Golf metrics

A good approach proximity benchmark tells you exactly how close to the pin you should finish from every yardage. Here are the target numbers by distance and handicap, and how to read your own.

A penalty stroke is the single costliest thing you can write on a scorecard, and most of them come from decisions, not bad swings. Here is how to manage penalty shots with data.

Most amateurs pull driver on autopilot or leave it in the bag out of fear. Neither habit is a decision. Here is the strokes gained logic for knowing when the big stick is the right club and when it quietly costs you strokes.

Chasing birdies is the wrong project for most amateurs. The data is blunt: double bogey avoidance is the single fastest way to lower your scores, and it has almost nothing to do with your best shots.

The average distance your approach shots finish from the pin tracks your scoring more tightly than almost any traditional stat. Here is what the numbers reveal.

Up-and-down percentage hides where your short game actually leaks strokes. A strokes gained around the green calculator turns each chip, pitch, and bunker shot into one honest number.