People fear losing more than they desire to win, a phenomenon known as loss aversion, first demonstrated by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. This concept, explored in Kahneman’s book ‘Thinking, Fast And Slow’, is prevalent in many aspects of life, including golf.
Economists Devin Pope and Maurice Schweitzer studied this phenomenon on the golf course. They hypothesised that golfers, motivated by loss aversion, would put more effort into avoiding a bogey (putting for par) than into trying for a birdie. Their analysis of over 2.5 million putts confirmed this theory. Golfers, including Tiger Woods, showed a 3.6% higher success rate when putting for par compared to birdie attempts. If Woods had put as well for birdies as he did for pars during his peak years, his tournament scores could have improved by one stroke on average, potentially increasing his earnings by nearly $1 million per season.
The lesson? Consistently give your best effort, regardless of the situation.
Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast And Slow is a great read.