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5 steps to learning your club distances


sblack5
Note: This thread is 4961 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what REPEATABLE distances they can hit their clubs and thus mis greens that add up to 4 - 10 shots per round. I used to be this way and then decided I was going to really go to work and figure things out.

Tools you'll need to really help your score:

1. full bag of clubs
2. 5 gallon bucket
3. 100 - 150 shag/range balls
4. rangefinder
5. an open hole or practice field (try late in the afternoons at your local course)

So at my local course they have a practice range that is about 300 yards long with a tee box, and one green and sand trap at 200 yards from the tee box. they let me reserve it for an hour at a time for private use. I've also gone out on the 9th hole leading back to the clubhouse on a late sunday afternoon (very easy to do during football season) to do this same thing.

1st - pick 1 club to learn for the day......hit 10 balls with a smooth swing that you can repeat.
2nd - Empty the 5 gallon bucket at the spot you are hitting from so that you have plenty of balls to hit.
3rd - take the 5 gallon bucket out to the fairway and place it in the MIDDLE of the dispersion of those 10 shots.
4th - Hit the remaining 100ish balls at the bucket
5th - get your rangefinder and figure out how far it is from your tee area to the middle of your dispersion, and that is your reliable distance for that particular club. Write it down. NOW pick em up and come back tomorrow to figure out the next club in the bag.

I recommend starting with your wedges and working your way up through the bag.
the object is to build a repeating swing and tempo, not to try and murder the ball with every swing. your ball striking should improve and your swing flaws will become very apparent so that you can work on them.

Driver: Adams 9064ld 6.5* w/ Oban Devotion 7 .... 281 cpm at 44"
Fairway Wood: Tour Edge xcg 4 3 wood w/ rapport blue velvet shaft

hybrid: Tour Edge Exotics cg4 17* 2 hybrid
Irons: Miura series 1957 "baby blades" w/ KBS tour shafts
Wedges: Miura: 52* wedge, 56* K grind, 59* Y grind
Putter: taylormade white smoke 35"

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Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what

While I have no doubt this practice method works, I think for a lot of us it's not feasible in terms of time and/or facilities. My advice is to take note of the distance of your well struck shots during casual (or tournament) rounds on the course, and mark them all down on your computer when you get home. After only a few rounds you'll have a good idea how far a well struck 3, 5, 7 iron carries, etc.

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While I have no doubt this practice method works, I think for a lot of us it's not feasible in terms of time and/or facilities. My advice is to take note of the distance of your well struck shots during casual (or tournament) rounds on the course, and mark them all down on your computer when you get home. After only a few rounds you'll have a good idea how far a well struck 3, 5, 7 iron carries, etc.

"165 yards" - that was my number.

I learned what got me comfortably to 165, then went in 10 yard increments from there. It's more like 12-15 yard increments now, but the process is unchanged.

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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"165 yards" - that was my number.

Funny-same number for me. During my first stretch of golf 10-11 years ago the number was 150 yds, and I think it was 7 iron. Now it's 165 yds, and a smooth 7 is still the answer (sometimes an 8 when playing the MX-200s).

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Just learn them as you go, don't care about the score. A GPS is nice, but i learned mine by trial and error.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Just learn them as you go, don't care about the score. A GPS is nice, but i learned mine by trial and error.

Correct sir, its all trial and error. Thats how most ppl learn, most ppl that dont know their distances are ppl that either dont play very often or newbs and in both cases most of these ppl arent going to have a rangefinder or gps.

WITB:

  • Driver: Titleist TSR3 8.0 A3, Badazz 60g S
  • Hybrid: Cobra Baffler 17*
  • Irons: T200 P-4
  • Wedges: Callaway X Forged 48*,56*,60*
  • Putter: Ping Anser Milled 
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Well here is a quick way.. Drop a ball at the 150 marker at each hole, and hit the same club, lets say a 7 iron. See how far it goes, pace off the result from the center of the green. Add or subtract that distance from 150, long add, short subtract. That is your 7 iron distance. Now add or subtract 10 yards per club as a standard gap.

Quicker, easier, it will get you started. You can do it easy in one round as you play. Taking the 150 at each hole will help average out some of the distance error that might occur with how the course measured there distances.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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Well here is a quick way.. Drop a ball at the 150 marker at each hole, and hit the same club, lets say a 7 iron. See how far it goes, pace off the result from the center of the green. Add or subtract that distance from 150, long add, short subtract. That is your 7 iron distance. Now add or subtract 10 yards per club as a standard gap.

You could also just drop one at 150...pick a club that you think will be around 150 and see how far it goes. If its long, on the next hole club down one. If its short, on the next hole club up one. Most everyone is gonna be around 7, 8, 9 for 150 yards so it shouldn't take many holes. Saves people from having to pace off yardages to what might not even be the center of the green and takes having different steps out of the equation.

My philosophy on golf "We're not doing rocket science, here."

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Knowing your distances is essential to playing good golf imo. Once I got a rangefinder, I found the markers at my course were not reliable. A few were accurate, but many were off by as much as 20 yards. Once I found out my distances I figured out it was not about hitting perfect shot after perfect shot, but about hitting within a known range.
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were do you guys play that your yardages are off by 20 yards.. If i don't misclub, i do that about once a year, i never have came up 20 yards short or 20 yards long if i hit the club well at the yardage on the golf course. I have been 5 yards difference a few times, but never anything like that. Now, dog legs are tough, is the yardage to the center of the green or does it go down the center of the fairway then turn.

But yea, i never had major issues with any yardage markers..

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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were do you guys play that your yardages are off by 20 yards.. If i don't misclub, i do that about once a year, i never have came up 20 yards short or 20 yards long if i hit the club well at the yardage on the golf course. I have been 5 yards difference a few times, but never anything like that. Now, dog legs are tough, is the yardage to the center of the green or does it go down the center of the fairway then turn.

I'm with you. I think I've played one hole once where the markers were off significantly, but other than that they've always been accurate to the center of the green within 3-5 yds. This includes municipals, affordable courses, and the occasional nicer/resort course.

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I can think just a few days ago when I was on a par 4 and was inside of the 150 pole and I would have roughly estimated the distance to a roughly center cut pin to be about 135-140 ish. I lasered the flag though and it was actually 166. Same deal on another hole, I can remember standing right at the 150 pole, lasering the center cut pin, and it was actually 170. I pay no attention to markers anymore and just use my rangefinder for distances.
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I can think just a few days ago when I was on a par 4 and was inside of the 150 pole and I would have roughly estimated the distance to a roughly center cut pin to be about 135-140 ish. I lasered the flag though and it was actually 166. Same deal on another hole, I can remember standing right at the 150 pole, lasering the center cut pin, and it was actually 170. I pay no attention to markers anymore and just use my rangefinder for distances.

I play courses in the NYC/NJ area and I use a gps device. I can't count the number of times where my GPS distances differed from the course markers significantly, there's just been that many. And by significantly I mean by more than a club length, i.e. 10+ yards. I always go with my GPS and it has never let me down. Strangers and friends that I have played with would always learn the hard way. Especially on par 3's where i get a GPS distance dramatically different from markers on the tee box. Strangers always go with the established marker and come up short/long and after the first time, they would ask me for yardages on all remaining tee boxes.

 

In my Mizuno Aerolite IV Stand Bag:

Driver: Titleist 910D2 (9.5°, RIP Alpha 70S)
Wood: Titleist 910F (15°, RIP Alpha 70S)

Irons: Mizuno MP-68 Irons (3 - PW, C-Taper S+), Mizuno MP-33 2 Iron (C-Taper S+)

Wedges: Vokey Spin Milled (56.11 - Bent to 54°, 60.07 Tour Chrome, C-Taper S+ DSS)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 (34")

Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x

GPS: Garmin Approach g5

Most useful training aids (for me) that I use: Tour Striker Pro 7 Iron, Swingyde, Tour Sticks alignment sticks, Dave Pelz Putting Tutor

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I guess that all I can say is that thank God my home course yardages are accurate. Apparently every other course in my area is accurate as well or they are all off by the same yardages. I don't think many people take into account that not only does the yardage marker go directly the the dead center of the green(do you know where the center is?) and that being either left or right of that marker will usually create a different yardage, sometimes much different.

Theres a hole I played recently. Where I was was about 140 yards from the green. I was in the right rough. if I had been in the center of the fairway, the shot would have been 125 yards. Left edge of the fairway, about 120 yards.

My philosophy on golf "We're not doing rocket science, here."

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Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what

Thanks for the tip. I've found that the range balls (yellow, striped balls) have a different distance than my regular balls, so I just ignore the distance and I only work in the direction/shape of my shots. Is there any way to compensate for this?

Clubs in my bag: TaylorMade R7 SuperDeep TP 9.5° Fujikura Speeder 757 S | Titleist 906F2 13° AccuFLEX ICON FH X| Adams Idea Pro Black 18° Aldila NV Pro 105-S| Mizuno MP-57 3-7; MP-32 8-P PX6.0 | Mizuno MP T-10 54.09, 60.05
My bags and cart: Titleist Carry Bag | Mizuno Omega V + Clicgear 2.0

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Note: This thread is 4961 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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