Transformation of the Ryder Cup strategy with Analytics from Microsoft Power BI



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The legendary Ryder Cup takes place this week in Paris, France. Every two years, teams of golfers representing the United States and Europe compete in different golf formats to win the prestigious Ryder Cup and at least two years of bragging. Due to the format, there has always been a lot of unique strategy in the Ryder Cup that does not play for a standard golf tournament. Now the PGA of America is taking things in hand by applying detailed analysis with the help of Microsoft BI.

The Ryder Cup is unique

I grew up on golf. My grandfather was the captain of his golf team at Stanford. My father, my brother and my uncle are all passionate golfers. I spent many hours as a toddler riding on the golf cart with my dad or going to the driving range to practice with him. I rarely find time to play, but in my head, golf is always at the top of the list of things I would like to do if I had the time.

My dad has always been a dedicated spectator of professional golf tournaments. When he was not on a golf course playing himself, just about every weekend in the afternoon was spent watching professional golf. He would record the tournaments on VHS tapes and archive them for future reference. As my father's son, I also grew up watching golf and enjoying major tournaments: the US Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship, the Masters Tournament … and, of course, the Ryder Cup.

The Ryder Cup was always a little more exciting and a little more frustrating at the time, as it is a unique event. Where most golf tournaments are individual competitions where each golfer competes, the Ryder Cup competes with teams from the US and Europe. Each team consists of 12 players and the teams participate in a series of games involving more strategy than a golf competition. That's where the analysis and the relationship with Microsoft come in.

Strategy and analysis of the Ryder Cup

Golf is one of the world's most data-rich sports and the Ryder Cup is the most complex golf competition. On Friday and Saturday, the teams play four four-ball matches and four foursome matches. Two players from each team face each other. In the four-man games, the two players alternately play the same ball and the team with the lowest score wins the hole. With four-ball matches, each player plays his own ball and the best score between the two players is used. Again, the team with the lowest score on the hole wins.

The captain of each team plays an important role in strategy and tactics. 8 of the 12 team members are chosen by default based on the overall sport classification, but the captain must choose the remaining 4 players. These four players do not have to be the 4 best ranked golfers. & # 39; t. The captain will select golfers for specific skills – driving distance, accuracy, chipping, setting, etc., as well as their behavior on different types of courses. The captain is also responsible for choosing the pairs and the combination of players that complement each other in order to give the team the best chance of winning.

This process has always involved a considerable amount of data and research, but the use of Microsoft Power BI greatly expands the scope and depth of the details that can be evaluated and significantly streamlines the process of analyzing data in time. real to make the best strategic decisions. moment.

Partnership with Microsoft

With easy-to-use data visualization tools in the hands of captains, analyzing tons of data and player performance to create the best matches has never been easier. Previously, the PGA of America used paper documents, which became easily obsolete during the season, requiring additional analysis. Now with Microsoft Power BI, the PGA of America can understand player performance with real-time information, improving their game level. In the United States, in 2018, the American Captains of Ryder Cup take advantage of this information. rich in data to create the best strategy for the US team.

A view of the captain's dashboard in Microsoft Power BI for the Ryder Cup 2018 team.Microsoft

The idea of ​​leveraging data and analytics is not new, but the technology has exceeded expectations. The European team was already using computer analysis models and had been gaining regularly for some time. In anticipation of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, PGA hired Scouts Consulting Group as the official research and analysis partner of Ryder Cup USA. Microsoft provided support in 2016 – writing code for three consecutive days to develop visualizations and dashboards to transmit data clearly.

The US team won the 2016 Ryder Cup. For 2018, Scouts Consulting remains the official partner for research and analysis, but Microsoft has also been invited to engage on a more comprehensive basis, supporting the decision making process of the Ryder Cup team in three areas:

  • Player stats – Developing solutions to visualize all the data and analysis needed by the players to help the US captain select Captain's four best selections to complete the 12-member Ryder Cup team.
  • Visualization of golf courses – Provide relevant information to improve familiarity with the National Golf in the United States and help the US Ryder Cup team to win its first victory on foreign soil since 1993.
  • Ryder Cup Week Awareness – At some point, perhaps in the shortest time between sessions, provide real-time statistics that can confirm an observation, dispel a notion, or even request a single match.

Improve the strategy of the Ryder team

I spoke with Mike Downey, Senior Evangelist for Sport and Entertainment for Microsoft. First of all, let me say that I aspire for it to be my job title when I grow up. It sounds like a great job. But I'm misleading.

Downey shared some of the ways in which analysis, and more specifically analysis via Microsoft Power BI, can help improve the strategic outcomes of the Ryder Cup team. The Microsoft team focused on empowering Jim Furyk, captain of the US Ryder Cup 2018 team, with the information he needs to put the best players and clashes on the field to compete with the world. European team.

I've also spoken with Jeff Price, head of the PGA of America commercial office. Price explained that prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup, the PGA essentially allowed each team captain to determine how much they wanted to further examine the data and analyzes. Some captains were much more complete and analytical than others. He said that Tom Kite, a member of four Ryder Cup winning teams and captain of the Ryder Cup team in 1997, had many notebooks and was relying on mountains of data even before "Moneyball" was a thing.

In 2016, PGA of America knew that the European team was exploiting computer analysis and felt that the US team was clearly at a disadvantage. It was at that point that they hired Scouts Consulting to provide the Ryder Cup 2016 team with an analytical and thoughtful approach to information in order to help the captain of the team to make informed decisions.

According to Price, the partnership with Scouts Consulting and Microsoft to improve research and analysis places the US team on an equal footing with its European counterparts. The data does not make decisions for the captain, but having real-time statistics and analysis improves and influences the captain's ability to make the best possible strategic decisions.

Downey talked about some of the ways the Microsoft team approached the problem. He described how they should consider the questions the team captain had to answer and what data and analysis could best help guide these decisions. What are the skills to examine? How do you determine good or best matches for specific scenarios, golf courses or weather conditions? How are the unique strengths and weaknesses of players in different aspects of the game conflicting or complementary?

It is also important to distinguish between what you are looking at and the amount of data you are analyzing. Price warned: "You could go over the data. The key is that by listening to our goals and understanding the decisions to make, Microsoft offers the ability to synthesize and make the data usable in real time. "

The playground can be leveled. Now, we'll just have to watch the 2018 Ryder Cup unfold and see how much the Ryder Cup US team is now armed with real-time statistics and analysis to make the best strategic decisions. Hopefully they will be able to defeat the European team, win the Ryder Cup again and retain the right to boast for at least another two years.

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The legendary Ryder Cup takes place this week in Paris, France. Every two years, teams of golfers representing the United States and Europe compete in different golf formats to win the prestigious Ryder Cup and at least two years of bragging. Due to the format, there has always been a lot of unique strategy in the Ryder Cup that does not play for a standard golf tournament. Now the PGA of America is taking things in hand by applying detailed analysis with the help of Microsoft BI.

The Ryder Cup is unique

I grew up on golf. My grandfather was the captain of his golf team at Stanford. My father, my brother and my uncle are all passionate golfers. I spent many hours as a toddler riding on the golf cart with my dad or going to the driving range to practice with him. I rarely find time to play, but in my head, golf is always at the top of the list of things I would like to do if I had the time.

My dad has always been a dedicated spectator of professional golf tournaments. When he was not on a golf course playing himself, just about every weekend in the afternoon was spent watching professional golf. He would record the tournaments on VHS tapes and archive them for future reference. As my father's son, I also grew up watching golf and enjoying major tournaments: the US Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship, the Masters Tournament … and, of course, the Ryder Cup.

The Ryder Cup was always a little more exciting and a little more frustrating at the time, as it is a unique event. Where most golf tournaments are individual competitions where each golfer competes, the Ryder Cup competes with teams from the US and Europe. Each team consists of 12 players and the teams participate in a series of games involving more strategy than a golf competition. That's where the analysis and the relationship with Microsoft come in.

Strategy and analysis of the Ryder Cup

Golf is one of the world's most data-rich sports and the Ryder Cup is the most complex golf competition. On Friday and Saturday, the teams play four four-ball matches and four foursome matches. Two players from each team face each other. In the four-man games, the two players alternately play the same ball and the team with the lowest score wins the hole. With four-ball matches, each player plays his own ball and the best score between the two players is used. Again, the team with the lowest score on the hole wins.

The captain of each team plays an important role in strategy and tactics. 8 of the 12 team members are chosen by default based on the overall sport classification, but the captain must choose the remaining 4 players. These four players do not have to be the 4 best ranked golfers. & # 39; t. The captain will select golfers for specific skills – driving distance, accuracy, chipping, setting, etc., as well as their behavior on different types of courses. The captain is also responsible for choosing the pairs and the combination of players that complement each other in order to give the team the best chance of winning.

This process has always involved a considerable amount of data and research, but the use of Microsoft Power BI greatly expands the scope and depth of the details that can be evaluated and significantly streamlines the process of analyzing data in time. real to make the best strategic decisions. moment.

Partnership with Microsoft

With easy-to-use data visualization tools in the hands of captains, analyzing tons of data and player performance to create the best matches has never been easier. Previously, the PGA of America used paper documents, which became easily obsolete during the season, requiring additional analysis. Now with Microsoft Power BI, the PGA of America can understand player performance with real-time information, improving their game level. In the United States, in 2018, the American Captains of Ryder Cup take advantage of this information. rich in data to create the best strategy for the US team.

A view of the captain's dashboard in Microsoft Power BI for the Ryder Cup 2018 team.Microsoft

The idea of ​​leveraging data and analytics is not new, but the technology has exceeded expectations. The European team was already using computer analysis models and had been gaining regularly for some time. In anticipation of the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, PGA hired Scouts Consulting Group as the official research and analysis partner of Ryder Cup USA. Microsoft provided support in 2016 – writing code for three consecutive days to develop visualizations and dashboards to transmit data clearly.

The US team won the 2016 Ryder Cup. For 2018, Scouts Consulting remains the official partner for research and analysis, but Microsoft has also been invited to engage on a more comprehensive basis, supporting the decision making process of the Ryder Cup team in three areas:

  • Player stats – Developing solutions to visualize all the data and analysis needed by the players to help the US captain select Captain's four best selections to complete the 12-member Ryder Cup team.
  • Visualization of golf courses – Provide relevant information to improve familiarity with the National Golf in the United States and help the US Ryder Cup team to win its first victory on foreign soil since 1993.
  • Ryder Cup Week Awareness – At some point, perhaps in the shortest time between sessions, provide real-time statistics that can confirm an observation, dispel a notion, or even request a single match.

Improve the strategy of the Ryder team

I spoke with Mike Downey, Senior Evangelist for Sport and Entertainment for Microsoft. First of all, let me say that I aspire for it to be my job title when I grow up. It sounds like a great job. But I'm misleading.

Downey shared some of the ways in which analysis, and more specifically analysis via Microsoft Power BI, can help improve the strategic outcomes of the Ryder Cup team. The Microsoft team focused on empowering Jim Furyk, captain of the US Ryder Cup 2018 team, with the information he needs to put the best players and clashes on the field to compete with the world. European team.

I've also spoken with Jeff Price, head of the PGA of America commercial office. Price explained that prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup, the PGA essentially allowed each team captain to determine how much they wanted to further examine the data and analyzes. Some captains were much more complete and analytical than others. He said that Tom Kite, a member of four Ryder Cup winning teams and captain of the Ryder Cup team in 1997, had many notebooks and was relying on mountains of data even before "Moneyball" was a thing.

In 2016, PGA of America knew that the European team was exploiting computer analysis and felt that the US team was clearly at a disadvantage. It was at that point that they hired Scouts Consulting to provide the Ryder Cup 2016 team with an analytical and thoughtful approach to information in order to help the captain of the team to make informed decisions.

According to Price, the partnership with Scouts Consulting and Microsoft to improve research and analysis places the US team on an equal footing with its European counterparts. The data does not make decisions for the captain, but having real-time statistics and analysis improves and influences the captain's ability to make the best possible strategic decisions.

Downey talked about some of the ways the Microsoft team approached the problem. He described how they should consider the questions the team captain had to answer and what data and analysis could best help guide these decisions. What are the skills to examine? How do you determine good or best matches for specific scenarios, golf courses or weather conditions? How are the unique strengths and weaknesses of players in different aspects of the game conflicting or complementary?

It is also important to distinguish between what you are looking at and the amount of data you are analyzing. Price warned: "You could go over the data. The key is that by listening to our goals and understanding the decisions to make, Microsoft offers the ability to synthesize and make the data usable in real time. "

The playground can be leveled. Now, we'll just have to watch the 2018 Ryder Cup unfold and see how much the Ryder Cup US team is now armed with real-time statistics and analysis to make the best strategic decisions. Hopefully they will be able to defeat the European team, win the Ryder Cup again and retain the right to boast for at least another two years.

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