Lesson 2: Most, Least, and Middle
When you have a list of numbers, three values are especially useful: the highest (maximum), the lowest (minimum), and the middle (median).
The maximum is the biggest number in the list — your worst hole, or the longest drive of the day. The minimum is the smallest — your best hole, or the shortest putt you made.
The median is the middle value when you put all the numbers in order. If you put your hole scores in order from lowest to highest and find the number in the middle, that is the median. The median is useful because it is not affected by one very bad or very good result the way an average is.
Golfers talk about all three: ‘My best hole today was a birdie (minimum), my worst was a double bogey (maximum), and most of my holes were pars and bogeys (the middle range).’
Maximum = the highest number. Minimum = the lowest number. Median = the middle number when all values are put in order.
If you had 17 great holes and 1 terrible hole in a round, would the average, maximum, minimum, or median best represent how you played? Why?
After your next round (or using scores from your golf diary), list your score for every hole you played. Put them in order from lowest to highest. Find: your maximum score (worst hole), your minimum score (best hole), and your median score (middle value). Draw a number line from your minimum to your maximum and mark all your hole scores on it. What does this picture tell you about your round?