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From the Magazine

The PGA Tour's best in driving, iron play, putting and more share their secrets

Illustrations by Sam Hadley. Photographs by Getty Images

T hanks to PGA Tour’s ShotLink technology, it’s easier than ever for players to keep detailed statistics of their game. The tour tracks every single shot during competition, and therefore is able to collect hundreds of different stats in multiple categories from tee to green.

That made our job of identifying the very best in the most vital aspects of golf a little easier. However, it wasn’t as simple as looking at who was No. 1 on tour in the strokes gained/putting statistic and anointing that player as the top putter. There were other factors to consider such as the average number of putts per green in regulation, who avoids three-putts the most, who is the best from inside 10 feet and beyond 20 feet, etc. (The tour tracks 98 putting statistics.)

After hours and hours of analyzing all the tour data from 2021, we’ve singled out the best pros in six key categories: driving, iron play, chipping, scrambling, bunker play and putting. Some of the names that follow might come as a surprise—and some might not. Turn the page to see who Golf Digest ranks as the best in class, and then learn from the player and his coach how to better various parts of your game. —The Editors

BEST DRIVER JON RAHM

LOAD THE TRAIL LEG FOR LONGER DRIVES

A big reason why I’m so consistent with the driver is because my swing is very simple. Because there’s not much going on, there’s not much that can go wrong. I think of my swing as short and efficient. It’s mostly the result of having limited mobility in my right ankle and a right leg that’s shorter than my left. I was born with a club foot and had to have the bones in that leg broken and re-cast, so I can’t control the club very well if I swing it back any farther. But that also makes it easy to repeat.

As far as technique, I prefer to fade the ball, and I usually hit it pretty high, but I can draw it and hit it lower, whatever the hole calls for. I might change my stance, ball position or tee height to produce the shot I want, but the one thing that doesn’t change is the mental part.

I forget about my surroundings and just find something to aim at. When I do that, especially under pressure, it’s as if I’m back on the range mentally and can just swing without fear.

I don’t hit a lot of drivers when I practice, but when I do need to straighten things out, I usually focus on two things. The first is making sure the clubhead stays in front of me on the takeaway.

If I suck it too far inside the target line and it gets behind my hands, I lose control. One other thing: I make sure I load into my right hip on the backswing. I don’t sway off the ball. I want to feel really stable and loaded so I can push off my back foot on the downswing and hit the ball hard. —With Ron Kaspriske

Stuart Franklin

COACH'S TAKE

“Jon’s swing proves you don’t have to move off the ball to generate power. That feeling he has of being loaded into the trail leg is a good one for amateurs to copy. Another thing we watch is that he’s not standing too far from the ball. You want to see the butt end of the club over the top of your shoelaces. This will help you to turn better going back and clear out swinging through, allowing the driver to come into the ball on the proper inside path.” — DAVE PHILLIPS

JON RAHM was second on the PGA Tour in strokes gained/off the tee in 2021 and first in total driving, a stat that combines distance and accuracy. He also was first in strokes gained/tee to green.

HONORABLE MENTION: RORY MCILROY ✶ BRYSON DECHAMBEAU ✶ SERGIO GARCIA ✶ SUNGJAE IM

BEST IRON PLAYER COLLIN MORIKAWA

SWING YOUR IRONS LIKE YOU’RE IN NO RUSH

I ’ve always felt that iron play is the strength of my game. It’s the reason I’m OK giving up 10 or 20 yards to the bigger hitters—I’m confident I can hit my 6-iron just as close, if not closer, than they hit their 8-irons.

My first tip to being good on approach shots is sticking with the swing you trust the most. For me, it’s a mid-high cut. Whatever shot you like to play, remember that you don’t have to hit it to six feet to be a great iron player. There’s nothing wrong with putting it somewhere on the green and relying more on your putter. Only go flag hunting when the situation matches your go-to shot.

As far as Xs and Os, my coach, Rick Sessinghaus, and I like to keep it pretty simple. One aspect we focus on is rhythm. I have a pretty deliberate tempo, and sometimes I get quick in transition trying to manufacture speed. I’ve found that if I focus on finishing the swing in perfect balance—the trophy pose—I subconsciously make a smooth transition and maintain good rhythm from start to finish.

One drill I keep coming back to is a simple one I’ve done since childhood. I’ll put a glove under my left armpit and try to keep it pinned there for as long as I can during the swing. This helps my arms stay more connected to my body on the backswing. I have a tendency to pick the club up rather than turn with it, which results in a wipey fade that always comes up short and right of the target.

I also hit a ton of half-swing punch shots, which is a great way to identify any issues you might be having through impact because it’s a smooth, controllable motion. —With Dan Rapaport

David Cannon/R&A

“Every golfer can benefit by implementing some keys to Collin’s iron play. The first is Collin’s patient, deliberate takeaway, which helps keep the club and arms in front of his body all the way to the top of the swing. Next is how he keeps the clubface square through the impact area while maintaining the extension in his arms. Finally, Collin swings at about 80 percent. With less than max effort, you’ll find it easier to stay in control.” — RICK SESSINGHAUS

COLLIN MORIKAWA led the PGA Tour in strokes gained/approach the green in 2021, and was No. 1 in approaches (average distance from hole) from 125 to 150 yards, 150 to 175 and 175 to 200.

HONORABLE MENTION: JON RAHM ✶ PAUL CASEY ✶ DANIEL BERGER ✶ CAMERON PERCY

BEST CHIPPER KEVIN NA

CHIP IT CLOSE WITH MY ‘DEAD SOFT’ TECHNIQUE

F rom a closely mowed lie, such as a collection area, I believe I’m one of the best chippers in the world. Because I scoop my chips, my ball comes off softer than most everyone else’s and lands with almost no roll.

During the third round of last year’s Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club, the ball mark of my playing partner, Xander Schauffele, was on a spot on the green where I wanted a chip to land, so I asked him to move it. Then I chipped the ball right over that spot and into the hole. I’ll never forget the look on Xander’s face! He said he’s never seen a player ask to move a ball mark for a chip and then have the ball go in. It was the fourth time I chipped in that week!

What’s nice about my scooping technique is it’s roughly the same method I use from the rough or a greenside bunker. I chip with my 60-degree wedge, setting the handle neutral—not pressed forward—and the shaft perpendicular to my target line. The goal is to return both into the same positions at impact. The clubhead passes the handle, and my right hand works underneath, sliding the clubface under the ball. What I’m doing is dumping the clubhead and releasing it at the bottom, trying to ground the back perfectly to the turf, so it doesn’t dig. There’s not a lot of speed. As a result, there’s less compression to the ball at impact, and it comes off the face dead, with no threat of racing past the hole. —With Dave Allen

Stacy Revere

“The great thing about Kevin’s short game is, it’s very effective on all types of grass. He has the ability to keep moving forward and rotating with no fear of the leading edge digging into the turf, which is a common mistake for amateurs. He also has very little tension throughout his motion. It’s a free-fl owing acceleration allowing him to be aggressive.” — DREW STECKEL

KEVIN NA led the PGA Tour in the strokes gained/ around-the-green stat in 2021 (.702 strokes per round), becoming the first player to lead this category three times (2011, ’15 and ’21). Na also ranked fourth in scrambling and 12th in sand-save percentage.

HONORABLE MENTION: PATRICK CANTLAY ✶ PATRICK REED ✶ BRIAN HARMAN ✶ SEAMUS POWER

BEST SCRAMBLER PATRICK CANTLAY

SHAKE OFF THE MISS, THEN GET AGGRESSIVE

S crambling starts with forgetting what put you there in the first place, locking in on the present, and feeling the urgency to hit a quality shot. It’s a mentality almost as much as it is a technique.

Around the green, I focus on producing the right energy to get the ball to my target. In the rough, you have to hinge your wrists early on the backswing, accelerate the club into the ball and keep the clubface from closing as it goes through the thicker grass. You also have to read the slopes on the green accurately to leave the ball in a spot where you know you can make a positive putting stroke. Above all else, you have to leave the previous shot behind. Confidence starts with staying in the present, knowing your strengths and playing to them.

When playing approach shots from the rough, don’t take more risk than necessary. In general, birdies aren’t made from the rough, so take your medicine and play a smart shot. Gauging how shots are going to come out of the rough mostly comes from experience, but I don’t think it makes much sense to hit any club out of the rough that you have a tough time hitting from a clean lie. In other words, no fairway woods and no long irons.

Make a steeper backswing than normal and accelerate the club through the turf without trying to help the ball into the air. The more you flip your hands through impact, the more likely the grass will close the clubface and send the ball well short and left. It’s also likely that even a good shot from the rough will roll out a fair distance after it lands, so factor that into your plan. —With Mike Stachura

“Patrick’s really good at knowing when to hold them and knowing when to fold them. He knows if he hits it in the rough and has eight feet of green right of the flag and 60 feet to the left, it’s best to aim away from the hole on the left side, and then roll one down there to make an easy par save.” — JAMIE MULLIGAN

PATRICK CANTLAY ranked first on the PGA Tour in scrambling (67.3 percent), sixth in scrambling from the rough (65.1 percent) and 12th in approaches greater than 100 yards from the rough (43’4”) in 2021.

HONORABLE MENTION: CHARLES HOWELL III ✶ CAMERON TRINGALE ✶ ABRAHAM ANCER ✶ LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN

BEST BUNKER PLAYER XANDER SCHAUFFELE

‘BREAK THE TEE’ IN THE SAND

W hen I was a kid, I routinely did this drill where I would bury a tee under my ball in a greenside bunker and try to break the tee with my swing. My dad had me do it so that I would learn how to make an aggressive swing through the sand, which would carry the ball out every time. It’s a great way to learn how to hit bunker shots when you’re just starting out.

Over time, I’ve learned how to hit a number of shots in greenside bunkers. I can change my weight distribution, ball position, height of my hands at address, angle of attack, length of swing, clubhead speed—even how much bounce I use to hit the right shot for that particular lie. For example, with a fried-egg lie, I use less bounce and feel like the club is entering the sand closer to the hosel. If I want to create more spin and less roll, I add a little more speed and enter the sand closer to the ball than normal.

I realize you don’t practice in the bunker enough to be able to execute a variety of shots, so I would recommend getting good at this one: Open the face of your wedge before taking your grip and dig your feet into the sand. Your weight should favor your front leg, and the ball should be roughly in line with your shirt buttons. Then hit two inches behind the ball, keeping your speed up as you swing through the sand and into a full finish position.

Remember, be aggressive but don’t lose your posture as a result of swinging too hard. You might miss the entry point in the sand and dump it or blade the shot. With a smooth swing, you’re not going to get the ball to stop as quickly, so allow for some rollout. —With Ron Kaspriske

Alex Goodlett

“One of the main reasons Xander is very good out of the sand is the fact that he turns the ball both ways in nearly all parts of his game. Xander plays golf with a variety of hand and clubface positions. In other words, an open clubface with a weak grip—the standard way taught to set up in the bunker— doesn’t look outlandish to him. Where others might lose confidence holding the club that way, he certainly doesn’t.” — STEFAN SCHAUFFELE

XANDER SCHAUFFELE was second on the PGA Tour in sand-save percentage (64.7) in 2021, and his average proximity to the hole from the sand was 8’1”.

HONORABLE MENTION: BROOKS KOEPKA ✶ CAMERON SMITH ✶ WEBB SIMPSON ✶ WYNDHAM CLARK

BEST PUTTER PATRICK REED

LEVEL OFF FOR A BETTER ROLL

I ’d love to talk about the intricacies of my putting stroke and give you some analysis of how I approach things on the green, but I just don’t think about it that way. For me, it’s much more of a feel thing. To be clear, I have a few practice drills, and I’m constantly checking my alignment. But when I’m on the course, all I’m thinking about is break and speed and seeing the ball go in the hole. Even on long putts, I’m not trying to cozy it up there; I’m seeing it go in.

Besides my alignment, if there’s one other thing I’m checking from time to time, it’s making sure my shoulders are level over the ball. I’m not sure if it’s a product of setting up over every other shot with my trail shoulder lower than my lead shoulder, but I have to be careful that doesn’t creep into my putting posture. If your trail shoulder (right for righties) is lower than your lead shoulder, the tendency is to make a stroke that is too low to high, and the ball comes off the face a little hoppy. That can really impact your accuracy.

A great thing you can do to make sure your shoulders are level is to first set up with a cross-handed grip (lead-hand low). This keeps you from tilting away from the hole. Then, before you make your stroke, go back to your normal grip. Now you’re in position to strike the ball on a more level path and get a better roll.

My other advice for putting is to develop a pre-shot routine that you use every time you putt. That means doing the same things in the same amount of time on every putt. (If your routine takes 10 seconds, it should always take 10 seconds). A repetitive approach will get you in the mind-set of treating every putt the same, which takes the pressure off. —With Ron Kaspriske

Cliff Hawkins

“Patrick is very non-analytical with putting and probably wouldn’t putt well if he thought about that stuff. Aside from having great vision and feel on the greens, a key ingredient to Patrick’s success comes from the roll he puts on the ball. To copy that aspect of his game, try to get your putterhead to stay low to the ground after you strike the ball.” — DAVID LEADBETTER

PATRICK REED was fourth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained/putting and first in one-putt percentage (45.1) and three-putt avoidance (1.57 percent) in 2021.

Honorable Mention: Louis Oosthuizen ✶ Cameron Smith ✶ Sam Burns ✶ Jordan Spieth

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What is Strokes Gained? Explanation, Calculation, and Examples

Strokes gained is a golf stats methodology popularized by Mark Broadie and adopted by the PGA Tour which measures a golfer's skill by each part of their game.

Written By: Zach Gollwitzer

Posted in: Golf Statistics

Tags: Data-Driven Golf

Term Overview

A brief overview of the term including definition, usage, origins, helpful visuals.

The strokes gained methodology is the most accurate way to measure the overall skill of a golfer. It can assess a golfer's putting skill, chipping skill, approach shot skill, driving skill, or all of these combined into one statistic. It is a relative statistic based on average "benchmarks" for each type of shot.

During the Tour Championship, Tiger Woods gained 0.8 strokes putting, lost 0.3 strokes around the greens, gained 1.1 strokes on approach shots, and gained 0.2 strokes on drives. Overall, he gained 1.8 strokes on the field across his entire game during this tournament.

Strokes gained was an effort between Mark Broadie and the PGA Tour. The TOUR gave Broadie, an academic researcher access to the database of ShotLink data, which he then spent years researching, analyzing, and formulating what would become the "Strokes Gained Approach". This is now a statistic published by the PGA Tour for all events.

Table of Contents

Tired of hearing the phrase "strokes gained" from the guys in your fantasy golf league or Sunday foursome and not understanding it?

In this post, I'm breaking it all down— it's a lot easier than you think.

What is it?

Strokes gained is a golf statistics methodology.

It is made up of four main components:

• Strokes gained off the tee
• Strokes gained approach
• Strokes gained around the green
• Strokes gained putting

The purpose of this method is to independently and objectively assess each part of a golfer's game.

It helps us accurately answer questions like:

• What is the strongest part of Rickie Fowler's game?
• Who putted the best at the Masters last year?
• Which golf course has the most challenging greens to putt on?
• How much did approach shots contribute to Tiger's victory at the Tour Championship?

Basic Formula

The basic strokes gained formula is calculated on a shot-by-shot basis and is the following:

Strokes Gained = Benchmark Avg. Shots to Hole Out (start) - Benchmark Avg. Shots to Hole Out (end) - 1

Where "Benchmark" represents an average value calculated by looking at hundreds of thousands of golf shots hit by tour pros and captured by the ShotLink system .

For example, the "benchmark" may say that from 160 yards in the middle of the fairway, on average , a tour pro will take 2.98 shots to hole out, while a 10-foot putt will take an average of 1.61 shots to hole out. If a tour pro hits that 160-yard approach shot from the fairway to 10 feet, we could say their "strokes gained" on this shot was:

Strokes Gained = 2.98 - 1.61 - 1 = 0.37 strokes

In other words, they have reduced their "expected" shots to hole out by 1.37, and after we subtract the shot they just took (1), they gained 0.37 strokes against the "field".

How Amateurs Can Use It

While there are a growing number of ways for amateurs to track their own strokes gained statistics, I recommend purchasing the Arccos tracking system .

This shot-tracking system will track your shots automatically and show you a dashboard of your strokes gained statistics against players of a similar handicap to you.

What is Strokes Gained?

Let's dive a little deeper.

What's the story behind strokes gained, and how does it really work?

Strokes Gained History

While I'm not the one to ask for the full history and backstory (you can read Every Shot Counts for that), here are the cliff notes of how we got here:

• Early 2000s —The concept of "strokes gained" was developed by Mark Broadie, a quant-finance professor at Columbia Business School thanks to hundreds of thousands of shot data points collected by the Tour's ShotLink system
• 2011 —In May of 2011, the PGA Tour officially adopted strokes gained putting and soon thereafter introduced the remaining statistics ( approach , off the tee , around the green ).
• Coaches and their players start using strokes gained stats to influence their practice strategy and on-course strategy .
• Shot tracking systems like Arccos begin incorporating these statistics in their ecosystems making these metrics available to amateur golfers for the first time ever (technically, GolfMetrics, developed by Broadie was first, but Arccos is far more popular nowadays)

Common Uses of Strokes Gained Data

Strokes gained data is primarily used for the following:

• Game improvement —gives golfers better insights of what they need to practice and how they should strategize while playing
• Live Broadcasts —gives announcers incredibly detailed metrics to share with viewers (e.g. "Tiger has never missed a putt inside 5 feet on this hole")
• Sports Betting (fantasy golf) —many sports betting models and algorithms incorporate strokes gained data

Is Strokes Gained Better than Traditional Statistics?

By a landslide.

While traditional statistics are easier to track and a great way to get started for amateur golfers, they come with some severe limitations:

• Not Independently Measured —traditional stats like GIR , scrambling, fairway percentage, and putts per round are not independent. For example, I could chunk a chip shot, make a 40 foot putt for par, and my "scrambling" stat will improve. Does this mean I'm great at chipping? No! It just means I made a lucky putt. These traditional stats are co-mingled.
• Do not account for external factors —if a golfer plays a course that has tight fairways, their driving accuracy will decline. This doesn't always mean they hit the ball poorly; it just means they played a TOUGH course!

These are just a few of the many problems that come with traditional stats.

I won't sit here and claim that strokes gained stats don't have any limitations, but they're significantly better than traditional golf stats.

Let's find out why.

How is Strokes Gained Calculated?

In its most basic form, "strokes gained" measures how many strokes a golfer gains or loses against the "benchmark", which is generally historical shot data from players of similar skill levels.

The PGA Tour (and other tours) measure every shot a player takes during the competition using ShotLink , which then goes into their databases and is used to calculate the "benchmark".

The "benchmark" tells use the average number of strokes taken from various distances and locations (fairway, rough, sand) on the golf course.

Example Benchmark Data

Below are some sample benchmarks from Broadie's book, Every Shot Counts. These benchmarks represent PGA Tour data from 2004-2012.

Long Game Benchmarks

In reality, strokes gained will be calculated from a benchmark table with thousands of distances and data points.

But how do we read this?

Here are a few examples:

• If a tour pro is hitting a 100-yard shot from the rough, we expect them to take 3.02 strokes to hole out from this scenario.
• A 400-yard par 4 is short for tour pros, so it makes sense that the average is under par
• If a tour pro is stuck behind a tree from 200 yards and has to chip out to the fairway, we expect them to take 3.87 shots to hole out (see "Recovery" column)

As you can see, the "average shots taken" benchmarks are a function of both location AND distance.

Putting Benchmarks

Similar to the first table, we have average benchmarks for putting at different distances.

These are pretty straightforward—if a tour pro has a 9-foot putt, we expect them to take 1.56 strokes to hole out. In other words, a 45% probability of making the putt.

Strokes Gained Formula

As mentioned above, the strokes gained formula is:

We take the benchmark number of strokes from the shot we are hitting, subtract the benchmark number of strokes from where we hit the shot to, and subtract 1 (because we hit 1 shot).

This formula is used on a shot-by-shot basis.

Strokes Gained Example Calculation

Imagine we are given the following "benchmark" tables for long game and putting:

Using this table, let's follow Tiger Woods as he plays the 18th hole at Pebble Beach .

Shot 1: Tee Shot

Tiger's first shot is from the tee box from 540 yards. Looking at the sample table above, we can see that the "benchmark" at this location (tee) and from this distance (540 yards) is 4.65 strokes.

Tiger hits his drive down the middle (fairway) and ends up 240 yards (distance) from the pin, which from the table above, we know has a benchmark value of 3.45 strokes.

Given this information, we can calculate strokes gained off the tee for this shot:

Strokes Gained Off the Tee = 4.65 - 3.45 - 1 = 0.20 strokes

Shot 2: Approach Shot

Tiger's next shot is from 240 yards in the fairway. He plays conservatively and hits a 4-iron 20 yards short of the green.

Let's grab our benchmarks at these starting and ending locations:

• 240 yards (distance) from fairway (location) has a benchmark value of 3.45 strokes
• 20 yards (distance) from the fairway (location) has a benchmark value of 2.40

So our strokes gained approach is:

Strokes Gained Approach = 3.45 - 2.40 - 1 = 0.05 strokes

So far, after two shots, Tiger has gained 0.20 + 0.05 = 0.25 shots on the field.

Shot 3: Chip Shot

For Tiger's third shot, he chips it from 20 yards to a distance of 10-feet from the hole.

Not exactly what he was looking for, but he's got a makeable birdie putt!

Let's look up our benchmark averages for these two shots:

• 20-yard chip from the fairway has a benchmark value of 2.40
• 10-foot putt has a benchmark value of 1.61

Since Tiger is within 30 yards from the edge of the green, this shot qualifies as a strokes gained around the green calculation:

Strokes Gained Around the Green = 2.40 - 1.61 - 1 = -0.21 strokes

In this case, Tiger didn't hit a great chip, and therefore, has lost strokes on the field.

So far, through 3 shots, he has gained 0.20 + 0.05 - 0.21 = 0.04 strokes on the field this hole.

Shot 4: Birdie Putt

In this scenario, let's say Tiger nails his birdie putt from 10 feet.

Since a 10-foot putt has a benchmark average of 1.61, he gains 0.61 shots on the field with the strokes gained putting metric:

Strokes gained putting = 1.61 - 0 - 1 = 0.61

Entire Hole Calculation

If we wanted to calculate the entire strokes gained value for this 18th hole, we just add the individual components together:

Strokes Gained = SG Tee + SG Approach + SG Around Green + SG Putting

Our final calculation is:

Strokes Gained (hole) = 0.20 + 0.05 - 0.21 + 0.61 = 0.65

And guess what?

The math all ties out. Remember how a 540-yard hole from the tee had an average of 4.65 strokes to hole out?

If we subtract Tiger's score, we arrive at the same value:

Strokes Gained = 4.65 - 4 = 0.65

Calculation Methodology

As you can see, we can use this strokes gained methodology in all sorts of ways:

• By area of game (e.g. putting)
• By tournament
• By a player's career
• By a player's season

Since we're dealing with the same base unit (strokes), we can mix and match however we want!

The overall methodology goes like this:

• Establish a baseline —to calculate strokes gained, you need a dataset that will allow you to establish your "benchmark" or "baseline" for shots of varying distances and locations (see table above)
• Calculate —you can then calculate individual strokes gained values
• Aggregate —and finally, aggregate them by hole, round, tournament, or however you can think of!
• Adjust —we haven't talked about this yet, but as you'll see in the strokes gained putting section below, some adjustments are made for official reporting on Tour.

What types of Strokes Gained Data Can we Calculate?

As you may have noticed from our example hole at Pebble Beach above, I calculated strokes gained in several "buckets".

While the math is the same for each, it is useful to measure individual areas of a golfer's game.

Let's see what each represents:

Strokes Gained Off the Tee

Strokes gained off the tee measures all tee shots on par 4s and par 5s. It does NOT include par 3 tee shots.

This metric is a measure of both driving distance AND accuracy.

In his book, Every Shot Counts , Mark Broadie calculated that for every 20 yards added to tee shots, a tour player gains ~0.75 strokes on the field. Furthermore, he found a positive correlation between a player's distance off the tee and overall driving accuracy.

To learn more about this statistic, you can read my full post on strokes gained off the tee .

Strokes Gained Approach Shots

Strokes gained approach shots represent par 3 tee shots + any shot that is greater than 30 yards from the edge of the green (excluding par 4 and 5 tee shots)

This metric is a measure of ball striking , typically with irons .

In his prime, Tiger Woods led the tour in this stat by a large margin. In 2006, Tiger gained 2.1 strokes per round through his ball striking.

Absolutely INSANE.

To learn more about this statistic, you can read my full post on strokes gained approach shots .

Strokes Gained Around the Green

Strokes gained around the green measures all shots within 30 yards of the edge of the green that are not putts.

This metric measures a golfer's chipping, pitching, and bunker play inside 30 yards.

To learn more about this statistic, you can read my full post on strokes gained around the green .

Strokes Gained Putting

Strokes gained putting measures all putts.

As you can probably guess, this tells us how skilled a golfer is with the flat stick .

Unlike other strokes gained stats, this metric is reported by the tour on an adjusted basis.

Strokes Gained Putting to the Field: An Adjusted Metric

Let's imagine two pro golfers play in two separate tournaments.

At one tournament, the greens are wicked fast and dry. At the other tournament, it just rained, so the greens are much slower and relatively flat.

If we calculated strokes gained putting for each of these golfers, who do you think will have a better metric?

Of course, the golfer on the easy, slow greens!

Since strokes gained statistics are reported across tournaments, the PGA Tour needed a method for adjusting it based on the difficulty of the greens.

So on a per-round basis, strokes gained putting is adjusted based on historical performance of all pros at a given course. For example, Pebble Beach has notoriously challenging greens, and therefore, a player will get ~0.77 strokes added to their strokes gained putting metric for each round played at Pebble beach.

To learn more about this statistic, you can read my full post on strokes gained putting .

Strokes Gained Tee to Green (Aggregate Metric)

Strokes gained tee to green is an aggregate metric that combines strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained approach, and strokes gained around the green.

There's not much to say about this one. It's a measure of how well a golfer performs excluding putting.

Strokes Gained Total (Aggregate Metric)

Total strokes gained combines all non-aggregated metrics which includes off the tee, approach, around the green, and putting.

As we have discussed throughout this post, the aggregated strokes gained metric is an overall measurement of a golfer's skill.

In general, this is correlated with world golf rankings. The players leading this metric win lots of tournaments.

Can Amateur Golfers Use Strokes Gained Off the Tee?

At the time of writing, the golf industry has come a long way with consumer-grade technology. With the proliferation of shot trackers and personal launch monitors , it has become easier for amateur golfers to assess their games with real on-course data.

That said, tracking strokes gained off the tee statistics still proves difficult for many golfers.

Because as we talked about earlier, strokes gained calculations require benchmark data.

This means that for a 15-handicap golfer to assess their game with strokes gained data, all of the following things must be tracked:

• Every shot must be tracked (ending location AND distance)
• Thousands of golfers who play to a 15 handicap must also track their shots
• All this data must be aggregated in one spot (ecosystem)

For the PGA Tour, this is easy. ShotLink tracks every golf shot from every tournament for every tour pro automatically.

For us amateurs, we don't have this luxury (and frankly, most of us probably don't want all of our shots tracked!)

There are a few options though and I'm excited to see how this evolves in the next decade!

Option #1: Automatic Tracking

In my opinion, automatic strokes gained tracking is the best option. Tracking every shot for every round you play is exhausting and most golfers do not have the discipline to keep this up over a long enough period for it to start helping their games.

At the time of writing, here are a few shot trackers that also have strokes gained statistics built-in to their ecosystems:

• Arccos Shot Trackers: The Arccos system has strokes gained calculations available to users (via the app) and thanks to all the amateur data they have collected, you can compare your rounds against golfers of similar skill levels. This is a huge benefit and allows for the most accurate strokes gained data.
• ShotScope Trackers: A close second to Arccos, ShotScope offers shot trackers and an app that calculates strokes gained data. From what I've seen, ShotScope does not have quite as many data points as Arccos, but is a great alternative.

Option #2: Manual tracking

Several apps allow you to track all of your shots manually and then review strokes gained data within the dashboard. While this can be cumbersome and exhausting to some golfers, it is a great option if you are highly disciplined and dedicated to improving your golf game.

Here are a few to check out:

• My Round Pro
• PinPoint Golf
• Decade Golf: This is more of a system than an app. While it does have an app, this is a premium service you pay for to help learn better golf strategy based on strokes gained data.

Concluding Thoughts: How does strokes gained benefit YOU?

By now, you probably understand how strokes gained work, but may not see the benefit to your game yet.

I'll leave you with a few ideas of how you can use this to improve your game:

• It tells you what to practice —Unlike traditional stats, strokes gained clearly shows you what parts of your game stink
• You can manage expectations better —Have you ever gotten mad at yourself for missing a 10-footer? I know I have. But what if I told you that even the pros only make 40% of these? Feels a bit better right?
• It tells you where to aim —If you're hitting driver on a par 4 with OB right and rough left, strokes gained tells you that you might want to aim left of the fairway . For most golfers, the penalty for being in the rough is significantly less than the penalty of going out of bounds.

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About the author: Zach Gollwitzer

Hey, I‘m Zach, the founder of The DIY Golfer! I created this site while playing D1 collegiate golf with a simple mission—I wanted to learn the golf swing and get better at golf myself.

Fast forward a few years, and my “journal“, The DIY Golfer, has been viewed by millions of golfers worldwide looking to do the same with their games. my mission is to make golfers more consistent in just a few hours a week through advanced practice strategies and timeless, first-principle golf instruction.

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Strokes gained and the stats behind the scorecards on the PGA Tour

Published: 10 January 2024 Last updated: 10 January 2024

As the newly revamped 2024 season tees off, Today’s Golfer reflects on what it takes to succeed on tour and the metrics that matter most.

Merger mayhem, mega money moves , ‘Capgate’ controversy, and the battle to bifurcate – 2023’s off-course antics proved more turbulent than ever before.

“Golf is a mess” , puts Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, as the PGA Tour’s reimagined calendar-year schedule teed off for its ‘Opening Drive’ in Hawaii. A much-needed pause from the drama dividing a game glittering with talent, global superstars, and record-breaking performances.

Take Scottie Scheffler. The World No.1’s spectacular season of ball striking saw him top the ‘Strokes Gained’ (SG) leaderboards for SG: Off-the-tee and SG: Approach in 2023 – the first time the feat has been achieved in the SG era.

Despite a deflating start to his TGL virtual venture , Rory McIlroy became the first player since 1981 to finish a season with a streak of 10 consecutive top-10 results. Team Europe’s premier gladiator in Rome also set a new all-time driving distance record on tour of 326.3 yards.

And, what to make of Ryder Cup bolter Ludvig Aberg’s remarkable breakthrough season. It took the Texas Tech graduate a mere 75 days to register his first professional win, before slotting in seamlessly alongside Europe’s big guns at Marco Simone.

By mid-November, Aberg had also added a first PGA Tour title at the RSM Classic, rewriting the PGA Tour record book along the way with his 72-hole total of 253 – equaling Justin Thomas’ mark, with closing back-to-back 61s adding up to the lowest final 36-hole total ever. Somehow that wasn’t enough to pip Eric Cole to the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year award.

Scandi compatriot Viktor Hovland also had a 2023 to remember, finishing as FedExCup Champion after storming to back-to-back victories at the business end of the season.

Not only were the numbers following the dollar sign on Hovland’s cheques rather impressive, but so too were the stats behind his performances.

The Norwegian World No.4 became the first player in 30 years to lead the field in Driving Accuracy, Greens in Regulation and Scrambling on route to the Tour Championship, and the first in 40 to win back-to-back while topping both fields in Driving Accuracy.

A resurgent Rickie Fowler returned to the winner’s circle at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on the back of reinventing his approach play. The Californian finished 2023 tied sixth for SG: Approach, after struggling to break 150 th in the two preceding seasons.

A special mention must also go to Lucas Glover who delivered his first multi-win season at 43 years old. His two wins came back-to-back, stealing the perhaps unwanted title of the oldest back-to-back winner on tour from Vijay Singh.

Of course, the above achievements provide a mere snapshot of a season where the talent on the turf still managed to outshine the chaos off it.

And whether you prefer Coke or Pepsi, DC or Marvel, PGA or LIV, a 58 is a 58, and Bryson DeChambeau’s historic efforts at Greenbrier stand with the best performance across golf’s 2023 tours.

Performances of this caliber not only take an extraordinary work rate, talent, and belief, but an uncompromising attention to detail, and hunger to dive down into the metrics that matter most and differentiate the best from the rest at this elite level.

DeChambeau is not alone in his data-driven approach to understanding performance. Matt Fitzpatrick is another determined to find silver bullets in the data he religiously records from every shot, and Edoardo Molinari’s stock is fast rising as a leading performance analyst to Team Europe and others looking for an empirical edge.

Numbers can have their pitfalls, however.

Granted, they don’t have opinions – which is refreshingly helpful in golf at present – but they can lead us all off the fairway and down a rabbit hole.

Which ones are meaningful, and which ones are simply ‘nice to know’?

Golf is a multi-faceted skill-based game like no other. There is no hierarchical model that determines performance outcomes. Good shots can be punished, bad shots can be rewarded, and we can all lay testament to that.

The right player, on the right day, on the right course has a puncher’s chance of winning on tour. The 69 different winners across 92 PGA and DP World Tour tournaments illustrate this point as well as any.

Climbing to the top tiers of the Official Golf World Rankings requires something more, however.

The highest rungs on the ladder can only be reached via a consistency of performance over time, earned by featuring frequently on the first page of Sunday afternoon leaderboards.

What can we learn from the performance characteristics of these players? What are the non-negotiables and how well-rounded do the best really need to be?

The validity of ‘Strokes Gained’ as a performance measure

Columbia University professor Mark Broadie’s ‘Strokes Gained’ measurement tool has undoubtedly revolutionized our understanding of the critical determinants of golf performance at the highest level.

An ever-growing bank of ShotLink data continually refines our knowledge of the exact number of strokes required for the ‘average PGA Tour golfer’ to put the ball in the hole from any given location on the course.

SG essentially provides a meaningful performance benchmark, enabling interested parties to measure how much better or worse a tour pro performs in specific areas of the game compared to their counterparts.

And in the same way that we accept the end-of-year world rankings to fairly reflect ‘what’ happened in the preceding 12 months of competition, the vast data underpinning end-of-season SG leaderboards is now widely accepted as a logical explanation of ‘how’ it happened too.

The cumulation of SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Putting is known as SG: Total – a leaderboard topped by Scottie Scheffler in 2023, despite being the only player in the top 10 to finish below the tour average for putting. More on Scottie’s flat stick issues later.

Diving into the data

A linear regression of SG: Total against a medium-term success metric (end-of-year world ranking), shows a reasonable measure of fit against the model (R 2 = 0.51).

Simply put, SG: Total is roughly 50% successful at predicting world-ranking positions at the end of a season.

The relationship appears strongest for those players at the top of the SG: Total leaderboard, an observation also noted in a previous analysis that reported how SG: Total is an increasingly useful indicator of end-of-year ranking for the top 30 players.

But what for the relative importance of SG: Total’s constituent parts? Does the age-old anecdote of “drive for show, putt for dough” have any credibility?

Quite the opposite in fact.

We took the top 90 players from each SG leaderboard on the PGA Tour and divided them into three groups to see how proficiency in each facet of the game affected WR.

Not all SG statistics are born equal!

For this to be true we might expect more balanced average rankings for each SG metric and more proportional differentials between each level of player.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the SG: Total leaders had the lowest WR for the most elite group (24.73), followed by SG: Tee-to-Green (30.57), and then SG: Approach (35.40).

SG: Around-the-Green (46.47), SG: Putting (52.83), and SG: Off-the-Tee (56.50) round off the order – which would be sequential in terms of importance be it not for performance Off-the-tee on par 4s and 5s.

These data therefore highlight the importance of a strong all-round tee-to-green game if you want to reach the higher echelons of the WRs, and more specifically a dialed-in ‘approach game’ is critical.

A glance at the illustrious list of PGA Tour winners on the SG: Approach leaderboard and you’ll understand why.

The next pool of players (ranked 31-60) for SG: Approach don’t necessarily end the year further up the WRs than the final group (ranked 61-90). The same can be said of the SG: Around-the-Green leaderboard.

Birdie or better conversion rate may go some way to explaining this. It’s one thing hitting the green, it’s another taking your chances – and you’re not mixing it with the McIlroys and Hovlands of this world without being able to do this somewhat consistently.

With average driving distance on tour in the region of 300 yards, players are typically left with 125-150 yards on average length par 4s on tour.

A key distance to get nailed down, and interestingly the Green-in-Regulation leaderboards read very differently when the approach length edges beyond 150 yards.

Food for thought considering the recent decision to roll the golf ball back 15 yards from 2028.

How important is a well-rounded skillset?

Back to Scottie Scheffler, and if you’re going to have a weakness…

The World No.1 ranked first on four out of the six SG leaderboards, fifth for SG: Around-the-Green, and an eyebrow-raising 162 nd for SG: Putting, losing an average of 0.3 shots on the field.

McNealy, Montgomery, and McCarthy stepped up on 2023’s putting podium. Not exactly golf’s household names with all due respect.

And while we do see the likes of Schauffele, Homa, Hatton, and Burns challenging atop the SG: Putting leaderboard, our results tend to support the notion that the putter doesn’t need to be red hot every week.

It seems more important to give yourself chances all year round and keep faith that a putting purple patch will arrive, and hopefully in time for Major week.

We shouldn’t dismiss the short game as a ‘nice string to the bow’, however. The world’s best take fewer putts per round, convert more birdies, scramble better from both the sand and rough, and gain more shots in general both around and on the green.

The differentials between performance levels are just smaller than tee-to-green.

A final result of note is that driving the ball further does not differentiate between these groupings of elite players.

It appears to be important enough to put a shorter shaft in your hand for the next shot, but no match for being able to pepper the pin. A 300-yard drive quickly loses its value if you struggle to hit areas of the dancefloor where more putts are holed than missed.

This is what the best are doing consistently better than the rest.

But what does it actually take to win you ask?

Reassuringly, more of the same.

The SG data from the 41 PGA Tour events with individual champions in 2023 again stress the importance of a skillset with a laser-like approach play at the heart.

Champions on tour placed 39th on average for SG: Total, with the relative importance of each game facet decreasing in importance as the ball made its way to the hole.

The most striking difference between the two measures of success (WR and winning on tour), lies in the superior performance off the tee across the season for those going on to lift trophies.

It appears a less crucial weapon for climbing the WRs but is seemingly a key piece of artillery for those who won in 2023. Winners Scheffler, Aberg, McIlroy, and Hovland all feature in the top 8 for SG: Off-the-Tee, helping the metric rise in stature.

Interestingly, despite Scheffler dominating the majority of the SG leaderboards, it’s McIlroy who has the lowest average ranking across all six SG categories, adding weight to the Northern Irishman’s stake as the most complete player on tour.

Rahm, Homa, and Hovland also feature in the conversation for the best all-rounder based on this data.

Let’s wrap up by contradicting the last 2,000 words.

Statistics are great talking points, and very often can be reliable predictors of future success. But the beauty of sport, and indeed professional golf resides in its unpredictability and unwillingness to read the script.

Take a bow Nico Echavarria, stepping up from 406 th in the WRs to win the Puerto Rico Open on 21-under par, rising over 100 places in the space of a week to 287 th .

What was his super-strength? Timing. Pure and simple. The Columbian didn’t break inside the top 125 in any SG category that year.

It may not have been the most stellar field in the world, but Echavarria can call himself a PGA Tour winner, and no doubt the only numbers that mattered to him were $684,000.

It just goes to show the strength in depth across the tour, every dog has his day, but consistency is king if you want to be a top dog on tour.

Analysis – what we did

Our sample explored relationships between the top 90 ranked players from PGA Tour ShotLink leaderboards and success outcomes in golf – world ranking and tour wins.

The only exception being if a featured player finished the year ranked outside the world’s top 200. We deemed this as being a reasonable cut-off for describing players who regularly compete in top-tier tour events.

Limitations worth noting are the significant absence of data from LIV Tour players, and the fact that not every round of golf is captured by ShotLink, which may elevate or suppress a true reflection of performance across the season in some cases.

That said, the results are in good agreement with past studies and provide an objective starting point for conversations into the performance determinants of elite golfing performance.

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About the author

Ross Tugwood

Golf Equipment Writer

Ross Tugwood is a golf equipment writer for todays-golfer.com, specializing in data, analytics, science, and innovation.

Ross is passionate about optimizing sports performance and has a decade of experience working with professional athletes and coaches for British Athletics, the UK Sports Institute, and Team GB.

He has post-graduate degrees in Performance Analysis and Sports Journalism, enabling him to critically analyze and review the latest golf equipment and technology to help you make better-informed buying decisions.

How Strokes Gained Works

Strokes gained is a powerful advanced metric with far-reaching consequences in the golf world. There are numerous articles in major publications that address strokes gained and recognize it as a statistic that will change the way golf is played and understood. Unfortunately, those same articles portray the math behind the statistics as beyond the grasp of most normal people. There is an overwhelming perception that the strokes gained method is too complex for non-statisticians to understand.

However, you may be surprised to learn that  strokes gained  is really a very simple concept. The truth is, the process of generating strokes gained statistics is extremely intuitive, and the math involved is simple subtraction. Below, we will do our best to demystify strokes gained golf stats, showing step by step how they work. Hopefully, we can help you understand that while strokes gained is powerful, it is also simple. It is far-reaching in scope, but elegant and intuitive to create and use.

The Benchmark

The first concept to understand is the establishment of strokes-to-hole benchmarks. This is the key that unlocks strokes gained, and the work has already been done. These benchmarks are the average strokes-to-hole from every possible position and lie on a golf course, generated by a consistently performing group of golfers. The numbers have been determined with extreme accuracy by using ShotLink™ data, representing millions of shots performed by PGA Tour pros during real tournaments over the course of many years.

The benchmark numbers are simply the average number of strokes it takes PGA Tour pros to hole out from any position on the golf course. Every ball at rest is defined by the two most important variables for a golf shot: the distance-to-hole and lie type.

The result is a table with the average strokes-to-hole from 0-600 yards, for each lie type including tee, fairway, rough, sand, and “recovery” shots. A portion of the benchmarks table looks like this:

This table shows the strokes-to-hole benchmarks for distances from 0 to 50 yards, for each lie type.

There is a separate table for putting, measured in feet rather than yards. A portion of the table looks like this, with 1-, 2-, and 3-putt percentages included:

Calculating Strokes Gained For Each Shot

With benchmark tables firmly in hand, calculating the strokes gained value for a given shot is not at all difficult. The first thing to understand is that a strokes gained value is either positive or negative. A positive value means the stroke was better than the benchmark, and a negative value means the stroke was worse than the benchmark. The second thing to understand is that the value is in terms of  strokes , or more precisely fractions of strokes to the hundredth. The third thing to understand is that in order to calculate the strokes gained value of a given shot, you need four simple but vital pieces of information: the pre-shot distance-to-hole, the pre-shot lie type, the post-shot distance-to-hole, and the post-shot lie type.

In order to make strokes calculation perfectly clear, we will use an example of a golfer on a course: let’s call him Tom.

Tom is standing on the tee box on the third hole of Big Duffer Country Club. He is playing the black tees, and tees off 430 yards from the hole. So we already know the vital pre-shot info:

• Pre-shot distance-to-hole: 430 yards
• Pre-shot lie type: Tee

A look at the strokes-to-hole table shows that 430Tee has a strokes-to-hole value of 4.05. So we know that on average a PGA Tour Pro takes just over 4 strokes to complete a hole of this length.

Tom hits his tee shot well, and his ball now rests in the fairway 140 yards from the hole. So now we know the vital post-shot data:

• Post-shot distance-to-hole: 140 yards
• Post-shot lie type: Fairway

Another look at the table shows a strokes-to-hole value of 2.91 for the new position.

To calculate the strokes gained value for the shot, we simply subtract using this formula:

(Pre-shot strokes-to-hole value) – (Post-shot strokes-to-hole value) – 1.00 = strokes gained value

So for Tom’s tee shot, we plug in the proper values so the formula looks like this:

• (4.05) – (2.91) – 1 = (+0.14)

That is all there is to it. For his tee shot, Tom gained .14 strokes on the PGA Tour average, which makes sense since he hit the ball around 290 yards in the fairway.

On his next shot, Tom hits the ball from 140 yards in the fairway (2.91) to a greenside bunker, 15 yards from the hole. A look at the strokes-to-hole table shows that a ball 15 yards from the hole in the sand is 2.48. So for the shot from the fairway, the formula looks like this:

• (2.91) – (2.48) – 1 = (-0.57)

Tom’s shot into the bunker was clearly poor, losing over half a stroke to the PGA Tour average.

On his next shot, Tom hits out of the bunker onto the green, 9 feet from the hole:

• Lie Type: Green

The table shows that a ball 9 feet from the green has a strokes-to-hole value of 1.58. So for shot #3, the formula looks like this:

• (2.48) – (1.58) – 1 = (-0.10)

Not a bad shot from the bunker, but Tom lost 0.1 strokes to the benchmark on that shot.

From nine feet, Tom runs his putt by and the ball comes to rest 3 feet from the hole. The new position on the green has a strokes-to-hole value of 1.05. The formula for the putt from 9 feet looks like this:

• (1.58) – (1.05) – 1 = (-0.47)

Tom then sinks the 3 footer, with the formula looking like this:

• (1.05) – (0.00) – 1 = (+.05)

Tom only gains .05 of a stroke for making the 3 footer, but it’s better than missing!

A simple table showing all five strokes for the hole looks like this:

We can see clearly that strokes gained can measure each shot. We can also see that strokes gained for the entire hole is -.95. This can be calculated two different ways. The strokes-to-hole value for 430 Tee is 4.05. Tom took 5 strokes to complete the hole: .95 worse than the benchmark. We can also just add up the strokes gained value for all the shots taken:

• (+.14) – (.57) – (.10) – (.47) + (.05) = (-.95)

It is important to note that the strokes gained value for the hole does not measure how many strokes were gained or lost to par, but to the average strokes it takes a PGA Tour pro to put the ball in the hole of that length.

Calculating Strokes Gained for Groups of Shots

Beyond measuring the quality of individual strokes, strokes gained also has the ability to measure any aggregate of shots. For example, we can easily add up Tom’s strokes gained values for all shots taken during a 9-hole or 18-hole round. More importantly, we can carefully select a particular category to measure for the round. For example, we can add the strokes gained values for all strokes taken from a “green” lie type to get “Strokes Gained Putting” for the round. We can add the strokes gained values for all strokes taken from the tee on par 4’s and par 5’s to get a very useful “Strokes Gained Driving” statistic – a true measure of driving performance by which golfers may be ranked with scientific accuracy, unlike the traditional “Total Driving”. We can essentially select any category of shots we like. Getting very specific, we could add the strokes gained values of all non-green shots between 0 and 75 yards. Potential categories that may be analyzed are virtually unlimited.

Tracking Strokes Gained Over Time

Recording strokes gained data for multiple rounds of golf leads to another exciting result: the ability to track change over time in any category. For example, you could see all of your strokes gained statistics in all categories for all rounds played over the course of a season or in the next few weeks or months after a lesson. This allows you to track progression and/or regression for any skill with precision. You can track your putting, driving, short game, or mid-irons precisely over time, knowing exactly where you have improved or where you have been worse. Gone are the days of guessing how well you are performing in a particular skill or distance range: now you can know  exactly  how well you are putting or driving from round to round. Now, instead of “feeling” like you are driving the ball better, the stats will show clearly and precisely how much better you are driving the ball in terms of how many strokes it has actually gained you. This information can be used to plan practice time more effectively, as well as make each shot a little more interesting. You may have a day when much of your game is below average, but you are putting so well that it keeps your motivation going during a round, knowing that the stats will show an outstanding day of putting. In other words, rather than ending a round with one score to measure your game, you can simultaneously be playing multiple “games within the game”.

Creating New Benchmarks

With enough amateur data, custom benchmarks can easily be created for friends, particular handicap levels, for yourself, or a number of other interesting measures. The core statistics resulting from strokes gained analysis essentially compare each of your shots to the average result expected from PGA Tour pros from the same position. For most of us, this may seem like a daunting proposition. For most of us, the vast majority of our shots are not likely to look good in comparison. However, you may be surprised at how many shots you hit during a round that are better than the PGA Tour average. It is a very nice feeling to know that you just hit a shot or a putt of PGA Tour quality! A few of these shots each round are what keep us coming back to the game. You could even award the best shot during a round played with friends, without having to be subjective, by simply observing which shot gained the most strokes.

In addition, strokes gained analysis allows you to compare yourself not only to Tour Pros, but to anyone you like. For example, you can see how each shot compares to a 10 handicap or a 20 handicap player. In other words, strokes gained easily allows for comparisons to any other player or group of player: the PGA Tour benchmark is only the raw, initial source of comparison. So while the numbers will always show you how you stack up to the highest quality golf, they can simultaneously show you how you stack up against a friend or a person of a given handicap level.

In addition, you will always be able to compare you shots or you rounds to  your own level ! You can know with precision whether any shot was better or worse than your own average for a given category. This is a very useful tool for measuring your progress.

Strokes gained statistics and benchmarks also allow for the unique ability to establish various targets for any shot. For example, standing over a shot from the fairway, 150 yard to the hole, strokes gained benchmarks can immediately tell you where a pro would be expected to hit the shot, where a 10 handicapper would be expected to hit the shot, or where you would be expected to hit the shot. Similarly, after hitting a shot, you can know precisely the quality of the shot in terms of what player would be expected to get that result. For example, you can know if the shot you just hit was a Rory McIlroy level shot, a scratch golfer level shot, or a 30 handicapper level shot. This has the potential to change the way you look at the game of golf, and may help you concentrate on the importance of the shot at hand. Knowing precisely the quality of each shot naturally leads to a habit that most golfers are trying to build: focusing on the shot at hand. Strokes gained analysis helps you do this by offering a way to precisely measure the quality of each shot.

Your Strokes Gained “Handicap”

Your official handicap is determined by considering your last 20 rounds of golf. Strokes gained has the ability to closely parallel the handicap system by measuring your strokes gained value in any category by averaging your last 20 rounds. In this way, you have a way to measure your current  overall  skill in any category, in the same way that a handicap measures your current golf level overall. In this way, you can know that right now you are, for example, a -3.23 putter, a -0.53 in the 0-50 yard range, and a +0.38 driver. Or, viewed in another way, you might putt like a typical 20-handicapper, have the short game of a 4 handicapper, and drive like a scratch golfer. In other words, you can keep a “strokes gained handicap”  for every skill  that changes over time just like your handicap changes over time.

Opinion & Analysis

Do you actually understand “strokes gained” stats here’s a breakdown.

In 2011, the PGA Tour introduced ShotLink, which is a real-time scoring system that captures data points on all shots taken during PGA Tour events. ShotLink measures the distance from the hole, as well as categorizing shot types like tee, fairway, rough, sand, and green.

Mark Broadie, a professor at Columbia Business School, took the data from ShotLink and helped develop a new way to analyze putting performance. This new statistic was called “strokes gained: putting,” and it measures the number of putts a golfer takes relative to the PGA Tour average from that same distance. Strokes gained putting recognizes that sinking a 20-foot putt represents a better performance than sinking a three-foot putt, even though they both count as a single putt and a single stroke on the scorecard.

This was revolutionary because golfers no longer had to rely on the number of putts per round to understand their putting performance. Strokes gained also provided a unified way to measure an individual golfer against his opponents on the PGA Tour.

In 2016, the same concept used for strokes gained: putting was applied to other areas of the game. The PGA Tour developed new statistics including “strokes gained: off-the-tee,” “strokes gained: approach-the-green,” and “strokes gained: around-the-green.” This expansion allowed a PGA Tour golfer to precisely see where he excels and where he needs to improve.

What is strokes gained

In the most simple terms, “strokes gained” is a way to measure a player’s performance compared to the rest of the field. It also allows you to isolate different parts of a player’s game. In order to understand the statistic, you have to know that the PGA Tour has historical data from ShotLink that has calculated the average number of strokes needed to hole out from every distance and location on a course. Below I have included four scenarios to better illustrate the idea of strokes gained.

The scenarios below show how strokes gained could work on a single hole. Remember most strokes gained statistics are the aggregate of all the holes for a players round.

Scenario No. 1: Driving

You are playing a 450-yard par 4. The PGA Tour scoring average for a par 4 of that length is 4.1 strokes.

You hit a drive that ends up in the fairway, 115 yards from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from in the fairway, 115 yards out is 2.825 strokes. In order to calculate strokes gained: off-the-tee you use the formula below

(PGA Tour average for the hole) – (PGA Tour average left after your drive) – 1 = strokes gained: off-the-tee

Next, plug the numbers from the scenario above into this formula to calculate the s trokes gained: off-the-tee

4.100 – 2.825 = 1.275 – 1 = 0.275 s trokes gained: off-the-tee

Since you hit your drive in the fairway 115 yards from the hole you gained .275 strokes off the tee from the average PGA Tour player.

Scenario No. 2: Approach Shot

Let’s take the same drive from the first scenario. You hit a drive on a par 4 that ends up in the fairway, 115 yards from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from in the fairway 115 yards out is 2.825. You hit your approach shot on the green 10 feet from the hole. The PGA Tour scoring average from on the green 10 feet from the hole is 1.61 strokes.

(PGA Tour average from your approach) – (PGA Tour average for your putt) – 1 = strokes gained: approach-the-green

2.825 – 1.61 = 1.215 – 1 = . 215 s trokes gained: approach-the-green

Since you hit your approach shot to 10 feet you gained .213 strokes from the average PGA Tour player.

Scenario No. 3: Putting

Continuing the scenario from example scenario No. 2. You have a 10-foot putt left for birdie which you make.

(Your # of Putts) – (PGA Tour average from that distance) = strokes gained putting

1 putt – 1.61 = .61 strokes gained putting

Since you made that 10-foot putt you gained .61 strokes from the average PGA Tour player.

Scenario No. 4: Total for the hole:

To calculate strokes gained total use the formula below:

Strokes gained off-the-tee + Strokes gained approach-the-green + strokes gained around-the-green + strokes gained putting= strokes gained total

0.275+. 215+0+ .61=1.1 Total Strokes Gained on that hole

This makes sense because the PGA Tour average for the hole was 4.1 and you made a 3.

Definitions of Strokes Gained Statistics

• Strokes gained: off-the-tee: Measures player performance off the tee on all par 4s and par 5s. This statistic looks at how much better or worse a player’s drive is then the average PGA Tour player.
• Strokes gained: approach-the-green: Measures player performance on approach shots and other shots that are NOT included in strokes gained: around-the-green and strokes gained: putting. It does include tee shots on par 3s.
• Strokes gained: around-the-green: Measures player performance on any shot within 30 yards of the edge of the green without measuring putting.
• Strokes gained: putting: Measures how many strokes a player gains (or loses) on the greens compared to PGA Tour average.
• Strokes gained: tee-to-green:  Strokes gained: o ff-the-tee + strokes gained: approach-the-green + strokes gained: around-the-green
• Strokes gained: total: Strokes gained: off-the-tee + strokes gained: approach-the-green + strokes gained: around-the-green + strokes gained: putting

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18 Comments

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Sep 4, 2018 at 12:55 pm

All approach shots 10 feet from the hole aren’t created equal.

Justin Dohnson

Sep 4, 2018 at 12:53 pm

The comment section, a quick reminder of people’s inability to comprehend what they read.

Sep 3, 2018 at 8:21 pm

All you need to understand is the lowest score in golf wins….the rest of stats is unnecessary.

Sep 4, 2018 at 12:14 pm

If you understand the concept of Strokes Gained (which based on all the prior comments it seems most do not) it can be very valuable teaching you which areas are costing you strokes in relation to your peers.

Sep 3, 2018 at 9:33 am

I have read similar explanations before this one and none of them register with me. It seems to me that it still all comes down to putting. The driver example given is meaningless if you cannot capitalize on it. Same with approach/around the green. I think Broadie should have stopped with the putting stat and left it at that.

Sep 3, 2018 at 11:38 am

Read Mark book, “Every Shot Counts”. It shows that putting isn’t as important for the good players as you think. Wants really more important is being able to drive it far and straighish and being to hit iron shots close to the hole. Look at player like Dustin Johnson who in the past his putting stroke has held him back (this year he is putting really good for him), yet he still won 4 times on tour last year. Why, well he is one the longest on tour and he hit his irons and wedge really tight, his birdie putts are going to be alot easier to make than say a Kevin Kisner. Kisner is one of the better putters on tour, though he is outside the top 150 in both driving and iron play; perfect examples for why he struggling this year; sure he is making alot putts, though those putts are for par, unlike DJ who putts are for birdie. Look Brandt Snedcker, he too has been struggling with his iron play all year, though still being able to putt. The stat that stood out the most when he cruise to a win 3 weeks ago was his ball striking. Sure you cant Putt awful and still win (Vijay did use to do it and Hideki does it know), but it is becoming very difficult to win on tour when you are not hitting iron shots close to the hole. Look at Jason Day, he had 9 wins between 15-16 despite being one the worst iron players on tour, he though was one the best putters from outside 25 feet. Though eventually you can’t keep making those putts, the pressure is going to weigh you down eventually. That is why he has only won since those two great season.

Sep 4, 2018 at 1:28 pm

Back in the ’80s/early ’90s there was a PGA Tour player named Tim Simpson who was a legendary ball-striker. Comparisons to the all-time greats were happening. But his putting skills were absolutely woeful, to the point where jokes were made about it.

When lowest score wins, it all comes down to putting/short game. The rest is an exercise that may be useful to help PGA Tour players work on their weak spots but that is about all it is good for. Strokes gained is getting undue attention as a useful yardstick.

Sep 3, 2018 at 9:20 am

Your Scenario #3 Putting equation doesn’t work for me. If I took 3 putts to finish from 10 feet strokes gained would = 2.61. What am I missing?

Sep 3, 2018 at 9:15 pm

The number should read -.61. With your scenario the number should be +1.39. So you were +1.39 from that distance. You want a negative number.

Apr 12, 2019 at 2:32 am

No.. this is wrong. It’s strokes GAINED. You don’t want a negative number.

Scenario 3 is incorrect because the author wrote it backwards. It should be 1.61 – 1 for the gain of .61 strokes.

Sep 2, 2018 at 11:01 pm

This is such an unrealistic example for the average golfer, they are never going to play a 450 yard par 4 and hit it 335 yards in the fairway and hit it to 10 feet from 115 yards afterwards, get out of here.

Sep 3, 2018 at 7:37 pm

There aren’t stroked gained stats for average golfers; when is the last time you’ve seen shotlink out on the muni?

Sep 2, 2018 at 8:48 pm

Game Golf will calculate this for you.

Sep 2, 2018 at 5:28 pm

Trey, I believe the Strokes Gained Putting stat must help certain ball strikers more than others due to their approach shot skills. As an example, Rose, Day, Stenson will hit the right part of the green with his precise irons and their respective 20 foot putt is in a better (possibly easier) position than another player’s 20 foot putt. I think equating all 20 foot putts is where this stat is somewhat flawed or susceptible to its problems. It should factor in the speed and break to really determine what the average pro putter would do. I look at many of the past top 20 SGP players and see many players that you would not want putting for the win. I know this is subjective, but Rose, Day, and Stenson are great ball strikers that I feel their respective SGP stat being higher has ball striking influences due to them leaving the ball in the right place vs the less precise ball strikers. If you subjectively look at the list each year, you can see some really good examples of this. Please don’t take my comments overboard, I think the SGP stat is good, just not 100 % effective at evaluating putting skill (imo).

Johnny Penso

Sep 2, 2018 at 7:20 pm

I think what you’re missing is that it’s not meant to be an accurate statistic from shot to shot but in the aggregate. On a particular hole or putt, yes there will be all kinds of differences in lies, stances, ball position, green undulations etc. but over time, with enough data points, that will all even out as the variation is generally random in nature.

Sep 2, 2018 at 12:35 pm

Is there a place to find average strokes for approach and putt distance for scratch golfers? I loaned my copy of the book out…

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Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.

Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.

The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.

Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions. 

Past Winners at Harbour Town

• 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
• 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
• 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
• 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
• 2019: CT Pan (-12)
• 2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
• 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
• 2016: Branden Grace (-9)
• 2015: Jim Furyk (-18)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).

Key Stats For Harbour Town

Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

• Scottie Scheffler  (+1.27)
• Tom Hoge  (+1.27)
• Corey Conners  (+1.16)
• Austin Eckroat  (+0.95)
• Cameron Young  (+0.93)

Good Drive %

The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

• Brice Garnett  (88.8%)
• Shane Lowry  (+87.2%)
• Akshay Bhatia  (+86.0%)
• Si Woo Kim  (+85.8%)
• Sepp Straka  (+85.1%)

Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs

Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.

SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:

• Xander Schauffele  (+2.27)
• Scottie Scheffler  (+2.24)
• Ludvig Aberg  (+2.11)
• Brian Harman  (+1.89)
• Sungjae Im  (+1.58)

4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)

Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.

SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds

• Jordan Spieth  (+1.11)
• Taylor Moore  (+1.02)
• Wyndham Clark  (+0.98)
• Mackenzie Hughes  (+0.86)
• Andrew Putnam  (+0.83)

5. Greens in Regulation %

The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.

Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:

• Brice Garnett  (+75.0%)
• Scottie Scheffler  (+69.9%)
• Corey Conners  (+69.0%)
• Shane Lowry  (+68.3%)
• Patrick Rodgers  (+67.6%)

6. Course History

Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up. 

Course History over past 24 rounds:

• Patrick Cantlay  (+2.34)
• Cam Davis  (+2.05)
• J.T. Poston  (+1.69)
• Justin Rose  (+1.68)
• Tommy Fleetwood  (+1.59)

The RBC Heritage Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)

• Shane Lowry
• Russell Henley
• Scottie Scheffler
• Xander Schauffele
• Corey Conners 
• Wyndham Clark
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Cameron Young
• Ludvig Aberg  

2024 RBC Heritage Picks

Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)

With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.

Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).

Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.

Tommy Fleetwood +3000 ( FanDuel )

I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past.  In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.

The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.

Cameron Young +3300 ( FanDuel )

Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.

Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.

Corey Conners +5500 ( FanDuel )

Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.

In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.

Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.

Shane Lowry (+7500) ( FanDuel )

When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.

Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks. 

Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.

Lucas Glover +12000 ( FanDuel )

This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at. 

Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.

Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.

Vincenzi: The 6 biggest takeaways from the 2024 Masters

The 2024 Masters offered up plenty of excitement throughout the week with Scottie Scheffler delivering when it mattered to live up to his pre-tournament favorite tag. With the year’s opening major now in the books, here are my six biggest takeaways from the 2024 Masters.

Scheffler In a League of His Own

In the most impressive way possible, Scottie Scheffler won the Masters without having his absolute best stuff. For the week, Scottie ranked 19th in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is a category the number player in the world typically dusts the rest of the field in. After a strong approach day on Thursday, the 27-year-old lost strokes to the field on approach on Friday and Saturday, before gaining on Sunday. The iron performance was more than solid, but it was an all-around game that helped Scheffler get it done around Augusta National.

For a year or more, the narrative around Scheffler has been, “With his ball striking, if he can just putt to field average, he’ll be unbeatable.” At Augusta, his ball striking came back down to earth, but his touch around the greens and ability to manage the golf course demonstrated why he is the best player on the planet right now. For the week, Scheffler ranked 1st in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

For the time being, there is a major gap between Scottie Scheffler and the second-best player in the world, whoever that may be.

The Future is Now

Ludvig Aberg went into his first back-nine at the Masters with a legitimate shot to win the tournament. When he teed it up on the treacherous 11th hole, he was one behind Scottie Scheffler, who had just stuck one to a few feet on the 9th. By the time he approached his tee shot, which was perfectly striped down the left side of the fairway, he was two behind. Unfortunately, the 24-year-old got too aggressive with his approach at the 11th and found the water, making double bogey. Ludvig rebounded nicely and finished the event in solo second place.

With the Masters now in the rearview, it’s never been more evident that Ludvig Aberg is no longer an “up-and-comer” — he has arrived. The Swede has been an integral part of a winning European Ryder Cup team and has now contended at Augusta National. With a calm demeanor, a picture-perfect swing, and a build and stature that appears as if it was built in a lab, Ludvig Aberg is already amongst the world’s best. I’d be extremely surprised if he wasn’t in the mix at next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Nostalgia Wins

I try to avoid as many cliches as possible, but there’s something about the Masters that brings out the sentimentality in me. Tiger Woods strategically making his way around Augusta National without all of the physical tools that made him arguably the most dominant athlete in the history of sports will always be riveting, regardless of what score he shoots. Woods made it interesting until a tough stretch of holes on Saturday, but he ultimately wore down, shooting 16 over for the week in difficult conditions. It’s remarkable that the 15-time major champion was able to put together a few solid rounds of golf despite barely playing any competitive golf in 2024. As long as Woods tees it up at Augusta, we will all continue to be mesmerized by it.

Verne Lundquist’s 40th and final Masters Tournament was also a must-watch aspect of the event. The iconic voice of Lundquist and his calls throughout the years still give me chills each time I hear them. Verne is an icon of the game and will be missed in future renditions of the Masters.

The Masters also brings another element that is unique to the tournament. Former champions turn back the clock to battle with the golf course again which creates some amazing stories. There are a few that stick out this year and were an absolute pleasure to witness. 61-year-old Vijay Singh made the cut for the first time since 2018 and shot a pretty incredible even-par, 72 on Sunday. 58-year-old José María Olazábal made the cut as well, reminding us why fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm sought his valuable advice prior to his Masters victory in 2022.

Regardless of who wins, the Masters always delivers.

Bryson Moves the Needle

Plenty will disagree with me on this point, but outside of Tiger Woods, and potentially Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, no one moves the needle in golf as much as Bryson DeChambeau. The uniqueness in which Bryson approaches the game has always been fascinating, and if he gets near the top of the leaderboard at any major championship, whether it’s to root for him or against him, people are interested.

It began on Monday with a pretty bizarre story of DeChambeau using 3D-printed irons that got just got cleared for use by the USGA when the week began. It once again felt like a storyline that would only be possible with a character as eccentric as Bryson. He then raced off to a first-round lead in tough conditions, reminding the world of what made him such a great golfer to begin with. He made some mistakes on the weekend, but still finished a career best T6 at The Masters.

Bryson is more than just quirky; he is a former U.S. Amateur Champion and U.S. Open who I believe will contend for more majors in the future. I will continue to root for DeChambeau, but I’m perfectly content with the fact that plenty will root against him, and I encourage those people to do so. That’s what makes it fun.

LIV Walks Away Empty-Handed

Last year, there were a multitude of questions about LIV players coming into the year’s first major. They had played very limited tournament golf, and critics of LIV questioned whether the 54-hole events were enough to sharpen the players enough to compete against the best in the world on the biggest stage.

The results were fascinating, with LIV players all over the leaderboard. Brooks Koepka held the 36- and 54-hole lead, with Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed finishing T2 and T4, giving LIV three golfers in the top-4 of the leaderboard.

This season, with even more time removed and with some more massive additions to the roster, the intrigue surrounding LIV players at Augusta was once again palpable. While some players, including Bryson DeChambeau, exceeded expectations, I can’t help but walk away from the Masters feeling underwhelmed by the performance of the LIV players.

Brooks Koepka finished runner-up last season and is a certified major championship killer. The 5-time major champ was never involved and simply didn’t have it at Augusta. Dustin Johnson put together a putrid performance, shooting 13 over for his two rounds, making it fair to wonder if his days of contending at major championships are over as he rapidly approaches his 40th birthday.

Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann were both players who were amongst the favorites this week, but Rahm was faced with the daunting duties of defending champion and Niemann proved he was still not quite ready to master the quirks of Augusta National, bleeding strokes both around and on the greens.

To be fair, when all was said and done, LIV had four players in the top twelve at The Masters. Tyrrell Hatton stormed the leaderboard early on Sunday, finishing T9 and earning himself an invite back to Augusta next season. Cam Smith and Patrick Reed put together gritty performances, which isn’t too surprising considering the fact that they both absolutely love Augusta National, but neither ever felt a real threat to win. There’s no doubt the players on LIV are good, and that’s why some encouraging leaderboard positions aren’t enough. They needed to contend.

With no players part of the storyline on Sunday, I view the first major of the year as a disappointment for LIV. The players will head into next month’s PGA Championship at Valhalla with a lot to prove.

Rory’s Struggles Continues

Rory struggling at Augusta National is no surprise at this point. The four-time major champion has now had 10 attempts to complete the career grand slam and has never had a chance to win. His T2 in 2022 was deceiving, the Northern Irishman stormed the leaderboard on Sunday, but was never in contention, and never got within three shots of the winner, Scottie Scheffler.

I didn’t expect Rory to win, but I have to admit that this year felt a bit different. McIlroy played the week prior to the Masters, which he typically doesn’t do, and finished third at the Valero Texas Open. He gained 7.56 strokes on approach and 2.0 strokes off the tee, which told me that his visit with world-renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, after the Players Championship paid dividends.

McIlroy also approached the media quite differently. He cut his pre-tournament press conference short after only 10 minutes and seemed to be laser-focused on just playing golf.

Despite the different approach to the Masters, the results were the same. McIlroy struggled over the course of the week, finishing T22 (+4) and never sniffed a decent weekend position on the leaderboard. It’s back to the drawing board for McIlroy, and I have doubts that he will ever figure it out at Augusta.

Vincenzi: The 8 best prop bets for the 2024 Masters

We’ve finally reached The Masters and excitement is at an all-time high. The world of golf has been fractured for the better part of two years, but for a week at Augusta National, all of the outside noise will disappear. All of the best players in the world will be together seeking to make history.

• RELATED:   Vincenzi’s 2024 Masters betting preview: Niemann to play star role at Augusta National

In addition to betting on The Masters champion. This is one of the few weeks of the year where there are so many more markets to explore, with value to be had in plenty of different categories.

Throughout this article, I’ll discuss all of my favorite props and players for the 2024 Masters.

Placement Bets:

Tony finau top 5 +750 (draftkings):.

I badly wanted to include Tony Finau in my outright betting selections, but I simply ran out of room on my card. Additionally, it’s slightly difficult to see him hitting the putts necessary to win the Masters on back nine on Sunday. However, I do strongly believe he will play great golf this week at Augusta National.

In his past 24 rounds, Finau ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Approach is always amongst the best drivers of the golf ball in the game. Back in 2019, Finau had a great chance to win The Masters. I expect him to be hanging around over the weekend once again in 2024.

Gary Woodland Top 20 +550 (DraftKings), Gary Woodland to make the cut -110 (DraftKings):

Last season, Gary Woodland had his best ever finish at The Masters in his eleven tries. The 39-year-old finished T14 and played incredibly steady across all four rounds.

In Woodland’s most recent start at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, he struck the ball incredibly well. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach (+8.8) and Strokes Gained: Ball Striking (+10.0).

Gary has been working with Butch Harmon and absolutely flushing the ball both in tournaments and during practice.

Woodland appears to be healthy once again and in a great place physically and mentally. If he can build off his impressive performance at Augusta last year, he can place inside the top ten in 2024.

Additionally, the make the cut number on Woodland seems generous considering the number of players who miss the cut will be relatively small this week. Woodland is striking it well enough to make the cut even if he’s hindered by a balky putter once again.

Thorbjorn Olesen Top 20 +400 (FanDuel):

The Thunder Bear, Thorbjorn Olesen, made his Masters debut in 2013 and finished an incredibly impressive T6 for the week. In the two additional starts he’s made at Augusta National since then, the Dane has continued to be incredibly solid, finishing T44 and T21.

This week, Olesen heads into the week playing some good golf. He gained 3.8 strokes on approach and 5.52 strokes around the green at last week’s Valero Texas Open on his way to a strong T14 finish. Back in January, he won the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour.

Olesen has the skill set to be successful at Augusta and seems primed for a good performance this week.

Top Nationalities:

Sergio garcia top spanish player +280 (draftkings):.

I believe Sergio Garcia can get into contention this week with the way he’s striking the ball in addition to his good vibes with a refurbished version of the Scotty Cameron that he used at the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah.

I am slightly concerned about the emotional letdown he may face after losing in a playoff at LIV Miami, but I believe a veteran and former Masters champion should be able to regroup and focus on an event far more meaningful.

This is essentially a tournament head-to-head with Jon Rahm at +280. While Rahm deserves to be respected this week, the history of the lack of success of defending champions at The Masters is difficult to ignore.

Joaquin Niemann Top South American Player -230 (FanDuel):

While I hate paying this much juice, I don’t see a world in which Joaquin Niemann isn’t the top South American this week at The Masters. Joaco comes in playing better golf than anyone in the world not named Scottie Scheffler and has a serious chance to win the green jacket.

He only needs to beat two players: Emiliano Grillo and Camilo Villegas.

Tournament Head-to-Heads:

Justin thomas -110 over collin morikawa.

JT isn’t having his best season but is playing a lot better than he is getting credit for at the moment. In the past three months, there are only six players on the PGA Tour who have averaged 1.7 Strokes Gained: Tee to Green or better. Justin Thomas (+1.7) is one of the six and is currently tied with Rory McIlroy (+1.7).

Morikawa, on the other hand, has been extremely poor with his irons, which is incredibly uncharacteristic for him. I can’t help but feel like something is completely off with the two-time major champion.

Tony Finau -110 over Wyndham Clark

I explained in the placement section why I’m so high on Tony Finau this week. With how well he’s striking the ball, it seems as if his floor is extremely high. I’m not sure if he can make the putts to win a green jacket but I believe he will be in the mix similarly to 2019 when Tiger Woods emerged from a crowded pack of contenders.

Clark is a debutant, and while some debutants have had success at The Masters, it certainly poses a challenge. I also don’t believe Augusta National suits Clark as well as some of the other major championship venues.

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Strokes Gained Series: Your Ultimate Tee-To-Green Guide

Shoot lower scores with these simple tips, sponsored by Titleist

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No matter what level you’re at, we can all fall into bad habits, forget the basics, and get stuck playing the same problem shots over and over again. Fear not, for in this series of videos, Nick Drane, PGA Professional at the Titleist Performance Centre, Woburn, highlights some of the game’s most common faults – and demonstrates how to fix them. 

So, whether you’re struggling with a slice, pushing your irons, or finding it difficult to escape greenside bunkers, Nick has every aspect of your game covered with some simple advice and must try tips and drills. 

This is your Strokes Gained Series, sponsored by Titleist, to help you shoot lower scores. 

Strokes Gained Series: Driving

Are you fed up trying to play with a slice? That left-to-right shot shape can be pretty destructive, but often it can be a quick fix. As Nick explains in this video, sometimes it’s good to start with the basics.

Here are four tips to stop slicing the driver .

Fairway Woods

Being able to stripe your fairways off the deck is a huge weapon to have in your armoury. Reaching par 5s in two and making long par 4s easier will certainly improve your scoring.

However, for many golfers, the fairway woods just never get used. All it takes is a little more understanding around the correct technique and you'll develop the confidence to go for it.

In the video above, Nick shows us how to hit a 3-wood off the ground .

There are few more frustrating shots in golf than a pushed iron. True, pull shots are usually more destructive, but the shot that starts right and stays there can really test your patience.

Here’s how to stop pushing iron shots .

Your wedges are your scoring clubs, and it’s from 130 yards and in where the professionals excel. Amateurs lack any real consistency, which is often because they just don’t have a method.

In this video, Nick talks about golf wedge distances and demonstrates how to change your technique to give you more scoring opportunities. This is how you make more birdies.

Bunker Play

Watch Nick splash the ball out of the sand and you’ll realise that the greenside bunker shot is not to be feared. Get the basics right, and you’ll soon find yourself knocking it close.

No more leaving the ball in the bunker, or sending one straight through the green. In the video above are Nick’s bunker shot tips .

Many amateurs lose shots on the green because their putting stroke makes it difficult to start the ball on line. In fact, it’s often a case of having a short backswing and long, jerky follow through – which also makes it nigh on impossible to get the distance right.

Here, Nick demonstrates the correct backswing length vs follow through , and offers two fantastic tips to help you improve your putting stats.

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In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he has also presented many Golf Monthly videos looking at all areas of the game from Tour player interviews to the rules of golf. 

Throughout his time with the brand he has also covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points. 

Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons: PING Blueprint S (4&5), PING Blueprint T (6-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X

Jasmine Koo received a huge slice of luck at the final hole, when her ball struck the advertising board in the middle of the 18th lake

By Matt Cradock Published 21 April 24

The American has endured a tough time since his last win in June 2022, but Horschel produced a brilliant final round to claim a stunning victory

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2024 Masters one and done picks, DFS lineups, sleepers, fantasy golf projections, longshots by PGA expert

Mike mcclure locked in his expert pga golf picks, daily fantasy lineups, fantasy golf projections and sleepers for masters 2024 at augusta national.

The 2024 Masters gets underway on Thursday from Augusta National Golf Club at 10:30 a.m. ET, a two-and-a-half hour delay due to storms. No golfer around the world is playing better right now than World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler. The 2022 winner of this event, Scheffler won the elevated Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and again the following week at the Players Championship. He then nearly won for the third straight tournament, missing a putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the Houston Open. The tee-to-green specialist gained 17 strokes on the field when he won here in 2022 and will try to continue his torrid run. Given his run of dominant play, should Scheffler be the top choice when constructing your 2024 Masters DFS picks, 2024 Masters fantasy golf rankings, and 2024 Masters one and done strategy? Before locking in your 2024 Masters one and done picks, Masters DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel, and fantasy golf projections, you need to see what SportsLine DFS pro and PGA expert Mike McClure has to say . 

McClure is a DFS legend with over $2 million in career winnings, and he's been red-hot on his PGA picks dating back to the PGA Tour restart in June of 2020. McClure uses his proprietary simulation model to analyze the field and crush his  golf picks . He is up almost $9,500 on his best bets since the restart.  

McClure's model predicted Jon Rahm would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scottie Scheffler winning in 2022. 

McClure has been on fire with his One and Done picks in 2024. At The American Express, he backed Justin Thomas, who finished in third place and took home $635,600. At the Genesis Invitational, McClure tabbed Patrick Cantlay, who finished in fourth place at the signature event, as his top OAD pick. At the Cognizant Classic, McClure's top one and done pick, Min Woo Lee, finished in a tie for second place. Finally, at the Arnold Palmer Invitation, another signature event, McClure recommended using Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. The result: Scheffler won the event by five strokes, and Zalatoris finished in fourth place. 

This same model has also nailed a whopping 10 majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed McClure's picks has seen massive returns.

Now, McClure has dialed in on the 2024 Masters golf tournament and just locked in his one and done picks, DFS projections and Fantasy Golf predictions. They are a must-see for any player looking for an edge. You can only see McClure's Masters 2024 one and done picks, DFS lineups and Fantasy Golf plays at SportsLine .

Top 2024 Masters One and Done picks

One of McClure's top One and Done picks for the Masters is Brooks Koepka. Though his recent form hasn't been overly impressive, with only one top-10 finish in 2024, Koepka is a 'big game hunter' who thrives in major tournaments. In his last five Masters Tournaments, the American has two second place finishes and a seventh.

The winner of last year's PGA Championship, Koepka has four wins and 12 top-10 finishes in his last 21 majors. With a green jacket because his most treasured goal going forward, Koepka is a viable play again at Augusta. McClure is once again confident in the five-time major champion's chances this week.  You can see who else to back at SportsLine .

Top 2024 Masters DFS picks, lineup advice

One golfer McClure is targeting in his 2024 Masters DFS lineups is Justin Thomas. The 15-time PGA Tour winner has long been considered one of the top ball-strikers and irons players in the world and has a proven track record of success in big events. Thomas has two career major championships and six top-25 finishes in eight career starts at Augusta National.

Thomas' ability to card birdies and eagles makes him standout among the field when building Masters DFS lineups. He enters Masters week ranked sixth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on approach (0.795) and 12th in strokes gained tee-to-green (1.124). After a disappointing 2023 season, Thomas has bounced back with four top-12 finishes already in 2024.  You can see the rest of McClure's Masters DFS picks at SportsLine . 

Top 2024 Masters Fantasy Golf picks, projections

One of McClure's top fantasy golf picks is Scottie Scheffler. He's won eight times in the last 26 months and been No. 1 in the world for the last 47 weeks in a row (81 total). You'll pay a premium for Scheffler and he'll be highly rostered in Masters DFS tournaments as well as the first player off the board in any draft format, but that's a price you should be willing to play considering how dominant he's been of late.

Scheffler has two wins and a runner-up finish over his last three starts, which happens to coincide with a putter change that has helped make him nearly a tour-average putter. Considering that he's already the world's best ball-striker (2.798 strokes gained: tee-to-green per round), his game could be elevated. Scheffler has never finished worse than 19th in four starts at Augusta and the 2022 Masters champion is a +325 favorite (bet $100 to win $325) in the 2024 Masters odds.  You can see the rest of McClure's Masters fantasy golf picks at SportsLine . 

How to make Masters 2024 picks, long shot bets

McClure is also targeting targeting six other golfers with odds of 20-1 or longer who will make a strong run at the green jacket. You can find out who they are, and check out all of McClure's Masters picks and best bets at SportsLine .

Who will win the Masters 2024, and which golfers should you target for your PGA one and done picks, DFS lineups, and Fantasy Golf plays this week at Augusta National Golf Club? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike McClure's Masters 2024 one and done picks, DFS lineups and fantasy golf plays  -- and find out.

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Woods and irons used by pga tour players ranked in the top 10 in strokes gained: tee to green, share this article.

We are two weeks removed from the PGA Championship at Oak Hill and there are two weeks to go before the game’s best players descend upon Los Angeles Country Club and battle it out for the season’s third major championship, the 2023 U.S. Open.

At this point, every player’s game needs to be sharp as the championship season continues, and while there is no substitute for making putts, avoiding big numbers and creating scoring chances comes from being effective off the tee and from the fairway. The players listed below – the golfers who are currently ranked in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green – are the best in the business when it comes to ballstriking, and many of their names have been on the first page of leaderboards all season.

As a reminder, strokes gained measures how much of an advantage or disadvantage a player typically has over the field, measured in strokes. A positive number means the player has an edge over the average golfer, while a negative number means the golfer is giving away shots. Strokes Gained: Tee to Green includes all non-putts, so it includes a player’s shots off the tee, from the fairway and shots hit from around the green.

See who is on the list and what drivers, fairway woods, hybrid and irons they are using.

10. Tommy Fleetwood, 1.303

Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus+ (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade BRNR Mini (13.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft, TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees), with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage S TiNi 80X shaft

IRONS: TaylorMade TF Proto (3-PW), with Project X 6.5 shafts

9. Kevin Yu, 1.391

Kevin Yu (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

DRIVER: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 70 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Rogue ST LS (15, 18 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro White 80 TX shafts

IRONS: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts

8. Xander Schauffele, 1.443

Xander SChauffele’s Callaway equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana PD 70TX shaft shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond (16.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana PD 80TX shaft shaft, Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi Lai’ Li White 90 TX shaft shaft

IRONS: Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW), with Nippon Modus Tour 130X shafts

7. Patrick Cantlay, 1.525

Patrick Cantlay’s Titleist equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:  Titleist TS3  (9.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD:   Titleist 915F  (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 70X shaft,  Titleist TS2  (21 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 80X shaft

IRONS:   Titleist 718 AP2  (4-9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts

6. Tyrrell Hatton, 1.545

Tyrrell Hatton’s Ping golf equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana TB  60 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: Ping G430 (15, 21 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana DF 80 TX shafts

IRONS: Ping i230 (4-PW), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 120 shafts

5. Collin Morikawa, 1.576

Collin Morikawa’s TaylorMade equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER: TaylorMade SIM (8 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana White D+ 60 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: TaylorMade SIM (14 degrees), Stealth 2 (18 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana White D+ 80 TX shafts

IRONS: TaylorMade P770 (4), P-7MC (5-6), P-7CM proto (7-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts

4. Tony Finau, 1.65

Tony Finau’s Ping golf equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   Ping G425 LST  (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD:   Callaway Rogue ST  (14 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

IRONS:  Nike Vapor Fly Pro (3),  Ping Blueprint  (4-PW), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 120 TX shafts

3. Jon Rahm, 1.741

Jon Rahm’s Callaway equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond  (10.5 degrees), with Aldila Tour Green 75 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD:  Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond  (16, 18 degrees), with Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8X shafts

IRONS:  Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW), with Project X 6.5 shafts

2. Rory McIlroy, 1.84

Rory McIlroy’s TaylorMade equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus+ (9 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 6X shaft.

FAIRWAY WOODS:   TaylorMade Stealth 2+ (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue TR 8X shaft, Stealth+ (19 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 9X shaft

IRONS: TaylorMade P-760 (3-4), RORS Proto (5-9), with Project X 7.0 shafts

1. Scottie Scheffler 2.567

Scottie Scheffler’s golf equipment. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

DRIVER:   TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus+  (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

FAIRWAY WOOD:   TaylorMade Stealth 2  (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black 8X shaft

IRONS:  Srixon ZU85 (3-4), with Nippon Pro Modus3 Hybrid Tour X shaft,  TaylorMade P-7TW  (5-PW), with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts.

See more equipment: Best drivers for 2024 | Best irons for 2024 | Best putters for 2024 | Best golf balls for 2024

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2024 RBC Heritage PGA Power Rankings: Top 10 Golfers To Watch

T hat said, I love this tournament. I have tipped the winner in consecutive years at this event and I feel honed in on what this Pete Dye gem typically rewards. We're looking at one of the shorter courses on Tour which requires positional precision and is one of the more predictive in terms of repeatable course history.

As always with this article, my primary goal is to provide a place to start your research and preparation for the incoming week. I have carefully evaluated the field to project Harbour Town course fits and expected results, to give you a glimpse at how my brain operates when it comes to handicapping golf. In addition to my Top 10 rankings, I will provide a summary for each player to give some reasoning behind their rankings. As always, thank you for your support, and good luck. I actually love this event, here are my top-ranked players!

#10. Max Homa

I'm writing this piece from the Circa Sportsbook before the leaders tee off in their final round of the Masters. Max Homa is currently in solo 3rd place while leading the field in strokes gained approach for the week. Homa has done so despite not making a single birdie in his last 30+ holes of golf. It's unbelievable.

Homa is hoping to conjure up some Sunday "inner dog" to make a run at Scheffler. His history at this event in particular is not good but we know he has found plenty of success in the Carolina's previously with two wins at Quail Hollow a few hours away from Hilton Head. Homa has had glimpses this season but has failed to do it consistently for 72 holes. A good Sunday at Augusta should go a long way in providing some much needed confidence to jump start his 2024 season. He's already winning the mental game.

#9. Cameron Young

Cameron Young finished in 3rd place in his debut at the RBC Heritage in 2022 and will arrive this week at Harbour Town in the best form he's been in the last calendar year. Young is also in a tie with Ben An for 9th place after Saturday at Augusta National. His tee-to-green play has been fantastic which has produced results and he has done so without catching any lightning with the Putter.

Despite his biggest weapon in the bag being the Driver, Young has interestingly played very well throughout his career on shorter golf courses. He finished in 2nd place at the Valspar Championship and inside the top-5 at the Cognizant Classic as well. We are still anxiously awaiting the time when Cameron Young hoists a trophy. On the heels of our first major this season, Young could arrive with a narrowed focus this week on capturing that elusive victory and may catch a few studs lacking in preparation.

#8. Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth has either missed the cut or been disqualified in four of his last 6 tournaments, yet I am crazy enough to believe he has a chance at actually winning the RBC Heritage. Spieth was a couple of near misses in a playoff last season from dawning the tartan jacket on the 18th green in back-to-back seasons.

He is just one of those players in which sometimes you can turn a blind eye to the data. For instance, he gained four strokes on approach at the Valero Texas Open out of nowhere and despite bleeding strokes on Approach in nearly every event in which he teed it up. It was his best week with his irons since the 2023 Heritage. Spieth has the unique ability to turn it on when he plays golf courses that have positive energy and history. He'll usually flash a sign of a good week with his irons right before he wins. We'll see if that is the case this week. He was this close from doing it last year!

#7. Corey Conners

At a golf course like Harbour Town, you want to play ball strikers like Corey Conners. It's shown in his results at this tournament, Conners has finished no worse than 31st in the last four times he has played here, and managed to find a top-5 result in 2021. Conners has been consistently a top-5 player in strokes gained Approach in both the short and long term.

He particularly separates himself from the field in the range of 175-200 yards. Given his average Driving distance and how he attacks courses like this, I believe he will have a ton of shots from this range at The Heritage. Conners can play to his strengths at a course like Harbour Town and pound greens in regulation, thus mitigating his weakness which is his around-the-green play.

#6. Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay has done everything but win at the RBC Heritage. He's been dominant, finishing in solo 3rd and solo 2nd in the past two seasons at this event. Public perception and odds drifted substantially headed into the Masters, but he played pretty well all things considered. He was top-5 in tee to green at the end of the week and seems to rectify some of the issues he had been battling with his wedges.

I thought about it a lot headed into last week, what if Patrick Cantlay was able to hold onto his lead Sunday at Riviera and win that event despite being very sick? Would we have thought of Cantlay the same way we thought of Hideki Matsuyama for The Masters? I just believe we may have all overreacted to his struggles and he is primed to showcase his ability this coming summer and will get right back to contending at the highest level.

#5. Matt Fitzpatrick

Before winning the 2023 RBC Heritage, Matt Fitzpatrick had remarked numerous times to the media about how Harbour Town was his most familiar and favorite course on the PGA Tour. After removing the weight he found in the handle of his Driver after nearly a year, he produced back-to-back top-10 finishes and put himself into a great position once again at The Masters.

If he didn't love this place so much, statistically I would have questions about the course fit. Harbour Town disadvantages players who can struggle with inconsistency off the tee like Fitzpatrick has done long term. The driver has been better of late, but what has really made the difference is Fitzpatrick has once again found a red-hot putter. He gained nearly +12 strokes putting at the Valero and the PLAYERS and ranks 3rd in strokes gained putting at Augusta National through three rounds.

#4. Rory McIlory

I'm genuinely more puzzled about what to do with Rory McIlroy than any other player in professional golf at the moment. I feel like putting himself outside the top-5 would de-legitimize these rankings entirely. It's also hard to make a statistical case for him at this point beyond remaining one of the best players to ever swing a Driver off the tee.

He still ranks #1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee over the last 50 rounds played. McIlroy has not played this event since 2020 where he finished a disappointing T41. Those will remember he was a late withdrawal from the event last year, skipping the elevated event which drew criticism from the field after a depressing week at the Masters. I liked what I saw at the Valero in terms of his iron play and he even had moments through Florida where he flashed positive signs. The gap between Rory and Scottie Scheffler is ever-increasing and he needs to do something soon to reassert himself.

#3. Ludvig Aberg

It has been a long time since a young player has burst onto the scenes as a weekly favorite. Every time he tees it up, I am more and more impressed with the overall game of Ludvig Aberg. The one glaring weakness is his Around the Green game which crushed him at The Masters. With the small greens at Heritage and below-average annual Greens in regulation rates, it could present a hurdle for Aberg to overcome.

On the other hand, he may just tear apart the field from tee to green so much that it doesn't matter. No moment appears too big for Aberg and he never appears to be rattled or nervous. Despite this being a course that may take his biggest weapon out of his hands often, I'm encouraged by the fact that he's played well at courses like Pebble Beach and won the RSM Classic. Aberg gained +15.3 strokes Tee-to-Green that week at the RSM on a golf course which is not Driver-heavy. This guy has arrived, and you should be prepared to either love or fear him on the leaderboard in the foreseeable future.

#2. Xander Schauffele

You guys...it's coming. Scottie Scheffler has ascended into god-like levels, but I'm not sure there is a player that I have been more impressed with in 2024 than Xander Schauffele. That is saying a lot considering he has zero wins in the last two years. Schauffele managed to shoot a bogey-free round on Saturday at Augusta National on a day which played insanely difficult for the field.

I love his mental approach at the moment, and I think that can be directly attributed to his work with Chris Como. His body language is laser-focused and confident without being cocky. He's doing everything well at the moment, which has allowed him to be a staple inside the top-10. It's only a matter of time before he wins...and likely wins big. His ability to transform into one of the best scramblers on the planet should suit him incredible well at a course like Harbour Town.

#1. Scottie Scheffler

I can only imagine how demoralizing it must be to play professional golf right now against Scottie Scheffler. Yes, he'll occasionally miss a 7-foot putt, but the guy is unflappable and the best we have seen in the last 10 years Tee-to-Green. Even his bad shots where you see him leaning and talking to his golf ball end up 25 feet away from the pin. His colleagues have taken notice and now are at the point where they feel like they need to conjure up magic to beat this guy.

I feel like the piece has become a broken record at the top of my weekly rankings. What else can you say? Scheffler has ascended into a tier of his own, and the next level is not even close. I'm writing this before the final round of the Masters, sitting in the Circa Sportsbook and Scheffler is -114 to win despite having only a one-stroke lead and several elite players lined up right behind him. That should tell you everything you need to know.

Best of luck this week Rotoballer family!

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Sports Betting

2024 RBC Heritage odds, picks, sleepers: Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay among best bets

The RBC Heritage is a Signature Event on the PGA Tour , offering a no-cut structure and a big purse ($20 million). Whether that’s a good way to follow the first major championship of the year? Tougher to say.

People have argued that playing the Zurich Classic would better fit the week after the Masters. They feel it would serve as a break from the pressure of competing in a major championship for the players. The fact that the RBC Heritage is now a signature event ramps up the pressure on players to attend this week with all of the money and FedEx Cup points at stake. Of course, some players may see a no-cut event with a big reward as the perfect follow-up to the pressure of trying to win at Augusta National Golf Club. Hilton Head Island is not a bad place to relax after a stressful week — and I know from personal experience. Even if I had trouble getting out of a few of the bunkers.

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The winner of the Masters, Scottie Scheffler, is still technically in the field for the RBC Heritage as I am writing this, but I am assuming he is going to withdraw with the birth of his first child coming any day. Scheffler amazed while winning his second green jacket and other players in the field surely hope Scheffler won’t be around for this one.

Harbour Town Golf Links is a course with a very sticky history. Players who can win or contend here tend to do well year after year. Davis Love III won five times here, while Stewart Cink captured three wins, with the third coming sixteen years after the second. Luke Donald finished runner-up five times but just couldn’t break through even when he was at the very top of his game. Is Patrick Cantlay turning into Luke Donald at Harbour Town? He has three top-three finishes in his last five starts here but hasn’t been able to clinch a win.

This week, my model will focus on strokes gained approach, strokes gained at Harbour Town Golf Links, strokes gained on shots from 150 to 175 yards, strokes gained from the sand, and one putt percentage. Driving distance is not a factor, as players will be using their irons and 3-woods off the tee to set up their second shots into the greens on most holes. If you put the ball on the wrong side of the fairway, you can block out your second shot into the green with tree trouble very easily.

Course information

Course: Harbour Town Golf Links — Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Designed by: Pete Dye

Yardage: 7,213

Average green size: 3,700 square feet

Features: Harbour Town Golf Links has hosted the RBC Heritage every year that it has been played since 1969. The golf course features Celebration Bermuda and TifSports Bermuda on the tee boxes, 419 Bermuda on the fairways and rough, and TifSports Bermuda on the greens. The greens are smaller than average and demand players control their iron shots into the greens. The small greens are protected by bunkers and closely shaved run-off areas just off the back of some of the greens. Like a lot of coastal golf courses, Harbour Town Golf Links starts off playing through tight fairways lined on each side by trees before finishing by the shoreline where it is more open and affected by wind. Driving accuracy and positioning will be key for golfers this week.

Past champions: Matt Fitzpatrick 2023, Jordan Spieth 2022, Stewart Cink (his 3rd win here) 2021, Webb Simpson 2020, CT Pan 2019. Davis Love III holds the record with five wins at the RBC Heritage, while Boo Weekley is the last to defend his title in 2008.

Betting slip

Patrick Cantlay (+1600) finished T22 at the Masters by gaining over 5.7 strokes from tee to green. He had been really struggling with his approach shots heading into Augusta National but gained over 3.6 strokes on approach. He has four top-seven finishes here in his last five tries, and he has gained more than 4 strokes on approach at Harbour Town three times.

Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) won in Dubai in January and has three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. He has gained over 5.7 strokes off the tee in his last two tournaments while gaining over 8.3 strokes on approach over that same time frame. He has two straight top-15 finishes here while gaining over four strokes combined on approach.

Will Zalatoris (+2800) was trending towards a win after knocking off all the rust at the Farmers Insurance Open. He finished inside the top five in each of his next two events, and then the putter went cold. He struggled with his putting in the wind on Friday and Saturday at the Masters but still managed a top-10 finish. He has only played here once, finishing 42nd, but he has the ideal iron game to contend here. I like him just a bit more than Cameron Young at the same odds.

Cameron Davis (+6600) is in the middle of a nice run of form. He has four top-21 finishes in his last six tournaments, with his only real hiccup being the missed cut at The Players Championship. He has three straight top-25s here, with the last two tournaments being top-seven finishes. He has gained 4.5 strokes combined on approach in his last two tournaments and is riding a hot putter.

Taylor Moore (+7000) hasn’t missed a cut since the Open Championship in July 2023. He has three straight top-20 finishes and has gained over 12 strokes around the green combined in his last four tournaments. He has only had one bad day with his irons in his last three tournaments and it was Sunday at the Houston Open that kept him from winning. He finished T11 here last year gaining a ton of strokes with his putter.

Xander Schauffele ($10,800) has three straight top-eight finishes gaining strokes across the board. He finally had a bogey-free round at the Masters, and yet he couldn’t push himself into contention on the weekend. He may have figured out Harbour Town last year when he finished 4th while gaining over 7.4 strokes on approach. It will be tough to fade Schauffele on form and at this price.

Patrick Cantlay ($10,200) See above.

Tommy Fleetwood ($9,800) See above.

Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,600) is absolutely on fire with his putter. He has gained over 17 strokes putting in his last three tournaments combined. He won here last year on a golf course that has meant a lot to him since he visited Hilton Head Island with his family as a child. He lost strokes on approach in three out of four days in each of his last two tournaments. I want to back Fitzpatrick, but I think he’s not quite right going into this title defense.

Will Zalatoris ($9,000) See above.

Cameron Young ($8,700) followed up his 2nd-place finish at the Valspar with a T9 at the Masters. He couldn’t keep up the momentum after posting some early birdies in the beginning of his rounds at the Masters. You wouldn’t think his power game would be a good fit for this course, but he does have a T3 here in 2022. He struggled here last year due to his losing over 3.3 strokes with his short game. He comes into this week not particularly sharp around the green. I would caution against going all in on Young, even at this inviting price.

Shane Lowry ($8,500) lost over 7.2 strokes with his putter at the Masters. That’s his worst week since losing 6.8 at the RBC Heritage last year. The good news is he has three top-nine finishes here in the last five years and he gained over 6.4 strokes on approach at the Masters. I think he will bounce back with the putter and I’m not avoiding him at a place he can excel.

Brian Harman ($7,800) has struggled with his irons since his T2 at The Players Championship. He lost over 6.1 strokes on approach while missing the cut at the Masters. He has three top-nine finishes here in the last 10 years and loves the green areas as he has gained multiple strokes with his putter every trip here. I’m going to sprinkle him in some lineups hoping he can rekindle some form.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($7,600) just missed out on qualifying for the Masters. He has been excellent with his short game, gaining over 13 strokes combined in his last three tournaments. He has three straight top-33 finishes here, including a T19 last year. He’s a decent pivot off of some highly-owned guys in this range.

J.T. Poston ($7,600) hasn’t been nearly as good as he was in January due to a little bit of a drop-off in his iron play. He has lost strokes on approach in four out of his last five tournaments. He has three top-eight finishes here in the last five years, but he also missed the cut while losing over 10 strokes on approach in two of his last three trips. He is going to tempt a lot of people this week, but I feel like Davis and Moore are safer bets and they are cheaper.

Cameron Davis ($7,400) See above.

Taylor Moore ($7,400) See above.

Matthieu Pavon ($7,000) is very tempting at this price while coming off of a T12 at the Masters, but he struggled on approach over the weekend, losing over 2.6 strokes to the field. He hasn’t gained strokes to the field in a measured event since the Cognizant at the beginning of March. The fifth-place finish in Singapore and the way he played at Pebble Beach has me going back and forth about how he will like Harbour Town Golf Links. I think it’s a good fit if he is at his best with his irons, so I’m going to sprinkle him in a bit.

Lucas Glover ($6,800) has gained strokes on approach in eight straight events and three straight top-25 finishes. He has gained over 9.4 strokes combined in his last two tournaments. He hasn’t had much success here, with his best finish being a top 18 in the last ten years.

Austin Eckroat ($6,400) missed the cut at the Masters but gained over 4 strokes on approach in four of his last five tournaments entering that week. He has struggled with his putter since his win, which has held back his game. I think he’s going to like this golf course.

Chandler Phillips ($6,000) might sneak into a few GPP lineups where I want to roster Xander and Cantlay this week. Phillips has the ability to dial in his irons as evidenced by gaining over 2.9 strokes on approach in four of his last five measured events.

One and done

Each week, we will pick in reverse order of the standings, and we can’t duplicate picks in the same week. Reference this spreadsheet tracking who we have used.

Brody Miller:  $5,740,592.83 Hugh Kellenberger:  $3,749,899.13 Dennis Esser: $2,396,619

Dennis Esser: Tommy Fleetwood won in Dubai earlier in the year and has three top-ten finishes in his last five tournaments. He still hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, but I have a feeling that could change this week.

Hugh Kellenberger: I’ll go with Patrick Cantlay , who has averaged a T7 in six appearances at Harbor Town. Coming off a miss of his usual backdoor top-10 at a major, he has some extra motivation.

Brody Miller: Tommy Fleetwood. He’s picking up right where he left off after a great year in 2023 — winning in Dubai, getting top 10s at Arnold Palmer and Valero before an awesome Sunday run to finish T3 at the Masters. He’s finished top 15 the last two years at Hilton Head. Maybe he finally gets his first PGA Tour win.

(Photo of Tommy Fleetwood: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

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Dennis Esser is a contributor to The Athletic, covering golf through the lens of sports betting and fantasy sports. A resident of New Jersey, Dennis' writing has appeared in numerous fantasy and betting outlets.

DraftKings preview: RBC Heritage

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The PGA TOUR heads to Hilton Head, South Carolina, this week for the RBC Heritage. Harbour Town Golf Links will be the host and measures as a 7,213-yard par 71 with Poa trivialis overseeded greens.

The RBC Heritage is a Signature Event, meaning we’ll have a field of just 69 players and no cut this week. The field is loaded, with 28 of the top 30 ranked golfers in the world set to tee it up.

Below, I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Xander Schauffele ($10,800)

While many will flock to Patrick Cantlay this week due to his elite course history, I prefer Schauffele for just $600 more. Schauffele posted another top 10 at a major finishing solo eighth place at Augusta National. This marked his seventh top-10 finish in nine starts to begin 2024.

This season, it’s obviously been Scottie Scheffler in a tier of his own, but after that one can argue that Schauffele has been in his own tier as well. Dating back 24 rounds in this field – which is just three short of all the measured rounds most golfers have played this season – Scheffler is averaging 2.92 total strokes per round, which ranks first by a wide margin. However, Schauffele is averaging 2.13 in that time frame and is the only golfer besides Scheffler to average over 2.0 in that stretch.

Schauffele has been a beacon of consistency this season and even finished T4 at this event last year, which marked his best career finish at Harbour Town in four starts. With his first child on the way and the potential for a Scheffler WD, Schauffele is a safer pick.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($7,600)

Bezuidenhout has had a strong season thus far, making eight of 10 cuts with a pair of top-10 finishes and five additional T25s. The two top-10s are nice to see because the knock against Bezuidenhout the past few years has been his non-existent ceiling.

Even in this loaded field, Bezuidenhout ranks ninth in Total Strokes Gained and eighth in Strokes Gained: Approach over his past 36 rounds. Additionally, he sits second in SG: Putting in the same timeframe behind only Sahith Theegala.

The South African’s history at Harbour Town is predictably solid, having finished no worse than T33 over his three-career starts here. We will gladly take another top-25 finish out of Bezuidenhout this week at this $7,600 price tag.

Cameron Davis ($7,400)

Davis kept his foot on the gas last week at the Masters, finishing T12. He’s now finished T21 or better in four of his past six starts, including three of his past four. He ranked 12th in the field in SG: Approach at Augusta National, while sitting 10th in SG: Putting.

Outside of his miserable showing at THE PLAYERS Championship, Davis’ irons have been cooking for quite a while now. He gained 5.34 strokes on approach at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, 4.29 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and 1.45 at the Texas Children's Houston Open.

The Aussie also has an elite course history at Harbour Town, posting finishes of T25, T3 and T7 in this three-career starts in Hilton Head. In a no-cut event where we are guaranteed four full rounds from Davis, he’s one of the sharper plays on the board this week at this price.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.