Leo H. Kahane

There have been a host of empirical papers studying the returns to skill in professional golf (e.g., Alexander & Kern, 2005; Callan & Thomas, 2007; Moy & Liaw, 1998; Rishe, 2001; Shmanske, 1992, 2000, 2008). None of these studies, however, carefully considers the skewed distribution of earnings in professional golf. This paper uses quantile regression to better handle the skewness and outlier values found in PGA earnings data. Using data from the PGA for the years 2004 to 2007 results of quantile regressions show that the returns to skills—such as putting and driving accuracy—...Read more

Keith W. Lambrecht
Frederick Kaefer
Samuel D. Ramenofsky

Sportscape refers to service extensions and the physical surroundings of a sports event. This is a case study that focuses on sportscape factors and how they influence the overall satisfaction of spectators attending a PGA TOUR event. Golf is different from other sports in that it has a flexible venue and is experienced differently by spectators and, therefore, careful analysis must be given to sportscape factors. A survey was developed and implemented at a PGA TOUR event to identify the influence of eight specific sportscape factors on the level of satisfaction of spectators. Based on...Read more