MONEYBALLFORGOLF
FormerproScottFawcett is trying togetmoregolfers
to thinkaboutmathbefore theyswing
S
cottfawcettlovesnumbers.studyingdatahelped
himbuildanenergy-brokeragebusiness inTexasafter
hisbriefstintasaprogolfer.Ithelpedhimwinmoneyat
pokertournaments.Andnow it’shelpedhim identifyabetter
way toplaygolf.
“Therewas reallynodefined strategybesides ‘aimat the
fatpart of thegreen,’”Fawcett says. “Iknew therehad tobe
abetterway.”
Takingavailable shot statistics for golfers and combining
themwithasortof “Dopplerradar” forgolf,Fawcettcreated
PlayingLesson.com, awebsite that promoteshisphilosophy
thatyoucanusestatisticsnot just tofindflaws inyourgame
butalso to improve theshotsyoualready take. “It’sasystem
that,knowingdistanceandhazards,willtellyouwheretoaim
yourshot tooptimizescoring,”Fawcettsays.
And it’sworked.Fawcetttestedhistheories—they’resim-
ple,buttheyrequireahalf-dayseminartoteach,which iswhy
collegecoachesallaroundthecountryhavehimspeaktotheir
golfers—on aTexas amateur ranked3,300th in theworld.
Four tournaments later, that samegolferhadwon theTexas
Amateur and theU.S. Ju-
niorAmateur champion-
shipsandwasrankedthird
in theworld. For pros, it
canknockhalfastrokeoff
their game. “If you shoot
a70, itcanknockastroke
off.” For players likeme
whoshoota100-plus?“It
couldknockoff 10 shots,”
Fawcett says, laughing,
“but the better question
is, ‘Whyareyousobad?’”
–ericceleste
36
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
POV
Forascratchgolferwhoaims
atScottFawcett (pictured)
andnot theflag, the inner
circle representswhere50
percentof thegolfer’sgood
shotswould land. Theouter
ellipsisshowswhere thebad
shotswillmost likelyhit.
DAVIDHALLORAN (2)
