Golf by the Numbers: How Stats, Math, and Physics Affect Your Game

Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4214-0315-1
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press

Buch, Englisch, 312 Seiten, Format (B × H): 146 mm x 221 mm, Gewicht: 489 g

How do the world’s greatest golfers improve their game? Practice, sure, but Roland Minton says mathematics and statistics are also key to their success. Golf by the Numbers analyzes the mathematical strategies behind the sport, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at how numbers drive the game.

Computers, GPS trackers, swing simulators, and high-speed cameras have introduced new and exciting ways of seeing and understanding the complicated and endlessly fascinating game of golf. Players like Phil Mickelson are so good because they review the results of every swing they take. Minton’s comprehensive analysis of statistics taken from the PGA Tour’s ShotLink system walks readers through the mountains of data that pros use to inform and refine their play. The result is an insider’s perspective of how the world’s greatest golfers apply mathematics to the sport.

Minton discusses randomness in golf (especially how much luck is involved in putting) as well as aggressive and cautious strategies both on and off the greens, and he explains, by the numbers, just how Tiger Woods was so dominant from 2004 to 2009.

Here is a book that tells some truly engaging stories of modern golf, featuring famous players and memorable tournaments, all through the lens of elementary probability theory. Minton’s informal style and clear and direct explanations make even the most detailed discussions accessible to all curious-minded golfers. His mathematical morsels are not only enjoyable to read—they may even help you improve your game.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Minton, Roland

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Stochastik
• Sozialwissenschaften Sport | Tourismus | Freizeit Sport Ballsportarten Golf
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Mathematik Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Part I: General Golf Analysis
1. The Shape of Golf
2. Golfer's Spread: Variation in Golf
3. Good Luck Putting: Randomness on the Greens
4. The Rivalry: Cautious and Risky Strategies
5. Handicap Systems and Other Hustles
Part II: Analysis of PGA Tour Statistics
6. The ShotLink Revolution: Golf Statistics
7. Lags and Gags: Putting Statistics
8. Chips and Flops: Short Game Statistics
9. Iron Byron: Approach Shot Statistics
10. The Big Dog: Driving Statistics
11. Tigermetrics: Player Rankings
12. More Rating Systems and Tiger Tales
Appendix A: Supplementary Tables
Appendix B: Player Profiles
Notes
Glossary
References

Über Autor(innen)

Minton, Roland
Roland Minton is a professor of mathematics at Roanoke College and coauthor of several calculus textbooks, including Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions and Calculus, Multivariable: Late Transcendental Functions.

Roland Minton is a professor of mathematics at Roanoke College and coauthor of several calculus textbooks, including Calculus: Early Transcendental Functions and Calculus, Multivariable: Late Transcendental Functions.