Woods gets bad rap on driving accuracy, caddie says
The most common question caddie Steve Williams hears about his boss, Tiger Woods, is "How come Tiger misses so many fairways?"
Well, the truth is he doesn’t.
Williams, who got an
unscheduled vacation this summer when Woods had knee surgery, told New
Zealand newspaper The Dominion Post that the PGA Tour’s stats -- which
say Woods hits just 59 percent of fairways (157th on Tour) -- don’t tell
the true story of Woods’s driving accuracy. Williams keeps his own
handwritten notes on every swing Woods makes, and his stats show Woods
hitting about 65 percent of fairways.
"For example, most of the courses we play will have a couple of
driveable par 4s for Tiger. He might hit it in the greenside bunker,
but it's a great shot, or he might hit a great tee shot that doesn't
end up on the fairway and people think it's a missed fairway."
Similarly, Woods might cut a sharp dog-leg with his driver on a par 5 or long par 4. It won't end up on the fairway, but might give him an easier shot to the green.
The PGA might record a missed fairway, "but in my book it's a hit," said Williams. "Just like if he misses a green by two inches, but he knows he hit a great shot, so we count it as a green hit. While the PGA stats are accurate, it's not necessarily what we look at."
The most interesting stat Williams shares isn't about driving, but three-putting. According to Williams, if Woods avoids three-putting for an entire 72-hole tournament, he'll win that tournament 90 percent of the time.
Posted by: harryboy | Dec 16, 2008 5:08:08 AM
Gee whizz !!
I only wish I could drive a golf ball as badly as Tiger does ...
my life would be heaven ...
Posted by: Jeff Triplett | Dec 12, 2008 1:50:20 PM
My daddy always told me it is not how, it is HOW MANY!!!! Tiger does it better than anyone else!!
Posted by: Dubbs | Dec 1, 2008 8:59:08 PM
Someone hit on it earlier, but you could say the same thing for every tour pro. Tiger isn't the only one that misses a fairway by 2 inches and it is a missed fairway. Why does steve williams count it as a fairway hit if tiger doesn't in fact hit the fairway? Either way, it doesn't matter. Tiger beats everyone whether he hits the fairway or not.
Posted by: James | Dec 1, 2008 12:18:11 PM
Why is anyone even worried about how many fairways Tiger hits? I would take 59% gladly if I shot the scores and won the tournaments he does. It's about what goes on the card and not what it looks like getting there.
Posted by: James | Dec 1, 2008 12:17:33 PM
Why is anyone even worried about how many fairways Tiger hits? I would take 59% gladly if I shot the scores and won the tournaments he does. It's about what goes on the card and not what it looks like getting there.
Posted by: Ben S. | Nov 30, 2008 10:12:39 PM
Look, the only stat that matters is total score. Whoever shoots the lowest total score is playing the best.
Since Woods tends to shoot the lowest score, he's obviously playing the best. And he's not doing it all with saves or putting. Woods hits the best tee shots. Williams is just explaining why the stats might not seem to show that.
Posted by: Bob Zimmer | Nov 30, 2008 11:26:03 AM
The point Steve was trying to make was that while stats are valuable in different ways to most tour pros, Tiger doesn't always play a golf course the way the designer of the course intended. He does this because he can then play to his advantages over the field. Strength out of the rough, long iron play and short game. I forgot putting, shoot what isn't he good at? Anyway, I'd rather be in a greenside bunker in one then 100 yards out in the fairway on the same par four. Tiger's gonna get it up and down 70% of the time. Somebody said it before, stats are stats but in the end if you can't get it in the hole stats mean nothing.
Posted by: Steve | Nov 30, 2008 9:01:01 AM
I think williams is really saying what the stats show. Driving accuracy is not really an important stat if you have tigers power, not just to cut doglegs or drive par 4's , but also to move the ball from rough. I think the amazing stat is the 90% victory stat with no 3 putts for 72 holes..First, how do you not 3 putt for 4 days!! Tigers game and talent make the stats a less valuable tool, and williams is just proving it with his statements. Best caddy/player team in golf history
Posted by: Digby | Nov 27, 2008 7:39:46 PM
willianttjd.
your comments do not make sense because all players do not attempt the ame shots. A player that lays up 100 yards short of the green on a short par 4 will record a fairway hit, tiger driving intothe greenside bunker will not. Tiger's is the better tee shot.
Posted by: willamettejd | Nov 27, 2008 12:46:10 PM
Stevie's logic applies to EVERY tour player, not just Tiger - a 2 inch missed fairway, when that's where a player is aiming, is still a "great" shot for every tour player. A drivable par 4 where you land in the bunker is still a great shot. My point - if Steve's calculations that Tiger's driving stats are 6% better than the tour's calculations, that means ALL players are 6% better. Another way to think of it is that the #1 accuracy players (who hit 75% of fairways, according to tour stats) are actually over 80%! Imagine that.....an entire year of golf and only missing 3 fairways in every round....now THAT is scary accurate.
Posted by: Christian | Nov 27, 2008 9:51:31 AM
Remember that statistics are a tool that show a players strengths and weaknesses.
If Tiger hits a great drive exactly on the line he set up to do, but don't hit fairway, does this mean he should spent more time on the driving range with his driver?
NO!
Hence the way Steve and Tiger do their statistics is better for Tiger since it shows a more true picture of Tiger's game and therefore is better than the official statistics.
Posted by: Tom | Nov 26, 2008 12:27:17 PM
I don't understand why everyone thinks stats don't mean crap. It's a pretty detailed breakdown of how you play your game and where your weaknesses and strengths are. Stats are a great way to break down your game technically and provides extremely important information to build a better round. Otherwise, why would Williams be taking down stats for Tiger all the time? Because Tiger wants to play better.
Posted by: MJ | Nov 26, 2008 10:53:20 AM
Greens in Reg is the most significant stat in terms of impacting the final score.
I keep track of it and run it through a statistical analyzer - once you have about 20 rounds, you will be able to guess your score within a shot 80% of the time just by looking at the number of your GIR. It is amazing.
The next most significant stat is total putts. But that is getting too surgical already as it doesn't add a ton of additional information about the final score once the total GIR are known.
Posted by: moweejim | Nov 26, 2008 10:21:36 AM
Sorry computer glitch for double post.
Posted by: moweejim | Nov 26, 2008 10:19:14 AM
As an amateur tournament player, stats like fairways hit, greens hit etc., are meaningless. At the end of the day or round, what's important is the score. The stats are for bean counters. It is also important for those learning the game and determining where they need improvement. For the tour pro, it's how is his score in relation to others and for guys like Tiger, did he win the tournament? The Stats? That's something The PGA Tour website considers important for fans. It's importance to the players is virtually nil!
Posted by: moweejim | Nov 26, 2008 10:17:46 AM
As an amateur tournament player, stats like fairways hit, greens hit etc., are meaningless. At the end of the day or round, what's important is the score. The stats are for bean counters. It is also important for those learning the game and determining where they need improvement. For the tour pro, it's how is his score in relation to others and for guys like Tiger, did he win the tournament? The Stats? That's something The PGA Tour website considers important for fans. It's importance to the players is virtually nil!
Posted by: tigertiger | Nov 26, 2008 5:36:37 AM
pigsass, Stats don't mean much to TW. W's mean everything. Stuff the stats dude.
Posted by: Spider | Nov 25, 2008 8:07:06 PM
Lennnie Clements was a top 10 GIR guy for a dozen years in the '80's and '90's. Who's Lennie Clements you may ask? Exactly, thats the point...
The stats DON'T tell the whole story.
Posted by: mrd | Nov 25, 2008 7:40:51 PM
So what if me misses the fairway after a 300+ (his average) yard drive. He is a 7 iron (at most)away from the green. By the way he is arguably one of the best iron players on tour. So he can afford to miss the fairway as opposed to the shorter players....furyk, Donald etc etc
Posted by: Paul | Nov 25, 2008 5:44:35 PM
Yo Steve.....
How do you think Mike Reid got the nickname "Radar"?
Posted by: Bill | Nov 25, 2008 4:47:44 PM
What BULL...same holds true for ALL golfers...their stats could be UPPED by same reason Tigers can be!! HELLOOOOOOOOOOO
Posted by: Greg L | Nov 25, 2008 4:41:17 PM
C'mon Dale, every golf-hacking novice (I know of) counts even the shortest "gimme" as one more stroke. Same as I do. Neither the PGA tour or the stats they keep ... offer any such gimme's. They're all just numbers, but some numbers really are more relevant than others.
Posted by: Roy Johnson | Nov 25, 2008 4:36:37 PM
Who really cares what the wannabe's write. If at the end of the day a player hit's every fairway and doesn't win but tiger misses a few but still picks up the "W" who is the better player.
Posted by: Dunstan G. | Nov 25, 2008 3:58:43 PM
Dale is right a stats are stats, but at the end of the day..here are some others: Most W's, Most Majors, Most Money earned, lowest aggregate scoring, lowest rounds relative to par in 3 Majors, highest winning percentage. Dale is absolutely right Stats are stats!
Posted by: Bill Long | Nov 25, 2008 2:32:30 PM
Stats are stats...
Yes, they are. Tiger woods has the most career victories in the last decade; most majors in the last decade and will probably #1 in both categories before his career is over.
The point I see Steve W making is that if Tiger executes a shot per plan (on the fairway or not), it's a made shot. Team Tiger tracks successful execution of planning, not just statistics.
Posted by: Warren Taylor | Nov 25, 2008 2:29:28 PM
Anyone that plays golf or watches golf seriously understands that there is nothing more meaningless than "official golf statistics". Steve Williams is correct. Tiger, like other players on Tour, need to put themselves in position to best play their next shot. It seems to me Tiger does that more often than anyone else.
Posted by: Dale Peterson | Nov 25, 2008 1:56:56 PM
So if Woods misses a putt by one inch, is it still a made putt? Stats are stats. Missing a fairway or green by one inch is still a miss. Might be a great shot but it is not a fairway or green in regulation. Let's not re-write the criteria.