# Live Strokes Gained > Canonical: https://pinflag.io/features/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).* ## 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.