HARTFORD, Connecticut — SwingU is thrilled to announce the official release of the Female Strokes Gained Model and Updated Female Target Handicap Data.
What does this mean exactly? Previously, we calculated strokes gained data for women by comparing them to male scratch golfers. As you can imagine, a 150-yard shot for a male player is not the same as 150 yards for a female player. For instance, a scratch male might be hitting an 8-iron while a scratch woman might be hitting a 5-iron, leading to vastly different expected/average results.
This discrepancy unfairly penalized female players for their drives and approach shots.
“Comparing a female player’s shot data to a man’s has long skewed performance evaluations, particularly in the driving and approach facets, as men, on average, hit the ball further,” said Calli Ringsby, SwingU’s Head of Product. “By offering Strokes Gained analysis based on data from women’s rounds, we enable aspiring female golfers to get a much truer assessment of their game. The women’s game has historically lagged behind the men’s in comprehensive statistical analysis, and we’re proud to be a part of changing that.”
To address this, we analyzed all rounds played by scratch female players in our database to build a new female Strokes Gained model. We also updated all benchmark and Target Handicap data so that women can compare their performance to other women across the board. We’ve also retroactively updated all past rounds played by female players to use this new model, rectifying any previous data inaccuracies.
This, in addition to our efforts to populate female course slope and ratings for every course in our database, positions SwingU as the most female-friendly app on the market, a massive step forward for the fastest-growing segment of golfers in the world.
Female golfers will see these changes have already been adjusted within their Stats tab in the app and in their web stats portal available at app.swingu.com.