Has anybody else voted on the Player of the Decade debate on the PDGA home page? It seems like a good debate between Climo and Schultz to me. Climo is running away with the voting, but I think that has more to do with him being the more famous golfer. Some people also voted for Dave Feldberg which shows they put no effort into researching this at all and just voted for the guy who was successful most recently.
Barry Schultz
Total Cash $255,000
NT wins 18
A tier wins 36
Major wins 5
Total events 270 (Majors, NT, and A tiers)
World Champ 2
USDGC Champ 3
Player of the Year 5
Ken Climo
Total Cash $222,000
NT wins 11
A tier wins 21
Major wins 8
Total Events 185
World Champ 3
USDGC Champ 4
Player of the Year 3
I think these are the stats that matter. Climo was more selective on the events he played, so he has less wins, but more cash won per event. I give Barry the edge there for playing more events in the decade. Climo has the edge on USDGC's by 1 and World titles by 1. That is important to me and gives an argument to picking Climo over Barry.
To me it comes down to this. Barry had more years as a completely dominant player. 2003-2005 he was inarguably the best player in the world. Before that stretch and after that stretch, Barry and Climo are on a similar plateau. This is evidenced by Barry's 5 Player of the Year awards to Climo's 3. For that fact that Barry has 19 more significant wins in the decade, played more often, and was a dominant player for longer, I voted for Barry Schultz as Player of the Decade.
I would put heavy money that the Player of the 2010's is going to be Nikko Locastro. I'd make him about a 3:2 favorite on that. I'd say Nate Doss is the #1 challenger to beat out Nikko for that. If Nate started playing 35 events per year, those 2 could develop a good rivalry.
I voted for Climo. Mainly because of the major wins(Worlds/USDGC). I think those tournaments are the best examples of competitive golf we have. The others are just everyday tournaments like ours. I give Barry a ton of credit for playing as much as he did. And he holds a substantial lead in NT wins. That is pretty impressive. I believe it is all about the Majors. That is the traditional golfers in me though.
Dan since you did the research, did Barry and Ken play in an equal amount of NT events? If so it makes that stat more impressive. Thank you for the stats and allowing me to be lazy. :P
I think that between major wins and his popularity Ken's numbers are way skewed. I would have thought that Barry would have more votes then he does.
I would actually like to see Nikko and Feldberg develop a strong rivalry. Which I think is already starting to happen. At least from what I have heard and saw at the Memorial. That would make for some compelling golf. Nate just does not seem to have the competitive drive that those 2 do. I like Nate the few times I have have seen him but he is really laid back. Know what would be sweet is a Avery, Feldberg, Nikko, and Nate all develop a strong rivalry. The older guys versus the younger guys. McBeth is pretty hot to. If he commits to disc golf him and Nikko could have something good going.
I voted for Barry, Dan. The competed in during the decade was my decision maker. 270 to 185 is a huge difference. I guess you couldn't be wrong with picking 1 of those 2, but no one else deserves it like Barry and Climo.
Quote from: Mike Clark on March 23, 2010, 07:44:09 AM
Dan since you did the research, did Barry and Ken play in an equal amount of NT events? If so it makes that stat more impressive. Thank you for the stats and allowing me to be lazy. :P
Most of this information was on the same page that you voted on at PDGA.com. I did look up the USDGC, Worlds, and Player of the Year info as I think its very relevant. I know the Japan Open, European Open, and Players Cup have been Majors, but to me these are no bigger wins than the Memorial (Barry 3 wins Climo 0) or Marshall Street (Barry 1, Climo 0). 270 is the number of Majors+NTs+A tiers that Barry played. Ken played 185. Barry's win percentage was 21.9 in these events to Ken's 21.3. Pretty dead even, but Barry played 50% more big events, so you have to give him the nod as far as overall winning against top-tier-fields goes. If you are giving the vote to Climo, it can really only be because he won 1 more USDGC and 1 more Worlds title. I can see it, but I don't agree with it. The 90's belonged to Climo and the 00's belonged to Schultz. Certainly Climo is inarguably the greatest player of all-time.