Loss Aversion in Professional Golf

24 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2019 Last revised: 15 Jul 2020

See all articles by Ryan Elmore

Ryan Elmore

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business

Andrew Urbaczewski

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business; United States Air Force Academy

Date Written: January 7, 2019

Abstract

We examine loss aversion in the context of professional golf, and in particular how it plays out in certain US Opens. We analyze data from two courses, Pebble Beach Golf Links and Oakmont Country Club, each of which has hosted five US Opens in the modern golfing era. In the last two tournaments at each course, they changed the par rating of a par 5 to a par 4 without fundamentally altering the hole. In this natural, albeit unintentional, experimental setting, we find evidence of significant loss-aversive behavior in the world’s best golfers based solely on a hole’s par rating.

Keywords: prospect theory, loss aversion, golf analytics

Suggested Citation

Elmore, Ryan and Urbaczewski, Andrew, Loss Aversion in Professional Golf (January 7, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3311649 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3311649

Ryan Elmore (Contact Author)

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business ( email )

2101 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
United States

Andrew Urbaczewski

University of Denver - Daniels College of Business ( email )

2101 S. University Blvd.
Denver, CO 80208
United States
+1 303 871 4802 (Phone)

United States Air Force Academy ( email )

Colorado Springs, CO
United States

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