Is Judging Distances part of the game?

[pittpanther]

I have a pretty good idea of the distances my irons will go, but on the fairway I have no idea how far I am from the hole. Unless I happen to be playing a course with ample yardage markers, or GPS carts, judging distances is tough. Guessing the wrong distance leads to choosing the wrong club, which of course leads to additional strokes.

Is learning to judge distances considered to be part of the game? Are the more experienced players able to go to their ball on the fairway and say with confidence "I am 135 from the hole?"

Or should I forget that and pick up a GPS or rangefinder?

[TN94z]

By limited yardage markers, what do you mean? Do they at least have 100 yard and 150 yard markers? If so, walk off the yardages. I had to do this for years until I bought range finder. Walking it off is fairly easy.

[MiniMoe]

I was once told that Hogan knew the distance within 1 yard. Back then there might have been 150 bushes and that's about it..

[billm408]

Is learning to judge distances considered to be part of the game?

The short answer is "yes". Yardage markers on courses is a relatively new thing in the modern game (early 70's I think). Jack was the first player to use practice rounds to walk off the yardage on a course and make notes. I've played a couple of courses that have no yardage markers other than the signs on every tee box.

Years ago I went to a clinic where Tom Watson hit every club in his bag to the 150 yard green. It was a response to a question about how far he hits a wedge. He said he looks at the shot he wants to hit, not the distance. Over time and experience you can train yourself to guage distances. Range finders and GPS are great if you know your swing well enough to control the difference between a 135 yard 9 iron and a 147 yard 9 iron, but I often think that marked sprinkler heads and range finders are a crutch. You still have to determine distance to the hole since most markers are measured to the middle of the green anyway.

[TN94z]

The short answer is "yes". Yardage markers on courses is a relatively new thing in the modern game (early 70's I think). Jack was the first player to use practice rounds to walk off the yardage on a course and make notes. I've played a couple of courses that have no yardage markers other than the signs on every tee box.

The only thing you have to figure with a sky caddie is wind and elevation. You can move the pointer to any part of the green the flag is on and get your yardage.

But I agree. If you can get to where you can just judge your distance by eye sight, you will be thankful in the long run. That being said, once you start hitting your clubs consistently and have hit shot after shot from certain yardages, the judgement will come.

[billm408]

The only thing you have to figure with a sky caddie is wind and elevation. You can move the pointer to any part of the green the flag is on and get your yardage.

Don't mind me... I'm a crusty old school guy who still misses persimmon woods and balata golf balls!

[TN94z]

Don't mind me... I'm a crusty old school guy who still misses persimmon woods and balata golf balls!

HAHA!! I hear you. I am 31 and no spring chicken by any means

[Eeryck]

I have a pretty good idea of the distances my irons will go, but on the fairway I have no idea how far I am from the hole. Unless I happen to be playing a course with ample yardage markers, or GPS carts, judging distances is tough. Guessing the wrong distance leads to choosing the wrong club, which of course leads to additional strokes.

Having a sense of the distance is important to a good golf game but it comes with time. After you stand over a 135y approach shot enough times you start to get a pretty good feel for the distance based on several sub-concious visual clues.

This ability is not inate as some other posters may have implied. It has either come from practicing to a known distance, playing with more experienced golfers till they got the knack for it, or for the less number oriented folk it comes from other visual clues and constant trial and error. Prior to courses being marked, the era of the caddie was more common, they would know the distances on the course for you, it was part of their job. Additionally, there are several architect tricks that are commonly employed that will decieve you with respect to visual only distance, so without a good caddy to rely on, the best we have to go for distance is markers provided or some sort of electronic device. Personally, I use a rangefinder for my exact distance to the pin and plan my shot accordingly. Taking that unknown out of the equation gives me more confidence to make the shot. Before I had the rangefinder I would pace off from markers on the course and then count strides to the green to see if I was close. It takes some time to build enough memories to pick out the right visual clues for yardage, but eventually you will get some sense of it. As for hitting each club a specific distance, I have always heard the story at 100y and it included the putter. This is typically recommened more with getting in a shot makers mindset, than a judge of distance mindset. Regards, -E

[GaijinGolfer]

A GPS/rangefinder is a great tool to have and it makes it a lot easier to know which club to hit. You still have to use your brain and factor in wind and elevation though.
Judging distance does come with experience, but its still just a guess at best. Hogan may well have been able to judge the distance to within 1 yard (although I still think thats just another Ben Hogan tall tale), but most of us are not Ben Hogan and never will be.
I personally go by the yardage markers and use that as a good baseline for which club to hit. Id love to have a golf GPS, but they are still just a bit too much money. I am thinking about buying an iPhone and downloading a golf GPS application. It seems kind of silly to spend $200+ for a golf GPS and have something that is a 1 trick pony when for the same amount of money I could just buy an iPhone and have something that multitasks.

[goblue107501]

I think it is most important inside of 100 yards. Many of those shots I don't even want to know the distance. It is all done by feel and sight from having hit the same shot many times.

[flopdarock]

i cant afford a gps and when playing a course with poor markers im pretty much screwed... so ill look for the 150 markers and guesstimate from there...
aside from actually striking the ball... i think judging distances is one of the most important aspects of the game... heck i wish i had a gps or a tape measure just for my daggone putts... lol

[Prairie Golfer]

Yes, learning to judge distances is part of the game.

You will never see me using a GPS or a rangefinder on the course. If I want to know a distance I'll use Google Earth when I get home.