Book Review: Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes Gained Approach to Improve Your Golf Performance and Strategy by Mark Broadie
“How do you make golf decisions? Many of us stand over the ball and decide based on our feelings at the moment. Feeling confident: Go for the pin. Made a mess of the last hole: Play it safe. Our decisions are often made on hunches. But what if you could base your decisions on something more convincing, on data and solid analysis? . . . Each golf decision involves a trade-off between risk and reward. In many cases it is not obvious how to balance these risk-reward factors to produce the lowest score.” (from the Introduction)
When author Mark Broadie went in search of a way to determine the best risk-reward balance he discovered that traditional golf stats did not provide the right kind of information. He decided to develop a new set of stats: the Golfmetrics database. Now with his strokes gained approach golfers both pros and amateurs can judge performance in all areas of the game.
Which is easier: a longer uphill putt or a shorter sidehill putt?
What is the value of hitting approach shots closer to the hole?
Play an aggressive or conservative shot off the tee?
You’re 120 yards from the hole. Do you layup or go long? — Knowing your personal stats will help you answer this question. You need to strategize and play the percentages. But you have to know the percentages. “The fascinating results are that most golfers will score worse from 80 yards from the hole than from 30.” (from Chapter 8)
In Every Shot Counts, Mark Brodie offers a wealth of information on how golfers can gather the data to help measure his or her performance and identify strengths and weaknesses. You will learn from your mistakes, how to measure the balance of risk and reward for every shot. How to make the best decisions for games on the course. If you enjoy working with stats, measuring and analyzing your improvement in your golf game, than Every Shot Counts is a volume you must have in your library.
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Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes Gained Approach to Improve Your Golf Performance and Strategy by Mark Broadie
Published by Gotham Books • Now available in bookstores and online.
