EverwonderwhetherTigerWoodsinhisprimewouldhavebeatenBobbyJones,BenHogan,orJackNicklausintheirprimes?AndcouldanyofthemhavebeatenBabeZaharias?Obviously,ifBobbyJoneswerereturnedtolifeandhealthandthengivenhisoldhickory-shaftedmashie,persimmon-headeddriver,andrubber-coreballinamatchagainstJordanSpieth,theoutcomewouldbeforeordained.Butwhatiftheimpactofthetraining,equipment,courses,andtravelingconditionscouldbeneutralizedinordertocreateameasurement?Nowforthefirsttime,questionsareansweredabouttherelativeabilitiesofthegreatestplayersinthehistoryofprofessionalgolf.InTheHoleTruthBillFelberprovidesarelativisticapproachforevaluatingandcomparingtheperformanceofgolferswhileacknowledgingthegame’schangingnature.TheHoleTruthanalyzestheperformancesofplayersrelativetotheirpeers,creatinganindexofexceptionalitythatautomaticallyfactorsthechangingnatureofthegamethroughtime.Thatindexisbasedonthestandarddeviationoftheperformancesofplayersingolf’srecognizedmajorchampionshipsdatingbackto1860.Morethantwohundredplayersareratedincomparisonwithoneanother,morethansixtyofthemindetailwithprofilesprovidingcontextontheirranking.Forthededicatedgolffan,TheHoleTruthisanengagingwaytoseeinthenumberswheretheirfavoritegolfersrankacrosserasandwherecurrentplayerslikeRoryMcIlroyandInbeeParkcomparetothegame’sgreats.
