System and Method for Analyzing Golfer Performance

Abstract

In a method for analyzing performance of a golfer, a number greens hit in regulation by the golfer during at least one round of golf and a number of long game strokes taken by the golfer during the at least one round of golf are determined, a long game efficiency index of the golfer is calculated by dividing the determined number of long game strokes by the determined number of greens hit in regulation, and a long game handicap of the golfer is determined based at least in part upon the calculated long game efficiency index and a known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index. The method may be performed by a computer system if desired.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic view illustrating a system for analyzing performance of a golfer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a method for analyzing performance of a golfer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, which method may be performed by the system of FIG. 1.

Claims

1. A method for analyzing performance of a golfer comprising the steps of: determining a number greens hit in regulation by the golfer during at least one round of golf;determining a number of long game strokes taken by the golfer during the at least one round of golf;calculating a long game efficiency index of the golfer by dividing the determined number of long game strokes by the determined number of greens hit in regulation; anddetermining a long game handicap of the golfer based at least in part upon the calculated long game efficiency index and a known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of greens hit in regulation comprises a number of holes on which the golfer reached a hole's putting surface in at least two strokes less than par for the hole for each hole played during the at least one round of golf.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of long game strokes comprises a number of strokes taken or incurred by the golfer from greater than 50 yards from each hole played during the at least one round of golf.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the number of strokes taken or incurred includes strokes taken by the golfer and penalty strokes incurred by the golfer.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining a long game handicap of the golfer comprises the step of selecting a long game handicap corresponding to the calculated long game efficiency index from a table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said calculated long game efficiency index is adjusted for relative difficulty of a golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played before said step of determining a long game handicap.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said calculated long game efficiency index is adjusted for relative difficulty of a golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by performing at least the following steps: calculating a golf course rating difference by dividing a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average golf course rating of a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index;calculating a slope rating difference by dividing a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average slope rating of a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index;calculating an adjustment factor by averaging the golf course rating difference and the slope rating difference; andcalculating an adjusted long game efficiency index by dividing the calculated long game efficiency index by the calculated adjustment factor.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of calculating a short game handicap of the golfer by performing at least the following steps: calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf; andmultiplying the Slope Adjusted Differential by 2 and then subtracting the determined long game handicap.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf comprises the steps of: subtracting a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played from a final gross score of the golfer for the at least one round of golf;multiplying the result of said subtracting step by a hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses; anddividing the result of said multiplying step by a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses comprises a hypothetical average slope rating for all golf courses in the United States.

11. A method for analyzing performance of a golfer comprising the steps of: determining a number greens hit in regulation by the golfer during at least one round of golf, the number of greens hit in regulation comprising a number of holes on which the golfer reached a hole's putting surface in at least two strokes less than par for the hole for each hole played during the at least one round of golf;determining a number of long game strokes taken by the golfer during the at least one round of golf, the number of long game strokes comprising a number of strokes taken or incurred by the golfer from greater than 50 yards from each hole played during the at least one round of golf;calculating a long game efficiency index of the golfer by dividing the determined number of long game strokes by the determined number of greens hit in regulation;calculating a golf course rating difference by dividing a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average golf course rating of a plurality of golf courses;calculating a slope rating difference by dividing a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average slope rating of a plurality of golf courses;calculating an adjustment factor by averaging the golf course rating difference and the slope rating difference;calculating an adjusted long game efficiency index by dividing the calculated long game efficiency index by the calculated adjustment factor;determining a long game handicap of the golfer based at least in part upon the calculated adjusted long game efficiency index by selecting a long game handicap corresponding to the calculated long game efficiency index from a table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes;calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf; andcalculating a short game handicap of the golfer by multiplying the Slope Adjusted Differential by 2 and then subtracting the determined long game handicap.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the number of strokes taken or incurred includes strokes taken by the golfer and penalty strokes incurred by the golfer.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of golf courses upon which the average golf course rating and the average slope rating is based comprise a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein said step of calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf comprises the steps of: subtracting the golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played from a final gross score of the golfer for the at least one round of golf;multiplying the result of said subtracting step by a hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses; anddividing the result of said multiplying step by a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses comprises a hypothetical average slope rating for all golf courses in the United States.

16. A system for analyzing performance of a golfer comprising: a computer;software executing on said computer for receiving an indication of a number greens hit in regulation by the golfer during at least one round of golf and an indication of a number of long game strokes taken by the golfer during the at least one round of golf;software executing on said computer for calculating a long game efficiency index of the golfer by dividing the number of long game strokes by the number of greens hit in regulation;software executing on said computer for determining a long game handicap of the golfer based at least in part upon the calculated long game efficiency index and a stored relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index; andsoftware executing on said computer for displaying the determined long game handicap to the user.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the number of greens hit in regulation comprises a number of holes on which the golfer reached a hole's putting surface in at least two strokes less than par for the hole for each hole played during the at least one round of golf.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the number of long game strokes comprises a number of strokes taken or incurred by the golfer from greater than 50 yards from each hole played during the at least one round of golf.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the number of strokes taken or incurred includes strokes taken by the golfer and penalty strokes incurred by the golfer.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the stored relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index comprises a table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes accessible by said computer, and wherein said software executing on said computer for determining a long game handicap of the golfer comprises software executing on said computer for selecting a long game handicap corresponding to the calculated long game efficiency index from the table.

21. The system of claim 16 further comprising software executing on said computer for adjusting, before the long game handicap is determined, the calculated long game efficiency index for relative difficulty of a golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein said software for adjusting the calculated long game efficiency index comprises: software executing on said computer for calculating a golf course rating difference by dividing a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average golf course rating of a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index;software executing on said computer for calculating a slope rating difference by dividing a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average slope rating of a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the known relationship between long game handicap versus long game efficiency index;software executing on said computer for calculating an adjustment factor by averaging the golf course rating difference and the slope rating difference; andsoftware executing on said computer for calculating an adjusted long game efficiency index by dividing the calculated long game efficiency index by the calculated adjustment factor.

23. The system of claim 16 further comprising software executing on said computer for calculating a short game handicap of the golfer, said software for determining a short game handicap of the golfer comprising: software executing on said computer for calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf; andsoftware executing on said computer for multiplying the Slope Adjusted Differential by 2 and then subtracting the determined long game handicap.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said software for calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf comprises: software executing on said computer for subtracting a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played from a final gross score of the golfer for the at least one round of golf;software executing on said computer for multiplying the result obtained by said software for subtracting by a hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses; andsoftware executing on said computer for dividing the result obtained by said software for multiplying by a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses comprises a hypothetical average slope rating for all golf courses in the United States.

26. A system for analyzing performance of a golfer comprising: a computer;software executing on said computer for receiving an indication of a number greens hit in regulation by the golfer during at least one round of golf and an indication of a number of long game strokes taken by the golfer during the at least one round of golf, wherein the number of greens hit in regulation comprises a number of holes on which the golfer reached a hole's putting surface in at least two strokes less than par for the hole for each hole played during the at least one round of golf, and wherein the number of long game strokes comprises a number of strokes taken or incurred by the golfer from greater than 50 yards from each hole played during the at least one round of golf;software executing on said computer for calculating a long game efficiency index of the golfer by dividing the number of long game strokes by the number of greens hit in regulation;software executing on said computer for calculating a golf course rating difference by dividing a golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average golf course rating of a plurality of golf courses;software executing on said computer for calculating a slope rating difference by dividing a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played by an average slope rating of a plurality of golf courses;software executing on said computer for calculating an adjustment factor by averaging the golf course rating difference and the slope rating difference;software executing on said computer for calculating an adjusted long game efficiency index by dividing the calculated long game efficiency index by the calculated adjustment factor;a table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes accessible by said computer;software executing on said computer for selecting a long game handicap corresponding to the calculated adjusted long game efficiency index from the table;software executing on said computer for calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf;software executing on said computer for calculating a short game handicap of the golfer by multiplying the Slope Adjusted Differential by 2 and then subtracting the determined long game handicap; andsoftware executing on said computer for displaying the selected long game handicap and the determined short game handicap to the user.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the number of strokes taken or incurred includes strokes taken by the golfer and penalty strokes incurred by the golfer.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the plurality of golf courses upon which the average golf course rating and the average slope rating is based comprise a plurality of golf courses used to formulate the table relating long game handicaps versus long game efficiency indexes.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein said software for calculating a Slope Adjusted Differential for the at least one round of golf comprises: software executing on said computer for subtracting the golf course rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played from a final gross score of the golfer for the at least one round of golf;software executing on said computer for multiplying the result obtained by said software for subtracting by a hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses; andsoftware executing on said computer for dividing the result obtained by said software for multiplying by a slope rating of the golf course on which the at least one round of golf was played.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the hypothetical average slope rating for a plurality of golf courses comprises a hypothetical average slope rating for all golf courses in the United States.