Strokes Gained: What It Is & Why It Matters for Custom Fitting

Phliip Dye: PGA Professional

Introduction

In recent decades, the field of golf performance analysis has undergone a significant transformation, with data increasingly underpinning both coaching and equipment interventions. Among these advances, the concept of strokes gained (Broadie, 2014) has emerged as a benchmark metric for evaluating player performance at both the professional and amateur levels (Arccos Golf, 2022). Unfortunately, while strokes gained is widely applied in coaching and performance analytics, its impact on equipment choices remains underdeveloped despite its practical relevance to both custom fitting and club optimization.

What is Strokes Gained?

Strokes gained is a statistical framework developed by Dr. Mark Broadie of Columbia Business School. It provides a performance metric that quantifies the relative value of each stroke, comparing an individual’s performance against a designated benchmark, typically derived from PGA Tour data.

In essence, strokes gained answers the question:

"How many strokes did this shot (or series of shots) gain or lose relative to an expected outcome?"

For example, if a player averages 2.8 strokes to hole out from 40 yards, but completes the hole in 2 strokes, they gain +0.8 strokes relative to the field.

Strokes gained is typically segmented into the following categories:

Off-the-Tee
Approach Shots
Around the Green
Putting

By isolating different phases of play, strokes gained provides a more complete picture of performance allowing for the identification of specific areas where a player is gaining or losing shots.

Using Strokes Gained to Evaluate Relative Club Performance

In many traditional custom fitting environments, distance remains the predominant measure of club performance. During fittings, whether for drivers, irons, or even wedges, the club that produces the longest average carry distance often emerges as the "preferred" or "best performing" option (Fujimoto, 2016; Mackenzie & Sprigings, 2015). While this approach has intuitive appeal, particularly for players focused on maximizing distance, it presents a narrow and incomplete view of actual performance outcomes.

Why Distance Alone Is an Incomplete Measure

Relying solely on distance metrics overlooks several key performance considerations:

Dispersion patterns and consistency, in addition to length are valuable aspects of performance, particularly in approach play and tee shots where accuracy influences subsequent scoring opportunities.
Longer distance may intensify directional control issues, leading to more severe misses, hazard penalties, and difficult recovery shots, all of which negatively impact scoring efficiency.
The context of play, including course layout, wind conditions, and strategic requirements, often diminishes the relative importance of distance as a performance indicator (Broadie, 2019).

The Case for Strokes Gained as a Comparative Measure in Custom Fitting

By contrast, strokes gained offers a contextualized and outcome-oriented measure of relative club performance. Rather than focusing on individual metrics in isolation (e.g., distance or launch angle), strokes gained evaluates how equipment changes translate to scoring potential. This shift aligns custom fitting with evidence-based practice, positioning fitters as performance consultants rather than equipment optimizers.

Practical Application

Consider a player testing two driver configurations:

Driver A produces an average carry of 245 yards, with tight dispersion, consistent launch conditions, and fewer penalty misses.
Driver B yields an average carry of 260 yards, but with wider dispersion and a higher incidence of offline shots, including hazards.

Traditional fitting metrics may favour Driver B due to its superior distance and while some club fitters might still prefer Driver B, they often lack the tools to quantify and justify their decision. However, a strokes gained analysis demonstrates that Driver A consistently leads to better scoring outcomes, due to increased accuracy, improved approach shot proximity, and reduced penalties, resulting in positive strokes gained Off-the-Tee.

This example highlights the importance of moving beyond surface level metrics and focusing on real performance outcomes when evaluating equipment changes.

Critical Reflection on the Current State of Practice

Despite the clear utility and applicability of strokes gained in custom fitting, its adoption remains limited in both practice and within most fitting software packages. Contemporary launch monitor technologies, while offering extensive data outputs (e.g., TrackMan, GCQuad), typically focus on ball flight metrics and club delivery parameters, without linking these data to on-course performance or scoring impact (Mackenzie & Sprigings, 2015).

There are several reasons for this underutilization:

Lack of Integration: Strokes gained requires the aggregation and interpretation of longitudinal performance data, which is often disconnected from the time-limited context of a fitting session (Broadie, 2013).
Complexity of Data Management: Fitters may lack the knowledge, tools or systems to effectively track, collect, and analyze strokes gained metrics over time.
Industry Focus on Immediate Results: The commercial custom fitting industry often emphasizes instant feedback and quantifiable changes within the session, rather than long-term player outcomes (Fujimoto, 2016).

As a result, the prevailing model of custom fitting tends to prioritize short-term validation, using indoor testing data as a proxy for real-world performance improvements, despite mounting evidence that on-course validation, via metrics such as strokes gained, offers richer and more actionable insights (Arccos Golf, 2022).

Implications for Practice

For custom fitters who wish to position themselves at the forefront of data-informed golf performance, adopting strokes gained as an evaluative framework represents a meaningful step forward. This approach redefines the fitter’s role, shifting from a focus on equipment optimization toward performance consultancy, grounded in objective, outcome-based data.

Moreover, there is an opportunity for the industry as a whole to develop integrated fitting systems that combine launch monitor metrics with strokes gained analytics, allowing for continuous performance feedback and ongoing equipment optimization.

Closing Thoughts

As the golf industry evolves, integrating strokes gained into the custom fitting process isn't just a value-add, it’s an essential shift toward evidence-based practice that enhances player outcomes and positions the fitter as an integral component of player development. By using strokes gained during fittings, fitters move beyond surface-level improvements and address the real impact equipment has on scoring potential. This approach not only builds trust with players but also aligns the fitting process with the ultimate goal of every golfer: playing better and shooting lower scores.

Incorporating strokes gained into your custom fitting process allows you to:

Objectively quantify whether a new club setup is helping or hurting a player’s scoring ability. Strokes Gained quantifies gains and losses in a way that directly correlates to lower scores on the course.
Strengthen player confidence and buy-in by providing clear, data-driven validation.
Strokes gained gives players objective evidence that the equipment they’re being fit for will improve their performance. Rather than relying on subjective feedback or chasing numbers like ball speed alone, fitters can present scoring-based results, making the process more transparent and building trust and credibility.
Tailor fittings to an individual’s unique performance needs and playing style
By using strokes gained data to identify a player’s strengths and weaknesses, fitters can focus on solutions that deliver the most impactful gains, whether that’s improving off-the-tee accuracy, optimizing approach shots, or fine-tuning short game equipment for more consistent scoring.

References

Broadie, M. (2013). Assessing Golfer Performance Using Strokes Gained. Columbia Business School.
Broadie, M. (2019). Every Shot Counts. Penguin Random House.
Arccos Golf. (2022). Strokes Gained Explained.
Fujimoto, H. (2016). The Role of Custom Fitting in Golf Club Performance: A Review. Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology.
Mackenzie, S. J., & Sprigings, E. J. (2015). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Custom Fitting on Golf Performance. International Journal of Golf Science.

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