Golfshot’s Strokes Gained statistic is the greatest new golf tool which transforms data into truly helpful golf analytics. By segmenting your game up into key areas throughout the hole, Strokes Gained delivers a heightened level of insight to empower players to analyze and improve their game.
Let’s take this opportunity to review a real world example of an actual Golfshot Pro member’s round using Strokes Gained!
First, let’s navigate to the Strokes Gained section of the app
To navigate to this screen from the home screen press Statistics > Strokes Gained.
The Strokes Gained feature will default on all rounds. You can press Last 20, Last 5 or the Filter icon to adjust the rounds for specific filtered Strokes Gained data.
Since we are reviewing the latest round of this member’s stats we press the Filter icon > Rounds > Last Round > X.
Now Let’s dig into the data!
The total Strokes Gained for this round is -2.8. This Golfshot golfer is playing 2.8 strokes behind an average Pro’s game for this course! They can make up ground to play on the level of a Pro by gaining 2.8 strokes in their next round at this course. It is useful to think of Strokes Gained as an opportunity!
It’s important to note many variables go into the calculation of Strokes Gained: location, distance, accuracy, and lie type. Golfshot’s Strokes Gained statistic is an average of all saved tracked shots, tracked with the Golfshot app, aggregated and separated into these key 4 categories: tee, approach, short game and putting. We focus on displaying round statistics: aka we take all the shots made in a certain category and then average them so you can see how you play on that region of the hole!
Where do the Numbers Come From?
Strokes Gained at its core is simply finding the difference between a set of general averages against your averages. In Golfshot’s case, we use pros’ averages and compare their stats against yours. We’ll start with an example below.
Each hole on a given course has numbers assigned to every position you could take a shot from. Strokes Gained uses those numbers to figure out how you stack up against the pros by taking account of the before and after position of your shot.
As you can see above, you took your shot in a position that takes 3 shots on average to hole out, and landed in a position that takes 2.06 shots to hole out from. Do the math, subtract your swing, and you have your strokes gained for the tee of that hole, which is -0.06.
To understand the exact opportunity here, lets review the 4 key Strokes Gained categories for this round:
Tee Shot: -.06
All shots off taken from the tee box
All tee shots for this round average to a Strokes Gained of -.06. For each tee shot, Golfshot takes into account the tee box location, distance, accuracy, lie type and the ending location of this shot. This Golfshot golfer is only -.06 behind an average Pro golfer’s stats for tee shots. They are really driving the distance!
Approach Shot: +2.28
All approach shots taken from outside of 50 yards from the green.
For this round, the Golfshot golfer’s average approach shots are +2.28. This means the golfer is gaining on a Pro by 2.28 strokes per round for this area of the hole and difficulty. This is an indicator that their approach game is strong! The Golfshot golfer is gaining 2.28 strokes on a Pro on average on the fairway.
Short Game: -2.06
All shots taken within 50 ft of the green but not made from the green surface.
All short game shots for this round, usually chip shots, average out to be -2.06 behind a Pro’s game. It takes into account the accuracy and proximity to the hole of the shot, as well as the difficulty of the shot based on your lie type. This Golfshot golfer is -2.06 strokes behind a Pro for their short game.
Putting: -2.96
All shots taken on the green surface
For this round, the Golfshot golfer has a Strokes Gained of -2.96 for all Putts. It takes into account the number of putts taken, as well as the length and difficulty of the putts. If this Golfshot golfer were to lower their total number of putts for the next round, they would improve their Putting Strokes Gained stat and approach Pro level play on the green!
Based on the comprehensive analysis within these four categories, we can see that focusing on short game and putting would significantly improve this golfer’s performance and ultimately lower their score! Additionally, the ability of filters to assess statistics on a per-round or per-course basis further enhances the insights of play inherent in different courses. Filters also provide the ability to track progress over time, allowing our golfers to make meaningful comparisons and provide valuable insights into their evolving skill development. By leveraging Golfshot’s Strokes Gained feature, this golfer can optimize their training regimen and play better golf!
If you need any assistance in reviewing your Strokes Gained stats or questions please contact our Golfshot support team at support@golfshot.com.