Best way to dial in distances

You're a 4 hcp and don't know how far you hit each club......?  

I think when asked, most people will tend to round (up )  to the closest 5 yard increment they feel matches their average shot under average conditions.  For most that comes from having hit a bunch of shots from known distances and observing the results.  Whether that known distance comes from a rangefinder of some sort, from markings on the course, or pacing, makes no difference. A lot of us grew up in the game with nothing more than an occasional 150 marker or a couple of sprinkler heads painted with someones paced off yardage to the center of the green.  Hit a lot of shots, see where they go, and be honest with yourself as to how well that shot compares to your "average" in terms of quality of strike.  That's all there is to it......

I think in general when people post things like 7i = 175, that is just an estimation.  I know for me, I would say something like that, 7i = 180.  That's just pretty much my average, and what I aim for.  I can swing harder, and do by accident on occasion, and I can miss-hit it and hit it shorter.  I don't hit it EXACTLY 180 every time, but if the center of the green is 180 yards out, I'm hitting my 7 iron because it goes approximately that far.  

Also, do you go to Purdue?

Like what David said, just going out and hitting ball after ball and becoming more familiar and confident with your swing will develop distance consistency.  I feel confident enough now that I know I can take a few yards off or add a few yards if I think I need it.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by onephenom 

wholeheartedly agree!

I'm in!  haha

In his book The Elements of Scoring Raymond Floyd says that the #1 mistake amateurs make that pros don't is underclubbing.  Personally I think it is because our distances have a much wider variance than the distances of a pro and we optimistically assume (hope?) we will hit it the distance at the top of the range.

Quote:

Originally Posted by onephenom 

That is awesome that you mention that because I just had that book delivered to my house (love amazon) and I'm going to start reading it tomorrow. That sounds like what a lot of people do

It is a great read.  You will find a thread about it over in the Reading Room forum, if you haven't already found and read it.

How?

I get out to a course around dusk with no one around, put down about 10 gamer balls starting with Gap Wedge, hit 10, get the distance, and move back 15 yards, do it again with the PW, do it again with the 9i, etc. It takes several rounds to get the averages. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by turtleback 

In his book The Elements of Scoring Raymond Floyd says that the #1 mistake amateurs make that pros don't is underclubbing.  Personally I think it is because our distances have a much wider variance than the distances of a pro and we optimistically assume (hope?) we will hit it the distance at the top of the range.

I'd agree with that considering most amateurs that are guilty of this aren't hitting the sweetspot on all their shots. The ones that do hit the sweetspot but underclub, let their ego get in the way.

For Pros, I assume they don't do this because their livelyhood is on the line. They could care less whether or not  they use a 8 iron when Tiger/Rory just hit the green with a PW.

Learn how to pace off yardages,

Get a tape measure, 50' is a good one, get some chalk, mark zero and 50'. Now what you do is, walk the distance with a good even step, try to keep say distance each step. Once you get use to this its pretty normal. Take that 50' and divide by the number of steps you taken. So lets say your pace is 2.5' per step, ok that means ever 2 steps is 5', ever 12 steps is 30', so every 12 steps is 10 yards. So you hit an iron shot, walk off the distance and do the math. For me, i learned to take a large step that is 3' per step, and i've come close to 50 yards, i think i taken average 49 steps per 50 yards, that's pretty good. So, i can easily pace off yardages. I know, we don't trust the yardage markers. I've googled mapped the yardage markers on the courses i play, there pretty good, so i don't know were people get all out of shape about it. If you have trouble, google map the back of the tee boxes, and other land markers, and just create a small note book, then you can pace of distances better. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25 

Learn how to pace off yardages,

 

Get a tape measure, 50' is a good one, get some chalk, mark zero and 50'. Now what you do is, walk the distance with a good even step, try to keep say distance each step. Once you get use to this its pretty normal. Take that 50' and divide by the number of steps you taken. So lets say your pace is 2.5' per step, ok that means ever 2 steps is 5', ever 12 steps is 30', so every 12 steps is 10 yards. So you hit an iron shot, walk off the distance and do the math. For me, i learned to take a large step that is 3' per step, and i've come close to 50 yards, i think i taken average 49 steps per 50 yards, that's pretty good. So, i can easily pace off yardages. I know, we don't trust the yardage markers. I've googled mapped the yardage markers on the courses i play, there pretty good, so i don't know were people get all out of shape about it. If you have trouble, google map the back of the tee boxes, and other land markers, and just create a small note book, then you can pace of distances better. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond 

How?

 

I get out to a course around dusk with no one around, put down about 10 gamer balls starting with Gap Wedge, hit 10, get the distance, and move back 15 yards, do it again with the PW, do it again with the 9i, etc. It takes several rounds to get the averages. 

i just think there are too many factors that are common (uphill, downhill, sideways lie, hitting in rough, etc.) that contribute to shots not going near an average distance that you achieve in these practice scenarios. 

though like i said, i'm a guy that finds a marker and says "oh that's about a 6i" and go from there.  i'm pretty good at it, but there are a bunch of guys that would just go home if they didn't have their scope GPS...