Average Distances - How Far Do You Hit Each Club? (And Don't Lie!)

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by DannyB215

I'd really like to know why would someone care about others' distances, but hey, here's mine!

It's actually somewhat useful as a utility for me.  Just yesterday I was theorizing that, compared to composite averages, my Driver/3wood length doesn't correspond to my 7-iron length.  I would fall into the driver distance (with roll) of 260-290, with an average of 275 or so.  Most of the guys I've seen in the 275 area on this thread his their 7-iron 160+ it seems.  I doubt all of them are playing strong 7 irons, yet all of them average probably 10+ yards more than I do with their 7-iron.

Originally Posted by Filindo Colace

you might want to recheck your distances. It can't be possible that you develop enough club head speed to accumulate 265 yards with your driver and only 45 yards with your 60* wedge? might need to recheck that

Quote:

You'd be surprised how short a flipper can hit a lob wedge.

This is my worry.

Brandon

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyB215

I'd really like to know why would someone care about others' distances, but hey, here's mine!

It's actually somewhat useful as a utility for me.  Just yesterday I was theorizing that, compared to composite averages, my Driver/3wood length doesn't correspond to my 7-iron length.  I would fall into the driver distance (with roll) of 260-290, with an average of 275 or so.  Most of the guys I've seen in the 275 area on this thread his their 7-iron 160+ it seems.  I doubt all of them are playing strong 7 irons, yet all of them average probably 10+ yards more than I do with their 7-iron.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filindo Colace

you might want to recheck your distances. It can't be possible that you develop enough club head speed to accumulate 265 yards with your driver and only 45 yards with your 60* wedge? might need to recheck that

Quote:

Originally Posted by iacas

You'd be surprised how short a flipper can hit a lob wedge.

This is my worry.

Brandon

275 is also probably your "typical good drive" not your driving average. Sounds like a nitpicky thing to say, but just getting that out of the way.

People typically list their target yardages on a typical strike, but it's possible (probable) that some guys list their typical distance for irons and actual average with the driver after being scolded by a few misguided people here who actively scoff at anyone listing a typical yardage for anything, but especially for the driver. Like we're on tour or something. I never understood that mentality and thank goodness those people don't dwell here anymore, but their kind words still resonate with some.

[bunkerputt]

I love this thread because compared to most people who post in it, I'm a way below average hitter.  In real-life I'm 96th percentile on height, 99th percentile on strength.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

I love this thread because compared to most people who post in it, I'm a way below average hitter.  In real-life I'm 96th percentile on height, 99th percentile on strength.

You know where you rate in terms of strength?  I didn't know there was a measurement for adults.  What is it?

[Yukari]

I don't think height and strength necessarily correlates with club distance.  My buddy is about 6 inches taller and stronger than I am.  But his swing mechanic is all arms, whereas my swing mechanic (or distance if you will) comes from the rotation of the hips/body.  I out drive him by 30 to 40 yards on every drive and I am at least a club longer than he is, which drives him nuts every time we play together.

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

I love this thread because compared to most people who post in it, I'm a way below average hitter.  In real-life I'm 96th percentile on height, 99th percentile on strength.

[moparman426]

I yell "POW" when I strike the ball.  I used to wear welding goggles to protect my eyes from the resulting explosion and mushroom cloud created when the ball landed, but now I just hit it so damn far, I can't even see it land anymore.  I also leg press half-ton trucks and can bench press three goose-down pillows at once. RAWRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

[moparman426]

Seriously though, I am hoping with the use of the golflogix app this year, I can nail down some averages to see where I need the most work.  I have general yardages that I use as a guideline for club selection, but nothing set in stone yet.  Up to this point, I have only been concentrating on acquiring a smooth swing and trying to be a more consistent ball striker.  I didn't want to get caught up in distances, as I thought it would get too distracting if I got too obsessive about it, which I would have.  My 7i is my 170 club.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

275 is also probably your "typical good drive" not your driving average. Sounds like a nitpicky thing to say, but just getting that out of the way.

People typically list their target yardages on a typical strike, but it's possible (probable) that some guys list their typical distance for irons and actual average with the driver after being scolded by a few misguided people here who actively scoff at anyone listing a typical yardage for anything, but especially for the driver. Like we're on tour or something. I never understood that mentality and thank goodness those people don't dwell here anymore, but their kind words still resonate with some.

Interesting point, but I don't think that is the answer in my case.  It's possible guys are listing driving average and "good strike" average with their irons.  That's what you're suggesting, right?  I tend to think most people would either list their "typical good strike" across all clubs, or list their average across all clubs.

For me, I tend to be very precise with my words (most of the time), so I meant driving average when I said 275 (with roll).  My driving has been the strongest part of my game lately, and even when I hit the hook or end up right and in the rough, it still carries in the 250 range.  In fact, for the first time in a couple years I've been consistently playing from the blue tees.

Regarding my 7-iron, I honestly wouldn't know what I average.  With a pretty casual swing and hitting it pretty flush, it goes around 150-155.  There have been a couple odd occurences where it has carried 160+, and I just credit that to me timing a flip perfectly or actually swinging the correct way (but not being able to repeat it).  The reality is--at least through a lot of my practice rounds this year--it goes less than 150 probably as many times as it goes more than 155, simply because I'm not making good contact.

Brandon

[Sacman]

Driver- 285

3 wood- 250

3 iron- 210

4 iron- 200

5 iron- 190

6 iron- 180

7 iron- 170

8 iron- 160

9 iron- 150

PW- 130

52 SW- 100

58 SW- 85

Putter- to the hole

[Beachcomber]

For good reference...

Taken from the TrackMan site...

PGA Tour averages

	Ball Speed (mph)	Verti. Launch (deg)	Horiz. Launch (deg) +/-	Spin Rate (rpm)	Spin Axsis (deg) +/-	Max Height (yds)	Land Angle (deg)	Carry (yds)	Carry Side (yds) +/-	Total (yds)	Total Side (yds)
Driver	165	11.2	3.0	2685	6.0	31	39	269	12.8	294	14.0
3-w	158	9.2	2.8	3655	5.8	30	43	243	11.8	260	12.7
5-w	152	9.4	2.6	4350	5.5	31	47	230	11.0	242	11.6
Hybrid	146	10.2	2.5	4437	5.3	30	47	225	9.5	237	10.1
3Iron	142	10.4	2.3	4630	5.1	27	46	212	8.7	220	9.1
4Iron	137	11.0	2.2	4836	4.8	28	48	203	7.9	209	8.1
5Iron	132	12.1	2.1	5361	4.3	31	49	194	7.2	198	7.3
6Iron	127	14.1	2.0	6231	3.9	30	50	183	6.7	185	6.8
7Iron	120	16.3	1.9	7097	3.4	32	50	172	5.8	177	6.0
8Iron	115	18.1	1.7	7998	2.8	31	50	160	5.1	162	5.2
9Iron	109	20.4	1.5	8647	2.5	30	51	148	4.3	149	4.3
PW	102	24.2	1.3	9304	2.1	30	52	136	3.8	137	3.8

I'll see if I can't get my fitter to let me use his TrackMan and get my official stats, but here is my estimated carry / total yds numbers based off of thousands of rounds of golf:

Driver: 240 / 265.... My swing speed with my Driver is 98 to 105mph depending if I go with tempo or swing hard.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/54404/my-swing-beachcomber

3W: 220 / 240

4H: 200 / 210

5H: 195 / 205

4i: 185 / 195

5i: 175 / 185

6i: 160 / 170

7i: 150 / 155

8i: 140 / 145

9i: 130 / 135

PW: 120 / 125

50*: 110 / 110

54*: 90 / 90

[bplewis24]

I have pretty much no way of estimating my avg carry distance with the driver.  When I'm on the course and able to measure total distance with gps, I can't approximate carry.  As far as the range is concerned, I pretty much don't trust any of the markers.

Brandon

[Golfs-for-Fun]

The only two clubs I know pretty much for certain is my 7 wood (~180yds) and my 7 iron (~145yards).

I dont carry a driver, only a 3 wood and up for now, and the only reason I know these two clubs is because they are the two I end up hitting most.

[jrbs118]

I hit down on the ball quite a bit which makes my longer clubs roll alot and not carry very far. my wedges go very far because of this though

Driver: 285 carry 310 total

3 wood: 265 carry 285 total

2 iron: 235

4 iron: 215

5 iron: 205

6 iron: 195

7 iron: 180

8 iron: 170

9 iron: 155

pw: 145

52: 125

56: 115

60: never hit full swing but probably 95-100

[moparman426]

I don't compare myself to PGA Tour averages, nor will I ever....2 different calibers of game play and skill sets.  I don't care what they can hit.   I base my club selection of my real world shots.  For instance, hole 2 on my regular practice course is 180y, elevated tee.  It's 7 iron...I know it's 7 iron, before the round even starts.  I have nailed the green too many times with the 7 to even consider using something else.  It's the only hole I have come close to acing, on more than one occasion.  I figured the elevated tee probably gives me at least a ten yard advantage, but I also know I can take a nice smooth swing to get there without getting angry at the ball.  Honestly, I think posting PGA stats has no bearing whatsoever on how far a person can average hitting the ball.....there's a lot more to the game than distance.

Also, can I just add my shortest 2 drives and my longest 2 drives and divide by four and use that for my driver distance average?  I posted a dinger in the summer of 2010, and even beat that by a good margin this past summer during a group outing, but didn't want to post it because I am well aware of the backlash that happens when people post their anomalous long shots...

[moparman426]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

I pretty much don't trust any of the markers.

I know what you mean.  My local muni seems to have the markers placed at illogical places.  For fun, a couple of us paced them off last fall, and only a few seemed to match with each other.  Some were off by well over ten yards, and as much as 20.

grammar

[Golfs-for-Fun]

Originally Posted by SamW

These are my measured yardages for actual play (for shot selection), I'd like to add that I intentionally don't bomb it with irons I rarely swing more than 80% with any iron so I'm not going to do what some people are doing in this thread and write down what I could hit it too if I smashed it.

Driver: 250

3 Wood: 235

2hy: 215-220

3i: 197

4i: 185

5i:  173

6i:  162

7i: 150

8i: 138

9i: 126

PW: 114

52: 103

56: 90

I read this thread and laughed a bit, some people hit dream yardages.. I'm not debating that some people hit it far, I've played with some extremely long hitters playing off very low handicaps, and occasionally with some extreme long hitters playing very wild off quite high handicaps.. the latter are always people who smash the ball out of control. I did plenty of work in the past getting my 7 iron to go a consistent 145-155 yards, this for me was the key measure, hitting over 170 with a 7 iron is possible with my swing but really that means hitting in the 130-175 yard range, not very useful on a course imo :) When I stand next to somebody on the 195yrd par 3 5th on our course, I take a 3 iron, the next guy might take a 6 iron especially if he's using hot faced irons.. I don't care one iota if mine heads for the green and his hooks out of bounds because he is hitting on his limits.

I know what you mean. I dont hit as hard as I 'can' either.

I have hit a 7 iron 170 yards or so, but it isnt fun on my back, so I'll settle a 145 average yardage for the 7I.

If I need to go further I'll pull a 9 wood out. High trajectory and plenty of distance.

These guys I played with the last couple days were a bit funny. They clearly were trying to impress and so both of them nailed  driver shot. One guys ball went left into the woods, the other guys ball went right into the woods and down into the creek. Me, I hit my 5 wood with a nice smooth swing and pretty much cut the fairway in half. A bit short because I had a hell of a head wind kick up, about 25 MPH at that point, so it stopped my ball a bit shorter than I wanted, but otherwise a fantastic shot.

I'll take a 220 yard 5 wood shot down the middle of the fairway over risking putting my ball in the trees any day of the week. The one guy had to drop a ball, the other guy took two more strokes getting out of his mess. Me, I was on in 3 and ended up with 1 over for the hole on with my 2 putt on this 380yd par 4.

I actually made my approach shot with a choked down 7 wood. Its a club I trust and am comfortable with. Ended up 8-10 feet from the hole on a pretty damned big green, so I was happy as hell.

I think this hero mentality kills a lot of shots for these guys. They have to try  to impress the other guys in the group by hitting that 6 iron 200 yards.

The one guy told me he's been playing for 3 years. Three years and Im only at it for 6 months...over the winter even...havent even really been able to play much. But I play it safe and use a club that i dont have to kill myself with. 3 years hes been at it, and played 100 round of golf in the past year according to him...and he's blasting them off into the trees while a newbie is down the center. I can only imagine how good this guy would be if he'd stop trying to impress me with his driver and play a smart game instead.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

You know where you rate in terms of strength?  I didn't know there was a measurement for adults.  What is it?

It's simple:  take a look at this wiki and see where you fit in  http://marvel.wikia.com/Strength_Scale

Just kidding.  You have to take data from different studies for specific measurements that generate a normal distribution.  Obviously saying "99% on strength" is ill-defined.  I'm thinking of a few specific measurements, arm, grip, back and chest strength.  Point being, I feel like a man in real life, but on the internets it's a different story.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

275 is also probably your "typical good drive" not your driving average. Sounds like a nitpicky thing to say, but just getting that out of the way.

People typically list their target yardages on a typical strike, but it's possible (probable) that some guys list their typical distance for irons and actual average with the driver after being scolded by a few misguided people here who actively scoff at anyone listing a typical yardage for anything, but especially for the driver. Like we're on tour or something. I never understood that mentality and thank goodness those people don't dwell here anymore, but their kind words still resonate with some.

Interesting point, but I don't think that is the answer in my case.  It's possible guys are listing driving average and "good strike" average with their irons.  That's what you're suggesting, right?  I tend to think most people would either list their "typical good strike" across all clubs, or list their average across all clubs.

For me, I tend to be very precise with my words (most of the time), so I meant driving average when I said 275 (with roll).  My driving has been the strongest part of my game lately, and even when I hit the hook or end up right and in the rough, it still carries in the 250 range.  In fact, for the first time in a couple years I've been consistently playing from the blue tees.

Regarding my 7-iron, I honestly wouldn't know what I average.  With a pretty casual swing and hitting it pretty flush, it goes around 150-155.  There have been a couple odd occurences where it has carried 160+, and I just credit that to me timing a flip perfectly or actually swinging the correct way (but not being able to repeat it).  The reality is--at least through a lot of my practice rounds this year--it goes less than 150 probably as many times as it goes more than 155, simply because I'm not making good contact.

Brandon

Based on your numbers I just assumed you were listing a controlled 7-iron and a swing approaching 100% effort with the driver. That's 125 yard between 7-iron and driver.