Whose Club Golfers Are Better - USA or Europe?

We offer a look at some fascinating data from shot tracking company, Shot Scope, on whose club golfers are better - USA or Europe?

With an exciting Solheim Cup behind us and the prospect of an enthralling Ryder Cup just a handful of days away, shot tracking technology company, ShotScope, has released some fascinating data comparing the performances of club golfers to reveal whose club golfers are better - USA or Europe. 

The data shown above compares golfers in a ‘Sunday singles’ style event. Each match featured a different performance category and with the final scores tied, the USA took the title in a play-off based around who could boast the higher number of hole-outs!

Could this be a sign of things to come at Whistling Straits? 

Related: Ryder Cup News

The data illustrated here came from one thousand Shot Scope users from either side of the Atlantic. During 2020 they totalled the same score to par - this ensured a level playing field for the match.

Some additional findings that came from the data are listed below: 

• European Shot Scope users play more regularly (5.76 rounds per month v 4.28). 
• The European group played a greater variety of golf courses (2.84 different courses per month v 2.36).
• The US team played longer courses (6,239 yard average v 6,176 yards).

Another interesting point to emerge from the data is that the American team of Shot Scope users, whilst losing out on the average score category, dominated off the tee and on the green. 

However, Shot Scope acknowledge the context here, “Some of the results in this list come with context, for example, Team USA took the point in the ‘Driving distance’ category by a comfortable six yards on average, which could perhaps be down to higher average temperatures. Team USA also picked up the points on the greens, which may be testament to the more consistent putting surfaces they enjoy year-round.”

Either way, Steve Stricker will be hoping his US Ryder Cup team can dominate these two crucial data points at Whistling Straits - if they do they’ll be hard to beat.