pga tour strokes gained off the tee

Strokes Gained Explained – How To Stop Losing Strokes

Golfers love numbers.

We love to crunch every piece of information we can get our hands on. That’s why we…

• Wear golf GPS devices and use rangefinders to find exact distances. 
• Log our stats after rounds played into different apps like Shot Scope to track average strokes and performance over time.
• Buy launch monitors to track different data points in practice so we’re more prepared on the golf course.  

Which makes sense because the more you know your numbers, the better you can play golf. 

Numbers make things black and white. As Peter Drucker said,  “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”  

Luckily for golfers, there’s an endless amount of numbers to help you learn more about your golf game.

All in the hopes of getting better and seeing how many strokes you can drop off your score. One of the most important metrics in all of golf is  strokes gained .

Anytime you watch golf on TV, chances are that announcers are constantly talking about this metric. But I bet most golf fans watching have no clue what it actually means or how to use it to improve your own game. 

However, when you do learn this critical statistic, it can help you shoot lower scores. Plus, it can make golf more enjoyable to watch on TV and won’t feel like the announcers are speaking in a foreign language.

Keep reading to learn everything about strokes gained.

Strokes Gained Analysis – Why This Number Means So Much 

On any given shot, you want to know your numbers. Knowing exact numbers not only help in the game of golf but anything in life you want to improve. Think about it…

With weight, the more you measure your body, step on the scale, and track your body fat, the easier it is to make positive changes. To gain muscle, the more you track your workouts , reps, and sets, the easier it is to gain strength.

Golf is no different. 

The more you measure each component of your game, the easier it is to practice more efficiently. Which in turn, should lead to shooting lower scores as you turn your weaknesses into strengths. 

While numbers and data are super helpful, sometimes it’s a little overwhelming though. Especially when it comes to tracking your stats . Using apps and other methods we’ll outline in this post, you can have hundreds of data points from every round of golf.

Some of the more common golf stats include:

• Number of greens hit.
• Number of fairways hit.
• Total numbers of putts.
• Scrambling percentage.

While more advanced golf stats might include:

• Sand saves 
• Strokes gained 
• Scoring average
• Putting make rate 
• Proximity to the hole 
• Driving distance/accuracy

Of the endless sea of data, I would argue that  strokes gained  is arguably the most important metric of all. Here’s why… 

History and Definition of Strokes Gained 

Before diving into why strokes gained is such an important metric, let’s first define it. 

According to the  PGA Tour , 

“The strokes gained concept was initially developed by Professor Mark Broadie of Columbia University, utilizing ShotLink data that has been made available to academic institutions for research since 2007. 

Strokes gained is a better method for measuring performance because it compares a player’s performance to the rest of the field and because it can isolate individual aspects of the game. Traditional golf statistics, such as greens in regulation and putts per green, are influenced by a player’s performance on shots other than those being measured.”

Creator of Strokes Gained 

So who invented the strokes gained category?

Mark Broadie, who used his financial background to change the golf world forever. Now, the PGA Tour has endless data as Shotlink tracks every single shot these guys hit, which is great for a few reasons.

So, why does strokes gained matter so much? 

First, all this data lets see how the best players in the world perform. You can go onto the PGA Tour website at any given time to check out every stat imaginable. For specific events and total season numbers… It’s fascinating to see them! 

Second, this is great for amateurs because it gives up something to strive towards. I’ve found that a lot of times the everyday golfer thinks we should be better than we are. But when you look at some stats from the PGA Tour, even the best players in the world aren’t perfect… far from it.

For example, most everyday players think that PGA Tour players all bomb it off the tee. But the stats say otherwise. In the 2021 PGA Tour season, the average driving distance was 296 yards. 

Don’t get me wrong, nearly 300 yards is impressive, but that’s the average. A lot of players were well below that (with K.J. Choi being the shortest at 269 yards). 

Here are some other metrics that might surprise you from the 2021 PGA Tour season:

• 65% – Average GIR (green in regulation) 
• 29.01 – Average number of putts per round 
• 50% – Sand save percentage (this one is the most shocking to me) 

Read our article on Golf Statistics by Handicap to see what these numbers should be for your level.

Players use this data to work on certain parts of their games and strive to make improvements. While individual stats are important, strokes gained is the best measure of their overall performance. 

Strokes Gained Explained – Improving Your Golf Game

Strokes gained is the metric for success on the PGA Tour.

It compiles all kinds of data points to give players an idea of where things need to be improved. But as they have more data than ever, strokes gained are also changing. It’s not just one number, instead, it’s broken down into multiple categories including: 

Strokes Gained Total 

The first category for this stat ever was the total strokes gained.

As the PGA Tour said,  “Strokes gained: total simply compares a player’s score to the field average. For example, a player will gain three strokes on the field if he shoots 69 on a day when the field averages 72. A player who shoots 74 on that day loses two strokes to the field.”

In 2014, this number was broken down further into tee to green and putting. Since then, they’ve added additional data points, so the categories have expanded as well.  

Strokes Gained Tee to Green

So, what does strokes gained tee to green mean? 

Tee to green measures all shots that don’t happen on the putting green.

This includes each tee shot, approach shots, recovery shots, chips/pitches, and anything else off the dance floor. Basically, every shot that happens without a putter in your hand. 

Strokes Gained Driving (Off The Tee)

The strokes gained for “Off the tee” measures how a player performs on all par 4 and par 5 tee shots a given round.

Note : This does not factor in par 3’s as that is considered in our next statistic – approach to green. This is only tee box performance on par 4’s and par 5’s.

Strokes Gained Approach to Green 

While strokes gained off the tee is great to understand your long game better, approach the green helps understand your mid-game. This metric measures performance on your approach shots which include:

• Tee shots on par 3s
• Approach shots on par 4s
• Approach shots on par 5s 

For par 4s and 5s, things like fairway vs rough (or intermediate rough), how many shots it takes to get to the green, and more factors contribute to this statistical analysis.

Strokes Gained Around The Green (Scrambling) 

Next up is the around the green strokes gained number, which measures performance from 30 yards of the edge of the green. Basically, how well players scramble when they miss the green.

It’s important to note that this stat is specifically for around the green – not on the dance floor. 

This is a great metric to help you strengthen your short game and gain strokes around the green. When it comes to how you’re putting performance, that is the next and final statistic. 

Strokes Gained Putting

The final stat but definitely not least important is  strokes gained putting . Most strokes happen here and one of the reasons why short games are so vital to shooting lower scores.

As I’m sure you know, putting is arguably one of the most significant stats in golf. The better you roll it, the better your score. A three putt vs. a two putt vs. a one putt can make all the difference in a player’s game.

A scratch golfer tends to have fewer putts than most amateur golfers but more than a PGA Tour Pro (on average).

That’s why strokes gained putting is such a critical metric. This statistic measures how many strokes you gain or lose based on your putting performance. 

It clearly shows if you’re doing well with putting or if you need to change something up. 

The Formula for Strokes Gained Data

Now that you have a better understanding of the different categories, let’s get into the formula. This is the confusing part of the metric and luckily, not something you have to manually calculate.

There are tons of apps and programs that do the math for you. But here is a quick breakdown to give you the 30,000-foot view: 

• Strokes gained statistics starts by figuring out the average score of the hole to establish a baseline. For example, a hard par 4 might be 4.2 or 4.3 (over par), while an easy par 5 might be 4.8 (below par). 
• Then, after you hit your tee shot, more calculations come into play. Specifically, if you hit it in the fairway or rough and what your distance is to the green for your second shot. For example, if you have 100 yards into a par 4 vs. 180 yards, your SG will be lower the closer you are for your approach. Since the PGA Tour knows that the average player scores less the closer they are to the green and when playing from the fairway. 
• Once you hit your approach shot, more factors come into play. If you hit the green, your chances of making a 3 or 4 increase, thus, your strokes gained approach is better. If you miss the green, then scrambling and other factors come into play. 
• Finally, what you do on the putting green will be the final factor. How far or close you are not the hole plays a big role as the PGA Tour stats have shown, the closer you are, the more likely you are to make the putt. 

If you want to see the full calculations in an example from Rickie Fowler in the 2015 Players Championship,  click here . 

Strokes Gained App 

As you can tell, a lot goes into these calculations and isn’t simple math you can do on your own. You need the help of a golf app to do the hard work for you so you can reap the benefits. It might help you drop five strokes or really any strokes from your game!

If you’re interested in tracking more of your game to get strokes gained statistics, make sure to use one of these apps to get started. 

Shot Tracker V1 Game

Turn your phone into a stat tracking wizard with the Shot Tracker V1 game. It is a premium app that does require a subscription but most of them do. It’s worth every penny though as you get amazing insight into your game.

This app has an easy-to-use dashboard to see your results and analyze your game. You can also sync it up with your Apple Watch as well. 

Arccos Shot Tracking

Arccos is another shot tracking app that is very different from most apps. To get this device to work, you screw club tags into each grip so your phone can detect each shot. It uses GPS to track the club and location of each shot.

A lot of clubs actually come with them installed in the grip and a free 30-day trial as well. You can also upgrade to a belt clip and leave your phone in the golf cart.

Decades App (BirdieFire)

One statistic tracking program that I’ve been quite impressed with is the Decades App. It’s an impressive app that lets you track every part of your game imaginable. While it takes some time to enter your stats, it’s worth it. 

After picking your course and entering all your shots, it will give you an inside look at your performance. Specifically, look at the strokes gained categories:

As you can tell, it breaks SG into four categories and compares my numbers vs. PGA Tour average (you can change this setting inside the app). Overall, it makes it easy to see where I should focus most of my practice time and spot trends. 

This app has a learning curve at first but it’s well worth it. Luckily, there are tons of webinars and training videos inside the app to show you the best ways to use it and tons of other hacks to better golf. 

Go here to read all about our favorite golf apps.

Recommended Book: Every Shot Counts by Mark Broadie

Mark Broadie’s book called “Every Shot Counts” is another great book for most golfers to learn this important stat. This book provides an in-depth look on why this stat matters and how to help understand it for lower scores. 

What’s fascinating about Mark Broadie is his background. He worked in the financial world for quite some time and learned the importance of analytics and applied them to golf. He crunched endless amounts of data from professionals and amateurs alike to help players improve. 

It’s a fascinating read and provides great insight into what makes great players great. Make every shot count by reading this book sooner rather than later. 

Click here to learn more about it on Amazon now.

FAQs About Strokes Gained Statistics

Do you have more questions about this important metric in order to better understand and implement it in your game? If so, we have answers to your FAQs below. 

What does it mean strokes gained?

It’s a metric to gauge a player’s performance when compared to other players using a set of data points. It measures tons of different data points in order to give out a specific score and in multiple categories. 

How are strokes gained calculated?

The strokes gained calculation isn’t something you can do on your own. It takes a ton of different factors into consideration such as hole length, lie type, shot length, and more.  

Plus, strokes gained are now divided up into multiple parts of your game to better understand each component. While there is a total score, using apps and other programs like Decades Golf or Shot Scope, you can get individual parts too.

For example, when you enter in your stats and shots for a round into Decades Golf, you get strokes gained for off the tee, approach to the green, around the green, and putting. Having separate numbers for each section makes it easier to figure out your weakness and spend more time practicing them. 

Are strokes gained good?  

Yes, it’s a great metric as it measures overall performance and individual components as well. It’s much better than just looking at stats such as fairways, greens, or total putts. 

This is why I started using different stat tracking apps to get the most out of my game. For example, after tournament rounds, I enter all my stats into Decades to track my data. This software does all the heavy lifting and makes it easy to see where to improve and what to work on in practice.

What is bogey avoidance?

When you use advanced stat tracking apps, you get an incredible amount of data including ones like this. Bogey avoidance is the measure of percentage of time a player makes a bogey on a hole (or worse).

Are negative strokes gained good?

No, strokes gained are always positive or negative.

A positive number means that you were above average for total or a specific category. While a negative number means you were below average and thus, worse than the benchmark. 

Final Thoughts on Strokes Gained 

Learning strokes gained can absolutely help your golf game.

Even if you drop one stroke, it’s worth tracking each golf shot during a round. Of course, it only works if you actually use the right apps and track strokes gained data over time. 

But it’s important to not get so obsessed with the numbers that it does the exact opposite and ends up hurting your game. Knowing these numbers will make watching golf more enjoyable and will help you learn where to practice.

All I ask is that you don’t let it consume you like changing your swing and end up making things worse. Track your stats, use some of the apps mentioned above, and have fun on the golf course.

If you want to lower your handicap, make sure to enter your rounds regularly, study strokes gained stats (specifically short game), and then practice improving the weak areas of your game. 

Remember, the numbers don’t lie, especially strokes gained!