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

[Billy Z]

Haha.  I was actually thinking how, when I buy my next set, I might actually like this move in lofts for exactly the reason you asked this question, does he have trouble hitting his 2i (whoops, 3i).  I'd prefer to buy a used set just cause it's SO much cheaper to get a set from last year than a brand new one (and it's not that hard to find a used set with +0.5 or +1 shafts, and forged clubs at least can be bent upright after the fact easily during a fitting).  And I love my 3i and am hoping to get a set with a matching 2i to replace my 2h.  But it's super hard to find a used set with a 2i.  This way I can buy a used set labeled 3i-P, play it as 2i-9i, and get a wedge with more classic PW loft that matches my SW and LW.  Then I can have a matching set of irons down to classic 2i loft and a matching set of wedges rather than a lonely separate 2i...

I actually bought these irons at a 60% discount because the new X2-Hots were just about ready to come out. To me, it doesn't matter what number they stamp on the club as long as I know what to expect out of it. The new X2-Hots would have cost me $950 for the 4-AW, I got a brand new set of X-Hots for $420, which is very good for brand new clubs. If you are going to test a company's brand make sure you compare loft for loft against other irons. Some are wondering why a new set of irons hit further then others, the loft difference is probably the reason.

[SLDR430]

All distances are average carry distance:

Driver (11*): 270

3-Wood (15*): 250

3-Rescue (18.5*): 225

4-iron: 210

5-iron: 195

6-iron: 180

7-iron: 170

8-iron: 160

9-iron: 150

PW: 135

AW: 120

SW (56*): 100

LW (60*): 80

[BENtSwing]

Driver - 250

3w - 220

3H - 195-205

4i - 185

5i - 175

6i - 165

7i - 150

8i - 135

9i - 120

PW - 110

50* - 100

54* - 85

[RH31]

Driver 240-250

3w  215-220

3h  200-205

4h  190

5i   175

6i   165

7i   155

8i   145

9i   135

pw  125

gw (52)   110

sw (56)  90

Lw (60)  70

Randy

[Rahul]

I was struggling with the slice for he longest time..once I started slowing down..things are looking positive...LIGTH GRIP PRESSURE...TEMPO (Backswing...SAY 1 and Finish SAY 2)...thats take away the HITTING instinct..helps to cure the slice..body works better compared to FLIPPING HANDS (PURE JUNK)

[Rahul]

I wanna know how many 36 handicapper can swing fairway woods...you have to earn those clubs..stay away from those...stick to IRONS...helps to lower score..USE HYBRIDS FOR LONG FAIRWAY SHOTS...

Driver: 200-220 (FADE if old habits creep in, DRAW: 250ish)

4H: 175-190

5H: 170-160

6H: 160-150

7-Iron: 140 - 165

8- Iron: 135-150

9- Iron: 125 - 145

PW (45 degree): 90, 100, 115

Gap Wedge (50 degree): 60, 80

SW (56 degree): 40, 50 (75 full shot, Rarely)

LW (60 degree): 10, 20, 30, 40 (NEVER A FULL SHOT)

NEVER SWING BEYOND 75%...don't waste money on practice range which is a glorious waste of time...instead PLAY PAR 3 Nine hole..you will learn to Manage golf course, where your bad shot misses are, and you will come up with a GO TO SHOT..which you can always rely upon..if odds are against you...LEARN PITCHING....YOU WILL SAVE 10 shots on your next 18 hole round.

[goatlord]

Partially Trackman-based info, partially measured in course:

Club       Consistent (best)

Driver     290 (313)

3W         240 (274)

3I           230 (230)?

4I           220 (230)

5I           200

6I           180

7I           160

8I           140

9I           120

PW        110

SW        100

60W       90

64W       80

Putter      60 (this Texas-wedge shot was measured in Vaara Golf Course 16th hole downhill from fairway, it hit the flagpole =)

Took some time to translate the meters to yards =)

[Rahul]

TRACKMAN and everything..Man those are PGA tour average numbers...obviously you have the distance and accuracy...taking a conservative approach will break 90..no problem...I know because thats what I did..I was a 25 handicap for 6 months..now I have scored mid 80s for past 3 rounds...haven't changed a thing about my swing..Just playing conservative off the short grass placing the ball at the right spot for the next shot..always thinking about PUTTING for PAR..Making my approach and layups to my exact yardage for pitch shots..leaves me 6-10 Feet for PAR..7/10 I usually make it..Pitching and Putting is the key. Good luck GOATLORD...

[Lihu]

I wanna know how many 36 handicapper can swing fairway woods...you have to earn those clubs..stay away from those...stick to IRONS...helps to lower score..USE HYBRIDS FOR LONG FAIRWAY SHOTS...

Driver: 200-220 (FADE if old habits creep in, DRAW: 250ish)

4H: 175-190

5H: 170-160

6H: 160-150

7-Iron: 140 - 165

8- Iron: 135-150

9- Iron: 125 - 145

PW (45 degree): 90, 100, 115

Gap Wedge (50 degree): 60, 80

SW (56 degree): 40, 50 (75 full shot, Rarely)

LW (60 degree): 10, 20, 30, 40 (NEVER A FULL SHOT)

NEVER SWING BEYOND 75%...don't waste money on practice range which is a glorious waste of time...instead PLAY PAR 3 Nine hole..you will learn to Manage golf course, where your bad shot misses are, and you will come up with a GO TO SHOT..which you can always rely upon..if odds are against you...LEARN PITCHING....YOU WILL SAVE 10 shots on your next 18 hole round.

I wouldn't get too upset by 36 handicappers reporting long distances using FW woods. Most don't even remember how many strokes they made on a hole, much less estimate the distances of their drives. My guess is that they're off by 60 to 80 yards. A driver will carry about double the PW carry distance.

You're right about the FW woods. I use my 3W as a backup driver. I rarely top the 3W, but the distance and direction is not exactly predictable. I'm guessing that when I get down below the 15 handicap range, this club will be more useful for helping make birdies on par 5s. For now, I use the 18 degree hybrid.

[goatlord]

TRACKMAN and everything..Man those are PGA tour average numbers...obviously you have the distance and accuracy...taking a conservative approach will break 90..no problem...I know because thats what I did..I was a 25 handicap for 6 months..now I have scored mid 80s for past 3 rounds...haven't changed a thing about my swing..Just playing conservative off the short grass placing the ball at the right spot for the next shot..always thinking about PUTTING for PAR..Making my approach and layups to my exact yardage for pitch shots..leaves me 6-10 Feet for PAR..7/10 I usually make it..Pitching and Putting is the key. Good luck GOATLORD...

I know that but a 16 handicap hitting 300 plus yard come on.

Sir, I know that is relatively big number. Anyhow, I have never broke 110 shots per 18 holes (which is quite common when someone has played just few months). I started playing golf July 22 last year. In EGA handicap system it starts from 54 which turned 27 in three weeks but after that I have not improved.

I measured the swing speed with the Trackman with a professional golf club fitter. I have been told that Trackman is quite accurate. If there are some different opinions, I am glad to hear them. I suppose the Trackman can at least measure the swing speed correctly. My record is 122 mph with that. There is now snow on the ground, so shooting in real field is not possible. Here is a picture of Trackman report. It has meters on length scale as we do have in Europe. For some odd reason, they´ll use miles in swing speeds here too. 1 yard is 0,9144 meters.

Data shows that shot number 12 was 278,6 meters which equals roughly 306 yards. As You can see, the carry was 248,1 meters. Swing speed is 113,8 mph and ball speed 166,8 mph.

Anyhow, these numbers will not do any good until I´ll get my shots even near to the center of fairway.

Now, if I have insulted someone somehow, I apologize. Still, the picture above is taken from my shot report about a month ago.

[Robi1026]

I am a big boy - 6'1 - 270lbs with a think athletic build

These are average carry distances and yes, I rounded to the nearest 5 ...

Driver: 280

3W: 260

3H: 240

4I: 220

5I: 210

6I: 200

7I: 185

8I: 170

9I: 155

PW: 145

AW: 130

SW: 110

LW: 95

Rob

[Lihu]

Sir, I know that is relatively big number. Anyhow, I have never broke 110 shots per 18 holes (which is quite common when someone has played just few months). I started playing golf July 22 last year. In EGA handicap system it starts from 54 which turned 27 in three weeks but after that I have not improved.

I measured the swing speed with the Trackman with a professional golf club fitter. I have been told that Trackman is quite accurate. If there are some different opinions, I am glad to hear them. I suppose the Trackman can at least measure the swing speed correctly. My record is 122 mph with that. There is now snow on the ground, so shooting in real field is not possible. Here is a picture of Trackman report. It has meters on length scale as we do have in Europe. For some odd reason, they´ll use miles in swing speeds here too. 1 yard is 0,9144 meters.

Data shows that shot number 12 was 278,6 meters which equals roughly 306 yards. As You can see, the carry was 248,1 meters. Swing speed is 113,8 mph and ball speed 166,8 mph.

Anyhow, these numbers will not do any good until I´ll get my shots even near to the center of fairway.

Now, if I have insulted someone somehow, I apologize. Still, the picture above is taken from my shot report about a month ago.

Your Trakman plot looks pretty reasonable, and your average is about 210 meters which translates to about 231 yards. You stated that your PW is about 110 yards. So, a PW of 110 and driver of 231 yards carry are also very reasonable. Generally, there is a 2:1 between the driver and the PW carries.

You might be flipping the PW, I also used to flip and lost distance in the shorter irons.

[goatlord]

Those 12 shots averages by the Trackman report 262 yds. But, as I said, there is no use for 300 yard shots if they don´t land anywhere near the centre of the fairway.

In case Trackman is anyhow reliable, I consider proven that 16 handicapper can hit 300+ yards since 27,9 handicapper can also.

Edit: You mentioned PW/Driver carry ratio. That is correct, it´s quite close of it.

Was this thread about carry or total?

[Lihu]

Those 12 shots averages by the Trackman report 262 yds. But, as I said, there is no use for 300 yard shots if they don´t land anywhere near the centre of the fairway.

In case Trackman is anyhow reliable, I consider proven that 16 handicapper can hit 300+ yards since 27,9 handicapper can also.

Sure, but I didn't include roll, which you can't rely upon. 231 carry probably translates to 240 yards in So. Cal. On dry hot summer days maybe 250 yards.

I remeasured a drive I did the other day using google earth, and it came out to something like 300 to 310 yards landing behind a small tree. At the time, I kind of wondered why my normal drive was 100 yards or so past my playing partners? In any case, it was a freak incident, and not what I would expect from a normal drive.

My average is only somewhere around a 230 carry, but I have had freak days where I hit within 50 to 80 yards on all the par 4 on roughly 6000 yard courses.

My point being that average distance is an indicator of potential, but needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some people hit 230 with 60% effort, some need 95% effort. The ones hitting with 60% effort will have more chances of hitting more fairways.

[goatlord]

Sure, but I didn't include roll, which you can't rely upon. 231 carry probably translates to 240 yards in So. Cal. On dry hot summer days maybe 250 yards.

I remeasured a drive I did the other day using google earth, and it came out to something like 300 to 310 yards landing behind a small tree. At the time, I kind of wondered why my normal drive was 100 yards or so past my playing partners? In any case, it was a freak incident, and not what I would expect from a normal drive.

My average is only somewhere around a 230 carry, but I have had freak days where I hit within 50 to 80 yards on all the par 4 on roughly 6000 yard courses.

My point being that average distance is an indicator of potential, but needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some people hit 230 with 60% effort, some need 95% effort. The ones hitting with 60% effort will have more chances of hitting more fairways.

True that. When I was doing that 12-shot job, I was trying to get the shots as middle as possible. I have noticed same thing which is probably known by all: cautious shot is somewhat shorter than all-out desperate try =). I have once had a possibility to putt for eagle in par-4 after successful hard shot. Too bad I missed from 20 feet.

When I was hitting in indoor arena this morning with new loft adjustments, I could keep consistent carry + roll of 265 meters (about 290 yards). I shot almost 100 rounds to Trackman there. That´s where I invented the constant reading I mentioned early, but since it was not important, I did not save the report. I practice avg 4 times a week.

[sopel10]

I've never seen a 28 cap AVERAGE numbers like that.  I'm a 12.6, on trackman I can hit 10 drives, 6 will be solid, about 260 total, 2 will be great, 285-290 and 2 will be 230.  That's still an average of 255-260.  Most 28 cappers I've seen, will hit 2 solid ones, 1 great, and 7 so-so.  But then again, you might have just improved so much since your last round.  If these numbers are close to correct, with consistency they imply, your handicap should drop like a bomb when you start playing again.

[Rahul]

Awesome..response to this thread...I love how we are sharing info and helping each other to play better golf....Great way to understand golf..Goatlord...I was in the same boat not too long ago..Forget about those ego clubs (Fairway wood and driver)..If you can play your irons to a certain distance...That wil help you more..For example Try to hit you 9 iron only 100 yards..That will slow everything down..and improve consistancy..when I started playing 2 years ago I used to waste a lot of money and time at the practice range..sure you need some of that, however try to play PAR 3 courses as much as possible if you really want to improve....There is no better feeling than a well and crisp struck Iron shot (more rewarding than a loud and long drive)..Get Comfortable with your IRONS (MUST)..when you have irons in your hand..there should be no doubt...with in 2 months you will be playing mid 90s of even break 90s. Check this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoNcpO5vsHE (teaches you a lot about course management) work on your pitching and putting more than your full swing..if you develop good pithing technique..it automatically build a great foundation for full swing. Keep up the good work

[dsc123]

I've never seen a 28 cap AVERAGE numbers like that.  I'm a 12.6, on trackman I can hit 10 drives, 6 will be solid, about 260 total, 2 will be great, 285-290 and 2 will be 230.  That's still an average of 255-260.  Most 28 cappers I've seen, will hit 2 solid ones, 1 great, and 7 so-so.  But then again, you might have just improved so much since your last round.  If these numbers are close to correct, with consistency they imply, your handicap should drop like a bomb when you start playing again.