Help me digest my club distances

[aschroeger]

Hello.

I havent posted here in a while.  I've been playing quite a bit and lowered my handicap a lot lately.

I've been considering buying a new set of irons, which is what spurred this thread.

I googled club distances and found I am kind of all over the board as far as distances go.

The chart I am look at is this: http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/l/blclubdistance.htm

Anyways.

7i.  I hit consistantly 150 yards. Just as the chart says.  However, that is the only place I am close.

4i.  The chart says at the long side, 185y.  I can hit mine 215y.  I've actually been teeing off with it lately because my wood game has gone in the toilet.

If I can hit the 4i 30y further than "most?", why am I on par with my 7i?

This may be a silly post, but I'd sure like to understand it better.  8i, I hit about 120y, PW, about 100.

I'm guessing a lot of this is swing speed?  Can I assume that my swing speed slows down the shorter club I use?  My measured swing speed with my 6i is about 85mph.

Thx in advance.

[Chas]

Interesting, I seem to go the "other way" a bit.  I hit my GW 100 on average, my PW 115, my 8i 135, my 5i 165 and my 4i 175 - rarely 185 though I've done it on occasion.  I think it's because I tend to "pick" the 4i off the deck rather than get any sort of a divot so I'm not getting much backspin.  Maybe I should get more forward hip action going on the longer irons and come down more on the ball ..... I like to take a nice divot with the shorter irons with the ball quite far back in my stance, relatively.

So it isn't just swing speed, another factor is whether you're hitting down on the ball on contact and how much.  But others will be much more expert than me on this matter - I look forward to reading their posts.

Yours is not a silly post, that much I know.

[x129]

Is that 215 teed off distance and the 150 from the ground? If so I am guessing your hitting the 7 iron a bit fat.  Most people get 10-15 yards difference between irons.  6 iron of 85mph is something like 165-180 (depends a bit on lofts). An 8 iron of 120 seems really short for a guy that hits a 7 iron 150. Do the 7 and 8 iron go a lot higher than the 4?

Originally Posted by aschroeger

Hello.

I havent posted here in a while.  I've been playing quite a bit and lowered my handicap a lot lately.

I've been considering buying a new set of irons, which is what spurred this thread.

I googled club distances and found I am kind of all over the board as far as distances go.

The chart I am look at is this: http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/l/blclubdistance.htm

Anyways.

7i.  I hit consistantly 150 yards. Just as the chart says.  However, that is the only place I am close.

4i.  The chart says at the long side, 185y.  I can hit mine 215y.  I've actually been teeing off with it lately because my wood game has gone in the toilet.

If I can hit the 4i 30y further than "most?", why am I on par with my 7i?

This may be a silly post, but I'd sure like to understand it better.  8i, I hit about 120y, PW, about 100.

I'm guessing a lot of this is swing speed?  Can I assume that my swing speed slows down the shorter club I use?  My measured swing speed with my 6i is about 85mph.

Thx in advance.

[aschroeger]

Originally Posted by x129

Is that 215 teed off distance and the 150 from the ground? If so I am guessing your hitting the 7 iron a bit fat.  Most people get 10-15 yards difference between irons.  6 iron of 85mph is something like 165-180 (depends a bit on lofts). An 8 iron of 120 seems really short for a guy that hits a 7 iron 150. Do the 7 and 8 iron go a lot higher than the 4?

Yeah, its 215 teed up, but really low.  The 7i is always off the grass.  The 7-8i have a higher launch than the 4, but nothing to write home about.

[x129]

Tee up some 7 irons and see how far they fly. Where is the divot when you hit your 7 or 8 iron?  Where on the 7 are you hitting the ball? I would be a lot more worried about the gap between your 7+8 than your 7+4. Those clubs are similiar enough and short enough that you should be able to hit them about the same. You might want to check the lofts on them.

Originally Posted by aschroeger

Yeah, its 215 teed up, but really low.  The 7i is always off the grass.  The 7-8i have a higher launch than the 4, but nothing to write home about.

[aschroeger]

Originally Posted by x129

Tee up some 7 irons and see how far they fly. Where is the divot when you hit your 7 or 8 iron?  Where on the 7 are you hitting the ball? I would be a lot more worried about the gap between your 7+8 than your 7+4. Those clubs are similiar enough and short enough that you should be able to hit them about the same. You might want to check the lofts on them.

I'll give that a try.

My 7i is my money club.  I rarely miss with it.  The ball is struck flush, center.  Divot is just barely front of the ball.

I'll be at the range this weekend.  I'll jot down some numbers on my note pad to compare the 7 & 8.

Thanks for the feedback

[saevel25]

Here is the key, your swing is not the chart. Go out and hit 10 golf balls with each club you have and find out the distances..