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How Strokes Gained Works

How Strokes Gained Works

Summary Strokes gained is a powerful advanced metric with far-reaching consequences in the golf world.
There are numerous articles in major publications that address strokes gained and recognize it as a
History Of Strokes Gained statistic that will change the way golf is played and understood. Unfortunately, those same articles
portray the math behind the statistics as beyond the grasp of most normal people. There is an
Deficiency of Traditional Stats
overwhelming perception that the strokes gained method is too complex for non-statisticians to
Development of the Strokes understand.
Gained Stat
However, you may be surprised to learn that strokes gained is really a very simple concept. The
The PGA Tour Benchmark truth is, the process of generating strokes gained statistics is extremely intuitive, and the math
involved is simple subtraction. Below, we will do our best to demystify strokes gained golf stats,
Shot Value showing step by step how they work. Hopefully, we can help you understand that while strokes
gained is powerful, it is also simple. It is far-reaching in scope, but elegant and intuitive to create
Implementation and Progress and use.
Adoption by Amateurs The Benchmark
How Strokes Gained Works The first concept to understand is the establishment of strokes-to-hole benchmarks. This is the key
that unlocks strokes gained, and the work has already been done. These benchmarks are the
The Benchmark average strokes-to-hole from every possible position and lie on a golf course, generated by a
consistently performing group of golfers. The numbers have been determined with extreme
Calculating Strokes Gained For
accuracy by using ShotLink™ data, representing millions of shots performed by PGA Tour pros
Each Shot
during real tournaments over the course of many years.
Calculating Strokes Gained for
The benchmark numbers are simply the average number of strokes it takes PGA Tour pros to hole
Groups of Shots
out from any position on the golf course. Every ball at rest is defined by the two most important
Tracking Strokes Gained Over variables for a golf shot: the distance-to-hole and lie type.
Time
The result is a table with the average strokes-to-hole from 0-600 yards, for each lie type including
Creating New Benchmarks tee, fairway, rough, sand, and "recovery" shots. A portion of the benchmarks table looks like this:
Distance Tee Fairway Rough Sand Recovery
Targets

Your Strokes Gained 10 2.18 2.34 2.43 3.45

"Handicap"
15 2.29 2.47 2.48 3.48
What Strokes Gained Statistics 20 2.40 2.59 2.53 3.51
Can Do For You and Your Golf 25 2.46 2.65 2.60 3.54
Game 30 2.52 2.70 2.66 3.57
What Stats 35 2.56 2.74 2.74 3.64
StrokesGainedGolf.com Offers 40 2.60 2.78 2.82 3.71
You 45 2.63 2.83 2.87 3.75
Strokes Gained Handicap 50 2.66 2.87 2.92 3.79

This table shows the strokes-to-hole benchmarks for distances from 0 to 50 yards, for each lie type.

There is a separate table for putting, measured in feet rather than yards. A portion of the table
looks like this, with 1-, 2-, and 3-putt percentages included:
Distance putts 1-% 2-% 3-%

1.00 1.00 100.0% 0.0% 0.0%

1.50 1.01 99.5% 0.0% 0.1%
2.00 1.01 99.0% 0.1% 0.1%
2.50 1.03 97.0% 2.5% 0.2%
3.00 1.05 95.0% 5.0% 0.2%
3.50 1.10 90.5% 9.5% 0.2%
4.00 1.15 86.0% 14.0% 0.2%
4.50 1.20 80.5% 19.5% 0.3%
5.00 1.26 75.0% 25.0% 0.3%
5.50 1.31 70.0% 30.0% 0.3%
6.00 1.36 65.0% 35.0% 0.3%
6.50 1.40 60.5% 39.5% 0.4%
7.00 1.44 56.0% 44.0% 0.4%
7.42 1.47 53.0% 46.5% 0.5%
7.83 1.50 50.0% 49.0% 0.5%
7.92 1.51 49.5% 50.0% 0.5%
8.00 1.52 49.0% 51.0% 0.5%

Calculating Strokes Gained For Each Shot

With benchmark tables firmly in hand, calculating the strokes gained value for a given shot is not
at all difficult. The first thing to understand is that a strokes gained value is either positive or
negative. A positive value means the stroke was better than the benchmark, and a negative value
means the stroke was worse than the benchmark. The second thing to understand is that the value
is in terms of strokes, or more precisely fractions of strokes to the hundredth. The third thing to
understand is that in order to calculate the strokes gained value of a given shot, you need four
simple but vital pieces of information: the pre-shot distance-to-hole, the pre-shot lie type, the post-
shot distance-to-hole, and the post-shot lie type.

In order to make strokes calculation perfectly clear, we will use an example of a golfer on a course:
let’s call him Tom.

Tom is standing on the tee box on the third hole of Big Duffer Country Club. He is playing the black
tees, and tees off 430 yards from the hole. So we already know the vital pre-shot info:

Pre-shot distance-to-hole: 430 yards

Pre-shot lie type: Tee

A look at the strokes-to-hole table shows that 430Tee has a strokes-to-hole value of 4.05. So we
know that on average a PGA Tour Pro takes just over 4 strokes to complete a hole of this length.

Tom hits his tee shot well, and his ball now rests in the fairway 140 yards from the hole. So now we
know the vital post-shot data:

Post-shot distance-to-hole: 140 yards

Post-shot lie type: Fairway

Another look at the table shows a strokes-to-hole value of 2.91 for the new position.

To calculate the strokes gained value for the shot, we simply subtract using this formula:

(Pre-shot strokes-to-hole value) – (Post-shot strokes-to-hole value) – 1.00 = strokes gained value

So for Tom’s tee shot, we plug in the proper values so the formula looks like this:

(4.05) – (2.91) – 1 = (+0.14)

That is all there is to it. For his tee shot, Tom gained .14 strokes on the PGA Tour average, which
makes sense since he hit the ball around 290 yards in the fairway.

On his next shot, Tom hits the ball from 140 yards in the fairway (2.91) to a greenside bunker, 15
yards from the hole. A look at the strokes-to-hole table shows that a ball 15 yards from the hole in
the sand is 2.48. So for the shot from the fairway, the formula looks like this:

(2.91) – (2.48) – 1 = (-0.57)

Tom’s shot into the bunker was clearly poor, losing over half a stroke to the PGA Tour average.

On his next shot, Tom hits out of the bunker onto the green, 9 feet from the hole:

Distance-to-hole: 9 feet
Lie Type: Green

The table shows that a ball 9 feet from the green has a strokes-to-hole value of 1.58. So for shot #3,
the formula looks like this:

(2.48) – (1.58) – 1 = (-0.10)

Not a bad shot from the bunker, but Tom lost 0.1 strokes to the benchmark on that shot.

From nine feet, Tom runs his putt by and the ball comes to rest 3 feet from the hole. The new
position on the green has a strokes-to-hole value of 1.05. The formula for the putt from 9 feet looks
like this:

(1.58) – (1.05) – 1 = (-0.47)

Tom then sinks the 3 footer, with the formula looking like this:

(1.05) – (0.00) – 1 = (+.05)

Tom only gains .05 of a stroke for making the 3 footer, but it’s better than missing!

A simple table showing all five strokes for the hole looks like this:
Stroke 1 430T 140F +.14
Stroke 2 140F 15S -.57
Stroke 3 15S 9G -.10
Stroke 4 9G 3G -.47
Stroke 5 3G Cup +.05

We can see clearly that strokes gained can measure each shot. We can also see that strokes gained
for the entire hole is -.95. This can be calculated two different ways. The strokes-to-hole value for
430 Tee is 4.05. Tom took 5 strokes to complete the hole: .95 worse than the benchmark. We can
also just add up the strokes gained value for all the shots taken:

(+.14) – (.57) – (.10) – (.47) + (.05) = (-.95)

It is important to note that the strokes gained value for the hole does not measure how many
strokes were gained or lost to par, but to the average strokes it takes a PGA Tour pro to put the ball
in the hole of that length.

Calculating Strokes Gained for Groups of Shots

Beyond measuring the quality of individual strokes, strokes gained also has the ability to measure
any aggregate of shots. For example, we can easily add up Tom’s strokes gained values for all shots
taken during a 9-hole or 18-hole round. More importantly, we can carefully select a particular
category to measure for the round. For example, we can add the strokes gained values for all
strokes taken from a "green" lie type to get "Strokes Gained Putting" for the round. We can add the
strokes gained values for all strokes taken from the tee on par 4’s and par 5’s to get a very useful
"Strokes Gained Driving" statistic - a true measure of driving performance by which golfers may be
ranked with scientific accuracy, unlike the traditional "Total Driving". We can essentially select any
category of shots we like. Getting very specific, we could add the strokes gained values of all non-
green shots between 0 and 75 yards. Potential categories that may be analyzed are virtually
unlimited.

Tracking Strokes Gained Over Time

Recording strokes gained data for multiple rounds of golf leads to another exciting result: the
ability to track change over time in any category. For example, you could see all of your strokes
gained statistics in all categories for all rounds played over the course of a season or in the next few
weeks or months after a lesson. This allows you to track progression and/or regression for any skill
with precision. You can track your putting, driving, short game, or mid-irons precisely over time,
knowing exactly where you have improved or where you have been worse. Gone are the days of
guessing how well you are performing in a particular skill or distance range: now you can know
exactly how well you are putting or driving from round to round. Now, instead of "feeling" like you
are driving the ball better, the stats will show clearly and precisely how much better you are driving
the ball in terms of how many strokes it has actually gained you. This information can be used to
plan practice time more effectively, as well as make each shot a little more interesting. You may
have a day when much of your game is below average, but you are putting so well that it keeps your
motivation going during a round, knowing that the stats will show an outstanding day of putting.
In other words, rather than ending a round with one score to measure your game, you can
simultaneously be playing multiple "games within the game".

Creating New Benchmarks

With enough amateur data, custom benchmarks can easily be created for friends, particular
handicap levels, for yourself, or a number of other interesting measures. The core statistics
resulting from strokes gained analysis essentially compare each of your shots to the average result
expected from PGA Tour pros from the same position. For most of us, this may seem like a
daunting proposition. For most of us, the vast majority of our shots are not likely to look good in
comparison. However, you may be surprised at how many shots you hit during a round that are
better than the PGA Tour average. It is a very nice feeling to know that you just hit a shot or a putt
of PGA Tour quality! A few of these shots each round are what keep us coming back to the game.
You could even award the best shot during a round played with friends, without having to be
subjective, by simply observing which shot gained the most strokes.

In addition, strokes gained analysis allows you to compare yourself not only to Tour Pros, but to
anyone you like. For example, you can see how each shot compares to a 10 handicap or a 20
handicap player. In other words, strokes gained easily allows for comparisons to any other player
or group of player: the PGA Tour benchmark is only the raw, initial source of comparison. So while
the numbers will always show you how you stack up to the highest quality golf, they can
simultaneously show you how you stack up against a friend or a person of a given handicap level.

In addition, you will always be able to compare you shots or you rounds to your own level! You can
know with precision whether any shot was better or worse than your own average for a given
category. This is a very useful tool for measuring your progress.

Targets

Strokes gained statistics and benchmarks also allow for the unique ability to establish various
targets for any shot. For example, standing over a shot from the fairway, 150 yard to the hole,
strokes gained benchmarks can immediately tell you where a pro would be expected to hit the shot,
where a 10 handicapper would be expected to hit the shot, or where you would be expected to hit
the shot. Similarly, after hitting a shot, you can know precisely the quality of the shot in terms of
what player would be expected to get that result. For example, you can know if the shot you just hit
was a Rory McIlroy level shot, a scratch golfer level shot, or a 30 handicapper level shot. This has
the potential to change the way you look at the game of golf, and may help you concentrate on the
importance of the shot at hand. Knowing precisely the quality of each shot naturally leads to a
habit that most golfers are trying to build: focusing on the shot at hand. Strokes gained analysis
helps you do this by offering a way to precisely measure the quality of each shot.

Your Strokes Gained "Handicap"

Your official handicap is determined by considering your last 20 rounds of golf. Strokes gained has
the ability to closely parallel the handicap system by measuring your strokes gained value in any
category by averaging your last 20 rounds. In this way, you have a way to measure your current
overall skill in any category, in the same way that a handicap measures your current golf level
overall. In this way, you can know that right now you are, for example, a -3.23 putter, a -0.53 in the
0-50 yard range, and a +0.38 driver. Or, viewed in another way, you might putt like a typical 20-
handicapper, have the short game of a 4 handicapper, and drive like a scratch golfer. In other
words, you can keep a “strokes gained handicap” for every skill that changes over time just like
your handicap changes over time.

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Patent no. US9542596B2