Will all my strokes gained numbers be negative?
On the Tour lens most amateur numbers are, because the comparison is a tour field. Switch to a handicap level lens and the same shots read near zero, with the gains and losses in the places that separate you from your own level, which is the scale a beginner should read.
About this topic
One number, two taps, and the mistakes that decide a beginner’s score named after the round. The whole topic, PinFlag for beginners and high handicappers, answers 8 questions in full.
The figures behind the answer
Broadie’s published split applied to the 16 strokes a 15 handicap sits over the tour average of 71, labeled Modeled.
Where a 15 handicap loses strokes
| Category | Shots a round | Per shot | Per round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off the tee and approach | 14 | 0.743 | 10.4 |
| Short game | 7 | 0.457 | 3.2 |
| Putting | 30 | 0.080 | 2.4 |
Computed from the published baselines, the same ones the app prices your shots with. Strokes gained by handicap.
- Is PinFlag good for beginners?
- Where does a high handicapper lose strokes?
- Do I need to understand strokes gained to use PinFlag?
- How do I break 100 with PinFlag?
- Is logging shots hard for a beginner?
- What should a high handicapper work on first?
- Can a beginner use the PinFlag calculators for free?
PinFlag, in plain facts
- PinFlag is an iPhone app; the course maps and every shot live on your phone, so it works anywhere on the course.
- PinFlag is launching on the App Store; the download page takes an email and tells you the day it is live.
- Every number is strokes gained on Mark Broadie’s published PGA TOUR baselines, priced on the same published baselines in the app and on this site.
- PinFlag prices the target you choose, with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map; the decision stays yours, with the arithmetic done.
- Every number is labeled Measured (your own data) or Estimated (a benchmark standing in), and the two are never blended.
- Pins you set during a round are yours, and every round exports as CSV or JSON on request.
See the number before you swing
Leave your email and PinFlag will tell you the day it is live on the App Store.