Hound Dog's Frankenstats
by tatkins on Jun 29, 2009 2:36 PM PDT
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I tend to enjoy Hound Dog's Frankenstats because they recognize that a lot of the individual stats given by the LPGA and PGA do not really have a lot of meaning. The PGA Total Driving stat (that uses the place on each list and the one with the lowest total when added together is rated as the best) is a total joke. Hound Dog's method of using the actual data for each player and calculating a rating against a set standard is so far superior that the same calculation should be used to calculate the Total Driving for the PGA Tour. This would also give a numeric value for comparison of the driving of LPGA players versus the PGA players showing the strength of men versus the strength of women.
However, I feel the calculation Hound Dog used for Total Putting missed the mark. The biggest problem is the Putts Per Round Average is a strong function of the Greens In Regulation as well as putting. Using the following data for each player I calculated an Adjusted Putting Average: total putts, number of rounds, putts per round, greens in regulation putts, percent greens in regulation. I first calculated the following: greens made per round, greens missed per round, greens in regulation putts per round, greens missed putts per round, putts per greens missed. Then using the putts per green in regulation and putts per greens missed I calculated an adjusted putting average for each player, based on each player hitting 12 greens and missing 6 greens in regulation. I have included the top 30 below. I believe that this method gives a better comparison of how the players should be rated on average putts per round. These calculations use data available after the LPGA Championship.
1 Song-Hee Kim 28.202
2 Anna Nordqvist 28.519
3 Natalie Gulbis 28.585
4 Allison Hanna-Williams 28.729
5 Christie Kerr 28.831
6 Angela Stanford 28.910
7 Ji-Yai Shin 28.916
8 Hee-Won Han 29.027
9 Ai Miyazato 29.038
10 Kristy McPherson 29.070
11 Inbee Park 29.114
12 Ashleigh Simon 29.121
13 In-Kyung Kim 29.132
14 Lindsey Wright 29.164
15 Katherine Hull 29.165
16 Seon Hwa Lee 29.167
17 Soo-Yun Kang 29.186
18 Nicole Castrale 29.187
19 Paula Creamer 29.189
20 Helen Alfredsson 29.211
21 Hee Young Park 29.232
22 Michelle Wie 29.353
23 Suzann Pettersen 29.401
24 Minea Blomqvist 29.444
25 Yani Tseng 29.473
26 Amy Hung 29.490
27 Haeji Kang 29.522
28 M J Hur 29.552
29 Laura Davies 29.553
30 Ji Young Oh 29.561
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good stuff, T
It is definitely true that Putting Average is highly influenced by GIR. That’s why I tried to create a balance between PA and PPGIR. While my ultimate goal was to figure out who the best putters are, I also wanted to be sure that anybody who rated well in both PA and PPGIR would rate at the top of Total Putting.
I haven’t done an up-to-date calculation of Total Putting for a few events but it is worth noting that most of the players you rate at the top have also rated well in TP.
Total Putting versus Adjusted Putting Average
It will be interesting to see how the Adjusted Putting Average rates on your Stat Relevance versus the other putting stats. The lack of data from the tournaments outside the U.S. tend to make Ochoa’s rating lower than it should be. Players with few tournaments played (i.e. Anna Nordqvist) can move significantly in one week, so the more tournaments the better the calculation.
2008 Top 30 Adjusted Putting Average
Lorena Ochoa – Annika Sorenstam – Mi Hyun Kim – Paula Creamer – Suzann Petersen – Cristie Kerr – Shi Hyun Ahn – Inbee Park – Minea Blomqvist – Na Yeoa Choi – Hee-Won Han – In-Kyung Kim – Song-Hee kim – Julie Inkster – Eun-Hee Ji – Karen Stupples – Yani Tseng – Gloria Park – Jin Joo Hong – Laura Davies – Catriona Matthew – Sophie Gustafson – Momoko Ueda – Johanna Mundy – Sun Young Yoo – Karrie Webb – Maria Hjorth – Hye Jung Choi – Natalie Gulbis – Seon Hwa Lee
interesting how...
…Wie drops sharply and Miyazato rises sharply using TA’s calculation.
I’d like to see the 2 systems side-by-side—say, after the U.S. Women’s Open—to weigh the pros and cons of each.
What I’d really like to see is the LPGA keep and publicize made putt percentages by length spans—say, 3 feet and in, 3 feet to 6 feet, 6 to 12 feet, 12 to 24 feet, and 24 feet and longer….
by The Constructivist on Jun 30, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions
additional putting data
Additional putting data that you desire would certainly help to figure out who the best putters are. However, distance is only part of the equation as the amount of break and direction (uphill or downhill) and elevation from one level on the green to another, play a part in the difficulty of putts. The current assumption is that over a season those things tend to even out, otherwise the task is hopeless. I will do the caculation again after the U.S. Women’s Open. I have not yet looked at a comparison of the two list to see how much different the ratings of individuals are.
one way to quantify it would be amount of break/elevation
Yeah, really, you’d want to knw how good someone is at downhillers vs. uphillers, right to lefters vs. left to righters, etc. I’m sure their coaches are keeping these stats from practice sessions, but it sure would be cool to see made-putt percentages on some kind of 3-D grid that breaks down length, break, and elevation spans!
Looking forward to the post-Open calculations.
BTW, HD, I’m itching to do a new Best of the LPGA ranking. You planning on doing your nxt one after the Se Ri Pak Shootout this week?
by The Constructivist on Jul 1, 2009 12:45 AM PDT reply actions
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