Golf Game Tracking: Fairways/Greens or Strokes Gained?

If you are on a mission to lower your handicap, tracking your current golf game is one of the best ways to start. When you track, you collect data and gain valuable insights into your strengths and weaknesses.

Players often look for extra yards in a driver or more spin in a wedge when, in reality, their approach shot with the 7-iron or putting from five feet is their weakest link. That’s where Strokes Gained stat tracking comes in. Let’s look at traditional stat tracking versus Strokes Gained and help you decide which is best for your game.

Traditional stat tracking versus Strokes Gained

Traditional stat tracking includes these key components.

• Fairways hit
• Greens in regulation
• Putts per hole/round
• Scrambling (bunker saves, up-and-downs, etc.)

These stats are easy to track by simply making a quick note on your scorecard. The problem is that they lack depth and context. You may three-putt several greens but your putts were more than 50 feet each at the start. Your stats would show a problem with putting when, in reality, your approach shots are pretty far from the hole.

Strokes Gained is a more advanced metric. With Strokes Gained, your performance on every shot is compared to the average performance of other golfers.

With Strokes Gained, the distance and difficulty of each shot are measured to determine how many strokes you gain or lose compared to the field. For a 15-handicap golfer looking to become a 10, you can compare your play to a 10-handicap and see where the deficits are.

You may find that your driving accuracy is costing you a few strokes but your real problem is putting from 15 feet.

Strokes Gained gives you specific details and helps pinpoint key areas for improvement. Of course, the downside is that tracking Strokes Gained can be more complex and require some technology.

What stat tracking method is best?

I’ve always tracked traditional stats and recently started working more with Strokes Gained. I was reluctant at first because I needed to record the round with a Strokes Gained app.

However, the information the Strokes Gained tracking method provides is superior. You have to input your data as you play (although some let you do it after a round if you can remember all your shots) but it does work.

For any golfer thinking of lowering their handicap, you’ll get very specific information to help you improve your game. For example, you’ll get data on losing strokes from 125 to 150 yards or losing strokes from the rough when pitching less than 50 yards to the green. The data is specific and that makes all the difference in developing a targeted practice plan.

Still, it can be a bit annoying to track. I don’t do it for every round.

Strokes Gained tracking help

If Strokes Gained is something that could help your game, there are some GPS units from our 2024 testing that do a good job with this.

• Garmin Approach S70
• Shot Scope V5

You can also look into Strokes Gained tracking apps like SwingU and DECADE.

Not interested in all that data?

If you think the Strokes Gained concept is valid but you are not interested in the tracking process or gathering all that data, there could be another solution. Adding a bit of detail to your traditional stat tracking can be very effective.

Instead of checking the box saying you missed or hit the fairway, just make a note if you missed left or right. If you three-putt, just record the distance that you three-putted from. When you miss a green in regulation, write down which club you had in your hand.

Even if you don’t fully transition to Strokes Gained, these details will help you see patterns in your game. If you never hit a green with a 5-iron, it’s probably time to take that club out of the bag or start practicing 5-iron shots at the range.

If all you ever track is greens in regulation but never record the club you hit, you aren’t giving yourself enough information to work with.

These modifications will not take you a lot of time on the course but you will have more useful data to work with.

Final thoughts

Stat tracking is helpful when looking to buy new equipment or to lower your handicap. Does the average casual golfer who is happy shooting between 89 and 95 for every round really need to track their stats?

Probably not.

However, once you set a goal to play better, you want all the information you need to structure your practice. Start with the modified traditional stat tracking I suggested and, from there, see if Strokes Gained tracking is of value for you.