Proximity to the Hole
Proximity to the hole is a golf statistic that measures the average distance, in feet, that a player’s approach shots finish from the hole. The lower the number, the more accurate the approach play.
What is proximity to the hole?
Proximity to the hole tracks how close a golfer’s approach shots come to rest from the pin, averaged across every approach in a round, a tournament, or a full season. An approach shot is any shot played toward the green with the intention of landing on it, so the stat covers iron and wedge shots while leaving out chips, pitches from around the green, and putts.
The appeal is that it turns a vague feeling into a number. Golfers tend to remember the one wedge that finished a foot from the cup and forget the four that trickled off to 30 feet. Proximity ignores the highlight and reports the average, which paints a far more honest picture of iron play.
The math behind it is simple. Hit one approach to 10 feet, and the next to 30 feet, and the proximity across those two shots is 20 feet. Repeat that for a full round, and the average shows roughly how much work the putter has to do afterward. The stat appears on PGA Tour stat pages, inside shot-tracking apps, and in television broadcasts, usually as a shorthand for who is striking their irons well and who is scrambling to save par.
How proximity to the hole is measured
On the PGA Tour, proximity is captured precisely. The tour’s official definition is the average distance the ball comes to rest from the hole, in feet, after an approach shot, with that distance measured by laser (PGA Tour). Two conditions keep the number clean. The shot cannot start on or around the green, and it has to finish on or around the green or in the hole. “Around the green” here means within 30 yards of the putting surface’s edge.
Recreational golfers do not have lasers following every shot, but the idea carries over easily. A rangefinder or GPS watch gives a distance to the pin, and pacing off the yardage after an approach works just as well. Logging those numbers over several rounds produces a personal average. Apps such as Shot Scope automate the process and break proximity down by club and by distance.
What counts as a good proximity to the hole?
There is no single good number, because proximity depends entirely on how far away the shot started. Twenty-five feet is a poor result from 100 yards and a strong one from 200. The honest benchmarks tend to surprise golfers, especially once they see how far the best players in the world leave themselves.
| Approach distance | PGA Tour average proximity |
|---|---|
| 100 to 125 yards | About 18 feet |
| 150 to 175 yards | About 27 feet |
| 200 yards and beyond | 40 feet or more |
Amateur numbers sit further out. Shot Scope’s database shows the average club golfer finishes about 40 feet from the hole on approaches of 60 to 100 yards from the fairway, rising to 46 feet from the rough and 56 feet from a greenside bunker (Shot Scope). Lower handicaps land closer across every lie type, partly through cleaner striking and partly because they hit shorter clubs into the green.
Why does the distance matter so much? The putt that follows is decided by it. PGA Tour players hole about 99% of putts from 3 feet, 50% from 8 feet, and just 15% from 20 feet (Swingtweaks). Trimming an average approach from 35 feet to 20 feet needs no change to the putting stroke at all. It simply hands the golfer far shorter putts.
Proximity to the hole vs. greens in regulation and strokes gained
Proximity gets confused with two other approach stats, and the differences are worth understanding.
Greens in regulation (GIR) asks only a yes-or-no question: did the ball finish on the putting surface within the expected number of shots? It says nothing about where on the green. A ball that stops 60 feet from a back pin counts as a green hit, yet it sets up a likely three-putt. Proximity captures the quality that GIR overlooks.
Strokes gained: approach runs the other direction and adds the context proximity lacks. Proximity treats every approach the same, so a shot to 30 feet from 210 yards reads identically to one from 120 yards, even though the longer shot was much harder. Strokes gained: approach weighs each shot against how a tour-level field would play from the same distance and lie, which credits difficulty (The DIY Golfer).
The 2019 Valspar Championship shows why that gap matters. Paul Casey won the event yet ranked 65th out of 70 players in proximity, averaging nearly 42 feet, while the proximity leader that week, Jim Furyk, sat at 31 feet (Golf.com). Casey’s approach play was strong; raw proximity just failed to reward it, because he kept facing longer shots. Mark Broadie, the statistician behind strokes gained, points to cases like this to explain why proximity is a good starting point rather than the final word on ball-striking.
| Stat | What it measures | What it ignores |
|---|---|---|
| Proximity to the hole | Average distance from the pin on approaches | Starting distance and lie difficulty |
| Greens in regulation | Whether the green was reached in regulation | How close the ball finished |
| Strokes gained: approach | Approach quality against a baseline field, by distance and lie | Little; the most complete of the three |
Related Golf Terms
- Sand save percentage — The rate of making par or better after a greenside bunker shot.
- Bogey avoidance — A measure of how well a player limits bogeys and worse.
- Up-and-down percentage — The rate of getting the ball in the hole in two from around the green
- Birdie average — The average number of birdies a player makes per round.
- Carding — The act of recording a score on the scorecard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good proximity to the hole?
It depends on the distance. From 150 yards, a PGA Tour pro averages around 27 feet, so anything inside that from the same range is a good result for an amateur. Shorter shots should finish closer, and longer ones will sit farther out.
Does proximity to the hole include chips and putts?
No. Approach shots played toward the green are the only ones that count, which in practice means irons and wedges. Anything struck from around the green, such as a chip, a pitch, or a putt, sits outside the stat.
Is proximity to the hole the same as strokes gained: approach?
No. Proximity is the raw average distance from the pin. Strokes gained: approach adjusts for how far and from what lie each shot was played, so it rewards difficulty that proximity ignores.
How do amateur golfers measure their proximity to the hole?
A rangefinder, a GPS watch, or simply pacing off the distance after each approach all work. Shot-tracking apps such as Shot Scope record it automatically and break it down by club.
What is the average PGA Tour proximity to the hole?
It varies by distance. Tour players average roughly 18 feet from 100 to 125 yards, about 27 feet from 150 to 175 yards, and 40 feet or more from beyond 200 yards.
Sources
- PGA TOUR. “Proximity to Hole,” PGA TOUR Stats. Accessed August 2026.
https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.331.y2020.html - Shot Scope. “Approach shots: average proximity to the hole.” Accessed August 2026.
https://shotscope.com/blog/practice-green/stats-and-data/approach-shots-average-proximity/ - Golf.com (Mark Broadie). “The stat that measures which PGA Tour players hit it closest.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/news/mark-broadie-proximity-hole-pga-tour/ - Golf Insider UK. “How Good Do Your Approach Shots Need To Be?” Accessed August 2026.
https://golfinsideruk.com/approach-play-stats/ - The DIY Golfer. “What is Strokes Gained Approach Shots? Explained.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.thediygolfer.com/blog/strokes-gained-approach-shots - Swingtweaks. “Proximity – A Primer.” Accessed August 2026.
https://app.swingtweaks.com/proximity-a-primer
