Long-time followers of this blog know that every year at this time, I take a look back at the rounds of APBA Golf I’ve played the previous year. This post looks at some of the best rounds and other high points of 2024.
This past year I logged 811 rounds of APBA Golf, playing by myself or with other people. Many of those were in service of testing the Game Caddie as new features were added and a few glitches were (ahem) ironed out.
My best scores of all time (i.e., since June 2020) did not change. Bryson DeChambeau (2020) and Justin Thomas (2022) continue to hold the record at 11-under par on The Stadium Course (TPC Sawgrass) and Birthplace (St. Andrews), respectively.
For 2024 my best score relative to par was 9-under by Tom Watson (1977) at Seaside (Pebble Beach) on June 6. This was despite Blustery and Firm conditions. Although Watson’s GIR was just 44%, his putting was laser-sharp. He finished with an all-time low of 18 putts, the longest of which was only 13 feet. While his Total Distance of Putts Made was an unremarkable 80 feet, he had two hole-outs including one for an eagle.
Tiger Woods (2000) had the other best round of 2024, shooting an incredible 8-under at Bluegrass (Valhalla), which is averaging 1.6 strokes over par after 146 rounds. By contrast to Watson, Tiger had 89% GIR, 26 putts (the longest of which was 26 feet), and 132 feet of Total Distance of Putts Made.
My best Scores to Par for All Rounds appear below. Match Dates in 2024 are shown in red.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of the scores shown above were on older APBA courses (although The Stadium Course is from the post-binder era). I have played these courses a lot and have learned the hard way what works and what doesn’t. Now that the best scores are 8-under or better, it also becomes much harder to make this list regardless of which course I’m playing.
The best scores relative to par for all courses appear below with the 2024 Match Dates shown in red. Note that some of the less impressive “low” scores are on courses that I haven’t gotten around to playing much (e.g., 3 rounds at Bear Village (Muirfield Village), +4). Yet, after 17 rounds the best I’ve been able to manage so far at Angus Links (Carnoustie) is just 1-over par.
Unsurprisingly, more than half these scores were logged on Calm days. Just six out of 37 days were Blustery. We see something similar for course conditions with more than half of the best scores coming when conditions are Normal. Obviously, the probabilities for wind types and turf conditions on any given day differ by course and dice roll, but these findings at least coincide with what we might expect to see based on common sense. Golfers tend to shoot better when the weather is favorable.
Six more names made it onto the Hole-in-One List in 2024. Lydia Ko (2023) became my first LPGA golfer to ace a hole. It came at Gopher Lakes (Hazeltine National) on #4, which was playing at 205 yards off the ladies tees that day. That’s my first hole-in-one on that course (for men or women) in 116 rounds.
More noteworthy performances from 2024 include:
- The longest drive of the year was 375 yards by two players. It first happened in late September using Jay Hebert’s 3-column card circa 1962 at Bluegrass on a Blustery day with Firm conditions. Six days later Lew Worsham, Jr. (1951) did it again at Brookline (The Country Club) on a Calm day with Firm conditions. My all-time record drive is 390 yards held by both Marc Leishman (2022) and Hideki Matsuyama (2019).
- The leader in Average Driving Distance among the men for all Par 4’s and 5’s is Cameron Young (2016) at 317 yards based on a single round. The men’s average is 275.7 yards (923 rounds). For the ladies the leader is Emily Pedersen (2023) at 268 yards over two rounds. The ladies’ average is 247.8 yards (349 rounds).
- A related stat is Average Driving Distance-2 based on two holes per round (usually Par 5’s). This is how the PGA calculates driving distance. Jhonattan Vegas (2016) tops the list at 350 yards after one round. The average for the men is 284.5 yards (582 rounds). For the women the leader is Louise Suggs (1953) at 278 yards based on one round. The average is 252.8 yards (157 rounds).
- The longest made putt of the year was 76 feet by Tom Watson (1977) at Bluegrass, but that is only good for 5th place overall. Séamus Power (2022) leads the list with a 132-footer at Birthplace in 2023. The six longest putts in my record book are all on those two courses.
- Power (2022) continues to hold the record for Total Distance of Putts Made in a round (268 feet) set in 2023 at Birthplace. Sam Torrance (1995) had the longest Total Distance of Putts Made in 2024–an impressive 204 feet at Badger Links (Whistling Straits). That’s good enough for 3rd place overall.
- As mentioned above, Tom Watson (1977) had only 18 putts at Seaside back in June. That’s my all-time record for a single round, surpassing Mark Calcavecchia (1989) and Jerry Barber (1961) who both had 20 putts in separate rounds at Yatch Club (Harbour Town) in 2020. Also in 2024, Mackenzie Hughes (2023) recorded 20 putts in a round at Acorn Hill (Oak Hill). The fewest number of putts for the LPGA golfers is 21 by Ayaka Furue (2023) at Yatch Club last month. As these results attest, smaller greens definitely mean fewer putts.
If you watch any of my videos on the Game Caddie Play channel, you know that not every round goes smoothly for me and that I like to play with a wide variety of golfers–not just the best of the All-Time Greats. As you’ll see, coming up . . . the Worst of 2024.