5 steps to learning your club distances

[sblack5]

Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what REPEATABLE distances they can hit their clubs and thus mis greens that add up to 4 - 10 shots per round. I used to be this way and then decided I was going to really go to work and figure things out.

Tools you'll need to really help your score:

1. full bag of clubs
2. 5 gallon bucket
3. 100 - 150 shag/range balls
4. rangefinder
5. an open hole or practice field (try late in the afternoons at your local course)

So at my local course they have a practice range that is about 300 yards long with a tee box, and one green and sand trap at 200 yards from the tee box. they let me reserve it for an hour at a time for private use. I've also gone out on the 9th hole leading back to the clubhouse on a late sunday afternoon (very easy to do during football season) to do this same thing.

1st - pick 1 club to learn for the day......hit 10 balls with a smooth swing that you can repeat.
2nd - Empty the 5 gallon bucket at the spot you are hitting from so that you have plenty of balls to hit.
3rd - take the 5 gallon bucket out to the fairway and place it in the MIDDLE of the dispersion of those 10 shots.
4th - Hit the remaining 100ish balls at the bucket
5th - get your rangefinder and figure out how far it is from your tee area to the middle of your dispersion, and that is your reliable distance for that particular club. Write it down. NOW pick em up and come back tomorrow to figure out the next club in the bag.

I recommend starting with your wedges and working your way up through the bag.
the object is to build a repeating swing and tempo, not to try and murder the ball with every swing. your ball striking should improve and your swing flaws will become very apparent so that you can work on them.

[max power]

Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what

While I have no doubt this practice method works, I think for a lot of us it's not feasible in terms of time and/or facilities. My advice is to take note of the distance of your well struck shots during casual (or tournament) rounds on the course, and mark them all down on your computer when you get home. After only a few rounds you'll have a good idea how far a well struck 3, 5, 7 iron carries, etc.

[sean_miller]

While I have no doubt this practice method works, I think for a lot of us it's not feasible in terms of time and/or facilities. My advice is to take note of the distance of your well struck shots during casual (or tournament) rounds on the course, and mark them all down on your computer when you get home. After only a few rounds you'll have a good idea how far a well struck 3, 5, 7 iron carries, etc.

"165 yards" - that was my number.

I learned what got me comfortably to 165, then went in 10 yard increments from there. It's more like 12-15 yard increments now, but the process is unchanged.

[max power]

"165 yards" - that was my number.

Funny-same number for me. During my first stretch of golf 10-11 years ago the number was 150 yds, and I think it was 7 iron. Now it's 165 yds, and a smooth 7 is still the answer (sometimes an 8 when playing the MX-200s).

[saevel25]

Just learn them as you go, don't care about the score. A GPS is nice, but i learned mine by trial and error.

[Mrd19abhs]

Just learn them as you go, don't care about the score. A GPS is nice, but i learned mine by trial and error.

Correct sir, its all trial and error. Thats how most ppl learn, most ppl that dont know their distances are ppl that either dont play very often or newbs and in both cases most of these ppl arent going to have a rangefinder or gps.

[saevel25]

Well here is a quick way.. Drop a ball at the 150 marker at each hole, and hit the same club, lets say a 7 iron. See how far it goes, pace off the result from the center of the green. Add or subtract that distance from 150, long add, short subtract. That is your 7 iron distance. Now add or subtract 10 yards per club as a standard gap.

Quicker, easier, it will get you started. You can do it easy in one round as you play. Taking the 150 at each hole will help average out some of the distance error that might occur with how the course measured there distances.

[Paradox]

Well here is a quick way.. Drop a ball at the 150 marker at each hole, and hit the same club, lets say a 7 iron. See how far it goes, pace off the result from the center of the green. Add or subtract that distance from 150, long add, short subtract. That is your 7 iron distance. Now add or subtract 10 yards per club as a standard gap.

You could also just drop one at 150...pick a club that you think will be around 150 and see how far it goes. If its long, on the next hole club down one. If its short, on the next hole club up one. Most everyone is gonna be around 7, 8, 9 for 150 yards so it shouldn't take many holes. Saves people from having to pace off yardages to what might not even be the center of the green and takes having different steps out of the equation.

[gir]

Knowing your distances is essential to playing good golf imo. Once I got a rangefinder, I found the markers at my course were not reliable. A few were accurate, but many were off by as much as 20 yards. Once I found out my distances I figured out it was not about hitting perfect shot after perfect shot, but about hitting within a known range.

[saevel25]

were do you guys play that your yardages are off by 20 yards.. If i don't misclub, i do that about once a year, i never have came up 20 yards short or 20 yards long if i hit the club well at the yardage on the golf course. I have been 5 yards difference a few times, but never anything like that. Now, dog legs are tough, is the yardage to the center of the green or does it go down the center of the fairway then turn.

But yea, i never had major issues with any yardage markers..

[max power]

were do you guys play that your yardages are off by 20 yards.. If i don't misclub, i do that about once a year, i never have came up 20 yards short or 20 yards long if i hit the club well at the yardage on the golf course. I have been 5 yards difference a few times, but never anything like that. Now, dog legs are tough, is the yardage to the center of the green or does it go down the center of the fairway then turn.

I'm with you. I think I've played one hole once where the markers were off significantly, but other than that they've always been accurate to the center of the green within 3-5 yds. This includes municipals, affordable courses, and the occasional nicer/resort course.

[gir]

I can think just a few days ago when I was on a par 4 and was inside of the 150 pole and I would have roughly estimated the distance to a roughly center cut pin to be about 135-140 ish. I lasered the flag though and it was actually 166. Same deal on another hole, I can remember standing right at the 150 pole, lasering the center cut pin, and it was actually 170. I pay no attention to markers anymore and just use my rangefinder for distances.

[ERdiesel]

I can think just a few days ago when I was on a par 4 and was inside of the 150 pole and I would have roughly estimated the distance to a roughly center cut pin to be about 135-140 ish. I lasered the flag though and it was actually 166. Same deal on another hole, I can remember standing right at the 150 pole, lasering the center cut pin, and it was actually 170. I pay no attention to markers anymore and just use my rangefinder for distances.

I play courses in the NYC/NJ area and I use a gps device. I can't count the number of times where my GPS distances differed from the course markers significantly, there's just been that many. And by significantly I mean by more than a club length, i.e. 10+ yards. I always go with my GPS and it has never let me down. Strangers and friends that I have played with would always learn the hard way. Especially on par 3's where i get a GPS distance dramatically different from markers on the tee box. Strangers always go with the established marker and come up short/long and after the first time, they would ask me for yardages on all remaining tee boxes.

[Paradox]

I guess that all I can say is that thank God my home course yardages are accurate. Apparently every other course in my area is accurate as well or they are all off by the same yardages. I don't think many people take into account that not only does the yardage marker go directly the the dead center of the green(do you know where the center is?) and that being either left or right of that marker will usually create a different yardage, sometimes much different.

Theres a hole I played recently. Where I was was about 140 yards from the green. I was in the right rough. if I had been in the center of the fairway, the shot would have been 125 yards. Left edge of the fairway, about 120 yards.

[halcon]

Only starting this thread as a contribution on what worked for me, and what has seriously made an enormous dent in my handicap. I play 4 times a week, and I'm almost always paired with 1-3 strangers. From what I see, and have asked, a great majority of weekend golfers don't know what

Thanks for the tip. I've found that the range balls (yellow, striped balls) have a different distance than my regular balls, so I just ignore the distance and I only work in the direction/shape of my shots. Is there any way to compensate for this?