Strokes gained compares each shot with an expected score. The expected score is the average number of strokes to hole out from a position. If a shot improves the expected score by more than 1 stroke, it gains strokes. If it improves the expected score by less than 1 stroke, it loses strokes. The sum for a hole is always the hole difficulty minus your score.
A scorecard shows how many strokes you used. It does not show where you lost them. 2 golfers can make the same bogey in very different ways. Strokes gained shows the cost of each shot.
Expected strokes
For each position on the course, there is an expected number of strokes to hole out. This value comes from many recorded shots. This article uses the tour baseline in CNDR. The tour baseline is the expected score of an average tour player.
| Position | Expected strokes to hole out |
|---|---|
| Tee, 400 yards | 3.99 |
| Fairway, 150 yards | 2.94 |
| Rough, 150 yards | 3.19 |
| Sand, 150 yards | 3.24 |
| Rough, 20 yards | 2.59 |
| Green, 20 feet | 1.87 |
| Green, 8 feet | 1.50 |
| Green, 3 feet | 1.04 |
The table shows 2 important facts. First, the lie is important: from 150 yards, the rough costs 0.25 strokes more than the fairway. Second, putts from 8 feet are not easy. On average, a tour player needs 1.50 strokes from 8 feet.
The calculation for 1 shot
Each shot uses 1 stroke. Because of this, a shot that decreases the expected score by exactly 1 stroke has a strokes gained of 0. A better shot gives a positive value. A worse shot gives a negative value.
1 bogey, shot by shot
This example is a par 4 of 400 yards. The golfer drives into the right rough, 180 yards from the green. The approach misses the green, 20 yards short in the rough. The chip stops 8 feet from the hole. Then the golfer uses 2 putts. The score is 5, a bogey.
| Shot | From (expected) | To (expected) | Strokes gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive | Tee, 400 yd (3.99) | Rough, 180 yd (3.31) | -0.32 |
| Approach | Rough, 180 yd (3.31) | Rough, 20 yd (2.59) | -0.28 |
| Chip | Rough, 20 yd (2.59) | Green, 8 ft (1.50) | +0.09 |
| First putt | Green, 8 ft (1.50) | Green, 2 ft (1.01) | -0.51 |
| Second putt | Green, 2 ft (1.01) | Holed (0.00) | +0.01 |
| Hole total | -1.01 |
The total is -1.01. This is equal to the hole difficulty (3.99) minus the score (5). This is always true: the sum of the shot values is equal to the result of the hole.
The table shows that the bogey did not come from 1 bad shot. The drive and the approach each lost approximately 0.3 strokes. The largest loss was the putt from 8 feet. The chip was better than the baseline.
A tour par is not perfect
Now look at a typical tour par on the same hole. The drive lands on the fairway, 150 yards from the green. The approach stops 20 feet from the hole. The golfer uses 2 putts.
| Shot | From (expected) | To (expected) | Strokes gained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive | Tee, 400 yd (3.99) | Fairway, 150 yd (2.94) | +0.05 |
| Approach | Fairway, 150 yd (2.94) | Green, 20 ft (1.87) | +0.07 |
| First putt | Green, 20 ft (1.87) | Green, 3 ft (1.04) | -0.17 |
| Second putt | Green, 3 ft (1.04) | Holed (0.00) | +0.04 |
| Hole total | -0.01 |
This par is almost exactly equal to the baseline. The long shots gained a small value. But the first putt lost 0.17 strokes, because it did not go near enough to the hole.
Which baseline?
The value of a shot changes with the baseline. Against the tour baseline, the bogey in this article is -1.01. CNDR also has a baseline table for a 15 handicap. In that table, the expected score from the tee on this hole is 5.10. Against a typical 15 handicap, the same bogey is +0.10.
Against the tour, this bogey lost a stroke. Against a typical 15 handicap, it gained a little.
Both values are correct. They answer different questions. The CNDR rating uses the tour baseline for all golfers. Because of this, all golfers are on the same scale. Our article on how the CNDR rating works shows this scale.
Strokes gained in CNDR
CNDR shows strokes gained in 2 places. Each round has a chart for off the tee, approach and around the green. When CNDR can measure the length of your first putt, the chart also shows an estimate for putting.
The rating uses 2 larger categories: driving, and approach + putting. Driving is the tee shot on each par 4 and par 5. Approach + putting is all strokes after the drive. For this category, CNDR needs only the position after the drive and your score. Because of this, small position errors near the green do not change the rating.
Apple Watch detects your shots and putts. CNDR records each position on the map.
Enter your score on iPhone. CNDR calculates your total strokes gained from the score and the difficulty of each hole.
After the round, correct a shot position if it is wrong. Strokes gained uses the corrected position.
Questions from golfers
What is strokes gained in golf?
Strokes gained compares each shot with the expected number of strokes to hole out. A shot that decreases the expected score by more than 1 stroke gains strokes. A shot that decreases it by less than 1 stroke loses strokes.
How do you calculate strokes gained for 1 shot?
Use the expected strokes before the shot, minus the expected strokes after the shot, minus 1. Subtract 1 more stroke for each penalty stroke.
Is a positive strokes gained good?
Yes. A positive value shows that the shot was better than the baseline. A negative value shows that it was worse. Against the tour baseline, most amateur shots have negative values.
What baseline does CNDR use?
The CNDR rating uses the tour baseline for all golfers. Because of this, all golfers are on the same scale. CNDR also has baseline tables for each handicap from scratch to 25.
Do I need shot tracking for strokes gained?
For your total, no. CNDR calculates the total from your score and the difficulty of each hole. For the categories, CNDR needs your shot positions. Automatic tracking on Apple Watch records them for you.
Method. All expected values come from the tour baseline tables in the CNDR app. Distances to the green are in yards. Distances on the green are in feet. The positions in the 2 example holes are examples for this article. They are not data from 1 round.
The 15-handicap value comes from the CNDR baseline table for a 15 handicap. The round chart in CNDR can show values that are different from this article. It uses the positions and the lies that CNDR records for your shots.
Sources
- Mark Broadie, Every Shot Counts (Gotham Books, 2014): the strokes-gained method and expected scores from each position.
- CNDR app: tour baseline tables for shots and putts, and the baseline table for a 15 handicap, version of October 2026.