7 iron for 145 yards. Am I too short?

[B-Con]

If it's an honest 145 yards, that's nothing to be ashamed of. More golfers hit their 7i that far than think they do. :-) That's basically my ideal distance for my 7i. My goal is to hit it 150, but I usually come up short for that target, hitting a fully honest 143-145 yards. If the pin is farther back on the green the ball will probably release more and I may get a few more yards, but on the whole I've noticed that, for me, having the pin roughly 145 yards away means that a cleanly struck 7i will just about always be pin-high.

[Spyder]

Though I'm sure everyone is already aware, the physical size of the golfer really does not matter in regard to distance. A friend of mine is around 5'10 160 and is consistently further than just about all of us in our "group". Accuracy is key though. I will take your accurate 145 over my hit-or-miss 160-165 any day! Though when I do finally let up and play to around 150, I do notice a drastic change in accuracy and flight.

[x129]

Size matters a bit (not many 5'4 guys driving it 300 yards) but weight pretty much doesn't matter.

There is an online calculator where you put in one club distance and the others pop out. 145 7i gives us the following:

Driver 240

3 wood  209

5 iron 165

which are look pretty reasonable to me.  The PGA thinks a scratch golfer should drive the ball 250. Seems to me if your in the low single digits, you need to work on more distance. If your a bogey golfer, distance isn't your limiting factor.

[blackxpress]

Originally Posted by x129

Size matters a bit (not many 5'4 guys driving it 300 yards) but weight pretty much doesn't matter.

There is an online calculator where you put in one club distance and the others pop out. 145 7i gives us the following:

Driver 240

3 wood  209

5 iron 165

which are look pretty reasonable to me.  The PGA thinks a scratch golfer should drive the ball 250. Seems to me if your in the low single digits, you need to work on more distance. If your a bogey golfer, distance isn't your limiting factor.

Wow! This is great. Maybe I'm not such a short hitter after all. These are my exact distances.

BTW: According to the latest issue of Golf magazine Ian Poulter hits his 7i 174 yds. Yes, that's 29 yds longer than us but he's on the PGA Tour.

[Spyder]

My statement regarding size not being a major factor in overall distance is that there are many shorter/skinny players that are able to hit the ball longer than a tall/stocky golfer. Look at some of the sizes of professionals associated with the PGA.

Example:  I'm 6'2 250 athletic build. A buddy of mine is around 5'8 and 170 and can out-drive me by 20+ yards any time that he wants. All the way through his clubs as well. The swing plane/speed is the biggest factor. Size is very marginal.

[Gresh24]

No one would argue that there are smaller guys out there that can hit it farther than many bigger guys.  But, using guys on tour is not a good example, nor is one example of a buddy.  There are exceptions to every rule.

I think in everyday amature golf, size and athleticism have a lot to do with distance....a lot.  You will still have some 'smaller' guys with great swings that can hit as far as anyone, but as a general rule bigger, taller (longer), stronger guys have an easier time hitting the ball farther.

[Doctorfro]

I have created more distance in all my clubs by this swing thought...keeping my hands as far from my body as I can AND trying to keep my hands in front of me (more down the line).  This means I have shortened my swing and I've gained yards.  Hard to explain...wish I could show you what I mean.  In essence, my swing arc is bigger.  Your PGA pro (if he's a good one) could show you.

[SoCal Blade]

Your distances are fine

My 8i was my usual go to club for 150 yds  (I hit the ball high) and in NON-wind conditions, I used to hammer my 8i but I  used to feel a lot more comfortable with swinging my 7i smoothly.

Ego will not allow you to swing a longer club smoother,like the brain might suggest, no,  its the chics....it must be the chicks, cuz we think they dig the 190 yd 9 iron and we all must believe that it can be done by anyone because we keep trying to do it....

I recently switch to new clubs and went from rifle 6.0's to DG300S stiff which are considerably lighter and whippier.....I got a the same high ball flight (was expecting it go even higher, it did not) and learned to slow my swing down to maintain control of the light club, my hands feel good after a round now instead of sore when I played the X-stiff, heavier Rifles..........

Now I will hit 7i to a 150 yd green and use a smooth 6i if its breezy...My accuracy has improved by at least 25-30% by slowing down my swing...It has given me more confidence in my game, but it hasnt lowered my index at all?? Probably because I still suck at putting.

How bout bowling? anybody tried that sport lately?

[TN94z]

Take the shorter distances and smoother swings....add in a deadly short game....and you will hurt a lot of feelings.  I would not worry about your distance that much if you are accurate.  Like the others have said, distance isn't everything.  I know a guy around here that doesn't have a lot of distance....as a matter of fact, he hits mainly ugly little worm burners that have no kind of ideal ball flight at all.  But then he gets his wedges and putter in his hands and he shoots low 70s.....every time!

[clubchamp]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

No one would argue that there are smaller guys out there that can hit it farther than many bigger guys.  But, using guys on tour is not a good example, nor is one example of a buddy.  There are exceptions to every rule.

I think in everyday amature golf, size and athleticism have a lot to do with distance....a lot.  You will still have some 'smaller' guys with great swings that can hit as far as anyone, but as a general rule bigger, taller (longer), stronger guys have an easier time hitting the ball farther.

I have to disagree it all comes down to swing and contact I mean if you are a good golfer and swing harder yeah it's probably true. I guess if you are saying that if you only factor the shots that are well struck then you are probably are correct by as an average I bet there isn't much difference at all.

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by clubchamp

I have to disagree it all comes down to swing and contact I mean if you are a good golfer and swing harder yeah it's probably true. I guess if you are saying that if you only factor the shots that are well struck then you are probably are correct by as an average I bet there isn't much difference at all.

I agree with you, and I did just mean on average.  I see a bigger difference from my experiences.  I play with a lot of guys who are 6'3" - 6'7" and very good athletes.  Many can crush the ball.  Long arms and long bodies generate more club speed, and it looks so much easier to guys like that.   Granted, I don't play with a lot of guys with really low handicaps...

[Jmdmbike]

Seems basically unanimous that a 145 7 iron is fine. Most guys I play with will take a 7 or 8 from that yardage. Obviously there are guys whose 150 club is a smooth 9 or a wedge, but I don't see that as much. My son bombs it past me and has at least 2 clubs on me - but our scores are pretty close normally. Then there is the guy who pulls the 9 iron, comes up 15 yards short every time because he "didn't quite catch that one" when he really needed to hit 7.

[mikelegacy]

For your height i would that's a LITTLE shorter than average but as everyone else said, it's not a big deal if you are more accurate. I wouldn't worry so much about losing distance. It's obviously gonna happen as you get older. It certainly did with my father. But your short game will get better and better and you'll probably be posting lower scores.

[welling10]

I have always wondered the same.  I hit my 7 iron around 150 too.  I feel better after reading this.

[mikelegacy]

It definitely has a lot to do with height. I'm 6'5" or 6'6" and I definitely hit about 15 yards farther than my younger brother who is stronger than me, and better at golf but only 5'11". I've always been taught that my height is an advantage in golf.

[SamW]

Knowing its going to go about 145 in a hopefully straight line is just golfing bliss. I hit my 7 iron 3-4 yards more than that I'm not ashamed. I used to try and melt the ball with my irons but aside from it sometimes going much further I had no consistency.

[Rip24]

I dont think its too short.  Youre definitley not bombing it but its about average Id say.  Plus who needs to hit bombs with their 7 iron anyways....  Maybe your clubs have weaker lofts than modern clubs?  That would contribute to your higher than usual ball flight as well...just a guess

[BuckeyeNut]

It sounds like you're playing pretty good golf.......that's all that matters.   so long as you know your yardages, it's all good!!