Strokes Gained Golf: The Way to Lower Your Scores

If you're looking for live strokes gained stats for professional tournaments, the PGA Tour's official website and mobile app offer real-time strokes gained data for each player during events. Other sites like ShotLink and select tournament broadcasts may also feature updated strokes gained statistics as tournaments unfold.

In this guide, we'll break down exactly what strokes gained golf is, why it matters, and how you can start using it today to transform your game.

What Is Strokes Gained Stats in Golf?

It is a statistical method that measures your performance against a benchmark. Instead of looking at your total score, strokes gained breaks down your round into specific areas of the game and shows you where you're gaining or losing strokes compared to your peers.

Practical Example with Tour Pro Baseline

Here's how it works: Every shot you hit is assigned an expected number of strokes needed to hole out from that position based on the distance to the hole and the lie you're hitting from. Those expected strokes vary depending on the level of golfer you're benchmarking against (i.e., a PGA Tour player is expected to need less strokes from 160 yards away then a 15 handicap). If you leave your golf shot in a better position than expected, you gain strokes. If you leave it in a worse position, you lose strokes.

For example, let's say you're a 15 handicap golfer and you're 200 yards out in the fairway. A PGA Tour pro is expected to take 3.16 strokes to hole out from that distance. You knock it to 20ft - a position where, on average, a Tour Pro will take 1.87 shots to finish the hole. In this case, the formula would be [3.16 - 1.87 - 1 = 0.29] - you gained 0.29 strokes in that shot vs a Tour Pro (the "1" is the shot you took).

If you pull it left, and leave it 30 yards away on the rough, you're going to lose strokes because, from there, on average, a Tour Pro will take 2.61 strokes to finish the hole: [3.16 - 2.61 - 1 = -0.45] - you lost 0.45 strokes in that shot vs a Tour Pro.

Why Strokes Gained Golf Matters More Than Your Scorecard

Your scorecard only tells you one thing: how many strokes it took you to finish 18 holes. But it doesn't tell you why you shot that number.

Did you lose strokes because of poor driving? Weak approach shots? A cold putter? Without data, you're just guessing.

Strokes gained golf removes the guesswork. It shows you the brutal truth about your game in four key categories:

- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee - How well you drive the ball

- Strokes Gained: Approach - Quality of your iron play into greens

- Strokes Gained: Around the Green - Chipping, pitching, and bunker play

- Strokes Gained: Putting - Performance on the greens

Most golfers dramatically overestimate their strengths and underestimate their weaknesses. You might think your driver is the problem when really it's your approach shots from 100-150 yards that are bleeding strokes every round.

Strokes gained data cuts through the noise and gives you clarity. And when you know where you're losing strokes, you can focus your practice time on what actually matters.

The Four Categories of Strokes Gained Benchmark Analysis for Golfers

Let's dive deeper into each category so you understand exactly what you're measuring.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

This measures how well you hit your tee shots. It accounts for both distance and accuracy. A 290-yard bomb into the rough will most likely gain you strokes, while a 220-yard drive down the middle might cost you strokes - one of the big reasons behind the current "distance over accuracy" trend.

If your strokes gained off the tee is negative, you're likely struggling with consistency from the tee box. That might mean working on a more repeatable swing, choosing smarter clubs off the tee, or improving your course management strategy.

Strokes Gained: Approach

This is often the biggest differentiator between good golfers and great golfers. Approach shots measure how close you get the ball to the hole on your iron shots into the green - whether from the fairway, rough, or other lies.

A positive number here means you're consistently putting yourself in good positions when approaching the green. A negative number means you're leaving yourself long lag putts or putting unnecessary pressure on your short game.

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

This category covers all those crucial short game shots: chips, pitches, bunker shots, and any shot within 30 yards of the green. These are the shots that separate low handicappers from high handicappers.

If you're losing strokes around the green, it's a signal that you need to spend more time on the practice green working on distance control, lie variations, and developing a reliable short game routine.

Strokes Gained: Putting

A positive putting number means you're sinking your fair share of putts and avoiding costly three-putts. A negative number often points to issues with green reading, speed control, or a lack of a consistent pre-putt routine.

Putting is still in beta within Hole19's Intelligence Plan because we're refining the precision of putt distance tracking. Currently, we use GPS location and editable hole positions in the flyover. But even approximate data gives you valuable insights into whether your putting is helping or hurting your scores.

How to Track Strokes Gained with the Hole19 App

Now that you understand what strokes gained golf is, let's talk about how you actually track it.

Here's the reality: To get accurate strokes gained data, you need to track every shot you hit during a round. That includes tee shots, approach shots, chips, pitches, bunker shots, and putts. Every single one.

For years, this was a tedious process. Golfers had to manually input the lie, distance to hole, club used, and result for every shot. It slowed down play and frankly, most golfers gave up after a few holes.

That's where Hole19's Intelligence Plan changes everything.

With Hole19's auto shot tracking, the app uses GPS and advanced mapping to predict where you hit your shots from on the course and automatically recognise lies to track your shots in real time. All you have to do is confirm the club you hit and the lie (fairway, rough, bunker, etc.) with a single tap. That's it. One click per shot.

The app automatically tracks:

- Your starting position

- Distance of the shot you took

- The club you used

- Where your ball ended up (i.e., the lie you hit from)

- Distance remaining to the hole

With Hole19's Intelligence Plan, you'll unlock auto shot tracking which is powered by a trail in each hole with your predicted shot locations and this means you can track your shots after finishing each hole or track an entire round at home. No slowing down your pace of play or driving your playing partners crazy.

On Apple Watch, the experience is nearly identical - you just need to track each shot when you arrive at your ball rather than being able to do it at the end of the holes or round. But it's still a one-tap process that takes seconds.

Once you've tracked your round, Hole19's Intelligence Plan crunches the numbers and delivers your full strokes gained breakdown, benchmarks against golfers at your handicap level and even club dispersion & distance stats (coming soon).

What Makes Hole19 App's Shot Tracking Different

Let's be honest: There are other golf apps and devices that offer strokes gained analysis. But here's what makes Hole19 different - and better.

Auto Shot Tracking

Most systems require you to manually input lie type, distance, club, and result for every shot. Hole19 automates all of this with GPS detection and lie recognition. You confirm the club and lie with one tap, and you're done. It's the fastest shot tracking experience available. And you can do it after the round - no slowing down pace of play.

Otto AI Analysis

Raw strokes gained data is powerful, but it can also be overwhelming. What does it mean if you're losing 0.3 strokes per round on approach shots? What should you actually work on?

That's where Otto AI comes in.

Otto is Hole19's artificial intelligence coach/caddy that analyzes your rounds and translates it into clear, actionable insights. After every round, Otto generates a personalized report that highlights the one thing you should focus on to improve fastest.

Instead of drowning in data, you get a clear game plan: "Your biggest opportunity is approach shots from 125-150 yards. Focus your practice on dialing in your 8 and 9 iron distances."

This is the differentiator. Otto turns data into decisions.

Handicap-Based Benchmarking

Hole19's strokes gained analysis allows you to compare yourself to golfers at your handicap level - not only PGA Tour players or scratch golfers. This gives you a realistic picture of where you stand and where you can improve relative to your actual peer group.

Free CORE Golf Subscription for Life

When you upgrade to Hole19's Intelligence Plan ($99.99/year), you also get lifetime access to CORE Golf, Hole19's practice app for iOS. CORE helps you structure your range sessions with purpose-driven drills, discipline tracking, and progress monitoring - so you can turn your strokes gained insights into real improvement.

Getting Started: How to Use Strokes Gained to Improve Your Handicap

Ready to start using strokes gained analysis to lower your scores? Here's how to get started with Hole19:

- Step 1: Download the Hole19 App

Available on iOS and Android, Hole19 is one of the most trusted golf GPS app used by millions of golfers worldwide. Download it for free and explore the core features like GPS yardages, scorecards, and course maps.

- Step 2: Upgrade to Intelligence Plan

To access auto shot tracking, strokes gained analysis, Otto AI reports, and CORE Golf, upgrade to Hole19's Intelligence Plan for $99.99/year. This also includes all Premium features like plays like distances, shot tracking (shot by shot), club recommendations, and more.

- Step 3: Track Every Shot

This is the key. Play a full 18-hole round and track every shot - tee shots, approaches, chips, putts, everything. Use the auto shot tracking feature to keep it fast and simple.

- Step 4: Review Your Otto AI Report

After your round, check your strokes gained breakdown and read Otto's personalized insights. Identify your biggest weakness and make a plan to address it in practice.

- Step 5: Monitor Trends Over Time

One round of data is helpful. Five rounds of data is transformative. As you track more rounds, you'll see trends emerge. Hole19's performance section (coming soon with visual trend charts) will make it even easier to monitor your progress and celebrate improvements.

- Step 6: Practice with Purpose

Use CORE Golf to structure your practice sessions around your strokes gained weaknesses. Track your discipline, complete targeted drills, and watch your game improve faster than ever.

Final Thoughts: Data-Driven Golf Is the Future

Strokes gained golf isn't just a buzzword - it's the most effective way to understand your game, identify weaknesses, and make real progress toward lower scores.

For too long, strokes gained analysis was reserved for tour players and data geeks willing to manually track every shot. But with Hole19's Intelligence Plan features, it's now accessible to every golfer who wants to play smarter.

With auto shot tracking, Otto AI insights, and handicap-based benchmarking, Hole19 makes it easier than ever to track your performance, understand your game, and focus your practice time on what actually moves the needle.

If you're serious about breaking through your scoring plateau, strokes gained analysis is the missing piece. And Hole19 is the tool that makes it simple.

Download Hole19 today and start tracking your way to better golf.