In competitive golf, the difference between winning and finishing a few shots back often comes down to one thing: putting. The best players separate themselves not only with power and precision from tee to green, but with the ability to read breaks, control speed, and hole putts under pressure.

That’s where StrackaLine has become one of the most influential names in modern golf—combining decades of yardage book tradition with state-of-the-art surveying to help golfers understand the most important surface in the game: the putting green.

Founded by Golfers, Built with Technology

StrackaLine was founded in 2007 by father and son Jim and Chase Stracka. Both are avid golfers and set off on a project to combine their expertise in technology with their passion for the game.

What started as a golf-driven innovation effort quickly grew into a new standard for course mapping, especially as competitive golfers demanded more accurate information for tournament preparation.

The “Gorjus George” Connection

In 2008, StrackaLine teamed up with former tour caddie of Arnold Palmer, George “Gorjus George” Lucas. From 1976 to 2008, Lucas created the famous bright orange, hand-drawn yardage books used on professional and amateur tours.

Lucas produced his first full-fledged book for the 1976 Memphis Classic. At the time, he was not yet a full-time surveyor and was still nurturing his own tour-pro dreams. He looped for professionals including Tom Shaw, Bobby Walzel, and Arnold Palmer, while also building a reputation as a meticulous mapper of golf holes.

His guides became valued because they presented each hole with precise distance measurements and essential notes in the context of what a competitive golfer needs to know: where to place tee shots, what to avoid, how a hole truly plays, and what matters when scores count.