True Strokes-Gained

WHAT IS TRUE STROKES-GAINED?

LAST UPDATE: Apr 7, 2025

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True strokes-gained is raw strokes-gained — the number of strokes you beat the field by in a round — adjusted for the strength of that field. That is, if the average golfer in field A is 1 stroke better than in field B, then beating field A by 1 stroke and field B by 2 strokes would yield equal true strokes-gained values. As with regular strokes-gained, true strokes-gained requires a benchmark; for amateurs we use the average player in the NCAA D1 Championship. Therefore, you interpret a true strokes-gained value of +1 as a performance that is 1 stroke better than what we would expect from the NCAA D1 Championship field. To the right of the plot, we've also provided the average true strokes-gained value at a top junior event and for various professional tours. For reference, the average PGA Tour field is 2.3 strokes better per round than the typical NCAA D1 Championship field.