When it came to statistics, golf has been a historically simple study. You had a player’s scoring average, his earnings, maybe driving distance . . . and that was about it. However, the past 20 years have ushered a more analytical, diagnostic view to athletics. And though golf might have been slower to this revolution than baseball or basketball, it now ranks as one of the most number-driven entities in sports.

The PGA Tour is continuing its data-friendly approach with Wednesday’s announcement that one of the game’s most important statistics is expanding its reach. “Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green” measures a player’s non-putting performance to the rest of the field. The number is based off the ground-breaking “Strokes Gained: Putting” category, which accounts for proficiency from various distances and computes the difference between a player’s performance on every green against his competition.

Now, the Tee-to-Green number will be broken up into three separate elements: Off-the-Tee, Approach-the-Green and Around-the-Green. “This completes our holistic view of play under the Strokes Gained umbrella,” said Steve Evans, PGA Tour senior vice president, information systems. This is how the tour will define each component.

Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee

Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee includes all tee shots on par 4s and par 5s. For event and season-level statistics, a player gains or loses strokes off the tee.  Add these together and divide by the number of rounds played to determine his average strokes gained per round versus the field.

To read the rest of the “Strokes Gained Categories, go here!

Source: Joel Beall   Golf Digest Stix

Pictures: Jonathan Baker-Bates

Thanks for reading – What is “Strokes Gained” and how can it help your game!

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