The subject of who actually is the #1golf in the world is generating quite a lively debate at the moment. One that would/could only be enhanced by some sexy visuals. So with some help from my friends at IBM and their awesome Many Eyes project I've made a modest start at sexing up the stats.
Now the thing is... much as I love analytics, infographics and such... producing/explaining them is not my forte, I'm more of a look at the pictures and turn the pages type, as the old song says. But... someone's got to do it, so I'm making an attempt.
For my first visualization I decided to look at one of the more... um... contentious elements of the current discussion: Increased globalization and the end of U.S. dominance in men's professional golf. For convenience sake I took an existing visualization made from 2007 data, and built the same one using current data. This provides something of a baseline comparison.
It's not perfect. I would like to have adjusted some of the perimeters and functionalities (probably not the right words) but I was working with a preset program and couldn't quite... figure out how to do it. Check out the interactive diagrams at Many Eyes: the 2007 stats and the current stats. I'd be curious as to what you think.
I've got to admit I looked longingly at the big Tiger bubble on the 2007 model.
Those are some sexy bubbles girl! ;)
ReplyDeleteI like it. At first glance here's what I see: There's clearly no one country dominating the way the US did even just a few years ago. Then of course the Tiger bubble. As you mention, it would be nice to be able to change some things, if the colors representing each country could be consistent for example. But it's a good start.
ReplyDeleteGood to know I'm not color blind even if I had that checked with an eye exam in fall. This is somewhat relevant golfgirl's and Don Ho's tiny bubbles. Of top 20 finishers at the Avnet LPGA event this week. 10 of the 20 were USA, but mostly in the 10-20 range.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors and after studying both on the IBM site I see what you're saying and what Shark mentions. The lavender-blueish color that represents the US players on the "2007" diagram is indeed dominant, while there's really no dominant color on the "today" diagram. There's also no real "biggest bubble" on the today diagram like there is (Tiger Woods) on the 2007. Pretty neat.
ReplyDeleteIts a very good illustration of how international the sport has become and how well players from a variety of different countries are playing. There's no reason I can think of that this trend will reverse itself anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteWhy not? everything is so accessible and easy to get to now a days... This site was founded in Scotland so originally this sport is naturally international, great article...
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