Golf Magazine USA – September 2019

117

computed accuracy using tee shots on all

par-4 and par-5 holes (not just the two holes

with radar measurements).

So far in the 2019 season, the players

who curve their drives the most are

Andrew Putnam, Phil Mickelson and J.B.

Holmes (photo, left). At the other extreme

are players whose drives typically fly as

straight as a string. The 2019 leaders in

minimal curvature are Ryan Armour, Jim

Furyk and Chez Reavie.

To see the connection between curve

and accuracy, I computed the correlation

of these values across players. Guess

what? The correlation was negative 40

percent, which in plain English means that

players who curve their drives less tend

to hit more fairways! (For the stat geeks

out there, the negative correlation result

holds up even after controlling for drive

distance.) For example, the big curvers,

Putnam, Mickelson and Holmes, hit eight

percent fewer fairways than the field.

The least-curve group of Armour, Furyk

and Reavie hit 13 percent more fairways

than the field, a significant statistical

difference between the two groups. The

correlation isn’t perfect (there are always

exceptions to the rule), but results are

results: Straighter shot-planning can be

your ticket to a few more fairways.

SPEED READ

FATHER/SON BONDING (WITH

SOME HELP FROM NICKLAUS) ON

A LITTLE COURSE IN GEORGIA

THE FAMILY TIES

THAT BITE

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Colt Knost

Henrik

Stenson Ryan

Moore

Morgan

Hoffman

Chad Collins

Jim

Furyk

Ben

Crane

Rory Mcllroy

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SHORTER LONGER

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Keith

Mitchell

SHORT/

STRAIGHT

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CROOKED

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STRAIGHT

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CROOKED

Jon Rahm

Martin

Trainer

Seth

Reeves

Trey

Mullinax

Phil

Mickelson

Luke Donald

Whee Kim

The Best

(and Worst)

Drivers

In White Fang and the Golden

Bear, author Joe Wessel tells

the tale of a round played with

his dad and Jack Nicklaus at

Augusta National. But that’s only

part of the story. Wessel also

elaborates (with co-author Bill

Chastain) on how this experience

further forged the special bond

between he and his father for

their entire lives. The impact

extends into Wessel’s own

experience as a father. That’s

still not the end of the story.

WHY “WHITE FANG?” Wessel’s

father asks about an old Bulls Eye

putter in his son’s garage that

had flecks of white paint along

the flange. Dad mentions that he

heard that Nicklaus had not been

able to find two of his prized put-

ters, one of which was a Bulls Eye

called “White Fang.” (The Golden

Bear had used the putter to win

the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol.

Oh, and Wessel played football at

Florida State with Steve Nicklaus.)

Wessel quickly came to the real-

ization that maybe, just maybe,

he had one of the Golden Bear’s

missing flatsticks.

THE TAKEAWAY: Wessel and

Chastain’s book is an absolute

feel-good about the unique bond

between fathers and sons through

golf, and the fun of solving a mys-

tery together. Pick it up.

White Fang and the Golden Bear

Skyhorse, New York, 2019, $19.99

“In plain English,

players who curve

drives less tend

to hit more fair-

ways than those

who curve more.”