how to find out iron yardages

[sasquatcho69]

i was wondering what is the most effective way to find out your yardages. the more consistent i get, the more i find that i need to know the exact distances my irons go.
thanks for the help
SP

[Zeph]

Pace up your distance to the green on approach shots and note how far it went. Or you could get a Range Finder or GPS. Knowing the yardage is one thing, but the course may be off on the distance markers.

[sasquatcho69]

yeah i was thinking about getting a rangefinder and going out on the course one day and hit ten shots to a green and have a friend stand in the middle of all the balls and just finding the distance to him. its just hard to find a course in LA that you can do that at

[zeg]

its just hard to find a course in LA that you can do that at

If you're located where you could get up to Pasadena, either Eaton Canyon or Altadena GC are usually pretty open late on weekday mornings, especially Fridays, and you shouldn't bother anyone taking a few extra shots. I'm not sure when the open times on the weekends are, but I've never found them too crowded in the afternoon just before twilight kicks in.

[treebound]

I used to just go to a range and figure out which club goes 150, which 200an and which one goes 100, clubs inbetween are usually fairly evenly spaced.

Not sure if that's what you were looking for though.

[Zeph]

Problem with a range is that most have range balls, which are designed to fly 15-20% shorter than playing balls. The yardages might also be off.

[Shindig]

I figured mine by iterative refinement. I had a guess as to how far I hit each, and as I hit a shot that is good (but not perfect), if it doesn't go the distance I expect, I make a note of it, and after the round, I try to figure out why. My distances eventually stablizied, and I went months without having a shot that was good but not near the expected distance.

If you're located where you could get up to Pasadena, either Eaton Canyon or Altadena GC are usually pretty open late on weekday mornings, especially Fridays, and you shouldn't bother anyone taking a few extra shots. I'm not sure when the open times on the weekends are, but I've never found them too crowded in the afternoon just before twilight kicks in.

This is a great suggestion. If you're in Los Angeles city, Encino or Balboa seem fairly vacant on weekday mornings, and again around an hour before twilight (now about 2pm). If you're intent on trying it on the course, go ahead then. They're also fairly flat. Zeg's idea is probably better if you're up in the Pasadena area, as those courses are smaller and in less crowded areas, so you're more likely to be able to do it. There's also an early par-3 (at Eaton Canyon, I think) with flat teeing grounds, a straight shot, and a few tee areas. You might be able to get a few reference points just by that one.

[iacas]

Problem with a range is that most have range balls, which are designed to fly 15-20% shorter than playing balls. The yardages might also be off.

Not all range balls are designed that way. Many are just cheap Top-Flites or whatever... they go about the same distance and are harder so they don't cut up or abrade or whatever.

[tterrag]

Best way is to go on the course. Then once you find one iron, they usually fall at 10 yard intervals. Although, to be sure hit all of your clubs.
Hope this helps,
Garrett

[Zeph]

Not all range balls are designed that way. Many are just cheap Top-Flites or whatever... they go about the same distance and are harder so they don't cut up or abrade or whatever.

I said most because I know not all use them. You'd have to check on your local range of course. I believe it's more common around the world than here, I've never seen anything but short fliers here.

[sean_miller]

I said most because I know not all use them. You'd have to check on your local range of course. I believe it's more common around the world than here, I've never seen anything but short fliers here.

It has a lot to do with geography - real estate prices. Two of our local ranges have more room and they use normal balls. A third third uses limited flight floating balls - hitting into the water answers the "where did that land" question. The fourth is a dump and I couldn't comment on their balls.

[anthony]

Range + course play. My local course is luckily not too busy at the end of the day when I usually play, so I've been taking advantage of that and setting up balls at somewhat exact distances and testing clubs to find distances. My range is flat and uses recycled balls, but there's usually a 10 or so yard +\- with some of the older balls. My irons are new for me this year and finding distances is a top priority.

[wrx_junki]

Usually goto the range to work on ballstriking and working the ball. As I play on the course, I learn the distances of my irons.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Here's how I did it, and this is how I heard a touring pro say she did it (more or less). You need another person to stand at a known distance and watch you hit balls with the club that delivers about that distance. When a ball lands, it will bounce away, but that person will put a ball down to mark the exact landing spot. After ten or so consistent shots, there should be a tight pattern, and that is how far you hit that club. I did this in a big vacant field, and measured the distance by wheeling a bicycle up to the cluster of balls and counting the revolutions of the front tire. Multiply by the circumference of the tire.

I go through this procedure every few years. You can do this with just a few irons and interpolate the gaps, but if you have hybrids in your bag, hit all of them, because they seem to have wider yardage gaps than irons do.

[Teklabz]

Best way is to go on the course. Then once you find one iron, they usually fall at 10 yard intervals. Although, to be sure hit all of your clubs.

That sounds reasonable, if you play a set, but with my pot-luck bag I'm in for some hard work at figuring out yardages! Wonder if the wife will ACTUALLY kill me for buying yet another piece of golfing ware, a range finder.

[saevel25]

I would say

Always hit the same ball. Go on the course when its not busy. Find a flat par 4 or 5, find the 150 marker, and hit something like 10 pitching wedges or 9-irons. Pace off the yardage, and average the totals. DO not take the max, that is not reasonable and done by most people. Then from there add between 8-15 yards per club, usually 10 is a good gap between irons. Then when you play just go with those and modify the numbers as you go. make sure to always pace off your shots when you want to see how far they go, or use GPS. Course yardages can be off a bit.

[GameDayDog]

I finally got around to doing this today with my new irons. With my old clubs my 7 iron went 150 yards. My new set - the 7 iron only goes 120!!! To be fair, I've been reworking my swing, but I used an app on my iPhone 3GS called GolfTape. It works without being on a golf course. I went to a nearby park with multiple softball fields and hit 5 golf balls. Ignored the longest and the shortest, took the average distance of the middle three.

Since I walked 120 yards out, I hit my 9 iron back to my starting point and using the app, discovered that my 9 iron averages 100 yards. So, the yardage gap seems to be right even if my distance is suffering. Oh yeah, I replaced my irons because I got hold of a vice and bent up my irons... (big mistake)