Your Driver Is The Key To Game Improvement. Here's Why.

Playing better golf means taking fewer strokes, and the quickest way to do that is by learning to drive the ball well, more specifically, longer. Yes, you read that right, the old aphorism of drive for show and putt for dough is dead and has been dead for a long time, and I’m here to explain why.

But before we get into the full explanation, we need to understand strokes gained.

Strokes Gained

Strokes gained is a statistical calculation that quantifies a player's performance on every shot based on outcome relative to a preset benchmark. On the PGA Tour, the benchmark is known as the field average, but depending on the golfer and the data set provided, you can make comparisons to any other group or handicap.

The result of the strokes gained calculation is a value based on how many strokes a player gains or loses compared to the average, which can be calculated down to individual shots. This data can be used to provide an in-depth analysis of any golfer's strengths and weaknesses.

In the above example, Aldrich Potgieter gained +.615 strokes per round off the tee, and +.078 putting on the PGA Tour in 2025 compared to the field average, but lost -.162 strokes on approach shots.

Strokes Gainer - Driver Vs. Putter

One of the ways to quickly lose a lot of shots in any round of golf is with penalty strokes because not only do you not end up closer to the hole, but you also add a stroke to your score. The worst type of lost shot is one from a ball hit out of bounds, because you lose that shot, add a stroke to your score, and then have to replay the same shot.

The worst part is, depending on your skill level, shot shape, and how far away you are from the target, there is a likely chance that you could have that happen again on the next shot. It's why being able to hit the ball longer and straighter off the tee can offer such a distinct advantage - why try and navigate a hazard when you can just fly over it?

As for putting, once you are on the green there is very little chance that you can lose shots from hitting the ball into a hazard or out of bounds.

Now of course, 3-putts are best to be avoided as much as possible, but even as you are putting, the likelihood is that with each stroke you are progressively getting closer to the hole until you eventually hole out. Yes, missing shots putts doesn't help with scoring either, but a missed drive out of bounds or into a hazard has the potential to add a lot more shots to your score over the course of a round of golf.

This type of data, isn't just available to tour players either. You can track your own strokes gained data with a shot tracking device like Arccos and compare your game to others in your handicap range, goal handicap, and even tour players; who by the way average out to around +6 handcaps!!

So if you're looking to save shots from your game faster, especially if your handicap is into the double digits, than it might be a great idea to hit a few more drivers at the range, rather than instinctively head to the putting green before your next round.

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