· Golf Metrics
What Is a Good Strokes Gained Score?
Your strokes gained shows +0.3 approach. Is that good? The answer depends entirely on who you compare yourself to and what you are trying to achieve.
You tracked a few rounds in golfity and see numbers like +0.4 off the tee and -0.7 putting. The immediate question: are those good? The answer isn’t simple because “good” depends entirely on context.
A scratch golfer with +0.4 strokes gained off the tee is performing at or slightly above PGA Tour average. A 20-handicap with that same number is an absolute bomber who probably hits it far but may struggle elsewhere. Same number, completely different meanings.
Understanding what constitutes a good strokes gained score requires knowing three things: your comparison baseline, your skill level, and your goals.
The Baseline Problem
Every strokes gained number compares your performance to some reference group. The most common baselines are:
PGA Tour average — The original baseline from Mark Broadie’s research. Zero means you performed like an average Tour player. Positive means you beat them. Negative means they’d have done better.
Scratch golfer — A zero-handicap amateur. This baseline is more relevant for most recreational players since comparing yourself to Tour pros can feel discouraging.
Your handicap peers — Golfers at your same handicap level. This shows whether you’re strong or weak relative to players who shoot similar scores.
Your strokes gained numbers shift dramatically based on which baseline you use. A 15-handicap might show -2.5 total strokes gained versus PGA Tour, -1.0 versus scratch, and +0.2 versus other 15-handicaps. Same golfer, same round, three different stories.
The useful baseline depends on your goal. Trying to break 80? Compare to scratch. Trying to beat your weekend foursome? Compare to your handicap level. Analyzing Tour broadcasts? Use Tour baseline.
What the Numbers Mean at Each Level
Here’s a framework for interpreting strokes gained by category, using PGA Tour as the baseline. These numbers represent per-round averages.
Off the Tee (SG:OTT)
| Strokes Gained | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +1.0 or higher | Elite. Among the best drivers on any tour. |
| +0.3 to +1.0 | Tour-quality driving. A genuine scoring advantage. |
| -0.3 to +0.3 | Tour average range. Competitive off the tee. |
| -0.7 to -0.3 | Below Tour average. Losing ground but not disastrously. |
| -1.5 to -0.7 | Typical scratch to low single-digit handicap range. |
| -2.5 to -1.5 | Mid-handicap range (10-18 handicap). |
| Below -2.5 | High handicap. Distance, accuracy, or both need work. |
Most amateurs lose between 1.5 and 3.0 strokes per round off the tee compared to Tour players. If your SG:OTT is better than -2.0 as a mid-handicap, your driving is not your biggest problem.
Approach (SG:APP)
| Strokes Gained | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +1.0 or higher | Elite iron player. Consistently pins it. |
| +0.3 to +1.0 | Tour-quality approaches. Creates birdie chances regularly. |
| -0.3 to +0.3 | Tour average. Hitting greens and getting it reasonably close. |
| -0.7 to -0.3 | Below Tour average. Missing greens or leaving long first putts. |
| -2.0 to -0.7 | Scratch to low single-digit range. |
| -3.5 to -2.0 | Mid-handicap range. Iron play is a scoring drain. |
| Below -3.5 | High handicap. This category needs priority attention. |
Approach is where amateurs lose the most strokes. A 15-handicap typically loses 3.0 to 4.0 strokes per round on approach shots alone. If your SG:APP is better than -2.5 as a 15-handicap, you’re actually ahead of your peers.
Around the Green (SG:ATG)
| Strokes Gained | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +0.5 or higher | Excellent short game. Tour-caliber chipping and pitching. |
| +0.1 to +0.5 | Strong. Short game helps more than it hurts. |
| -0.3 to +0.1 | Tour average range. Competent when missing greens. |
| -0.7 to -0.3 | Below average. Leaving too many chips outside tap-in range. |
| -1.5 to -0.7 | Typical scratch to mid-handicap range. |
| Below -1.5 | Significant weakness. Chunks, skulls, and poor distance control. |
Around-the-green variance is high because amateur short games are inconsistent. You might save par brilliantly one hole and chunk it into a bunker the next. That inconsistency shows in the strokes gained numbers.
Putting (SG:PUTT)
| Strokes Gained | Meaning |
|---|---|
| +1.0 or higher | Elite putter. Among the best on Tour. |
| +0.3 to +1.0 | Excellent. Making more than your share. |
| -0.3 to +0.3 | Tour average. Solid, competitive putting. |
| -0.7 to -0.3 | Slightly below. Costing half a stroke per round. |
| -1.5 to -0.7 | Typical mid-handicap range versus Tour. |
| Below -1.5 | Three-putts and missed short ones are adding up. |
Putting is the most compressed category. The gap between Tour players and amateurs is smaller here than anywhere else. A 15-handicap might lose 1.0 strokes putting versus Tour but 3.5 strokes on approach. That tells you where to practice.
Benchmarks by Handicap
Here’s what typical strokes gained numbers look like at various handicap levels when compared to PGA Tour baseline:
| Handicap | SG:OTT | SG:APP | SG:ATG | SG:PUTT | Total SG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +2 (Tour level) | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +1.5 |
| Scratch | -1.0 | -1.5 | -0.5 | -0.5 | -3.5 |
| 5 | -1.5 | -2.3 | -0.8 | -0.7 | -5.3 |
| 10 | -2.0 | -3.0 | -1.0 | -0.9 | -6.9 |
| 15 | -2.5 | -3.8 | -1.2 | -1.0 | -8.5 |
| 20 | -3.0 | -4.5 | -1.5 | -1.2 | -10.2 |
| 25 | -3.5 | -5.2 | -1.8 | -1.4 | -11.9 |
These are approximations based on Mark Broadie’s research and golfity user data. Your numbers may vary.
The key insight: approach shots account for roughly 40-45% of the scoring gap between any handicap level and Tour. If you want to improve, that’s where strokes are hiding.
What “Good” Actually Means
A “good” strokes gained score means one of these things:
Better than your peer group. If you’re a 12-handicap with SG:APP of -2.5 versus Tour, that’s better than the typical -3.2 for your handicap. Your approaches are a relative strength. Good.
Improving over time. If your SG:PUTT was -1.3 six months ago and is now -0.9, you’ve improved by 0.4 strokes per round—that’s 16 strokes over a full season. Good.
Not dragging down your total. If all four categories are roughly proportional to your handicap, none is a glaring weakness. Good enough.
Elite in one area. Some golfers have one category that’s dramatically better than the rest. A mid-handicap with +0.2 SG:ATG versus Tour has a Tour-quality short game. That’s good. Really good.
What “Bad” Looks Like
Conversely, here’s when to worry:
One category is way off. If you’re a 10-handicap but your SG:APP is -4.5 (typical for a 20-handicap), approach play is holding you back significantly.
Getting worse over time. Declining strokes gained over a season means something changed. Equipment, swing mechanics, course difficulty, or practice habits are worth examining.
Disproportionate weakness. If 50% of your total strokes lost come from one category, that’s where improvement will have the biggest impact.
The Comparison Trap
Golfers love comparing themselves to Tour players. It’s natural—you watch them on TV, you see their numbers. But the comparison can be misleading.
Tour players are statistical outliers. They represent the top 0.001% of all golfers. Their strokes gained numbers reflect decades of deliberate practice, elite coaching, perfect fitness, and professional conditions. Expecting amateur numbers to approach theirs is unrealistic.
The more useful comparison is against yourself or your handicap group. Are you improving? Are you stronger in one area than your peers? Those answers matter more than how you stack up against Scottie Scheffler.
Using golfity to Find Your Numbers
golfity calculates strokes gained automatically when you track your rounds. After entering your shots, the app shows your per-round strokes gained in each category.
Over time, patterns emerge:
- Strengths appear as consistently positive or less-negative numbers
- Weaknesses appear as consistently more-negative numbers
- Inconsistencies show high round-to-round variance
You can also set your benchmark level in golfity to compare against your handicap group rather than Tour players. This gives more actionable feedback for most amateurs.
Sample Interpretation
Here’s an example. A 12-handicap golfer tracks 20 rounds and sees these averages:
| Category | SG vs Tour | Typical for 12 HCP | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off the Tee | -1.8 | -1.9 | Slightly better than peers |
| Approach | -3.8 | -2.8 | Significantly worse than peers |
| Around Green | -0.6 | -1.0 | Better than peers |
| Putting | -0.8 | -0.9 | Right at peer level |
| Total | -7.0 | -6.6 | Slightly worse overall |
The story here is clear. This golfer has a better-than-average short game for their handicap, average-to-good driving, and approach play that’s dragging everything down. The approach numbers are what you’d expect from a 17-handicap, not a 12.
The improvement path: focus practice on approach shots. If this golfer brought approach play in line with their other categories, they’d probably drop to a 9 or 10 handicap without changing anything else.
The Reality Check
Here’s the truth most golfers don’t want to hear: you’re probably not as good at your perceived strength as you think, and your weakness isn’t as catastrophic as it feels.
Golfers who say “I’m a great putter but I can’t hit my irons” usually discover through strokes gained that their putting is average and their irons are slightly below average. The perception gap exists because you remember the 15-footer you drained but forget the three-footer you missed. You remember the iron you chunked but forget the one you striped.
Strokes gained removes the memory bias. It measures what happened, not what you remember happening.
Good Is Relative. Improvement Is Absolute.
Don’t obsess over whether your numbers are “good” compared to Tour players or your friends. Instead, track whether your numbers are improving month over month, season over season.
A golfer who goes from SG:APP of -4.0 to -3.0 over a year has improved by a full stroke per round—roughly 40 strokes per season. That’s dropping 3-4 strokes off their handicap from one skill improvement.
That’s what good looks like: measurable progress toward your goals, whatever those goals are.
Track your rounds in golfity, check your numbers against the benchmarks for your handicap, and focus your practice where the data says you’re losing strokes. That’s the path to lower scores.
