Tournament Validity: Testing Golfer Competence

The concept of tournament validity was explored in three studies. In the first study, measures of tournament validity, difficulty, and discrimination were introduced. These measures were illustrated with data from the 2003 Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour. In the second study, the relationship between difficulty and discrimination was tested by analyzing United States Golf Association slope and course rating data. In the third study, the validity of an entire season of PGA tournaments was examined. Tournaments did differ in validity, and some tournaments were not valid at all. Difficult, high-scoring tournaments were somewhat more valid and led to greater discrimination than low-scoring tournaments. Implications of golf tournament validity are discussed as are implications for measuring the validity of other types of competitions.