Strokes gained

[mackdaddy]

Can someone explain strokes gained to me?  When I look at the testing data these days I can't figure out how one club ranks higher than the others.  What are the key factors that go into the data?  Because when I compare the raw data in the spread sheets you give us I can't figure out how say the Wilson D7 is the best iron in it's category and the 0311 gen 3 is near the worst.  The raw stats given are nearly indistinguishable.  I only play clubs I have been fit for but I still enjoy looking at your findings.  I just wish I could understand the data.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Mackdaddy9
I want to know how they apply it to club ranking not the general principle!

[cnosil]

Sounds like you are taking about the strokes gained numbers on the most wanted testing.

Strokes gained is a comparison against a baseline.

Basically a middle performance number is determined based on how all clubs performed. if a club performs better it gets a positive strokes gained that increases the better the performance. The worse it performs the lower the number.

[LeftyRM7]

If you’re wanting to understand strokes gained in general, not just how they use it in most wanted testing, I highly recommend reading Mark Broadies book, Every Shot Counts.


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[mackdaddy]

Thanks

 

[Buffly]

5 hours ago, LeftyRM7 said:

If you’re wanting to understand strokes gained in general, not just how they use it in most wanted testing, I highly recommend reading Mark Broadies book, Every Shot Counts.


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Is there a cliff notes version? Or a YouTube video?

[cnosil]

Is there a cliff notes version? Or a YouTube video?

Sure. ... strokes gained is a comparison of how you play against others. Statistics were collected on how many strokes it took to get the ball in the hole from various distances. If you do it in less you gained strokes if you do it in more you lose strokes.

[Buffly]

8 hours ago, cnosil said:

Sure. ... strokes gained is a comparison of how you play against others. Statistics were collected on how many strokes it took to get the ball in the hole from various distances. If you do it in less you gained strokes if you do it in more you lose strokes.

Smirk, not exactly what I meant. 

[FrogginBullfish]

It's not a long book and it's well worth the read, imo. Mark Crossfield has several videos examining strokes gained as well.

There are readily available simplified explanations of it that can be found with a quick Google search. The basics are as cnosil said. It compiles the average strokes needed to finish out a hole based on yardage and lie and can be broken down throughout different skill levels. It allows you to then compare different aspects of your game against people of your own skill level or better to see where you're gaining or losing strokes to those people. Strokes Gained as a metric is broken down into Off the Tee play, Approach play, Around the Green play, and Putting play. You may also see Strokes Gained: Total which is just a sum of all of those categories, or Strokes Gained: Tee to Green which is a sum of the first 3 categories.

An example of Strokes Gained is as follows.

A 400 yard hole off the tee takes 3.99 strokes on average for a Tour Pro. Player A drives the ball 330 yards off the tee into the rough. Player B drives the ball 280 yards into the fairway.

Player A's Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
The average strokes to hole out from 70 yards in the rough is 2.93. Player A has gained 0.06 of a stroke compared to the baseline from his tee shot.

Player B's Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
The average strokes to hole out from 120 yards in the fairway is 2.85. Player B has gained 0.14 of a stroke compared to the baseline from his tee shot.

This idea continues for Approach play, Around the Green play, and Putting.

Is there a cliff notes version? Or a YouTube video?

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