hakman123:
Also need to allow for an improvement in one aspect of your game, making another look worse!
Example: If you are currently not hitting many Par 5's in 2, then your 3rd shot counts towards your "Ave distance to the Pin" stat. As your long game improves, you hit the Par 5's more often in 2, and thus your 2nd shot counts instead of your 3rd. Obviously you expect the 3rd from around the green to be a lot closer than the 2nd from long range - so the improvement in your long game can put you further from the pin, and make it harder to putt in 1.
True. Though I figure the number of par fours and threes will overwhelm reachable 5s. The opposite is also true. My longest putt is longer than that of a lot of really good players' precisely because they were never that far from the hole to begin with!