First round scoring average in Junior and College Golf 🔢(MikkelGolf.com Newsletter #2)
Today, I wanted to share with you some interesting insights from the 2023 Srixon Tour in Norway (National Junior Tour). We’ll compare this to my anecdotal college data - and also look at the PGA Tour's scoring averages from the 2021-2022 season.
To give some context: During my seven years as a Division 1 college coach, I've been tracking various golf statistics from the tournaments we played in, always on the lookout for ways to help my team and deepen my own golf knowledge. One intriguing discovery I made during this time was about first-round scoring averages in college golf.
Surprisingly, in the tournaments our team played in, the first round typically had higher average scores compared to the later rounds. This was interesting because the courses were usually set up to be the easiest in the first round and progressively more challenging in the final round. It seemed counterintuitive – why were first rounds yielding higher scores when the courses were made easier?
After moving to Norway this Summer, I decided to take a closer look at the Srixon Tour to see if a similar trend emerged. This led me to analyze a substantial amount of data, with over 3000 lines in spreadsheets, and the insights I uncovered were quite interesting. I'm excited to share these findings with you in the coming weeks through this newsletter.
The Srixon Tour plays a three-round format, and the scoring averages for the year were as follows: 77.83 in the first round, 77.03 in the second round, and 77.81 in the third round. These averages include all divisions (Girls and Boys + all divisions). As suspected, the first round had the highest scoring average for the week in six out of the eight tournaments. Additionally, it is worth noting that the final round scoring average on the Srixon Tour was significantly influenced by the conditions in two specific tournaments, Moss & Rygge and Kragerø. These tournaments played the toughest in the final round, resulting in a high scoring average. Unfortunately, I was not present at those events, but it appeared that the conditions posed significant challenges for the players.
(Apologies for the mistake in color coding the Season Avg - the highest number (77.83 during the first rounds) should be red)
Although the girls’ division winners’ scores deviated from what I expected when it comes to first round averages - I think it’s safe to conclude the same pattern I observed in college golf emerged on this year’s Srixon Tour as well - based on the field average, the boys’ division winning scores, and what looks to have been very challenging scoring conditions during a couple of the final rounds. Comparing this to the PGA Tour's scoring averages from the 2021-2022 season, we can observe a more balanced distribution across all four rounds:
PGA Tour Round 1 average: 70.81
PGA Tour Round 2 average: 70.86 *Cut after this round
PGA Tour Round 3 average: 70.42
PGA Tour Round 4 average: 70.37
So why is it that junior and amateur level golf post higher scoring averages in the first rounds? Putting on my coaching hat I think we can split most of the reasoning into two:
1️⃣ The first reason is obvious, preparation. Having a strong strategic game plan and being adjusted to the course conditions when you tee off on the first hole is vital. PGA Tour players have an advantage on junior and amateur golfers as they a) have a caddy and b) both the player and caddy have likely seen the course previously. However, I think tour players are significantly better at sharpening the right skills in order to start the first hole adjusted to green speeds and other conditions.
2️⃣ The second reason might also be obvious - mental game. Finding your performance state right out of the gates is likely something junior and amateur golfers struggle with to a larger degree than professional golfers. The anticipation of the tournament makes us start with too much tension, high levels of adrenalin, stress, etc. and we haven’t quite mastered how to channel this yet. This takes time and awareness to develop your proper individual focus to obtain the right intensity level for you.
🧐 Can you think of any other factors? Understanding these trends can provide valuable guidance for junior and amateur golfers, highlighting the importance of starting strong and being prepared both mentally and technically from the beginning of tournaments. I can’t give you a formula for figuring out your right balance through a newsletter - but the awareness might be a start :)
Next week - let’s look at first round scoring averages at AJGA tournaments!
Thank you for being a subscriber to this newsletter. I look forward to sharing more updates, drills, and golf content in future editions.
Warm regards,
Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen
Golf Coach and Analyst
www.mikkelgolf.com