Golf Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the strokes gained and golf-stats terms used across PinFlag — each one liftable in a sentence, with a link to go deeper.

Baseline (Expected Strokes): A baseline is the average number of strokes a benchmark golfer needs to hole out from a given distance and lie — the reference every strokes gained calculation is measured against.
Birdie: A birdie is a score of one under par on a hole — for example, completing a par-4 in three strokes.
Bogey: A bogey is a score of one over par on a hole — for example, completing a par-4 in five strokes.
Bogey Golfer: A bogey golfer is a player whose Handicap Index is roughly 18 (men) or 24 (women) — someone who averages about one over par per hole.
Fairways in Regulation: Fairways in regulation (also called driving accuracy) is the percentage of par-4 and par-5 holes on which a golfer's tee shot comes to rest in the fairway.
Greens in Regulation (GIR): A green in regulation is reached when your ball is on the putting surface with at least two putts remaining for par — i.e. in one shot on a par 3, two on a par 4, or three on a par 5.
Handicap Index: A Handicap Index is a portable measure of a golfer's demonstrated ability, calculated by the USGA World Handicap System from the best score differentials in a rolling window of recent rounds.
Par: Par is the predetermined number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete a hole or an entire round, accounting for two putts on each green.
Player Development Plan: A player development plan (PDP) is a structured coaching document that sequences a golfer’s improvement priorities based on measured strokes gained deficits, assigns specific drills for each priority, and schedules data re-measurement checkpoints to confirm progress.
Proximity to Hole: Proximity to the hole is the average distance your shots finish from the cup, usually measured for approach shots from a given range.
Roster (Golf Coaching): In golf coaching, a roster is the full list of active students a coach manages together in a shared system, enabling individual progress tracking and group pattern analysis across all players simultaneously.
Scoring Average: Scoring average is the mean number of strokes a golfer takes per round, calculated across a defined set of rounds.
Scrambling: Scrambling is the percentage of holes where you miss the green in regulation but still make par or better.
Scratch Golfer: A scratch golfer is a player with a Handicap Index of 0.0 — someone who, on average, plays to the course rating from the tees they use.
Strokes Gained: Strokes gained is a measure of how much better or worse a shot (or round) is than a benchmark, calculated from the expected strokes to hole out before and after each shot.
Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green: Strokes gained tee-to-green is the sum of strokes gained off the tee, approach, and around the green — every shot except putting — showing how much a player’s ball-striking contributes to or costs their score relative to a benchmark.
Up-and-Down: An up-and-down is getting the ball into the hole in two shots from off the green — typically one chip, pitch, or bunker shot followed by one putt.

Golf Glossary

Plain-English definitions of the strokes gained and golf-stats terms used across PinFlag — each one liftable in a sentence, with a link to go deeper.

Baseline (Expected Strokes)

A baseline is the average number of strokes a benchmark golfer needs to hole out from a given distance and lie — the reference every strokes gained calculation is measured against.

Birdie

A birdie is a score of one under par on a hole — for example, completing a par-4 in three strokes.

Bogey

A bogey is a score of one over par on a hole — for example, completing a par-4 in five strokes.

Bogey Golfer

A bogey golfer is a player whose Handicap Index is roughly 18 (men) or 24 (women) — someone who averages about one over par per hole.

Fairways in Regulation

Fairways in regulation (also called driving accuracy) is the percentage of par-4 and par-5 holes on which a golfer's tee shot comes to rest in the fairway.

Greens in Regulation (GIR)

A green in regulation is reached when your ball is on the putting surface with at least two putts remaining for par — i.e. in one shot on a par 3, two on a par 4, or three on a par 5.

Handicap Index

A Handicap Index is a portable measure of a golfer's demonstrated ability, calculated by the USGA World Handicap System from the best score differentials in a rolling window of recent rounds.

Par

Par is the predetermined number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete a hole or an entire round, accounting for two putts on each green.

Player Development Plan

A player development plan (PDP) is a structured coaching document that sequences a golfer’s improvement priorities based on measured strokes gained deficits, assigns specific drills for each priority, and schedules data re-measurement checkpoints to confirm progress.

Proximity to Hole

Proximity to the hole is the average distance your shots finish from the cup, usually measured for approach shots from a given range.

Roster (Golf Coaching)

In golf coaching, a roster is the full list of active students a coach manages together in a shared system, enabling individual progress tracking and group pattern analysis across all players simultaneously.

Scoring Average

Scoring average is the mean number of strokes a golfer takes per round, calculated across a defined set of rounds.

Scrambling

Scrambling is the percentage of holes where you miss the green in regulation but still make par or better.

Scratch Golfer

A scratch golfer is a player with a Handicap Index of 0.0 — someone who, on average, plays to the course rating from the tees they use.

Strokes Gained

Strokes gained is a measure of how much better or worse a shot (or round) is than a benchmark, calculated from the expected strokes to hole out before and after each shot.

Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green

Strokes gained tee-to-green is the sum of strokes gained off the tee, approach, and around the green — every shot except putting — showing how much a player’s ball-striking contributes to or costs their score relative to a benchmark.

Up-and-Down

An up-and-down is getting the ball into the hole in two shots from off the green — typically one chip, pitch, or bunker shot followed by one putt.