Wedge yardage correlation to Driver yardage?

[bones75]

I'm a relatively short hitter. But, I can hit my wedges as long (almost as long?) as guys that I play with that are long hitters.  Here's a common example that I have with many, many of my golfing buddies:

My 56 goes up to 95 (on a typical pure hit).  And that's not de-lofted, pretty damn high, with backspin if greens slope towards me and aren't running super fast.  My driver goes 225 carry, 250 w/ roll.

My friend's 56 goes 90, pretty much same trajectory and results.  But his driver goes 270 carry, 290-300 w/ roll.  

The same for relative clubs (60-PW vs long irons - driver).

Does this mean anything?  Like my mechanics for my driver are too short?  Or my friend's wedge play isn't that strong? Some ppl I know just swing harder with Driver and woods, so maybe that's the reason (personally, i don't swing any harder w/ my driver than I do w/ my wedge)?  Is it stupid of me to extrapolate that if my wedge game has "X" yardage, then my driver/long clubs should have "Y" yardage?

As with all my posts, i got questions, not answers...

[Jeremie Boop]

Fairly similar to my wedge distance. My carry is between yours and your friends but that's due to my poor swing mechanics *aka flip/steep swing*. It's possible your swing is overly steep with your driver and you are hitting down on it losing distance. Your best bet would be to record your swing and post a "my swing" thread in the members swing section.

 

Added thought, maybe your friend doesn't hit his sw full either, a lot of better players don't hit full shots with their 'scoring clubs' so it's possible his full power swing with his 56* would go more like 110?

Edited May 10, 2016 by Jeremie Boop

[mchepp]

Couple of things.

1. I don't think 95 yards is particularly long for a 56 degree wedge. I would think that 95 yard 56 degree wedge would correlate with a 250 yard drive. 

2. You need to learn about your impact dynamics. You may be hitting down with the driver. When I first got onto a trackman I found out that I was hitting down 4 degrees. It was robbing me of distance. Now I hit it up 3 degrees and I probably picked up 30 or so yards without increasing my swing speed at all.

3. You also need to know if you are hitting the driver on the sweetspot. Your smash factor. If you are missing the sweetspot you may be losing distance without knowing it. 

Well, that was 3 things, so I guess a few things, instead of a couple, but anyways. Go get on a trackman and learn about your impact dynamics. You can post your results here and as @Jeremie Boop recommended you can post your swing also.

[Lihu]

24 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I'm a relatively short hitter. But, I can hit my wedges as long (almost as long?) as guys that I play with that are long hitters.  Here's a common example that I have with many, many of my golfing buddies:

My 56 goes up to 95 (on a typical pure hit).  And that's not de-lofted, pretty damn high, with backspin if greens slope towards me and aren't running super fast.  My driver goes 225 carry, 250 w/ roll.

My friend's 56 goes 90, pretty much same trajectory and results.  But his driver goes 270 carry, 290-300 w/ roll.  

The same for relative clubs (60-PW vs long irons - driver).

Does this mean anything?  Like my mechanics for my driver are too short?  Or my friend's wedge play isn't that strong? Some ppl I know just swing harder with Driver and woods, so maybe that's the reason (personally, i don't swing any harder w/ my driver than I do w/ my wedge)?  Is it stupid of me to extrapolate that if my wedge game has "X" yardage, then my driver/long clubs should have "Y" yardage?

As with all my posts, i got questions, not answers...

The yardage on your 56 corresponds with something like 115 on your PW and if you double that you should maybe carry your driver 230?

Are your buddies making full swings or partial swings with their wedges?

[Jeremie Boop]

8 minutes ago, Lihu said:

The yardage on your 56 corresponds with something like 115 on your PW and if you double that you should maybe carry your driver 230?

Are your buddies making full swings or partial swings with their wedges?

Interesting, considering I hit my pw 135-140 ish normally I guess I should be carrying 270-280? Doesn't sound to terribly far off given last time I was out my carry on good drives was right around 260.

[bones75]

1 minute ago, Lihu said:

The yardage on your 56 corresponds with something like 115 on your PW and if you double that you should maybe carry your driver 230?

Are your buddies making full swings or partial swings with their wedges?

I'll ask my buddies, but they seem to be making full swings.  And maybe they're a few yards longer w/ the 56 but not by more than even 5 yards.  My PW actually goes 125-130.  Other yardages are below (all carry)

52 - 105
PW - 125
9 - 135
8 - 145
7 - 155
6 - 160
5 - 175
4 - 180
5w - 195
3w - 190 (but this one is just the club i think, it always comes out low and rolls 20-30 yards, vs every other club in my bag)

My yardages are weird, I know... there's a 5 yrd diff between my 6&7 and my 4&5... and a 15 yard between by 6 and 5. I cannot explain it other than I'm pretty sure it's a mental thing.

Looking at the above, previous responses in the posts make sense. I.e. mechanics of my longer clubs may be off (too upright) or whatnot?

[Jeremie Boop]

6 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I'll ask my buddies, but they seem to be making full swings.  And maybe they're a few yards longer w/ the 56 but not by more than even 5 yards.  My PW actually goes 125-130.  Other yardages are below (all carry)

52 - 105
PW - 125
9 - 135
8 - 145
7 - 155
6 - 160
5 - 175
4 - 180
5w - 195
3w - 190 (but this one is just the club i think, it always comes out low and rolls 20-30 yards, vs every other club in my bag)

My yardages are weird, I know... there's a 5 yrd diff between my 6&7 and my 4&5... and a 15 yard between by 6 and 5. I cannot explain it other than I'm pretty sure it's a mental thing.

Looking at the above, previous responses in the posts make sense. I.e. mechanics of my longer clubs may be off (too upright) or whatnot?

As you get into the longer clubs a steeper swing will cause you issues, and using a fairway wood off the ground with a steep swing? If you are anything like me, forget about it rofl. Again, I encourage you to post some videos of your swing in the my swing thread.

[bones75]

1 minute ago, Jeremie Boop said:

As you get into the longer clubs a steeper swing will cause you issues, and using a fairway wood off the ground with a steep swing? If you are anything like me, forget about it rofl. Again, I encourage you to post some videos of your swing in the my swing thread.

I will think about that (hoenstly will probably never get around to it, even tho I know it will be good for my game).  But actually, my woods are some of my more dependable clubs.  Other than wedges, my 5w is probably my 2nd best club in my bag (almost never mishit it), and I have a lot of confidence of my 3w.

[Lihu]

58 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I'll ask my buddies, but they seem to be making full swings.  And maybe they're a few yards longer w/ the 56 but not by more than even 5 yards.  My PW actually goes 125-130.  Other yardages are below (all carry)

52 - 105
PW - 125
9 - 135
8 - 145
7 - 155
6 - 160
5 - 175
4 - 180
5w - 195
3w - 190 (but this one is just the club i think, it always comes out low and rolls 20-30 yards, vs every other club in my bag)

My yardages are weird, I know... there's a 5 yrd diff between my 6&7 and my 4&5... and a 15 yard between by 6 and 5. I cannot explain it other than I'm pretty sure it's a mental thing.

Looking at the above, previous responses in the posts make sense. I.e. mechanics of my longer clubs may be off (too upright) or whatnot?

Not that weird. Those are almost exactly the same as my distances***. Just hit a longer club into the green.

I think I could hit my 56 about 95 yards as well, but I rarely make a full swing with that club.

***The distances I carry on the driving range usually ends up being my average distances given all the mishits on the course. http://www.gamegolf.com/player/Lihu

[Golfingdad]

1 hour ago, bones75 said:

I'm a relatively short hitter. But, I can hit my wedges as long (almost as long?) as guys that I play with that are long hitters.  Here's a common example that I have with many, many of my golfing buddies:

My 56 goes up to 95 (on a typical pure hit).  And that's not de-lofted, pretty damn high, with backspin if greens slope towards me and aren't running super fast.  My driver goes 225 carry, 250 w/ roll.

My friend's 56 goes 90, pretty much same trajectory and results.  But his driver goes 270 carry, 290-300 w/ roll.  

The same for relative clubs (60-PW vs long irons - driver).

Does this mean anything?  Like my mechanics for my driver are too short?  Or my friend's wedge play isn't that strong? Some ppl I know just swing harder with Driver and woods, so maybe that's the reason (personally, i don't swing any harder w/ my driver than I do w/ my wedge)?  Is it stupid of me to extrapolate that if my wedge game has "X" yardage, then my driver/long clubs should have "Y" yardage?

As with all my posts, i got questions, not answers...

I think that @Jeremie Boop and @mchepp have covered all of the bases pretty well.  It's either that your buddies are not taking full swings or your swing dynamics are less than ideal.

[DrvFrShow]

I hit my driver about 220, I guess.

My 55 sand wedge goes about 60-70 yds. My Lob Wedge goes about the same. I could hit it further, but I don't. I also pack a 64 I use depending upon the lie and type of shot I want to hit. Honestly I don't know how far i could hit the clubs. Due to how short they are, I'd probably either shank the shot or pull it hard left if I took a full swing with them. I make a 3/4 swing with my GW and it goes about 100 yds. My PW with a 3/4 swing if I get after it goes about 115. 9 iron full goes 128,

[MizunoPez]

my typical 56 degree distance is 79 yards according to gg, however I never hit a full wedge anyway.Club up for more control. Also my typical driving distance is 281.

Edited May 10, 2016 by MizunoPez

[bones75]

6 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I think that @Jeremie Boop and @mchepp have covered all of the bases pretty well.  It's either that your buddies are not taking full swings or your swing dynamics are less than ideal.

I just remembered, it's full swings me and my buddies all make.  There's a down hill 115 yrd par 3 on a course we play somewhat often, and we all take full swings w/ a 56.  But this is contradictory to another truth: they take harder swings w/ their driver, while I do not (thought about this more).  Granted a full swing w/ a wedge is always a 3/4 swing in my mind, if that makes any sense (it's not like me or they ever take a 56 to parallel in the backswing, or even anywhere close to that).

I think that @Jeremie Boop, @mchepp and @Golfing Dad are right, and something's (more) wrong with my swing at longer clubs.

It's funny, I post here when I've got questions about my game, but the answer is always, always, ALWAYS the same for me >>> Get a lesson.  Makes me wonder why I post questions in the first place (notwithstanding I really do love to hear all ya'll's thoughts)

[Lihu]

39 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

I think that @Jeremie Boop and @mchepp have covered all of the bases pretty well.  It's either that your buddies are not taking full swings or your swing dynamics are less than ideal.

Not sure this is the only answer. He's maybe only 10 yards short on the driver? That could be many things including fitting, swinging his driver a tiny bit slower for more control? Lots of reasons other than swing mechanics.

 

26 minutes ago, bones75 said:

I just remembered, it's full swings me and my buddies all make.  There's a down hill 115 yrd par 3 on a course we play somewhat often, and we all take full swings w/ a 56.  But this is contradictory to another truth: they take harder swings w/ their driver, while I do not (thought about this more).  Granted a full swing w/ a wedge is always a 3/4 swing in my mind, if that makes any sense (it's not like me or they ever take a 56 to parallel in the backswing, or even anywhere close to that).

I think that @Jeremie Boop, @mchepp and @Golfing Dad are right, and something's (more) wrong with my swing at longer clubs.

It's funny, I post here when I've got questions about my game, but the answer is always, always, ALWAYS the same for me >>> Get a lesson.  Makes me wonder why I post questions in the first place (notwithstanding I really do love to hear all ya'll's thoughts)

This might be the answer you are looking for after all. . .

[kpaulhus]

2 hours ago, Lihu said:

The yardage on your 56 corresponds with something like 115 on your PW and if you double that you should maybe carry your driver 230?

My GG average PW is 140. My average drive over the last 10 rounds is 260. I have hit several 300+ drives, but I think the driver is a little less consistent than the PW. I'm not sure doubling your PW yardage is a fair judgement of how far you should carry the ball. 

[Lihu]

38 minutes ago, kpaulhus said:

My GG average PW is 140. My average drive over the last 10 rounds is 260. I have hit several 300+ drives, but I think the driver is a little less consistent than the PW. I'm not sure doubling your PW yardage is a fair judgement of how far you should carry the ball. 

Makes sense, since a shorter club is always easier to hit. Maybe that's a kind of "best case"? Most people I know are same as you. My PW is also about 48 degrees so that possibly factors in as well for me?

[Golfingdad]

57 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Not sure this is the only answer. He's maybe only 10 yards short on the driver? That could be many things including fitting, swinging his driver a tiny bit slower for more control? Lots of reasons other than swing mechanics.

Sorry, I used the wrong word ... should have said swing dynamics, not mechanics.  Was just saying that @mchepp had the best answer.

[No Mulligans]

1 hour ago, MizunoPez said:

my typical 56 degree distance is 79 yards according to gg, however I never hit a full wedge anyway.Club up for more control. Also my typical driving distance is 281.

Not sure you should use GG average for a full wedge distance.  If you are like me, you have a range of swings you use with your wedge, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, full... As such my full SW shots represent less than 25% of my SW swings.  This all messes up the GG stats.