Live Strokes Gained
PinFlag computes live predictive strokes gained for any target you are considering, on the hole you are standing on. The numbers come from the same frozen, Broadie-verified engine that grades your real shots. It shows costs; it never picks targets for you.
The PinFlag iOS app is in pre-release. Leave your email and we’ll tell you the moment it’s available.
PinFlag’s on-course HUD prices the shot you’re considering with the same frozen, Broadie-verified engine that grades your real shots. Slide the map under a fixed crosshair and the carry, the leave, the expected strokes, and the strokes-gained readout update live — driven by your own dispersion, the real hole, your lie, and today’s pin. PinFlag shows you the cost of every option; it never tells you where to aim.
Why it matters
- Post-round stats tell you what happened; a live readout changes the decision you are about to make.
- The difference between two targets is often a quarter of a stroke or more — invisible to feel, obvious to the engine.
- Because the readout is descriptive, you stay the decision-maker: you see the cost, you choose the shot.
How it works
- 1
Frame the hole
The hole opens tee-to-green on real satellite imagery with the pin and your position known.
- 2
Aim by panning
Slide the map under the fixed crosshair — wherever the reticle sits is the target being priced.
- 3
Read the cost
Carry, leave, expected strokes, and strokes gained update live as the aim moves.
- 4
Commit and log
Take the swing, log the shot in one gesture, and the same engine grades what actually happened.
Everything Live Strokes Gained does
- Live strokes-gained readout at your aim point, repriced as you move it
- Expected strokes from your current position, straight from the Broadie baselines
- Running strokes gained by category — off the tee, approach, around the green, putting
- Show-the-math sheet: the exact baseline-to-result arithmetic behind any shot
- Gains in green, losses in red, zero in white — and an honest dash when there’s no basis for a number
- Descriptive by design: PinFlag never recommends a target or a club
A worked example — real numbers
Fairway position is worth a quarter of a stroke
Same approach distance, different ground. PinFlag’s baselines price 155 yards out in the fairway against 155 yards out in the rough — and against laying back to a fuller number.
155 yd, fairway
- Expected strokes
- 2.960
155 yd, rough
- Expected strokes
- 3.210
0.250 strokes worse than the same distance from the short grass.
120 yd, fairway
- Expected strokes
- 2.850
Laying back 35 yards costs almost nothing when it buys the fairway.
A 155-yard approach from the rough (3.210) is worse than a 120-yard approach from the fairway (2.850) by 0.36 strokes — the kind of gap the live readout makes visible before you commit.
Numbers computed with PinFlag’s engine (frozen SG engine, Broadie-verified baselines v2026.4, app lineage c21ee22); script: scripts/marketing-examples/expected-strokes.ts.
Who it’s for
Competitive golfers and serious amateurs who already think in targets and want the cost of each option in strokes, not vibes — and anyone tired of discovering the smart play in the scorecard afterwards.
What’s different
- Live and predictive — priced before you swing, not attributed after the round.
- Your own dispersion and the real hole, not category averages on a generic map.
- Descriptive by design: no recommended target, no auto-caddie, no pretending.
- The same frozen, hash-verified engine grades the plan and the outcome.
Frequently asked questions
- Does PinFlag recommend where to aim or which club to hit?
- No. PinFlag shows the strokes-gained impact of any target you are considering; the choice stays yours. There is no recommendation surface in the app.
- Does PinFlag use strokes gained?
- Yes. Every number comes from Mark Broadie’s strokes-gained methodology, implemented on published expected-strokes baselines and verified against them in tests.
- What does the readout use to price a target?
- Your own shot dispersion, the real course geometry, your current lie and position, and the pin you set — combined into expected strokes and strokes gained.
- Is this the same as post-round strokes gained?
- Same methodology, different moment. Post-round strokes gained attributes what already happened; PinFlag also prices options live, while the decision is still open.
- What happens when PinFlag can’t stand behind a number?
- It shows a dash. Unsupported lies, missing geometry, or a failed course-data check produce an honest blank — never a fabricated value.
- Is Live Strokes Gained available today?
- The PinFlag iOS app is in pre-release. Leave your email on the download page and we’ll tell you the moment it’s available.
Be first on the tee
The PinFlag iOS app is in pre-release. Leave your email and we’ll tell you the moment it’s available.