similar by the end.
The Exciting Thing About Strokes Gained
A decade ago the whole strokes gained concept wouldn’t mean much to the average golfer, since they had no easy way to track it.
But technology has come a long way. Game tracking systems like Arccos, Shot Scope, and Garmin enable you to track every single shot you hit automatically.
So at the end of the round not only can you see how far you actually hit your driver, you can also see all of your strokes gained data for the round as well.
This book should almost be a prerequisite to using any of those systems.
Is Every Shot Counts Worth Reading?
It’s definitely worth reading, because this is such a dramatic jump from where we’ve historically been in terms of stats for golf.
As I said, it can get a little dry and math-y at times, but that’s ok considering it will help you completely rethink your approach to course management and practice.
if you're looking to leverage data to improve your golf game, the Strokes Gained methodology is the most accurate way to do it. Pair this book with a set of Arccos Caddie sensors? You have Tour Player level statistics.
1 Comment
Great review Sean! I’ve read through it once, and am re-reading portions again. I agree, it’s a bit dry in place (how could a stats book not be?!) but all in all a great read. I’m REALLY looking forward to the apps to help track this stuff in my game. Keep up the great work!