Where do the best golfers live? Have any guesses?
Last month, we broached the relationship between a golfer’s handicap and actual score.
This time, we’re investigating which state (or region) has the best golfers based on TheGrint’s user database.
QUICK HANDICAP RECAP
A player’s handicap is NOT simply their average score. In reality, a handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer’s potential ability. In fact, a golfer should only beat his/her handicap index once every four or five rounds.
More specifically, the current index formula uses the average differential (adjusted gross score minus the USGA Course Rating) of the golfer’s best eight differentials from the most recent 20 rounds played. Once you start digging into the math a bit, it’s easy to see why golfers might prefer to think of a handicap as an average score.
DATA FROM THEGRINT
Quick refresher: TheGrint is an app-based handicap tracker with a multitude of on-course and community features. In addition, TheGrint’s platform interfaces directly with the USGA handicap system.
The following graphs leverage performance metrics from TheGrint’s database.
NORTHEAST TAKEAWAYS
- Pennsylvania had the lowest handicap.
- New Hampshire had the highest handicap.
- The handicap range for this region is 1.63.
SOUTHEAST TAKEAWAYS
- Arkansas had the lowest handicap.
- Delaware had the highest handicap.
- The handicap range for this region is 5.61.
- The “best” state in the Northeast would rank third from last in the Southwest, sitting between Florida and Washington DC.
MIDWEST TAKEAWAYS
- Iowa had the lowest handicap.
- South Dakota had the highest handicap.
- The handicap range for this region is 2.96.
- The Midwest is the only region with more than four states, none of which has an average handicap higher than 15.
SOUTHWEST TAKEAWAYS
- Oklahoma had the lowest handicap.
- New Mexico had the highest handicap.
- The handicap range for this region is 3.25.
- Oklahoma has the lowest handicap of any state.
WEST TAKEAWAYS
- Utah had the lowest handicap.
- Washington had the highest handicap.
- The handicap range for this region is 3.24.
- Only four states have a higher average handicap than the least-populated state (Wyoming).
LEFT TO PONDER
“There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” Mark Twain (and a bunch of other people)
The point is that numbers always tell us something while never telling us absolutely everything.
With that, here are some questions to chew on:
- Is there a correlation between the number of rounds played in each state/region and handicap?
- How do you think the data might change if looked at a breakdown by age?
- What might happen to the rankings if we were to include professional and amateur golfers?
All answers, theories and comments welcome!
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Johh J.
3 weeks agoAbsolute malarky. This data cannot be relied on without taking a deep dive into demographics – both the golfer and the course, heck, you might also have to look at the tee that was played based on the driving distance.
I’ve seen some pretty good golfers shoot pretty bad scores because they played from the wrong tee… they let their ego get in the way of their willingness to shoot a good score.
Steve O
4 weeks agoWhy would you group DE in the Southeast and MD in the Northeast? Most of the eastern shore of MD is south of DE.. Should have just used the Mason-Dixson line as your separator. Would only increase the “SW” to 12.85 (because you have so many states in that group) and drop the “NE” to 13.33..
Breck
4 weeks agoI don’t think much can be taken from this statistic. Being from the Northwest, I know that many of our rounds are in wet conditions on heavily treed courses. Not a benefit for the handicap I would assume. There is about two months a year we can get any roll on tee shots etc.
Mike
4 weeks agoI think the best players live in houses.
JM
4 weeks agoA more interesting question would be: how are the <5 HCP golfers distributed across states (e.g., in absolute terms or as a % of state population)?
Kevin Garvey
4 weeks agoInteresting article. My initial thoughts were that the sunbelt areas have to have better handicaps. Access to year round golf has to be beneficial, and the average handicap of CA, NV, AZ, UT, NM, TX, OK, KS, AR, LA, TN, MS, AL, GA, FL ,SC, NC is 12.26, which would easily be the lowest scoring region. I was a 18 handicapper in Oregon and am a 5 in AZ because of more play and practice.
But perhaps there is a detriment to having golf too accessible? Florida, New York, Michigan are top 5 in number of courses, but dont rank too well. Maybe more courses means more golfers which means more casual type players with less rounds and higher caps. My guess is the top ranked states have less casual fan fare and more serious golfers.
Chris P
4 weeks agoIf I had to guess, I’d say Florida’s score would be due to all the retirees down there. Seniors will typically take more strokes than young & middle-aged players. NY, I can only guess could be due to a large population of casual players. As for MI…got me. Maybe too cold to get in enough practice?
Brett A
4 weeks agoI think that since those states you listed have more access to golf, they also have a higher pool of golfers to average out. That is why a lot of the states with the lowest handicaps are low population states and states with very few nice golf courses.