The phrase "a poor gauge" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the inadequacy or unreliability of a measurement or assessment tool.
Example: "Using social media likes as a measure of success is often a poor gauge of actual engagement."
Alternatives: "an unreliable measure" or "a flawed indicator."
Softbank's chief executive, Masayoshi Son, said the earnings report was a poor gauge of the company's performance because of its structure as an investment vehicle.
"These figures need to be taken with a grain of salt as official GDP growth appears to have become a poor gauge of the performance of China's economy," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.
Stockmarket exuberance is a poor gauge of the national mood, given how few Thais are investors (120,000 active accounts at the Stock Exchange of Thailand, in a country of 67m).
Though Barnsley is a poor gauge of anything, as discussed above, it is certainly no comfort to anyone who worries that the slow decline of two party politics may pave the way for the sort of angry identity politics common on the continent of Europe.
Inpatient mortality rates, used by organizations to issue "report cards" on the quality of individual U.S. hospitals, are a poor gauge of how well hospitals actually perform and should be abandoned in favor of measures that more accurately assess patient harms and the care being provided, argue patient safety experts in a paper out April 20.
Regarding the efficacy of gun laws and restricting gun ownership, comparisons of gun violence in selective U.S. cities is a poor gauge.
It's therefore a very poor gauge of genuine, real life sentiment," says Gerrol, whose background is in the relatively niche academic field of Human Factors, essentially applying cognitive psychology to real-world problems (retail and media is just one facet of the company's work).
But it is undoubtedly true that the average golfer is an exceedingly poor gauge of what really ails his or her performance.
It is acknowledged that data at 1ka33 were not of good quality due to poor gauge reading (personal communication).
November's data also are a poor way to gauge any effect of mortgage rates' post-election climb.
A poor, poor performance.
