Chris Stroud grew up in Groves, Texas, and caught the golf bug on the city's nine-hole course, The Port Groves Golf Club. More commonly called The Pea Patch, the course was known for its postage-stamp-sized greens and active gambling community. He attended Port Neches-Groves High School and chose not to participate in other sports to concentrate on golf, playing for the high school's storied golf team.

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Stroud was recognized in the National Junior Golf Rankings and was pursued by many Division I college programs. He says one of his best decisions was committing to play at Lamar University, where Brad McMakin and Brian White helped develop his golf game. He won the 2003 North and South Amateur and played on the 2004 Palmer Cup team. He was a two-time All-American at Lamar.

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Stroud turned pro in 2004. He played on mini-tours until earning his PGA Tour card at the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Qualifying schools. In 2009 he was able to finish 113th among card-carrying PGA players, and retain his card for the next year. His best performance in a PGA Tour event during these early years was a tie for fifth at the 2007 Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

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In 2010, Stroud earned the highest payout of his career, $237,500 for finishing tied for 10th at The Players Championship. In his 16 years on tour, he has earned over 12 million dollars and has finished in the Top 10 more than 20 times. In the 2013 Travelers Championship, he forced a playoff after chipping in from the fringe on the 72nd hole for birdie and finished second.
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On August 6, 2017, Stroud earned his first PGA Tour victory when he won the Barracuda Championship in a playoff over Greg Owen and Richy Werenski. It was his 290th PGA Tour start, and he was playing on conditional status. Before his win, Stroud was planning on retiring after the season. Still on a hot streak, Stroud was near the top for the first three rounds at the 2017 PGA Championship, before a final round 76 moved him back to ninth place.

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Stroud led fundraising efforts by several PGA tour players in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, which devastated his hometown of Groves. He was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame in 2004 and currently resides in Houston, Texas.