Biomedical subjects

Russell D Clark

Publications and source records attributed to Russell D Clark.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The beauty of match play.

This study investigated whether higher seeded players have an advanage in the only match play event on the PGA Tour. Analysis showed that the higher seeded won 54% of the time (p=.06); the correlation was .17 (p<.01) between higher seeded players winning and the difference in World Rankings between players. Given professional golfers are at the highest end of the distribution of golf ability, these players are so nearly equal in ability, it is mainly a matter of chance who will win a match play event or who will have the best round on any given day.

Beauty↗

PubMed2006

Is the independence of golf scores for professional golfers a statistical artifact?

This study investigated whether the lack of day-to-day consistency in performance for professional golfers would occur if round ranks were employed instead of round scores. When players' round scores from the 2004 Clark study were converted to round ranks, the results were very similar to those found in that study. It was concluded that the range of abilities for professional golfers is so restricted that the fluctuation in players' scores or rankings will show little consistency from day to day.

Bias↗

PubMed2005

Examination of hole-to-hole streakiness on the PGA Tour.

A study investigated streakiness among professional golfers. Hole-to-hole scores within 747 tournaments from a randomly chosen group of 35 players on the 1997 PGA Tour were analyzed. Contingency analyses gave no evidence for streakiness. Players were just as likely to score par or better following an above par hole as to make a par or better following a par or better hole. These results are consistent with those found for individual players in baseball and basketball.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

An analysis of players' consistency among professional golfers: a longitudinal study.

This study followed the performance of individual professional golfers who played from 1997 to 2000 on the Professional Golfers Association Tour (PGA Tour, N=35), Ladies Professional Golfers Association Tour (LPGA Tour, N = 25), and Senior Professional Golfers Association Tour (SPGA Tour, N = 31) and investigated individual players' consistency in round-to-round performance within tournaments. Although the number of players showing consistency for most years exceeded chance expectations, evidence for round-to-round consistency from one year to the next for any player was small. Such evidence suggests that variability in player performance is more the rule than the exception for players on the three American professional tours.

Achievement↗

PubMed2005

An examination of the "hot hand" in professional golfers.

A study investigated the "hot hand" among professional golfers. Hole-to-hole scores within 747 tournaments from a randomly chosen group of 35 players on the 1997 PGA Tour were analyzed. Contingency analyses gave no evidence for the "hot hand". Players were just as likely to score a birdie or better following a par or worse hole as make a birdie or better following a birdie or better hole. These results are consistent with those found for individual players in baseball and basketball.

Achievement↗

PubMed2004

On the independence of golf scores for professional golfers.

This study involved professional golfers who played in 1999 on the Professional Golfers' Association Tour (PGA Tour, N=2,967), Senior Professional Golfers' Association (SPGA Tour, N=2,751), and the Ladies Professional Golfers' Association (LPGA Tour, N=2,638) and investigated whether there is independence between golfers' scores on consecutive rounds within tournaments. The mean correlations between scores on consecutive rounds for players on the PGA Tour (r=-.08, p<.01) and LPGA Tour (r=-.03, p=.05) were negative although negligible and of little practical importance. There was a small, positive correlation (r=.27, p<.01) between scores on consecutive rounds for players on the SPGA Tour. Such evidence suggests the greater dependence of golf scores on the SPGA Tour may be due to the greater range of players' skill on that tour.

Achievement↗

PubMed2003

An analysis of streaky performance on the LPGA Tour.

A study investigated the occurrence of streakiness among professional golfers on the LPGA Tour. For players, individually or as a group, the findings showed a significant tendency for players' par or better rounds to occur together and for players' above par rounds to occur together. However, the observed streakiness in players' scores was related to the difficulty of golf courses rather than to any inherent disposition of players' performances to be streaky. The results replicated those findings found on the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour.

Achievement↗

PubMed2002

Do professional golfers "choke"?

A study involving results of the PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour, and the LPGA Tour investigated whether "choking under pressure" occurs among professional golfers. Players were individuals who either were leading going into the final round or within five strokes of the lead. It was hypothesized that players who were one stroke from the lead and to a lesser extent players who were leading should have higher final round scores than those players who were two or more strokes from the lead ("choking"). However, the results did not support the choking hypothesis. Players who were leading going into the final round won the majority of the time.

Achievement↗

PubMed2002

Evaluating the phenomenon of choking in professional golfers.

A study involving 775 professional golfers investigated whether choking occurs in the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournaments, known among golfers for its high pressure. It was hypothesized that players who were near or at the cutoff for earning a tour card would have higher final round scores than players whose scores entering the final round were either four or five strokes better or worse. However, the data did not support a choking hypothesis. There were no significant differences in final round scores for the conditions.

Airway Obstruction↗