Kurzbeschreibung
For the past eight years, the PGA Tour has been recording the starting point and ending point of every shot in every regular tournament. That’s 8 million shots and counting: shots that have landed in trees, shots that have landed in laps, four-putt greens, double eagles, hole-in-ones. Each week during the PGA season, the data in the ShotLink system grows richer and more robust. For sports researchers, the numbers have taken on a looming, spectacular quality, like a mountain waiting to be climbed. These 8 million shots represent the best efforts of a group of elite athletes hitting a golf ball. What can they teach us about the dynamics of competition? About choking? Slate senior editor Michael Agger sets out to answer these questions in his six-part series, exploring how a new emphasis on statistics can help us understand how the modern game is played and what it takes to be the best in the world.
