What Is Strokes Gained in Golf? (Explained Simply)

TL;DR: Strokes gained is a golf stat that measures how many strokes each shot gains or loses compared to a benchmark golfer from the same spot. A positive number means you beat the benchmark; negative means you lost ground. Added up by category — off the tee, approach, around the green and putting — it shows where your score leaks.

If you have ever finished a round wondering "where did all those strokes go?", strokes gained is the answer. It is the stat PGA Tour players and coaches rely on, and it is just as useful for a 20-handicap as it is for a tour pro. This guide explains what strokes gained means, walks through a simple calculation, and shows how to use it to lower your scores. (Want more on the mechanics? See our companion guide, How Does Strokes Gained Work in Golf?)

What does strokes gained mean in golf?

Strokes gained (often abbreviated SG) compares every shot you hit to how a benchmark golfer would typically perform from the exact same situation. The benchmark is built from large amounts of real shot data and tells you the average number of strokes it takes to hole out from any distance and lie — for example, from 150 yards in the fairway or 10 feet on the green.

Each shot is then judged by one simple question: did this shot leave you in a better or worse position than average?

• Positive strokes gained (e.g., +0.4): the shot was better than the benchmark.

• Zero (0.0): the shot was exactly average for the benchmark.

• Negative strokes gained (e.g., –0.6): the shot cost you ground compared to the benchmark.

Because every shot is measured against the difficulty of where it started, strokes gained gives credit for great shots and fair blame for poor ones — something traditional stats like fairways hit, greens in regulation or putts per round cannot do. A two-putt from 60 feet and a two-putt from 6 feet both count as "2 putts" on a scorecard, but strokes gained treats them very differently.

The concept was popularized by Columbia Business School professor Mark Broadie, whose research led the PGA Tour to adopt strokes gained putting as an official stat in 2011 and later expand it to the rest of the game. His book Every Shot Counts (2014) is the go-to deep dive.

What is SG in golf?

"SG" is simply shorthand for strokes gained. You will see it on stat sheets and broadcasts as SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, SG: Around-the-Green, SG: Putting, SG: Tee-to-Green (everything except putting) and SG: Total (all of the above combined).

How do you calculate strokes gained?

The formula for any single shot is:

Strokes gained = (Expected strokes from the starting position) – (Expected strokes from the ending position) – 1

The "– 1" accounts for the stroke you just used. If the shot is holed, the expected strokes from the ending position is zero.

Step 1: Use a baseline table

A baseline table lists the average number of strokes a benchmark golfer needs to hole out from various spots. The numbers below are rounded, approximate PGA Tour averages used for illustration; real baselines include many more distances and lies, and apps like SwingU let you benchmark against a handicap level instead.

Step 2: Work through a hole (simple worked example)

You play a 400-yard par 4. You hit a solid drive to the middle of the fairway with 150 yards left, hit your approach to 30 feet, lag your first putt to 4 feet, miss that one to 1 foot, and tap in for a bogey 5.

What this tells you: your tee shot and approach were right in line with the benchmark. The entire stroke you lost on this hole came on the green — almost all of it from the missed 4-footer. On a scorecard, this just looks like "bogey, 3 putts." With strokes gained, you know exactly which shot to blame.

Notice that the hole total (–1.01) equals the benchmark expectation from the tee (3.99) minus your actual score (5). That always works: strokes gained per category simply splits your score versus the benchmark into the parts of your game that caused it.

Do you have to calculate strokes gained by hand?

No. Doing this for every shot of every round would take forever and requires a large baseline dataset. That is why most golfers use an app that does the math automatically after the round.

What are the 4 categories of strokes gained?

Strokes gained is most useful when it is grouped into the four main parts of the game:

Exact distance cutoffs vary by source. The PGA Tour, for example, counts shots within 30 yards of the green edge as around the green. SwingU goes a step further and breaks the short game into separate chip/pitch and sand categories, so you can see whether bunker play or chipping is the real problem.

How can strokes gained help you improve?

Strokes gained is a practice-planning tool more than a scorekeeping tool. Here is how to put it to work:

1. Find your biggest leak. Look at which category has the most negative number over several rounds. That is your #1 priority — not the part of the game you enjoy practicing.

2. Use a fair benchmark. Comparing yourself to tour pros makes every number negative. Comparing to your current handicap shows strengths and weaknesses; comparing to your goal handicap shows what it will take to get there.

3. Look at trends, not single rounds. One bad putting day happens. Five rounds of losing strokes putting is a pattern worth fixing. Aim for at least 5 to 10 rounds of data before drawing big conclusions.

4. Practice in proportion to the losses. If you lose 3 strokes per round on approach and 0.5 putting, most of your practice time should go to irons and wedges.

5. Re-check after you practice. Strokes gained lets you measure whether your practice is actually working, round after round.

A common surprise for everyday golfers: approach shots and short game are frequently where higher handicaps lose the most strokes, while the driver and putter get the most practice time. Your own data will tell you whether that is true for you.

How does SwingU track strokes gained?

SwingU strokes gained is built to give everyday golfers tour-level insight without spreadsheets. It is included with SwingU Pro and is trusted by 50+ active tour players and 100+ college golfers. Here is how it works:

• Play and score your round in SwingU. Use the app for GPS distances and scoring as you normally would.

• Get automatic strokes gained analysis. After the round, SwingU calculates where you gained and lost strokes across each part of your game — driving, approach, chip/pitch, sand and putting.

• Benchmark against any target handicap from +6 to 30. See how your game stacks up against where you are today or where you want to be.

• See a handicap for each part of your game. Find out, for example, that you drive it like a 9-handicap but putt like an 18.

• Get your #1 game-improvement priority and a prescriptive drill. SwingU identifies your biggest weakness and pairs it with a drill from a Top-100 instructor.

• Practice with SwingU TV. SwingU Pro includes 600+ on-demand lessons and drills from Top-100 instructors to work on the exact area your data highlights.

• Go deeper on the web. The Tour-level stats and analysis web portal adds advanced filtering and additional stats.

SwingU's free tier includes the GPS rangefinder, digital scorecard, handicap tracking and shot tracking. SwingU Plus adds the AI Digital Caddie, StrackaLine green maps on 20,000+ courses and Hole Insights. SwingU Pro adds strokes gained, prescriptive drills and SwingU TV. Compare the tiers in SwingU Plus vs Pro: What's the Difference?

Frequently asked questions about strokes gained

What is strokes gained in simple terms?

Strokes gained compares each shot you hit to how a benchmark golfer would perform from the same spot. If your shot leaves you in a better position than average, you gain strokes; if it leaves you worse off, you lose strokes. Adding them up shows which parts of your game help or hurt your score.

What is a good strokes gained number?

Any positive number means you beat your benchmark, and zero means you matched it. What counts as "good" depends on the benchmark: a mid-handicapper will usually be negative against tour pros, so compare yourself to your current or target handicap for a more useful picture.

Is strokes gained useful for high handicappers?

Yes. Strokes gained is often even more valuable for higher handicaps because the gaps between strengths and weaknesses are bigger. Finding one category that costs you several strokes per round gives you a clear, fixable practice priority.

How is strokes gained different from fairways hit, greens in regulation or putts per round?

Traditional stats only record whether something happened, such as hitting the fairway or taking two putts. Strokes gained also accounts for difficulty and outcome, so a 6-foot two-putt and a 60-foot two-putt are not treated as equal, and a long drive in the fairway gets more credit than a short one.

What is strokes gained tee to green?

Strokes gained tee to green combines off the tee, approach and around the green — everything except putting. It shows your ball-striking and short game in one number, while strokes gained putting covers the green separately. Together they make up strokes gained total.

Who invented strokes gained?

Strokes gained was developed and popularized by Columbia Business School professor Mark Broadie using detailed shot data. The PGA Tour adopted strokes gained putting as an official statistic in 2011 and later added categories for the rest of the game.

How many rounds do I need before strokes gained is reliable?

A single round can be useful, but patterns become much clearer after about 5 to 10 rounds. Tracking consistently over time smooths out good and bad days and shows the weaknesses that truly cost you strokes.

Start tracking your strokes gained with SwingU

Stop guessing where your strokes are going. Download SwingU free for GPS, scoring and handicap tracking, then upgrade to SwingU Pro to unlock strokes gained analysis, your #1 practice priority, prescriptive drills from Top-100 instructors and SwingU TV. Play your next round, and let the data tell you what to practice.

About the author

Chris Chaney is the Managing Editor and Product Marketing Manager at SwingU. He's been playing golf since age three and is a competitive mid-amateur in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, carrying a handicap between scratch and +3. Chris has spent the last 10 years at SwingU and Golf Genius helping golfers play smarter.