Some Masters Number-Doodling
GOUGE: Because my partner-in-crime is taking a little well-deserved R&R (after making five birdies while playing Augusta National on Monday) and because in my diminished post-surgery capacity all I can do is stare at computer screens like a video-game-addicted 10-year-old, I've spent a little time staring at some numbers regarding the annual Masters rite of spring and what if anything it says about the state of the game. In truth, it's a snapshot at best and it gives us only enough information to raise our curiosities. But let's look at a few key points:
Driving Distance: It's clear to anyone who's watching distance numbers that we've reached a bit of a plateau. We don't know why that is (could be more 3-woods off the tee, could be that drivers can't be made any hotter per USGA regulations, could be that distance off the tee isn't much of a primary motivator for today's players). But it is a fact that driving distance is flat. Looking at PGA Tour average driving distance through the Masters over the last six years, the number has hovered around 283. It dipped to 280 in 2005 and was as high as 287 in 2006, but this year's 281.4 might even be considered on the low side. Where was driving distance this year at the Masters? Well, if you only count those who made the cut, it was 277.5. Count everybody and it was 275.7. Neither are alarming, of course.
The Boredom Factor: The constant lament, even from the No. 1 player in the universe, is that the lengthened and strengthened Augusta National no longer allows for excitement and charges and a festival of eagles, like in the good old days. I wonder. There were 19 eagles this year, which matches the average number of eagles during Masters week since 2000. And the good old days, like Jack Nicklaus's charge in 1986? Well, that year there were 24. Five more than the current average, yes, but five fewer than there were in 2006. And if the winner of the tournament has come from the final pairing 17 of the last 18 years, are we really correct in remembering the Masters as the annual occasion of back-from-the-pack charges? There's no question the number of birdies produced Masters week has gone down. It was 872 in 2000 and 919 in 2001, but just 758 this year. Just looking from the outside, I believe the fear factor has been ratcheted up a notch or two, but the 758 birdies this year is not all that far out of line with where it used to be back in the good, old days. Like in 1986 when there were 767 birdies. In fact, the 758 birdies is higher than the average for the 1980s. It plays not as easy perhaps as it was playing in the 1990s (when there were well over 800 birdies a year and even more than a thousand in 1992), but is that a bad thing? I'd suggest for a major championship, it's about where it should be. Sure, there were more birdies at Oakmont last year, but there also were 60 more players in the field, so relax. If there is a failing in Augusta National, it's that its yardage has no flexibility. It's either 7,445 yards or 6,300 yards. More tee boxes mean more options. For example, you can't make it play 150 yards shorter one day if you'd like, given conditions or whimsy.
The Most Amazing Performance in Golf History: Gary Player averaged 195 off the tee on Friday
and still shot 78. He should have been given a trophy just for that.
Excellent statistical analysis.
This year's winning score at Augusta (280)is about where a major championship ought to be, I think (U.S. Opens being the exception rather than the rule).
And I am perfectly fine with control catching back up with power in terms of being able to score well.