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

[Golfingdad]

they seem in order? i thought 220-250 was a pretty big gap from 3 iron to 3 wood. kinda sucks on a really long par 3 like 220-235. i thought with my swing speed the irons would go further. only like 10 yards but still. do clubs make any difference in distance? sorry if i sound like i was dropped as a child but I'm still figuring out the hardware side of golf

Yeah ... that's almost exactly what mine are.  I think my driver average is closer to 270-275, 3 wood is probably 240, and I don't have a 3 iron, and my wedges are different degrees, but all of the rest are pretty much the same.

[KyleAnthony]

Yeah ... that's almost exactly what mine are.  I think my driver average is closer to 270-275, 3 wood is probably 240, and I don't have a 3 iron, and my wedges are different degrees, but all of the rest are pretty much the same.

what do you use for a 220-230 shot? choke down on a 3w? 3/4 swing? i was tempted to throw my old ping 2 iron in my bag or buy one to match my set

editL also can't wait to golf with you guys at the socal group outing

[flopster]

LOL ... the dangling modifier was the first thing I noticed as well.  Or was it a Freudian slip?? ;)

Bingo.  And in some cases (mine, for example) we are skeptical not only because we've seen others artificially (and accidentally) inflate their driver distances, but we've done it ourselves.  I used to think I "averaged" 290-310 with my driver.  Then I started reading on here, and thinking about it more, then I started really paying attention.  And it turned out, what I was doing was selectively remembering only the drives I cared to remember.  The one or two bombs from each round that I actually measured.  Conveniently ignoring the other 12 or so.  As it turns out, I'm only averaging 260-ish on my driver, and maybe I'll hit one out there to 290 or 300 every round or two if I'm lucky.

Point is (kelzzy) that nobody is jealous, nobody is a hater, and nobody is "mad," ... we've just seen too many people say that they average something close to or more than PGA tour pros to believe it anymore.

If you are accurate though, and then post your swing, then maybe we'd start believing you.

ok i have a question for everyone. are my distances around where they should be? at the PGA superstore the machine thing said my club speed is 112mph. here are my actual distances on the course. i feel like my irons are shorter than my woods. any info on how to increase my club speed would be greatly appreciated as well.

Driver - 285

3W - 245

3 iron - 220

4 iron - 210

5 iron - 195

6 iron - 180

7 iron - 170

8 iron - 160

9 iron - 145

PW - 130

56* - 110

60* - 85

edit - distances are total not carry, except 6 -60*

They look ok to me, and ok means make sense, Kelzzy on the other hand seemed to only want to post that driver distance even if it's accurate without realistic iron distances and then gets angry when we spot the error.

[MS256]

Bingo.  And in some cases (mine, for example) we are skeptical not only because we've seen others artificially (and accidentally) inflate their driver distances, but we've done it ourselves.  I used to think I "averaged" 290-310 with my driver.

Me too. I think most of us did that when we first started playing. Maybe drive a couple of 300 yard greens (more than likely with the benefit of a good bounce or two) and think that's an "average" shot.

On another note: I'm not in the camp that thinks we can accurately equate what our distances are with irons to what they are with a driver. Some people can hit woods fairly well but suck with irons. I'm the opposite and can hit irons much longer than my driver distance would indicate. It's simply because my crappy swing is really good for swinging a short stick really, really fast but not so much for a long stick. If I tried to generate that same speed with a driver I would hit the ground behind the ball more often than not.

People with really good golf swings would have a much more predictable spacing from irons to the driver.

[saevel25]

Me too. I think most of us did that when we first started playing. Maybe drive a couple of 300 yard greens (more than likely with the benefit of a good bounce or two) and think that's an "average" shot.

On another note: I'm not in the camp that thinks we can accurately equate what our distances are with irons to what they are with a driver. Some people can hit woods fairly well but suck with irons. I'm the opposite and can hit irons much longer than my driver distance would indicate. It's simply because my crappy swing is really good for swinging a short stick really, really fast but not so much for a long stick. If I tried to generate that same speed with a driver I would hit the ground behind the ball more often than not.

People with really good golf swings would have a much more predictable spacing from irons to the driver.

Still there is a correlation between iron distance and driver distance. It is pure math. Drivers do have a higher COR than irons. They are longer, and they are lighter. Yet all that equals up to a good rough estimate from the longest iron. You can get with in 5-10 yards of your driver distance by looking at how far you hit your longest iron.

Gaps for irons is usually 10-13 yards depending on player. That is based on the same principles, longer clubs, different lofts, different club weights.

[MS256]

Still there is a correlation between iron distance and driver distance. It is pure math. Drivers do have a higher COR than irons. They are longer, and they are lighter. Yet all that equals up to a good rough estimate from the longest iron. You can get with in 5-10 yards of your driver distance by looking at how far you hit your longest iron.

Gaps for irons is usually 10-13 yards depending on player. That is based on the same principles, longer clubs, different lofts, different club weights.

Pure math only works if you make the same swing with each. The math goes out the window if the swing with an iron isn't possible with a driver. With an iron my arms and the shaft are in very close to a straight line at impact from a down the line view with a fairly vertical swing plane. Not possible with a driver because there isn't enough room unless I raised my spine angle dramatically.

Funny thing is that I've improved that some this year and my iron distances have gone down from the ridiculous place they were.

(But it's not entirely fixed yet).

[saevel25]

Pure math only works if you make the same swing with each. The math goes out the window if the swing with an iron isn't possible with a driver. With an iron my arms and the shaft are in very close to a straight line at impact from a down the line view with a fairly vertical swing plane. Not possible with a driver because there isn't enough room unless I raised my spine angle dramatically.

Funny thing is that I've improved that some this year and my iron distances have gone down from the ridiculous place they were.

(But it's not entirely fixed yet).

Kelzzy claimed he was an 8 handicap. If you are single digit, the math works. If you are a 30 handicapper, it degrades. Just saying, in that instance we can correlate irons to driver. Especially when his 3 wood is that much lower, no way that gap is there.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS256

Pure math only works if you make the same swing with each. The math goes out the window if the swing with an iron isn't possible with a driver. With an iron my arms and the shaft are in very close to a straight line at impact from a down the line view with a fairly vertical swing plane. Not possible with a driver because there isn't enough room unless I raised my spine angle dramatically.

Funny thing is that I've improved that some this year and my iron distances have gone down from the ridiculous place they were.

(But it's not entirely fixed yet).

Kelzzy claimed he was an 8 handicap. If you are single digit, the math works. If you are a 30 handicapper, it degrades. Just saying, in that instance we can correlate irons to driver. Especially when his 3 wood is that much lower, no way that gap is there.

I think you are correct in the case of Kelzzy (even if he is not an 8), because he played as a child and most likely had good training. As noted by his distances where even if he carries "only 270", that still takes a lot of skill.

However, what about the design of the clubs? If his woods are designed to maximize distance and his irons to maximize accuracy there could be some gaps between the two?

[saevel25]

I think you are correct in the case of Kelzzy (even if he is not an 8), because he played as a child and most likely had good training. As noted by his distances where even if he carries "only 270", that still takes a lot of skill.

However, what about the design of the clubs? If his woods are designed to maximize distance and his irons to maximize accuracy there could be some gaps between the two?

Just because you play as a kid, doesn't mean you have good timing. If so then every kid should be really good at baseball, because it requires even more timing. Yet there are kids who plain out suck at putting bat to ball.

Not really. That general statement isn't true. Irons are built for distance. Its just irons are more accurate because they are shorter, and have higher lofts. If you get a driving iron, lets say Titleists new one. It would be pretty hard to control for most amateurs.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

I think you are correct in the case of Kelzzy (even if he is not an 8), because he played as a child and most likely had good training. As noted by his distances where even if he carries "only 270", that still takes a lot of skill.

However, what about the design of the clubs? If his woods are designed to maximize distance and his irons to maximize accuracy there could be some gaps between the two?

Just because you play as a kid, doesn't mean you have good timing. If so then every kid should be really good at baseball, because it requires even more timing. Yet there are kids who plain out suck at putting bat to ball.

Not really. That general statement isn't true. Irons are built for distance. Its just irons are more accurate because they are shorter, and have higher lofts. If you get a driving iron, lets say Titleists new one. It would be pretty hard to control for most amateurs.

You're right, I should have qualified that he stated that he was good at it up to the time he quit and started baseball. However, from his articles it sounds like he's pretty good at baseball too.

I guess I should have thought a little more about the design of the clubs statement.

Even I took my driver and put in a 135 gram shaft into it, and did that so I can find the fairway more often at a potential cost to distance.

[kk1969]

Hi all. First post... Distances I hit (average). Hcap 16, best round 84. 10.5* Driver 240 14* 3w 225 18* 5w 210 20* 3h 20 23* 4h ? 25* 5i 180 29* 6i 170 32* 7i 160 36* 8i 150 39* 9i 140 43* 'PW' 130 48* PW 115 52* GW 105 56* SW 95 60* LW 80 Irons are Di11s - strong lofts! Wedges are Tw9s - I hit these hard Any advice on gaps / set makeup welcome. Just bought a 4w and 4h so looking to incorporate these into my bag - going to omit 3w and 5w for 4w. Not sure if I should drop a wedge for the 4h or 5i?

[PJCdude]

Hi all. First post... Distances I hit (average). Hcap 16, best round 84. 10.5* Driver 240 14* 3w 225 18* 5w 210 20* 3h 20 23* 4h ? 25* 5i 180 29* 6i 170 32* 7i 160 36* 8i 150 39* 9i 140 43* 'PW' 130 48* PW 115 52* GW 105 56* SW 95 60* LW 80 Maybe see how far you hit the 4h first before making a decision. If you re gonna drop a gap, I'd drop the GW AND SW and replace it with a 54 degree SW. Your 48 degree would become your Gap wedge, and although that IS a low loft for a GW, your PW is basically a 9 iron so it needs to be low. Irons are Di11s - strong lofts! Wedges are Tw9s - I hit these hard Any advice on gaps / set makeup welcome. Just bought a 4w and 4h so looking to incorporate these into my bag - going to omit 3w and 5w for 4w. Not sure if I should drop a wedge for the 4h or 5i?

Maybe see how far you hit the 4h first before making a decision. If you re gonna drop a gap, I'd drop the GW AND SW and replace it with a 54 degree SW. Your 48 degree would become your Gap wedge, and although that IS a low loft for a GW, your PW is basically a 9 iron so it needs to be low.

[kk1969]

PJCdude, thanks for replying. Good idea on dropping the 52&56 for a 54. I still have the 55* SW from the Di11 set that I may use instead. Its pretty clunky looking compared to the blade style Tw9s though! Anyone used one?

[WhiteLightning]

I'm 15 and was curious on how far people are hitting their clubs (Driver through Wedges) and a ball they prefer.

My Driver - 285

5 Wood - 240

4 hybrid - 220

5 Iron - 205

6 Iron - 190

7 Iron - 180

8 Iron - 170

9 Iron - 160

PW - 150

GW - 135

SW - 105

LW - 90

64 Degree - 60 to 80

The ball I use is the 2013 Pro V1x I like the feel of the ball and the spin control that I get.

[geauxforbroke]

I'm 15 and was curious on how far people are hitting their clubs (Driver through Wedges) and a ball they prefer.

My Driver - 285

5 Wood - 240

4 hybrid - 220

5 Iron - 205

6 Iron - 190

7 Iron - 180

8 Iron - 170

9 Iron - 160

PW - 150

GW - 135

SW - 105

LW - 90

64 Degree - 60 to 80

The ball I use is the 2013 Pro V1x I like the feel of the ball and the spin control that I get.

There are 46 pages of information in this thread .

[billchao]

http://thesandtrap.com/t/18426/average-distances-how-far-do-you-hit-each-club-and-dont-lie

Edit: @geauxforbroke beat me to it. How come that thing didn't pop up in the corner of my screen?

[WhiteLightning]

Thanks

[WhiteLightning]

My Driver - 285 (Close to 300)

5 Wood - 240

4 hybrid - 220

5 Iron - 205

6 Iron - 190

7 Iron - 180

8 Iron - 170

9 Iron - 160

PW - 150

GW - 135

SW - 105

LW - 90

64 Degree - 60 to 80