A recent two-day tournament awarded closest to the pin
prizes on nine holes. The competitors
were allowed to use any of three tees (black, white, or green). The total and average yardage from each set
of tees is shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Total and Average Hole Yardages
|
Tee |
Total Yardage |
Average Yardage |
|
Black |
1,465 |
163 |
|
White |
1,287 |
143 |
|
Green |
1,147 |
127 |
One theory says letting players choose their tees is equitable. That is, the good
player from the black tees should be about as accurate as a poorer player from
the green tees. Let’s see how that
worked out in practice. If the theory is
correct, the percentage of closest to the pin prizes won from each set of tees
should approximate the percentage of competitors playing from those tees. Table
2 shows the actual results.
Table 2
Percentage of Competitors and Wins by Tee
|
Tees |
Percentage of Competitors |
Percentage of Prizes Won |
|
Black |
34 |
22 |
|
White |
55 |
67 |
|
Green |
11 |
11 |
The results are not far from perfect equity. If a black tee player beat out a white tee
player on one hole, the Percentage of Prizes Won would be black 33%, white 56%,
and green 11%, or almost a perfect match to the Percentage of Competitors.
Results will vary depending on the difference in distance between
tees and the quality of players choosing each set of tees. An alternative would be to set aside holes where
only players from one set of tees can compete.
This would not be recommended. A hole
with a closest to the pin prize releases endorphins that brings pleasure and
excitement to a player. The more holes with prizes, the greater the enjoyment
even though it may reduce the player’s chances of winning. This recommendation assumes the prizes are sufficiently low that the club champion does not let avarice overrule pride and play from the green tees.
