Who invented strokes gained?

Strokes gained was pioneered by Columbia University professor Mark Broadie, who introduced it in his 2014 book "Every Shot Counts." The PGA Tour adopted it as an official statistic and it has since become the gold standard for measuring golf performance.

What are the four strokes gained categories?

The four categories are: Off the Tee (drives and tee shots), Approach (shots from the fairway or rough to the green), Around the Green (chips, pitches, and bunker shots near the green), and Putting (all putts once on the green).

How is strokes gained calculated?

For each shot, the model looks up the expected number of strokes to hole out from that position. It compares that to the expected strokes from where the ball ends up. The difference — plus 1 for the shot taken — is the strokes gained or lost on that shot.

Can I use strokes gained as a beginner?

Yes. You do not need to understand the math to benefit from it. Apps like Chip Caddie compute strokes gained automatically and tell you in plain English where your game is leaking — for example, "you lose most of your shots on approach plays." That is more actionable than just knowing your score.

Is strokes gained better than handicap for understanding your game?

They answer different questions. Your handicap tells you your overall level. Strokes gained tells you WHERE you gain or lose those strokes — off the tee, on approach, around the green, or putting. You need both: the handicap tells you how far you are from your goal; strokes gained tells you which part of your game to fix first.

What does a positive strokes gained mean?

A positive strokes gained number means you performed better than the baseline for that category. For example, Strokes Gained: Putting of +1.5 for a round means your putting was worth 1.5 fewer strokes than average — you putted very well.

What is a good strokes gained number?

For amateurs, breaking even (near 0.0) in a category is respectable. Most recreational golfers lose strokes in all four categories relative to the tour baseline. If one category is significantly more negative than the others, that is where to focus practice.

What is Strokes Gained in Golf? A Beginner's Guide

Strokes gained is the most useful stat in golf — it tells you not just your score, but where you gained or lost each stroke. Here's what it means, how it's calculated, and how to use it.

What is strokes gained?

Strokes gained is a golf statistic that answers a simple question: compared to average, how many strokes did you gain or lose on each shot?

The "average" is a massive database of shots from golfers at every skill level. For each position on the course — say, 150 yards from the pin, lying in the fairway — the data tells us the average number of strokes it takes a player to hole out from there. That number is called the expected strokes to hole out.

Now the math: when you hit a shot, you started at position A (with some expected-strokes value) and ended at position B (with a different expected-strokes value). The strokes gained on that one shot is:

Strokes Gained = (expected strokes at A) − (expected strokes at B) − 1

The "−1" accounts for the shot you just hit. If the result is positive, you did better than average. If it's negative, you left strokes on the table.

A plain-English example

Say you're 150 yards from the pin, in the fairway. The database says the average golfer at your skill level takes 3.1 more shots to hole out from there.

You hit a 7-iron that lands 8 feet from the pin. From 8 feet on the green, the average golfer takes 1.6 more shots to hole out (most people make an 8-footer; some miss once).

Your strokes gained on that approach shot: 3.1 − 1.6 − 1 = +0.5

You gained half a stroke on that shot — better than average. Now imagine you three-putt from 8 feet. The strokes gained on your putting would be 1.6 − 0 − 2 = −0.4 (you used 2 putts when the average is 1.6). You gave back the gain.

Note: the numbers above are illustrative examples, not real measured data.

The four strokes gained categories

Modern SG analysis splits the game into four areas — so instead of just knowing your total, you know where the strokes went:

🚀 Off the Tee (SG: OTT): Everything from the tee box on par 4s and par 5s. Measures how far and straight you drive compared to baseline. Strong drivers gain strokes here; slicer who can't keep it in play lose them.
🎯 Approach the Green (SG: APP): Shots from the fairway, rough, or on par 3 tee shots aimed at the green. This is the biggest separator between tour pros and amateurs — pros consistently hit greens from 150 yards; most recreational golfers don't.
🏌️ Around the Green (SG: ARG): Chips, pitches, and greenside bunker shots within ~30 yards of the green. The difference between saving a bogey and making double. Tour pros get up-and-down more than 60% of the time; average amateurs about 20%.
⛳ Putting (SG: PUTT): All strokes on the green. The most talked-about category — and the one that actually separates scores the least on tour, because pros are remarkably consistent. For recreational players, putting is huge: three-putting from 20 feet is very common and very expensive.

Why strokes gained beats the old stats

Before strokes gained, golfers tracked things like greens in regulation (GIR) or putts per round. These stats have a hidden problem: they lie about causation.

Example: a player who misses every green but chips to 2 feet will have a great putts-per-round number — not because they putt well, but because their short-game bailed them out. GIR punishes a long hitter who hits a wedge to 5 feet and makes the putt, because they "missed" GIR by landing short of the regulation spot.

Strokes gained fixes this. Every shot is judged on the situation it started from and where it ended up. A 5-foot tap-in gives you only a tiny SG credit — because most people make it. A 40-foot snake from off-fringe that drops in? Big gain.

The bottom line: traditional stats tell you what happened. Strokes gained tells you whether it was good.

How to use strokes gained as a beginner

You do not need to do any math yourself. Apps like Chip Caddie compute strokes gained from the shots you log and tell you the answer in plain English: "You lose most strokes on approach — getting the ball 20 feet closer per approach shot would drop your score by about 3."

As a beginner, here is the practical takeaway from strokes gained research:

Get it on the green. Approach play (SG: APP) is the biggest separator. If you can't reach a par 5 in two, don't try — lay up to a comfortable distance and hit a full wedge. One green hit beats two poor chips.
Stop three-putting. Long lag putts from 30+ feet cost amateurs the most strokes of all. Practice lag from distance, not 3-footers.
Don't bail out from fairway bunkers. Hitting a full 9-iron 130 yards out of a fairway bunker outperforms the chip-out-and-wedge approach in almost every scenario.
Driver matters less than you think. Distance is great, but accuracy off the tee matters more at distances under 250 yards. Keep it in play first.

Frequently asked questions

What is strokes gained in golf?: Strokes gained (SG) is a statistic that measures how many strokes you gained or lost compared to a baseline — the average number of strokes it takes to finish from a given distance and lie. A positive number means you did better than average; negative means worse.
Who invented strokes gained?: Strokes gained was pioneered by Columbia University professor Mark Broadie, who introduced it in his 2014 book "Every Shot Counts." The PGA Tour adopted it as an official statistic and it has since become the gold standard for measuring golf performance.
What are the four strokes gained categories?: The four categories are: Off the Tee (drives and tee shots), Approach (shots from the fairway or rough to the green), Around the Green (chips, pitches, and bunker shots near the green), and Putting (all putts once on the green).
How is strokes gained calculated?: For each shot, the model looks up the expected number of strokes to hole out from that position. It compares that to the expected strokes from where the ball ends up. The difference — plus 1 for the shot taken — is the strokes gained or lost on that shot.
Can I use strokes gained as a beginner?: Yes. You do not need to understand the math to benefit from it. Apps like Chip Caddie compute strokes gained automatically and tell you in plain English where your game is leaking — for example, "you lose most of your shots on approach plays." That is more actionable than just knowing your score.
Is strokes gained better than handicap for understanding your game?: They answer different questions. Your handicap tells you your overall level. Strokes gained tells you WHERE you gain or lose those strokes — off the tee, on approach, around the green, or putting. You need both: the handicap tells you how far you are from your goal; strokes gained tells you which part of your game to fix first.
What does a positive strokes gained mean?: A positive strokes gained number means you performed better than the baseline for that category. For example, Strokes Gained: Putting of +1.5 for a round means your putting was worth 1.5 fewer strokes than average — you putted very well.
What is a good strokes gained number?: For amateurs, breaking even (near 0.0) in a category is respectable. Most recreational golfers lose strokes in all four categories relative to the tour baseline. If one category is significantly more negative than the others, that is where to focus practice.