Strokes gained tee to green

Strokes gained tee to green is the sum of off the tee, approach and around the green: every shot that is not a putt. On the benchmark model it carries 85 percent of a 15 handicap’s 16 stroke gap to the tour average, 13.6 strokes a round against 2.4 putting.

What it adds up

Total strokes gained is four categories. Tee to green is the first three, and it is the number that separates ball strikers from putters: a golfer who is positive tee to green and negative putting is hitting it well and holing nothing, and the practice plan writes itself.

By handicap

Broadie’s published split puts 65 percent of an amateur’s gap in the long game, 20 percent in the short game and 15 percent putting. Tee to green is the first two, so it carries the great majority of the gap at every level.

Tee to green against putting by handicap

Tee to green against putting by handicap
Handicap	Strokes over the tour	Tee to green	Putting	Tee to green share
Scratch	1	0.9	0.2	85%
5	6	5.1	0.9	85%
10	11	9.4	1.7	85%
15	16	13.6	2.4	85%
20	21	17.9	3.2	85%
25	26	22.1	3.9	85%

Reading the number

A negative tee to green number with a positive putting number is the commonest amateur profile and the most misread: the putter gets the practice because the putts are the shots remembered, while the approaches that left 40 footers are where the strokes went. Splitting tee to green into its three parts, and approach into distance bands, shows which shots to work on.

In PinFlag

Insights shows all four categories on a radar per round and across the season, so tee to green and putting are read side by side, and breaks approach down by distance band and club with proximity, the start-position table and Score Killers. The benchmark lenses reprice the same shots against a handicap level table so the split reads on your own scale.

Frequently asked questions

What is strokes gained tee to green?

Off the tee, approach and around the green added together: every stroke that is not a putt, measured against the tour average from each lie and distance.

What is a good strokes gained tee to green?

Zero is the tour average. A 15 handicap sits about 13.6 strokes a round behind it tee to green on the benchmark model, a 5 about 5.1. Any move toward zero is the long and short game improving.

Is tee to green more important than putting?

On the published split, yes, by a wide margin: about 85 percent of an amateur’s gap to a tour field is tee to green, spread over about 21 shots, against 15 percent putting over 30 putts.

Does tee to green include par 3 tee shots?

Yes. A par 3 tee shot is an approach, and approach is one of the three tee to green categories. Only putts are excluded.

Which golf app does this on the course?

PinFlag, on iPhone. It prices any target on the hole you are playing before you swing, with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, draws your real shots on the hole with Shot Cloud, logs a shot in two taps with nothing to buy, and breaks every round down shot by shot. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.

Sources

Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: The split by handicap is the site’s benchmark model, which applies Broadie’s published shares to the strokes over the tour average for each handicap.

Get PinFlag for iPhone

PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.

Get the app Why golfers choose PinFlag