Strokes gained vs. different handicaps

It's true! Good eye Phillip. We are making some modifications to the calculations on a couple of the individual stats. We had some feedback that made sense and are working on it now! Once that's solved, we will make an announcement!

For those following this topic it seems this new feature has been added in version 22.1.2. Not sure if I missed an announcement but looking forward to checking this out. Thanks GolfPad team!

Cool.   Thanks for the update Annie.

Hi Steve,

I just saw the first iteration of this today! As promised, it's in the works and into production. Our issue was reliable data but we have sourced it now and moving along quickly!

Can't wait for your feedback!

As 3 months have passed, are there any updates for this feature?

Thank you all for such detailed descriptions of how you'd like the Strokes Gained data to be presented. This kind of feedback is incredibly valuable. I've added your notes and examples to our feature requests list so our team can consider improvements to how SG is calculated and displayed in future updates.

While waiting for the release of the major update... I decided to develop my own Excel file to interpret the raw data exported by the application.

My conclusion: the Strokes Gained value shown in the app is incorrect. The total value is correct, but the values displayed in each category are wrong (driving, approach, short game, putting). This could be either a calculation error or a misunderstanding of the Strokes Gained concept originally defined by Mark Broadie.

What is most disappointing is that the tags already capture highly relevant data about our game, but the application fails to properly exploit this data.

Example: I have a putting SG of −0.30 for a round.
That is the only information the app provides, but by analyzing the data for just a few minutes, I was able to determine that this SG is distributed as follows:

• SG (0–3 m): −0.31

• SG (3–8 m): +0.21

• SG (8–15 m): −0.20

• SG (15+ m): 0.00

This clearly shows that I should focus on working on my short putts, while my mid-range putting performance is actually quite strong.

This is just one issue among many others, and it is frustrating that we have to do this kind of analysis ourselves.

Any news about this update? It would be great for us who are trying to improve.

For comparison, Shot Scope publishes average Strokes Gained gaps between different handicap levels (from scratch to +25).In my opinion, it’s not very relevant to compare yourself with a player whose handicap differs by more than 5 points. Except for beginners with high potential for improvement, comparisons beyond this range bring little value.

Based on available data, the differences between SG percentages (vs PGA) and (vs Hcp -5) remain small. This shows that the SG values versus PGA Tour players already give a good indication of which parts of the game should be prioritized to lower one’s handicap.

Note: as Mark Broadie explains in Every Shot Counts, SG values are averages and must be interpreted carefully. The key is to assess the balance between the different areas of your game: for instance, a 10-handicap player can have Tour-level putting but weaker approach shots.

For the developers, even though comparing SG by handicap level could be an interesting feature later on, it would be better first to expand the depth of SG data within each game area (Driving, Approach, Short Game, Putting).

For example, if my putting SG is -1.80 versus the Tour, it would be helpful to understand what causes that loss:

• Putts from 3–8 meters?

• Putts under 1 meter?

• Uphill or downhill putts?

• Left-to-right or right-to-left breaks?

Adding this kind of breakdown (non-exhaustive list) would provide much more actionable insights to identify which specific aspects of each area need improvement.

I’ve also noticed an inconsistency in the current version of the app:
The total SG often differs from the sum of the individual SG values (Driving + Approach + Short Game + Putting).
Could you explain this difference?
In theory, the total SG should equal the sum of these components. If not, it could be due to rounding, different reference models, or misclassification of certain shots.

In summary, the current SG implementation is a great foundation, but its potential could really grow with:

• more detailed breakdowns in each area,

• full consistency between total SG and subcategories,

• and, eventually, the option to compare performance with players within ±5 handicap points.

Let's hope this update is soon. I have been using Golf Pad for a year, but I don't love how the statistics are provided, and the Strokes Gained vs different handicaps is something I really miss having.

Strokes gained vs. different handicaps is a statistical comparison used to analyze how a golfer performs relative to players of varying skill levels. "Strokes gained" measures the number of strokes a golfer gains (or loses) compared to a benchmark — typically scratch golfers or professionals. 

Alona, any idea how long it will be before the new stats update goes live? Throw us a bone please! 

We're preparing a major update to the statistics feature, and we do plan to include more detailed comparison options. We know how valuable this kind of breakdown can be for improving your game. Stay tuned!

We should all be Pro by the time they solve this.... right?!

only been 8 years so far, give it another 5 :p