How much does missing the fairway cost?
About 0.25 of a stroke at 150 yards on the published tables, the rough against the fairway, and a similar amount at other approach distances. The miss that costs a full stroke is the one into water or out of bounds, which PinFlag prices with the penalty included before you choose the line. Fairways hit is still shown in Insights, derived from the shots you log.
About this topic
The tee shot priced before it is hit: driver against 3 wood, the fairway against the water, on your own dispersion. The whole topic, PinFlag off the tee, answers 8 questions in full.
The figures behind the answer
From 150 yards to a green 30 yards across with the flag 10 yards from the middle, on a typical dispersion; and a 420 yard tee shot by where it finishes.
A target, priced
| Decision | Expected strokes | Greens hit |
|---|---|---|
| Aim at the middle, 150 yards | 2.097 | 83% |
| Aim at the flag, 150 yards | 2.117 | 64% |
| Drive to the fairway at 155, from 420 | +0.06 | strokes gained |
| Drive to the rough at 155, from 420 | -0.19 | strokes gained |
Computed from the published baselines, the same ones the app prices your shots with. Aim at the pin or the middle?.
- How does PinFlag help with tee shots?
- Can PinFlag compare driver and 3 wood on a hole?
- Does PinFlag know where the water and out of bounds are?
- How is a penalty off the tee priced in PinFlag?
- Does PinFlag show where my drives finish?
- What is strokes gained off the tee?
- Can I plan a tee shot before the round?
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.