2013 - Week 1 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the first week of the new GP season and it's time for everyone to shake off the cobwebs again! Although it's starting a bit earlier than usual, it didn't ruin Christmas for many as it's the customary restricted field event in Hawaii!

Golf Predictor on Holidays!

Now that the last event this GP season (calendar year) is over and the season statistics have been generated, it's time for a well deserved break from Twitter, the blog and from the main site itself! Unless something extraordinary happens in the golf world over the holiday period, that is! The site will, of course, be back in time for the first events of the 2013 GP Season.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, especially subscribers!! Thanks to everyone for using the site in 2012 and looking forward to a great 2013 on Golf Predictor.

2012 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2012 on both major tours in South Africa yesterday, the statistics for the 2012 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 529 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2012 calendar year).

Somewhat surprisingly (given the golfer of the year), Tiger Woods is back on top of the pile when average finishing position for the season is used as the primary ranking statistic. Woods played 21 events in 2012 and is the only golfer with an average finish of less than 20. The aforementioned golfer of the year, Rory McIlroy, had a somewhat inconsistent (if successful!) season, with an equal number of wins and missed cuts (5). The latter five tournament results contributed to him not even making the top twenty of the season ranking on Golf Predictor! On the plus side, he did have the most wins and top tens (16) of any golfer in 2012. He also had the highest percentage in these stats (winning 20.8% of tournaments played and finishing in the top ten in 66.7% of them).

Other somewhat interesting statistics include Ian Poulter (23 events) being the only golfer with a full schedule (at least 20 events) who didn't miss a single cut. On the other extreme, Sung-Hoon Kang (30 events) had the unenviable record of most cuts missed (22). See these and many more interesting 2012 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!


Note: The course for the Nelson Mandela Championship (2012 GP Season, 2013 European Tour) was shortened to a par 65 due to excessive rain. This reduced par slightly skews the round averages and other statistics for all golfers who played that event. A new "Note" field has been added to the golfer Season Statistics page and displays a message to this effect for all the golfers affected.

2012 - Week 48 Winner

Charl Schwartzel (ranked 2nd by Golf Predictor) won the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 28 year old South African continued his recent hot streak by winning the last event of 2012 by a massive twelve shots. He really must be wishing a major was coming up instead of the Christmas break! Our top ranked player, Louis Oosthuizen, withdrew, but we still had nine of the top eighteen plus ties (9/19) in total. 


Note:

1. Further to the earlier post on the new GP season, the first two events of the 2013 European Tour season have been added to the 2012 GP Season for stats purposes.

2012 - Week 48 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Alfred Dunhill Championship (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Although it's just the second event of the new 2013 season, it's the last event of the 2012 GP season (calendar year) and I'm sure everyone (including me!) is looking forward to a few weeks off over the Christmas period. The field this week is headlined by a couple of local big guns, but all the other big names have called it quits for the year!

Further to the earlier post on the new GP season, the first two events of the 2013 European Tour season have been added to the 2012 GP Season for stats purposes.

2012 - Week 47 Winner

Scott Jamieson (ranked 21st by Golf Predictor) won The Nelson Mandela Championship pres. by ISPS Handa on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old Scot won his maiden tour title in a three man play-off at the rain shortened event. Despite being six shots behind after day one of the 36 hole event, Jamieson finished in style with a 57 (-8) on the shortened par 65 course. That was good enough to tie Steve Webster and Eduardo De La Riva on -7 for the championship. After an anxious wait to see if any late starter would overhaul them, Jamieson prevailed on the second extra hole. Our top ranked player, Branden Grace, finished in tied 39th and the weather turned the event into a sprint lottery! We only managed eight of the top twenty one plus ties (8/31), but hope to improve this week when (hopefully) normal 72 hole tournament play will resume!


Notes:

1. Further to the earlier post on the new GP season, the first two events of the 2013 European Tour season have been added to the 2012 GP Season for stats purposes. 
2. Apologies for the late posting - an oversight on my part!

2012 - Week 47 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, The Nelson Mandela Championship pres. by ISPS Handa (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Although the 2012 season ended just over a week ago, it's straight back into action again on the European Tour with the start of the 2013 season.

Further to the earlier post on the new GP season, the first two events of the 2013 European Tour season have been added to the 2012 GP Season for stats purposes. Local favourite Branden Grace will be hoping for yet another win this year to round off his year in style.

2013 Tournaments Added to Golf Predictor

The 2013 European and US PGA Tour season events have been added to Golf Predictor. Further to the earlier post on the new GP season, the first two events on the 2013 European PGA Tour schedule have been added to the end of the 2012 GP season for stats purposes.

Both these South African events are held in the 2012 calendar year so to be consistent with the changes needed for the 2013/14 US PGA Tour, they have been added to the 2012 GP season.

Average World Ranking of 2012 European/US PGA Tour winners

Reading directly off the Tournament Winners page on  Golf Predictor, the average world ranking of the winners on the 2012 US PGA Tour was 69.81. The corresponding figure for the 2012 European Tour was almost 40% higher at 96.96. That is probably a fair enough reflection of the relative strengths of the fields on both tours.

Interestingly, both averages are significantly lower than the 2011 values, which were 113.23 in the US and 141.02 in Europe. That obviously implies that the higher ranked players (especially Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods!) performed better in the season just ended.
 

New 'Golf Predictor Season' Concept Implemented Early

Further to this post of a few months back, the concept of a GP Season has been added to Golf Predictor. To recap, this GP season has had to be introduced to the site due to the completely new schedule for the US PGA Tour from next year. The 2013 season in the US will be a short one, from January to September 2013, culminating in The Tour Championship at East Lake. From then on, there will be a full season once again, but starting in October (with what was previously The Fall Series) and running through to the following September (once again to The Tour Championship).

While it may make sense for the US PGA Tour to finish the season with The Tour Championship, it raises all sorts of problems for Golf Predictor! As noted in the previous post on this issue, it raises the possibility of a player playing one week on the 2014 (it may be called 2013/14) US Tour and the next on the 2013 European Tour (or vice versa) as there will be a significant three month overlap. There are other anomalies also, such as the WGC - HSBC Champions event in China now being in two different seasons - the 2013 European Tour and the 2014 US Tour!

There is really no other way to deal with these issues on Golf Predictor other than to use a calendar year to arrange tournaments chronologically. This is exactly what the GP Season will do from this year (2012) on. Since the European Tour has further complicated things by once again starting their new season (2013) in the preceding calendar year (they had finally just reverted to a calendar year for the 2012 season!), I have been forced to introduce the GP Season sooner than anticipated. This is so that the two opening events of the 2013 European Tour season that are being held in December 2012 can be incorporated into the 2012 GP Season. Therefore, from 2012 on, the GP Season will run from January to December and include all tournaments held on both major tours in that calendar year. There has been a new field added to the system that will show the actual season the tournament is in, but from a statistics perspective, everything will be based on the calendar year i.e. the GP Season. For all years prior to 2012 on the system, the GP Season will still refer to the actual season the tournament was held in.

As well as solving the issues outlined above, using the calendar year has other advantages, including:

1. Almost all golfers take their longest break (usually in the region of  six weeks) around Christmas and will continue to do so. Therefore, it makes more sense to have season form starting in January and ending in December.
2. As a corollary to the above point, a player could finish his 2013 US PGA Tour season with The Tour Championship in September and play the following week on the 2013 European Tour. With the GP Season, his form since January will still be counted and thus give a more accurate picture of his chances.
3. The Season Stats generated for each golfer after each season will show the stats for the calendar year (i.e. between long Christmas breaks) from 2012 on. This is more or less how it has always has been, with the exception of the European seasons which started in December of the previous calendar year. However, if one was to follow the new season schedules, it would be impossible to generate meaningful stats with the US Tour season overlapping two European Tour seasons (e.g. The 2014 US season will overlap the latter three months of the 2013 European season and the first nine months of the 2014 European season.
4. Using the GP Season will allow for more relevant historical results to be factored in for the US events that are at the beginning of the 2014 season (held in October/November 2013). Since these events are not in the shortened 2013 US PGA Tour season, a year (2008) would be left out by the Golf Predictor prediction algorithm if they were designated as 2014 season events (the blank 2013 would be counted instead).

This solution allows the Golf Predictor to continue to generate accurate statistics, despite this major impending scheduling change on the US PGA Tour. The relevant pages in the member section have been updated to refer to the GP Season and link to this explanatory blog post. So, sign up today and continue to get the most out of Golf Predictor, the premier US and European PGA Tour statistics site.

Note: you may have to refresh pages to see the changes.

2012 Golf Predictor Betting Tips - Performance

I've totted up my performance for the 2012 season since I started tipping on mytipsters.com (on the week of the Transitions Champ/Open de Andalucia Costa del Sol). Despite a lean patch near the end of the season, over the course of about 60 events, I managed to more than double my outlay using Golf Predictor to identify value bets. Backing all my tips (based on 1 point each way bet for a win and a 1 point bet for a top 10 finish), it would have cost 256 points, but would have returned approximately 530 points.

Proof that Golf Predictor works! Fortunately, I put my money where my mouth was soon after I started tipping and so reaped the rewards! Sign up for Golf Predictor for the 2013 season and get in on the action!!

2012 - Top 5 Easiest Courses/Tournaments on the European PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 easiest courses on the European PGA Tour in the 2012 season:

1. Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates (DP World Tour Championship, Dubai)
2. East London GC (Africa Open)
3. Royal Park G & CC (BMW Italian Open pres. By CartaSi)
4. St. Andrews/Carnoustie/Kingsbarns (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship)
5. Castle Stuart (Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open)

This is almost a completely different list from the same list in previous seasons. It's the Scottish courses that  now seem to need to toughen up! It was a shame that the course for the season finale was set up too easy for the top pros. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Lowest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2012 - Top 5 Hardest Courses/Tournaments on the European PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 toughest courses on the European PGA Tour in the 2012 Season:

1. Saint Omer GC (Saint Omer Open pres by Neuflize OBC)
2. Olympic Club (US Open)
3. Kiawah Island (US PGA Championship)
4. Celtic Manor (ISPS Handa Wales Open)
5. Real Club de Golf de Sevilla (Reale Seguros Open de España)

Granted, the weather and relatively weak fields may have played a part in some of these events, but hopefully a useful list all the same. This is a significantly different list from previous years, except for the US Open, which of course is held on a different course every year. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Highest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2012 - Week 46 Winner

Rory McIlroy (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on the European PGA Tour. The 23 year old world number one did it in style, finishing with five birdies in a row to beat the hard charging Justin Rose by two shots. Rose finished with a stellar 62 (-10), including an amazing eagle effort at the last that just stopped short. However, it wasn't enough to stop McIlroy crowning his brilliant season in the tour finale with yet another win. Overall, including the winner, we had nine of the top sixteen plus ties (9/20). 

That's another long season over and I'd like to thank all the Golf Predictor users this year and here's to a great 2013 season!

2012 - Week 46 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the last event of the season and Rory McIlroy has taken away some interest by sowing up the money title early. However, there is a lot of cash still up for grabs, so it should still be a good week of golf in Dubai.

2012 - Week 45 Winners

Miguel Angel Jimenez (ranked 11th by Golf Predictor) won the UBS Hong Kong Open on the European PGA Tour. The popular 48 year old Spaniard held is nerve on the tricky finishing hole to win by a shot from Fredrik Andersson Hed. In winning the event for the third time, Jimenez overtook Ireland's Des Smyth as the oldest ever winner on tour. The defending champion and our top ranked golfer, Rory McIlroy, cited fatigue for missing the cut in a disappointing showing. However, we had nine of the top nineteen plus ties (9/21) in total.

Henrik Stenson (ranked 5th by Golf Predictor) won the South African Open on the European PGA Tour. The 36 year old Swede handled the pressure of holding on to qualification for Dubai admirably by winning his first tour title in over three years. Our top ranked golfer, Charl Schwartzel, finished in 5th place and we had eleven of the top seventeen plus ties (11/20) in total. 

2012 - Top 5 Hardest Courses/Tournaments on the US PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the toughest courses/tournaments on the US PGA Tour in the 2012 season:

1. Congressional CC (AT&T National)
2. Olympic Club (US Open)
3. Kiawah Island (US PGA Championship)
4. TPC San Antonio (Valero Texas Open)
5. Royal Lytham & St. Annes GC (The Open Championship)

As usual, this year's list is top heavy with major tournaments, with the US Open once again very near the top. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Highest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2012 - Top 5 Easiest Courses/Tournaments on the US PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 easiest courses/tournaments on the US PGA Tour in the 2012 Season:

1. MINES Resort & GC (CIMB Classic)
2. PGA West and sister courses (Humana Challenge in pship with the Clinton Foundation)
3. The Plantation Course (Hyundai Tournament of Champions)
4. Annandale GC (True South Classic)
5. Crooked Stick GC (BMW Championship)

Some usual suspects in this list from the same list in previous years! You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Lowest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2012 - Week 45 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the UBS Hong Kong Open and the South African Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Although the 2012 US PGA Tour season is over, the European PGA Tour is keeping me busy with its two final regular events this week! It's the last chance for some to get into the season ending cash cow event next week and world number one and defending champion Rory McIlroy is once again headlining the field.

2012 - Week 44 Winners

Matteo Manassero (ranked 18th by Golf Predictor) won the Barclays Singapore Open on the European PGA Tour. The 19 year old Italian won his third event as a teenager on the third hole of a play-off with Louis Oosthuizen. Our top ranked player, Rory McIlroy, finished in 3rd, which was enough to secure the Race to Dubai and add to the US PGA Tour money title that he had already won this season. Overall, we had seven of the top fourteen plus ties (7/16) in total.

Charlie Beljan (ranked 77th by Golf Predictor) won the Children's Miracle Network Classic on the US PGA Tour. Despite suffering what seemed from what seemed to be a serious medical problem on Friday, the 28 year old rookie defied medical advice and stayed in the event. It proved to be the correct decision as he secured his playing rights for next season (and beyond) in the best possible fashion. Our top ranked player, Robert Garrigus, finished in tied 2nd and we had eleven of the top nineteen plus ties (11/27) in total.

2012 - Week 44 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Barclays Singapore Open (European PGA Tour) and the Children's Miracle Network Classic (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. This is the last tournament on the US PGA Tour this season, but there are a couple of weeks left on the European PGA Tour to keep me busy! There are a few big names in Singapore, but they are pretty scarce in Florida where it's the last chance for the lesser lights to secure their playing rights for next year.

2012 - Week 43 Winner

Ian Poulter (ranked 14th by Golf Predictor) won the WGC - HSBC Champions on the European/US PGA Tour. The 36 year old Englishman won his second WGC title with a commanding weekend performance, finishing with a brace of 65s (-7) to win by two shots. Our top ranked player, Luke Donald, finished in tied 18th and we had nine of the top sixteen plus ties (9/17) in total.

2012 - Week 43 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the WGC - HSBC Champions (European/US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Just the one tournament this week and even though some of the bigger stars aren't playing (e.g. Tiger and Rory, who couldn't hang around after their Chinese junket today!), there is still a strong field for the last WGC of the season in China.

2012 - Week 42 Winners

Peter Hanson (ranked 9th by Golf Predictor) won the BMW Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 35 year old Swede won his second event of the season by holding off Rory McIlroy in Shanghai. McIlroy was our top ranked player and we had nine of the top fourteen plus ties (9/15) in total. 

Nick Watney (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the CIMB Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 31 year old American flirted with a 59, before bogeying the last for a 61 and a one shot victory. Our top ranked player, Tiger Woods, also finished strongly with a 63 for tied 4th and we had seven of the top ten plus ties (7/13) overall in the restricted field event. 

New 'Field Ranking' Chart and Stat Added to 'Golfer Prediction' Page

General Statistics panel for Bo Van Pelt (2012 CIMB Classic) showing new 'Average Field Rank' stat and new field rank chart link.

New field rank chart for Bo Van Pelt (2012 CIMB Classic) showing average in intro text.

A new stat and related pop-up chart has been added to the golfer 'Prediction' page on Golf Predictor. The new stat is located in the General panel (see first screenshot above for Bo Van Pelt ahead of the 2012 CIMB Classic) and is the average of the golfer field rankings in the following areas:

1. Average for the current season
2. Average in previous five events in the current season
3. Average on same course in the previous five years
4. Average in same tournament in the previous five years
5. Average in previous twelve similar events (reg./major/WGC/FedEx Cup)
6. World ranking
7. Average in similar weather in the previous five years

These seven field rankings are already on the golfer 'Prediction' page in the relevant stats panels. However, this new average gives an overall measure of the each golfer's standing. Clicking on the new chart link beside this new stat brings up the new Field Rankings chart. This conveniently shows all seven field rankings together in graphical format and is shown in the second screenshot above (also for Bo Van Pelt ahead of the 2012 CIMB Classic). The average field ranking is also shown on this chart and hovering over a bar shows more information. This new chart is very useful for seeing a golfer's ranking for a tournament in the various metrics at a glance

This brings the total number of charts on the site to 327. The new field ranking average stat and chart is available to all users, although only for the golfers you are permitted to view (all golfers for subscribers, those ranked 11-25 for non-subscribers). So, sign up today to get the most out of Golf Predictor, the premier US and European PGA Tour statistics site.

2012 - Week 42 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the BMW Masters (European PGA Tour) and the CIMB Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the second week in a row that the European Tour gets a new tournament as it moves on to its third continent in as many weeks. This week, they decamp to China where they are sanctioning a tournament that actually began last year. An awful lot of golf fans must buy BMWs as the German car maker is once again the title sponsor of a golf tournament! The US PGA Tour is also in Asia for the next two weeks, starting with the Malaysian event this week, which boasts Tiger Woods for the first time. The other four of the world's top five are playing in China, so there should be some good golf this week.

2012 - Week 41 Winners

Bo Van Pelt (ranked 2nd by Golf Predictor) won the ISPS HANDA Perth International on the European PGA Tour. The 37 year old American made the most of the long trip to Australia by holding off his compatriot Jason Dufner on the final day. The runner up was our top ranked player and we had nine of the top seventeen plus ties (9/18) in total. 

Tommy Gainey (ranked 60th by Golf Predictor) won The McGladrey Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 37 year old American won his first PGA Tour title in almost spectacular fashion, missing a 59 by inches at the last. Still, "Two Gloves" will happily take second prize, I'd wager! Our top ranked player, Zach Johnson, finished in 49th and we had twelve of the top twenty plus ties (12/26) overall.

Cookies and Golf Predictor

In order to comply with EU regulations on cookies introduced this year (2012), the Privacy page on Golf Predictor has been updated to describe the limited use of cookies on the site. Basically, Golf Predictor itself does not use cookies explicitly for any reason, let alone user tracking. However, cookies are used on the site by Google Analytics to analyse incoming traffic anonymously and by the ASP.NET Membership provider to manage user sessions.

To accommodate this change, The "Privacy Statement" menu option on Golf Predictor has been renamed to "Privacy/Cookies".

2012 - Week 41 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the ISPS HANDA Perth International (European PGA Tour) and The McGladrey Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The European Tour returns to Australia and quite a few players are making the long trek from Portugal to Perth to join the other (mostly local) competitors in this new event. Meanwhile, there are not many current big names in Georgia as the season winds down, but there are a number of former major champions from yesteryear in the field!

2012 - Week 40 Winners

Shane Lowry (ranked 20th by Golf Predictor) won the Portugal Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 25 year old Irishman finally added to his European Tour win as an amateur three years ago when Ross Fisher bogeyed the final hole. Lowry now joins Pablo Martin as the only players to win on tour as both an amateur and a professional and I was lucky enough to cheer him on for a while in person! Our top ranked player, Francesco Molinari, finished in tied 16th and we had twelve of the top sixteen plus ties (12/26) in total. 

Jonas Blixt (ranked 15th by Golf Predictor) won the Frys.com Open on the US PGA Tour. The 28 year old Swede capped a fine rookie season by winning his maiden tour victory by one shot. Our top ranked player, Ernie Els, finished in tied 16th after a long dash from Scotland. In a week where a lot of lesser lights performed well, we had about six of the top sixteen plus ties (6/21) overall*.  


* There were a number of no-shows, thus promoting Howell III into top 21 in the GP rankings

2012 - Week 40 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Frys.com Open (US PGA Tour) and the Portugal Masters (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. The fields for either event this week isn't great as the big names (particularly in the US) wind down for the season and headliner Els has dashed across to California from Scotland for the US event. However, I will be on-site to run the rule over some of the competitors this week in Portugal!

2012 - Week 39 Winners

Branden Grace (ranked 35th by Golf Predictor) won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 24 year old South African won his fourth tournament of the season by leading from start to finish in Scotland. Opening with 60 (-12) is always a good way to start a tournament! Our top ranked player, Louis Oosthuizen, finished in tied 79th and in a catastrophic tournament for the bigger names, we had just one of the top 15 plus ties (1/21)! That's the worst performance of the system ever, by a large margin. It's very unusual for all the big names to bomb at the same event; the bookies must have had a great week!

Ryan Moore (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the US PGA Tour. The 29 year old American won his second tour title by also starting fast (61) and holding on. Our top ranked player, Nick Watney, finished in 10th and we had eight of the top thirteen plus ties (8/21) overall*. 


*Kyle Stanley was a no-show, so Jimmy Walker gets promoted into the top 21 in the rankings.

Golf Predictor on Tour 2012!

Golf Predictor is going on tour again! This year, I shall be attending the Portugal Masters next week, bedecked once again in the finest Golf Predictor livery! I hope to have some interaction with the pros like I did on my Moroccan trip last year.

Although I'm flying out over the weekend, I'm not expecting any problems running next week's predictions from a different country. However, there is always the chance that it will not be possible for some unforeseen reason. If that happens, I shall update the system on my return and add a week to every paying member's subscription. I shall also probably be taking a break from Twitter for a week or so, but look forward to resuming posting on my return.

Golf Predictor Subscription Rate Amendment

The new subscriptions for Golf Predictor last March have been amended due to an error. The new six month rate was set at €43.99, which was actually one cent dearer than two three month subscriptions! The new six month rate should have been €41.99, which it has now been set to. This should make it somewhat more appealing for users! Apologies for any confusion caused.

2012 - Week 39 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (European PGA Tour) and the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the start of the Fall Series on the US PGA Tour, so there aren't a lot of big names teeing it up after the excitement of the FedEx Cup play-offs and the Ryder Cup. It's slightly better in Scotland, where four of the Ryder Cup stars (including the American Dustin Johnson) are teeing it up with the celebrities!

Golf Predictor New Look Now Live

New look Home page

New look page from Member section showing more new effects

Further to this post last week, I am pleased to announce an updated look for Golf Predictor. As can be seen in the screenshots above, the site has undergone a facelift, courtesy of Twitter Bootstrap. For those who don't know, Twitter Bootstrap is a cross-browser UI (User Interface) framework that has been made available to everyone by the brains behind the Twitter look and feel. This allows the addition of snazzy effects to a website with little effort (in theory anyway, if you exclude Internet Explorer (IE) in particular!) and I have incorporated many of these into Golf Predictor. Twitter Bootstrap has been heavily customised for the site and the major changes to Golf Predictor are:

1. As can be seen in both images above, the original dropdown menu has been replaced with two new ones: one across the very top of the site and a fixed one in the same position as the old menu. As well as looking much nicer in general, the fixed menu and dropdown options on both menus have nice rounded corners and background shadowing*. The top menu contains a new logo on the left hand side and log in/log out/register links as appropriate on the right hand side. The links to the content pages remain on the fixed menu on the main 'page'. On both menus, each top level menu option has an icon associated with it. Two menus are used to ensure the updated design looks and behaves best on a wide variety of devices** from smartphones up to high resolution monitors.
2. As shown in the second screenshot above, the member section menu has been revamped with more logical groupings of existing pages. New categories include "Predictions", "Results" and "Form". This should make things easier to find in the long run and facilitate the addition of new features in the future.
3. As can be seen above, the banner graphic that was across the top of the page has been removed. 
4. The main home page has been revamped somewhat with the GP logo in a rounded grey panel* and most of the text in two columns.Some of this can be seen in the first screenshot above.
5. The font used for the web site has been updated for a more modern look.
6. The tournament information panel on the various prediction pages is now in a nice panel with rounded corners*.
7. Various status messages (e.g. unsubscribed messages) now appear in coloured panels with rounded corners*. This can be seen in the second screenshot above.
8. Pop-up text on the various pages now has rounded corners and background shadowing*.
9. Headings, buttons, breadcrumbs, text boxes, drop down lists and other page elements have also been spruced up thanks to Twitter Bootstrap. Note that some of these changes are browser dependent.

The page metaphor with the grass (ala a putting green!) background still persist as I think those elements still look pretty good! Overall though, this update is a major improvement over the original look of the site. More effects will probably be added to the site over the coming months, but unlike this update, these will be be minor tweaks.

You should update your browser to the latest version, especially if using IE (and particularly if using IE7 or, God forbid, an even older version!). As mentioned already, Twitter Bootstrap is cross-browser, but there were several issues with IE in particular. These have been largely overcome, but if you view the site with IE7 or IE8, it should work, but it will not look as nice as later versions (IE 10 is imminent!). This is mainly due to the reason already noted at the end of this post. The site has also been tested on Firefox 15, Chrome 22, Opera 12, Safari 5.1.7 and Safari mobile. It is impossible to design a non trivial site these days that looks the same in all browsers on all devices and on all monitor types at all resolutions, but I believe that I have achieved the best compromise.

I trust you agree that this update has made Golf Predictor even better! A lot of work has gone into this new look, so please let me know what you think of the "Twitter Bootstrapification"! If you find an issue, please contact me as soon as possible.


*Internet Explorer versions 8 and below do not support rounded corners or shadowing.
**Golf Predictor is not designed for mobile devices, but it should appear reasonably well on most tablets (e.g. iPad, Galaxy Tab etc.) and smartphones (e.g. iPhone, Galaxy SIII etc.), Note however that the site uses Flash charts at the moment, which are not supported on some mobile devices (e.g. Apple products).

New Look Coming Tomorrow - Site will be Unavailable

Further to this post last week, the Golf Predictor user interface will be updated tomorrow morning.To accomplish this, the site will be unavailable to log in to or register for from approximately 9am BST tomorrow for what will hopefully be a short period of time.

It shouldn't take more than a few hours at the most, so thank you for your patience during this time. It will be worth it as the new look is a significant improvement on the existing site (in my humble opinion anyway!).

New Look for Golf Predictor Coming This Week

Although there are no predictions this week on Golf Predictor, that doesn't mean that it's a week off for me (unfortunately!). I plan to take advantage of this brief hiatus from tournament play to unveil a brand new look for the site this weekend. This new look is in final testing (and tweaking!) this week and it is hoped to go live at some stage this weekend. No new functionality is going to be added to the site, but there will be some re-organisation of existing functionality, which will be described in a future post.

If all goes well with final testing, the log in page will be disabled for a period over the weekend while the site is being updated. As every single page on Golf Predictor is affected by this major facelift, this is quite a large undertaking and I would ask for your patience during this period. It will be worth it in the end as the new look is a big improvement over the existing one!

No Predictions This Week

There will be no predictions this week as the only event is the Ryder Cup. Golf Predictor is designed for individual stroke play events, which covers almost all the tournaments on the European and US PGA Tours. The exceptions, the WGC - Accenture Match Play,  the Volvo World Match Play Championship and the Reno-Tahoe Open (Stableford), are also covered  for completeness. However, these formats are very different from stroke play and thus our system is of limited use for these particular events. Golf Predictor is of practically no use for team match play events, so we do not cover the Ryder Cup or other such battles. Good luck to the European team though!

2012 - Week 38 Winner

Brandt Snedeker (ranked 18th by Golf Predictor) won The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola on the US PGA Tour. The 31 year old American won a mind boggling $11.44 million by also securing the FedEx jackpot with his fourth US PGA Tour victory. Our top ranked player, Rory McIlroy, ran out of steam somewhat on the final day to finish tied 10th and miss out on that FedEx Cup megabonus. Overall, we had six of the top ten plus ties (6/14) in the restricted field event.

2012 - Week 38 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. No European PGA Tour event this week, so most of the pros have the next two weeks off. Only the top thirty in the FedEx Cup rankings are playing this week and just the twenty four Ryder Cup team members will be on duty next week! It will be interesting to see if the week off this week benefits those Ryder Cup team members not playing in Atlanta.

2012 - Week 37 Winner

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (ranked 12th by Golf Predictor) won the BMW Italian Open pres. by CartaSi on the European PGA Tour. The 31 year old Spaniard put the disappointment of missing out on the Ryder Cup behind him by holding off Garth Mulroy to win his sixth tour title by two shots. Our top ranked player, local favourite Francesco Molinari, finished in tied 46th, but we had eight of the top thirteen plus ties in total (8/16). There was no event on the US PGA Tour this week.

Feedback Required - Golf Predictor and the US PGA Tour (Post 2013)

As you may be aware, the US PGA Tour schedule is changing radically from September next year (2013). From then on, the season will start in October and conclude the following September with the Tour Championship, the final leg of  the FedEx Cup play-offs. This has serious implications for Golf Predictor, where player results are combined across the two major tours for a more accurate picture of player form.  While it may be some way off, plans have to be put in place, given the limited free time at my disposal to address this issue.

Things were awkward enough when their European Tour did not stick to a calendar year for their golfing season. However, no sooner have they aligned their schedule to the calendar, but the US Tour have thrown a large spanner in the works. At least there was no tour overlap when the European Tour was out of synch, but things will be very different with the new US PGA Tour schedule. With the Fall Series now kicking off the season and carrying FedEx Cup points, it raises the very distinct possibility of golfers (mainly European Tour members) playing on the 2014 US PGA Tour one week and the 2013 European Tour the next (and/or vice versa).

This will obviously make statistics tracking across both tours very difficult. These are the options as I see it:

1. The nuclear option: Close the site at the end of the 2013 season and refund all outstanding subscriptions. While this would give me my life back (especially on Sundays and Mondays!), it's a bit extreme and not likely to happen. My other half would be happy though!!
2. Restrict coverage after the 2013 season to one tour. This would probably mean keeping the US PGA Tour, given the quality of the events and what most Golf Predictor users are interested in. However, restricting data to one tour defeats the purpose of the site as it makes the stats incomplete for golfers who play on both tours. On the plus side, it would cut down on my work load considerably!
3. Come up with an even more complicated algorithm than the one already in use to allow for these different seasons in the one calendar year. Even if it could be made to work, it would be very messy at best and would need a lot of time for development and testing. However, I have neither the time nor the inclination to completely rework the site to account for this (even if it can be done!).
4. Introduce the concept of the "GP Season". This would be what the season currently is and allow Golf Predictor to continue on more or less as is. The GP Season would therefore run from January to December and include all events from the European Tour that year and span two US PGA Tour seasons (e.g. the 2014 GP Season would cover Jan-Sept of the 2014 season and Oct-Dec of the 2015 season). A new field can be added to the database to record and display the actual US PGA Tour season an event is in. However, for stats purposes, it will be considered to be in the GP Season for the calendar year in which it is held. As golfers will still take their longish Christmas breaks, January will continue to play like a new season anyway!

Option four is by far the best (and easiest) way around this issue that I can come up with. However, I would very much welcome any user's opinion as there are probably options I haven't thought of! So, please comment on this post or contact Golf Predictor directly with your suggestions. I might even give away some free subscriptions for any good ideas!

2012 - Week 37 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, the BMW Italian Open pres. by CartaSi (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. While the Americans and most of the top Europeans are taking the week off in advance of the FedEx Cup finale, there will be a few European Ryder Cup stars teeing it up in Italy.

2012 - Week 36 Winners

Peter Hanson (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the the KLM Open. It was an amazing victory for the 34 year old Swede who was playing on limited sleep following the hospitalisation of his young son with respiratory problems. Our top ranked player, David Lynn, finished in tied 32nd and we had eleven of the top twenty one plus ties (11/25).

On the US Tour, Rory McIlroy (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the third event of the FedEx Cup play-offs, the BMW Championship. The 23 year old Northern Irish man continued his stellar form with an exhibition of driving and precision iron play to land his fourth title of the season. It was a high quality event with a host of big names showing good form ahead of the Ryder Cup. Including the winner, we had thirteen of the top sixteen plus ties (13/23).

2012 - Week 36 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/stats for this week, the BMW Championship (US PGA Tour) and the KLM Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the third week of the FedEx Cup play-offs in the US this week and the pressure will be on to qualify for the lucrative Tour Championship in two weeks time. Not many big names at the KLM Open this year, but former US PGA champion Kaymer is once again supporting the event.

2012 - Week 35 Winners

Richie Ramsay (ranked 30th by Golf Predictor) won the Omega European Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old Scot won his second tour title with a comfortable four shot victory in the scenic Swiss mountains. Our top ranked player, Paul Lawrie finished in tied 6th and we had six of the top fourteen plus ties (6/18) in total. 

Rory McIlroy (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the Deutsche Bank Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 23 year old Northern Irish sensation won his third title of the season by one shot after a final day battle with Louis Oosthuizen. Our top ranked player, Luke Donald, finished in tied 26th and we had eleven of the top eighteen plus ties (11/19).

2012 - Week 36 Predictions Delay

As usual, the Deutsche Bank Championship is not scheduled to finish until today (Monday), which is the Labor Day holiday in the US. Because of this, the predictions/statistics for the BMW Championship and the KLM Open this week will probably not be available until tomorrow, when the result is known and all the raw statistics are available.

I will of course update Golf Predictor and generate this week's predictions/statistics as soon as possible.

5 Charts Added to Golfer Season Stats Page

Section of Season Stats Page (for Luke Donald in the  2011 season) showing new bar chart icon link for the new round charts and new pie chart link for the new performance chart

2011 round 1 score distribution for Luke Donald

2011 performance breakdown  for Luke Donald

Five pop-up charts have been added to the 'Season Stats' page for each golfer on Golf Predictor. Four of these pop-up charts are round histograms/bar charts similar to those added lately to the 'Prediction Data' page. The fifth chart is a season performance pie chart, also similar to those already available on the 'Prediction Data' page. The list of added charts is:

1. Histogram/bar chart of round 1 scores for the given season
2. Histogram/bar chart of round 2 scores for the given season
3. Histogram/bar chart of round 3 scores for the given season
4. Histogram/bar chart of final round scores for the given season
5. Performance breakdown pie chart  for the given season

Each of these new charts are useful as they allow you to see a golfer's season round/performance at a glance. The image links for these new round charts are displayed beside the existing link chart image links and the season performance pie chart link is located in the 'Played' column of the Performance panel. This is shown in the first screenshot above, which shows a portion of the 2011 season stats page for Luke Donald, the best performer that season. As can be seen above, the new image links for the new round charts use the bar chart image, as opposed to the line chart image used for the existing chart links. The pie chart link also uses the appropriate pie chart image. The second screenshot shows the 2011 round 1 score distribution for Donald and the third screenshot shows the breakdown of his performances that season. As usual, hovering over a pie slice/bar shows more information and you can easily link to the same data for other available years in the new round distribution charts.

These five new charts are very similar to existing charts on Golf Predictor, so they are not counted as new charts. These five charts are available to all users, although only for the golfers you are permitted to view (all golfers for subscribers, those ranked 11-25 for non-subscribers). However, the average on the round charts is only displayed to subscribers. So, sign up today to get the most out of Golf Predictor, the premier US and European PGA Tour statistics site.

2012 - Week 35 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Omega European Masters (European PGA Tour) and the Deutsche Bank Championship (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Nineteen of the world's top twenty are playing in Boston this week, with Sergio Garcia (14) the only absentee. Meanwhile, last week's winner, Paul Lawrie (30), is the highest ranked player teeing it up in Switzerland.

2012 - Week 34 Winners

Paul Lawrie (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on the European PGA Tour. The 43 year old Scot coasted to his second title of the season with an assured display that bodes very well for the upcoming Ryder Cup. Our top ranked player, Francesco Molinari, finished in tied 6th and we had eight of the top fifteen plus ties (8/18) in total. 

Nick Watney (ranked 27th by Golf Predictor) won The Barclays on the US PGA Tour. The 31 year old American put his relatively poor recent form behind him to secure victory in the first FedEx Cup play-off event. Our top ranked player, Luke Donald, finished in tied 10th and we had five of the top ten plus ties (5/18) in an event where many top players failed to perform. 

7 New Charts Added to 'Golfer Prediction' Page

Section of Prediction Page showing new bar chart icon link for some of the new round charts

2012 Final Round score distribution for Tiger Woods ahead of the US PGA Championship

Seven new pop-up charts have been added to the 'Prediction Data' page on Golf Predictor. While the existing round charts on this page show the scores as a line chart, these new charts show the scores as a histogram/bar chart for each golfer in the field for each of the following:

1. Round 1 scores this season
2. Round 2 scores this season
3. Round 3 scores this season
4. Final round scores this season
5. Round 1 scores in the last 5 years on the same course
6. Round 1 scores in the last 5 years at the same tournament
7. Round 1 scores in the last 12 similar tournaments

Each of these new charts are useful as they allow you to see a golfer's round performance at a glance. The image links for these new charts are displayed beside the existing link chart image links. This is shown in the first screenshot above, which shows a portion of the prediction page for Tiger Woods ahead of the 2012 US PGA Championship. As can be seen above, the new image links for the new charts use the bar chart image, as opposed to the line chart image used for the existing chart links.

The second screenshot above shows one of these new charts - the final round score distribution for Tiger Woods ahead of the 2012 US PGA Championship. The chart shows graphically Woods' unusually poor (for him!) closing round performances this season up to that point. Some notes on these new charts:

1. For 5 round events in the past (i.e Bob Hope), the fourth round is ignored.
2. As can be seen in the second screenshot above, you can link to the same chart for any other available season in the system since 2003. 
3. As usual, hovering over a bar shows more information, as shown in the second screenshot above. 
4. The charts are not available if there is no data to plot (e.g. no course history for the chosen golfer). 

In addition, the text on several existing charts has been updated and non-applicable rounds (e.g. non-stroke play/non-played rounds due to a non-finish)  have been removed from the similar events charts for formatting reasons.

These seven new charts bring the total number of charts on the site to 326. These new charts are available to all users, although only for the golfers you are permitted to view (all golfers for subscribers, those ranked 11-25 for non-subscribers). However, the round average on these charts is only displayed to subscribers. So, sign up today to get the most out of Golf Predictor, the premier US and European PGA Tour statistics site.

2012 - Week 34 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles (European PGA Tour) and The Barclays (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the first week of the lucrative FedEx Cup play-offs on the US PGA Tour and 123 of the top 125 in the rankings will be slugging it out for the large pot of cash! The two missing players are Jason Dufner who is skipping the event and Spencer Levin, who unfortunately just lost his brother. Meanwhile, it's the last qualifying tournament for the European Ryder Cup team in Scotland, so that should add some spice to that event!

2014 - Week 34 Predictions Delayed

The Golf Predictor predictions will be late this week, due to the late finish of the Wyndham Championship. Depending on when the statistics become available, it may be tomorrow before they can be generated. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, but this situation is out of my control.

2011 - Week 33 Winner

Sergio Garcia (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the Wyndham Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 32 year old Spaniard won his eighth PGA Tour title by two shots with an impressive birdie spurt on the back nine. Despite a closing bogey, Garcia did more than enough to end his four year American title drought. Our top ranked player, Jason Dufner, finished in tied 7th and we had seven of the top fourteen plus ties (7/18). 

2012 - Week 33 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Wyndham Championship (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Just the one event this week as there is no European Tour event this week for the third week in a row. There are not many big names competing this week, with the Wyndham Championship coming between the last major of the season and the first FedEx Cup play-off event next week. However, there are still a few big names teeing it up this week and a host of middle tier guys trying to improve their place in the FedEx Cup standings.

2012 - Week 32 Winner

Rory McIlroy (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the US PGA Championship on the European/US PGA Tour. The 23 year old Northern Irish man ended his country's recent major drought (of 13 months!) with an impressive final day performance to land his second major title. McIlroy birdied the last to finish with a fine 66 (-6) and win by a record eight shots after early challenger Ian Poulter fell away. Our top ranked player, Luke Donald, finished in tied 32nd and we had eight of the top eleven plus ties (8/17).

2012 - Week 32 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, US PGA Championship (European/US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Just the one tournament to cover this week, but it's a big one! It's the final major of the season and the PGA Championship heads to Kiawah Island for the first time, scene of the so-called "War on the Shore" in the 1991 Ryder Cup. It's the last chance for eight months for a golfer to land one of those prestigious titles, so the pressure will be on for everyone (especially Tiger Woods!) to perform.

2012 - Week 31 Winners

Keegan Bradley (ranked 29th by Golf Predictor) won the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational on the European/US PGA Tour. The 26 year old  won his first WGC event, despite being six shots adrift of long time leader, Jim Furyk, at one stage during the final round. However, a finishing 64 (-6) that included a gutsy par at the last was enough to pip Furyk, who unfortunately made a mess of the final hole with his young family watching. Our top ranked player, Luke Donald, finished in tied 8th and we had twelve of the top nineteen plus ties (12/23) in total.

J.J. Henry (ranked 10th by Golf Predictor) won the Reno-Tahoe Open on the US PGA Tour. The 37 year old American finally added to his maiden win on tour after six years of trying with a one point win over Alexandre Rocha in the modified Stableford event. Our top ranked player, Padraig Harrington, finished in tied 19th and we had eight of the top nineteen plus ties (8/20)*. 

'Compare Field Rankings' Page Added to Golf Predictor

The new colour coded 'Compare Field Rankings' page showing the field rankings for selected golfers ahead of the 2012 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational

The new stacked chart showing the data in the first screenshot visually

GP video tutorial on this new page

Following on from the recently added field rankings page, I am happy to announce the addition of another very useful new page to Golf Predictor. This new 'Compare Field Rankings' page is available from the "Stats Analysis" menu and is similar to the existing 'Compare Golfer Form' page. However, this new page allows you to directly compare the field rankings in eight different statistics for up to ten golfers at a time. These statistics are:

1. Average for the current season
2. Average in previous five events in the current season
3. Average on same course in the previous five years
4. Average in same tournament in the previous five years
5. Average in previous twelve similar events (reg./major/WGC/FedEx Cup)
6. World ranking
7. Cut Streak
8. Winless Streak

The table shown in the first screenshot above shows the field ranking of each golfer in each these statistics, It also shows the overall prediction rank (GP Rank) and the average field rank for each golfer. Some points on this new page:

1. Golf Predictor results go back to the start of the 2003 season.
2. This page is only available for events we have predicted (from early 2008 on).
3. Some statistics (e.g. Similar Tournaments) are not available for older predicted tournaments.
4. If a golfer does not have any relevant statistics, "n/a" is displayed in the relevant table cells.
5. For better legibility and easier trend spotting, the field rankings are colour coded. The colour code is displayed above the table for your convenience.
6. As usual, hovering over a player name displays more information. On this page, it displays the number of field rankings in each category (top rankings/top ten rankings/11-50 rankings/outside top 50 rankings/not available) out of the eight statistics covered. In addition, you can hover over any field ranking to see the actual value for the golfer. This latter pop-up is displayed in the first screenshot above for Tiger Woods' season average field ranking.
7. You can only sort by the first four columns (first name, last name, nationality and prediction rank).

There is also a new stacked chart available on this page, which is a graphic representation of the player name pop-ups outlined above. The second screenshot above shows this chart for the golfers in the first screenshot. As usual, hovering over a bar segment displays more information, as shown in the red 'Top Ranking' segment for Matt Kuchar above. This brings the total number of charts up to 319 on Golf Predictor.

Just another way to make Golf Predictor even better just ahead of the last major of the season! A lot of work has gone into this new page and it will greatly assist in choosing between golfers for an event. The first screenshot above shows the field rankings in the eight statistics for several golfers ahead of the 2012 WGC - Bridgestone Invitational. As can be seen, Lee Westwood and Matt Kuchar had particularly good field rankings in all the covered statistics ahead of the event.

Note that you may have to reload your current Golf Predictor page to see this new "Compare Field Rankings" menu option. All users can see this field ranking comparison for golfers they can access. For subscribers, this means all golfers in the system while for non-subscribers, it means golfers ranked 11-25 in the prediction rankings. So, sign up today and reap the full benefits of Golf Predictor, the premium professional golf statistics site.