Every Shot Counts: Using the Revolutionary Strokes Gained Approach to Improve Your Golf Performance and Strategy

Mr. Broadie has combined sophisticated data analysis with the PGA's state-of-the-art shot tracking database (Shotlink) to finally solve nearly all the age-old dilemmas in golf. It is a fascinating work, and heralds a new era in golf statistics, analytics, and ramifications to strategy. Without either (the analysis) and the data (shotlink) these truths would have continued to be hidden.What kind of mysteries are being solved here? Only all the important ones, like:*Why traditional golf statistics (GIR, driving distance average, Fairways-in-Regulation) can't rank players or predict winners.*Why calculating "averages" is incomplete at best.*What's more important, driving or putting?*How should we reconcile counting stokes (per hole), vs. inches (putts), vs. yards (drives)*What should you practice?*Where should you aim?*Why are the best players in the world the best?When Mr. Broadie matches the data to his formulas, the names that rise to the top are the who's-who of golf: Woods, Els, Donald, Lefty, Rory, and the rest. There's a reason these guys are all household names and it is NOT their GIR, FIR, or Average Drive. The "Shots Gained" statistic explains it all, for every shot, drives, approach, even pitches and putts. The entire game is laid bare, finally. I would not doubt that Mr. Broadie already has a sequel in the works (he should!) because the contents of this book could be applied to much deeper golf questions. This edition had to get all the easy targets out of the way, but they are whoppers.I can now see how every other golf book in history has fallen short. Nobody has had shot data like this in the history of golf, along with the skills to properly analyze it. It is not an exaggeration to say that 95% of golf books are now obsolete -- and now factually proven wrong. Right now it is spring, and my email box is full of ads and promotions that read (actual quotes: "How to Score Low! Did you know the pro's average 290 yards... blah blah" and "... master the short game with our wedges! ... drop the score on your scorecard!) ... I can now see the holes in these statistics (even the real ones) from a mile away.I know what to practice now, and it isn't 30-yard pitch shots and 30-foot putts anymore!** Criticisms **Very, very few. Almost all the information in this book is illuminating for golfers of all skill levels. Mr. Broadie takes extra pains to make his statistics relevant to 80, 90, and 100-golfers.I found the chapter on putting to be a bit tedious, for not much new insight. Many putting methods have covered these topics in detail over the years, and while Mr. Broadie's statistics confirm many of the truisms, they don't really add a lot of new insight. Those who haven't put in much study in the putting arena might find it helpful though. I found it quite comparable to the AimPoint school of putting technique, but without the specificity of the AimPoint charts (which is also used in PGA broadcasts to reveal putting lines, and is heavily physics based).I definitely wanted more strategic analysis on game-type situations (fodder for the sequel, perhaps!). A fascinating study on how to play holes with OB on one side is very useful. I wanted to see strategies for going to tight pins, long par 3s or short par 3's, fairway bunkers, and similar. Like I said, there is still plenty of room for a sequel.I don't often gush about products or books, but honestly I have read a lot of golf books, hang out on golf forums, and read all the magazines. This is the best golf book I have ever read. No joke.

This is a terrific book, and a must-read for anybody interested in golf or sports analytics.Mr. Broadie explains his innovative concepts with clarity, and illustrates them with great examples. You do not need to be a math wiz to appreciate and benefit from this book; rather, as truthfully stated at the beginning, you need only understand simple subtraction. With this book, Mr. Broadie has become to golf what Bill James has been to baseball.There are multitude of ways a golfer will benefit from this book. First, a golfer will learn how to objectively evaluate his or her own data, and meaningfully assess their own strengths and weaknesses. Second, a golfer could simply learn about things they should do differently, or pay attention to, based on Mr. Broadie's analysis of existing data (pro and amateur). (An example of this would be the section about how amateurs leave far too many putts short of the hole (far more than I would have guessed) and should always select an aim point 1 to 2.5 feet beyond the hole.)Additionally, anybody who follows professional golf, or gambles on it, will gain a greater understanding of the reasons for player performances.In summary: if you like golf, there will be no shortage of things in this book that will fascinate and benefit you.

A sound, data-driven response to the "short game is king" philosophy. Mark Broadie uses extensive databases of both professional and amateur data to capture what parts of the game distinguish the best players from the rest. The enormous amount of data used, and the sound analytical techniques applied, makes this a milestone in quantitative analysis of golf scoring.The weakness of this book is that I'm really not sure how to categorize it. The level of detail used to described the "Strokes Gained" metric is impressive, but the metric itself is highly simplistic and ignores obvious factors that would have been easily measurable in the data. Perhaps Prof. Broadie simplified his analysis for the layman reader, but it lacks the statistical rigor that may have been expected given his credentials.On the other hand, as has been mentioned elsewhere, the book does not give tips for actually making better swings. So, clearly it's not an instructional book.I see this as something on the order of Bill James' baseball analysis -- while the statistical treatment may be simplistic and amateurish, the application of quantitative analysis to this topic is groundbreaking.One last comment. According to the author, Dave Pelz agrees with his conclusions.

This book is an absolute must read for any serious golfer looking to understand the game better, and improve. While it does not give you any tips about how to swing the golf club, it definitely gives you a wealth of information about what goes into lowering your score on the golf course. In addition, some of the short game and putting statistics were eye-opening. As an avid devotee of data driven thinking, and an Arccos user, reading this book and the Four foundations of Golf really brought it all together for me, helping me drop about 10 strokes in my index over 4 years.

Delivered quickly and in great condition, even when choosing the 'used' option.