Strokes gained off the tee measures the difference between a golfer’s driving performance on par 4s and par 5s compared to the rest of the players in the field. For example, a golfer with a strokes gained off the tee average of 0.5 earns a half-shot edge over the field during an 18-hole round, while a player with an average of -0.25 would give away a quarter shot.
While numbers such as those may seem small, if the players in this example played equally well in other phases of the game, over the course of a 72-hole tournament the better driver would finish with a score that was three strokes lower. On the PGA Tour, a three-shot difference means a lot of money.
Following are the golfers who rank inside the top 10 in strokes gained off the tee, along with their drivers.
T-9. Tommy Fleetwood, 0.667
TaylorMade M6 (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Silver 70 TX shaft
T-9. Patrick Cantlay, 0.667
Titleist 917D2 (9.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana Plus S+ 73X shaft
8. Cameron Champ, 0.68
Ping G410 Plus (9 degrees), with Fujikura Pro Tour Spec 63 X shaft
7. Keith Mitchell, 0.694
Mizuno ST 190 (9.5 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS T1100 shaft
6. Gary Woodland, 0.741
Ping G410 Plus (9 degrees), with Accra RPG 475 M5+ shaft
5. Jason Day, 0.78
TaylorMade M6 (10.5 degrees), with Accra TZP 265 M5 prototype shaft
4. Luke List, 0.84
TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana Plus D+ 80TX shaft
3. Bubba Watson, 0.884
Ping G410 Plus (9 degrees), with Grafolloy BiMatrix Tour prototype shaft
2. Jon Rahm, 1.02
TaylorMade M5 (10.5 degrees), with Aldila Tour Green 75 TX shaft
1. Rory McIlroy, 1.304
TaylorMade M5 (9 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei CK White 70X shaft
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