Statistics

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.

It is the single approach stat the PGA Tour tracks obsessively, and the one amateurs almost never record. Here is what proximity to the hole measures, why average distance beats greens hit, and the benchmarks worth chasing.

Every golf stat, defined in plain English and ranked by how much it actually tells you. Bookmark this page and use it to decode any number on your scorecard or in your app.

Two golfers can both hit 7 fairways and be three shots apart off the tee. Fairways hit cannot see that. Here is why the stat misleads and what to track instead.

One double or triple bogey can sink an otherwise solid round. Here is what the data says blow-up holes really cost you, and where they come from.

Two golfers can both hit 10 greens in regulation and lose three shots to each other on approach. GIR cannot see that gap. Strokes gained approach can.