What method do you use to determine which club to hit with?

I would like some feedback on this question that Ive been wondering about for awhile.

What do you use to detemine which club to hit with?

I have only been golfing maybe a half dozen times in my life and want to go more and improve.

The last time I went I asked a friend "what club should I use now" so I could be more accurate.

I have been thinking maybhe I will carry a card that has each clubs approximate distance and depending on what yardage the hole started with to estimate which club.

Looking for ideas so I can make the decision myself.

I have also been toying with the idea of a gps based golf program for my smart phone.

What do you use?

Just keep hitting all of your clubs on the course and at the range and it will soon become "instinctive" to you which club to use for any given distance.  Sometimes you end up being wrong but the more you golf, the more accurate you will be in choosing the correct club.  I personally see no need for GPS accuracy, estimate it based on yardage markers on the course.  Follow the KISS principle.  Basketball players do not care about the distance to the hoop; they can just sense the distance and their arms respond accordingly.  Golf should not be any different; practice will teach you which club will produce a desired result.

Also keep in mind that the more you play and better you become, each club will produce longer carry.  For example, I started playing golf in February of this year and could barely hit a 3 hybrid 160 yards; now I can hit it around 190-200 yards with a solid impact and it is still improving.  The past several rounds I played, I soared past short par 3 greens using 7, 8, and 9 irons that used to come up short on the same holes.  My point is by the time you have the electronic measurements of your distance, you will have improved your game and the numbers will no longer be valid.

Go to the driving range. Start with a wedge, and work your way up to fairway 5 iron. See how far you hit each club, and remember it. Most clubs are about 5 or 10 yards apart, so remember your distance.... on the course use the yardage markers provided, they are there to help you.

For example: 6 iron is my 160 yard club. If im a few yards behind the 150yd marker, ill hit a 6. If im at the 150 yd marker and going for back of green, ill still hit my 6. I

The first thing I'd do would be to go to the range and work your way up to your driver, getting the feel of each change in distance from club to club.  Nearly every range has markers for yardage, and even if they are a bit off, they should give you a general idea.  You may find that you hit your seven iron, for example, further than you hit your six iron.  What this usually means is that you naturally fit your seven iron better, that is if you haven't had your clubs custom-fit.  Or you may be making better contact, or worse.  You have the right idea of carrying a card with you about yardages, but I wouldn't write down what the approximate distance for each club is.  Maybe I'm reading that wrong, but what I think you mean is that you're taking approximate yardages off the internet or something, which isn't necessarily what you want to do.  You're going to have to put some time into figuring out your own yardages, and then writing them down if you have to.  But if you start golfing with more frequency, in no time you'll be able to figure out yardages just by using your eyes.  In my opinion, golf is all about feel, but in order to have a good sense of this, it takes some time.  Good question, and I hope my response helps.

-Garrett

For me i know my 9-iron goes a certain yardage and i know my 6 iron goes a certain yardage. Then i know that my 7 & 8 divide the difference equally. So i can just do the math there. Mostly my clubs are about 13 yards gaps.

Like others have said, you need to know the yardage you hit each club. Hit 10 balls with your 5 iron and take the average distance. Same with your 6, 7, 8, 9, P. You should have about 10 yards difference between clubs. Another tip is to aim for the back of the green if the pin is in the middle or back. If you hit it good you'll be on the back of the green. Mishit it a bit and you'll probably be in the middle of the green. For pins on the front of the green, hit the club for the yardage to the middle of the green. Most amateurs hit the club for the exact distance to the pin and come up short more often than not because they seldom hit the club perfect. Almost always better to be long than short.

Thanks everyone.

Great information I will keep in mind!

I have the exact opposite approach, before my approach shot I look at the distance I need to be to the hole and the slope of the green. 90% of the time the greens around here slant from back to front and I will always play my miss to be short of the pin as opposed to long. I would rather be 5 yards short of the green and have a 15 yard up hill chip as opposed to the back of the green and a 20ft downhill putt. I always find it better to be short than long.

I have a relatively good 'internal' rangefinder...and my guesses are usually off by maybe 3-5 yards. then i pull out the laser and see how far/close i am...based on the weather, where the pin is, best place to miss is, atmospheric conditions, ball lie, if i'm warmed up, if the moon was full last night, if my pulse is under/over 70, if i had a good breakfast, if the yankees won the night before..........

Once you get a little better you will figure out how far you hit each club.  Its something that comes with time and experience.   Also, in time you will develop a feel for situations when you can afford the risk of hitting driver off the tee or 3-wood off the deck (if you have a wide fairway or a large margin of error for your usual miss) and you will know when you can go for it and hit driver or 3-wood or who you need to rein yourself in and hit hybrid or a mid-iron.

As someone relatively new to the game, I would recommend that you know your distances for each club as recommended above. Only you truly know your distances. Your group can help you with other factors that affect your distance such as wind and pin position. Get your distances, then make educated decisions from there.

So maybe I have not been paying attention on the course but there are course markers for distance?

And is this usually only for regualr size courses?

Please enlighten me.....

most any regulation course will have sprinkler heads in the fairways that have yardages to the center of the green/front of the green..however they have measured.  A lot of courses will have stones or stakes down the center of the fairway to denote 200/150/100 from the green.  Some put them on the side of the fairways but I don't know of any course that doesn't have some kind of distance markers.

Well Im glad I asked because I have never looked for them or seen any before.

Thanks for the info!

I always walk out the distances