Optimizing Golf Bag Locations

Abstract

We model the behavior of a walking golfer who must decide where to leave the golf bag when approaching a green to putt. The goal is to minimize the amount of walking (and hence the amount of time) necessary to finish the hole and move on to the next tee.

Introduction

Golf etiquette requires that golfers leave their bags at the edge of the green before moving to their balls to putt. Etiquette also requires that golfers move off the green and on to the next tee box in as little time as possible. As a response to these customs, golfers who regularly walk the course develop intuition about to where to leave the bag so as to minimize the total walking to go first to the ball, then to the hole, then back to the bag, and finally on to the next tee box. We develop a simple mathematical model for this situation and compare it to a golfer's intuition.