Distance per club

[Effington]

Distance per club

Hey guys,

I picked up golf in ~2011, played for a couple years but then stopped due to frustration (this game is hard!).  I brushed the dust off my clubs this year, took a couple lessons and the interest is back.  While I'd still consider myself a duffer, I'm able to practice 3+ times per week for about 30 minutes each.  I bought an annual pass to an indoor range, which has a trackman device.

I've been silently reading these forums for a few weeks now and don't have much to add, but thought I'd throw out a question based on an observation: there are many different measures of how far I can hit a club.  When someone asks me how far I hit the ball, I could tell them:

• Trackman carry distance.  Of note, the two machines at the practice range have a 10-15 yard difference in estimation on them.  My instructor notes that the shorter one is inaccurate.
• Trackman carry + roll.  This greatly differs based on what type of lie I'm hitting to; if it thinks I'm on the fairway, it's much more generous.
• Trackman carry  + roll +10: My golf instructor notes that the practice balls we use are poor and a better ball will give another 10 yards of distance
• Outdoor driving range: Pretty much a guess of how far it goes, can you really tell where it stops?  Also, some ranges have shorter grass.  
• Actual Course distance: As I'm still working on my swing, I'm rarely on a course, and even then, conditions vary greatly.  To me, this is my worst check figure (but to a better golfer, is probably the most important.)

The range of the above options have a 50 yard spread.  Logic tells me the answer is probably somewhere in between, but I'm curious how other people rate themselves.  I find that in general, people describe their golfing ability based on executing their best shot every time.

When having casual conversations about golf with colleagues, an observation was that shot distance was one of the first questions that come up when gauging someone's skill level, and didn't want to misrepresent mine.  Any thoughts?

[dennyjones]

I think it's a good thing to not want to misrepresent your distances.  I agree with you that most weekend warriors inflate their distances.   With the Trackman, make sure to not only get your distances with each club but flight (at least) your wedges to get distances for full swing, 3/4 swing, half swing, etc..

Regarding your question, the macho thing would be to say you hit your 7 iron 200 yards.   But does it really matter how much bragging comes from distance?  Focus instead on your handicap.   That's what makes golf competitive for everyone.   If it was based only on distance, the long ball hitters would win instead of "Lowest Score Wins".

btw...check out @iacas's book, "Lowest Score Wins".

[RandallT]

As you start to play more, I think you'll find yourself mentally setting a window for flat shots from the fairway.  Like this:

6iron: 160-170

7iron: 150-160

etc

Then you'll be adjusting for wind and elevation to pick your club, of course, but you'll definitely settle on some windows above.

Thats how I answer the question- usually just estimating the middle of each range.

From what I've seen, we all know there's estimations involved, and it's mainly a conversational thing. 

I guess it assesses to some degree how good the golfer is (or perhaps their potential to improve), but it's just the score that means anything. 

For now, I'd go with some middle distance of everything you've suggested and tweak it as you get more experience playing out in the course in various conditions. I guarantee you'll likely develop some mental range of ranges per club.  

 

[Midpack]

It has less meaning today than ever anyway with irons at least since some SGI and GI irons have jacked with lofts considerably, 1-2 club numbers. Playing partners may ask 'what did you hit?' after a good shot (and it's not very meaningful anymore since my 7-iron is the same loft as many 8 to 8½-irons today) - but I can't remember the last time someone asked me "how far I hit the ball." Sorry I don't have a better answer, but there isn't a good answer I know of.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Midpack

[easyjay39402]

At my club, the "respect" factor mostly depends on the scores you can shoot when you are at your best, followed by handicap index. How far you hit the ball has a wow factor, but it isn't a bombers course. Top of the mountain, of course, belongs to the young guys who can go low from the tips, but they go back to college in the fall ... 

[JonMA1]

I recorded the majority of rounds last year using the GameGolf phone app which uses gps and provides a lot of statistical data. It confirmed what I suspected of my club distances.

I may be wrong, but the idea of irons is for there to be somewhere around a 10 yard gap between them (someone can correct me if I'm wrong). But the truth is, I hit some of my clubs better than others. My 6i may be within a few yards of my 5i which may be within a few of my 4i. I don't have anything adjusted by a fitter but many other do - again, from what I understand.

As far as your numbers, if you're getting a wide variance between you good shots and poor, I wouldn't go half way between the two, I'd go closer to your high number.

For example:

I hit 10 shots with my 7i on a simulator. Of those 10, three are duffs and go 100 yards. I hit two more that aren't clean but I get 130 yards. I hit three more pretty well and get 140. Then I hit two that just fly off the club face and I get over 150.

Instead of adding those up and getting an average of 128, I'm going with 140 as my yardage for that club on the course (if on a decent lie, no elevation change or strong winds). 

Here's my logic... I know I'm going to hit some poor shots and land short of my target because I'm not yet consistent. But I don't want to take those into account when considering which club to pull. Obviously, I'm not going to use my highest numbers because those just don't occur often enough. I'm going with the distance I get when I hit my clubs "pretty well". If I'm coming up short or long too often on the course, I'll make an adjustment to what I consider my "stock" shot.

As @RandallT suggested, If your lie isn't great or the target is elevated, club up and concentrate on good contact.

Finally and probably most important, consider where the trouble is around your target. Trouble short, club up. Trouble back, play for a shorter shot knowing it's ok if you miss short.

Good luck.

[p1n9183]

On average, it´s 10 yards between clubs. Then you only have to figure out how many yards you hit with only one club... let´s say a 7-Iron.
Practice with that 7 iron and figure out your distance. You should pick the distance you hit with that club when you hit it ok but not perfect. In my case it´s 5 yards shorter than perfect and 10 more than a bad hit. Then i add 10 yards for the 6 iron.. 20 for the 5 iron and so on.

I play for 160 yards for my 7Iron, but I can hit it 150 when hit it poorly, or 170 if i hit it perfect with bad luck of hitting it a little flyer. 20 yards gap with the same club. I aim pin-high ??? no way, always 10 yards beyond the front of the green and 10 yards in front of the back of the green, generally the middle of the green.

  

[Golf Grouch]

Handicap index is the universal measure of golf skill.  What good is distance if you can't putt or chip?

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, Golf Grouch said:

Handicap index is the universal measure of golf skill.  What good is distance if you can't putt or chip?

Handicap index just lets people of different abilities play on a statistical level playing field. A person can have different average scores and have the same handicap index. That is because handicap index is the best 10 out of 20, not an average. 

Also, you are only suppose to beat your handicap index 20% of the time. It really isn't a true indicator of ability in the sense of defining what your actual ability is. 

[NCGolfer]

This thread is a good read for this topic...armed with real data.

 

[WUTiger]

If you have a home course, one of the best times to check this is when the course is fairly empty. You need a hole that is fairly flat from tee to landing area.

At my course, No. 10 ranges in length from 415 yards to 264 yards. The hole has five patches of tee boxes, and have three metal insets identifying how far it is from that point to the center of the green. The 150-yard marker post sets in a fairly flat part of the landing area, so rollout is not exaggerated.

I take my different clubs and check the full shot distance on No. 10. Recently I found a rare Saturday evening when few were venturing onto the back nine.  From the white tee area, I ranged my two fairway woods. I hit six Calla SuperSofts (my game ball) with each club. I had to redo the 4H, as the shots were a little wild the first time.

I plant my golf bag next to where I was hitting the shots, and use my range finder to lase back from landing point to bag for shot distance.

Dropping outliers (very long or very short), I found: the 3W went 205-220, the 5W went 190-200, and the 4H went 175-185. Possibly not ideal gaps, but at least I know what they are. During rounds, I have since found that , from a flyer lie in light rough, I can run the 5W out to about 220. 

And, these distances have proven valid distances in later rounds.

Another day, I went to No. 10 and checked the full distance of my 9i and three wedges. For partial wedges, I use the practice range upper tee. It has a flat area 80 yards wide from left to right, great for the partials, but not quite enough room for the full wedges.

[krupa]

On 7/4/2017 at 3:51 AM, Effington said:

When having casual conversations about golf with colleagues, an observation was that shot distance was one of the first questions that come up when gauging someone's skill level, and didn't want to misrepresent mine.  Any thoughts?

It doesn't matter how far you say you hit the ball; Murphy will make sure that the first time you play with them you'll top it 20 yards. 

I think it's interesting that people ask you about shot distance.  In my experience, people seem more interested in talking about different courses in the area or bragging about their own game.  No one has ever asked me how far I hit the ball.  

[p1n9183]

11 minutes ago, krupa said:

It doesn't matter how far you say you hit the ball; Murphy will make sure that the first time you play with them you'll top it 20 yards. 

I think it's interesting that people ask you about shot distance.  In my experience, people seem more interested in talking about different courses in the area or bragging about their own game.  No one has ever asked me how far I hit the ball.  

Everytime a high handicap ask me how long i hit my driver (after hitting it) they say it´s 280/290, but i said to them it´s just 260. They like to lie about their distances and mine too !

[Dave2512]

I look at 2 things my launch monitor data and my Game Golf club performance. What seems to ring true for all but the elite amateurs is club performance starts to level off around the 6 iron. I tend not to think or expect the max "perfect" shot on the course and adjust as necessary. If someone asked me how far I hit X the reality answer is everything from fat that barely moves towards the target to once a season dead nuts on the sweet spot with perfect mechanics.

[uitar9]

On ‎07‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 0:02 PM, p1n9183 said:

On average, it´s 10 yards between clubs. Then you only have to figure out how many yards you hit with only one club... let´s say a 7-Iron.
Practice with that 7 iron and figure out your distance. You should pick the distance you hit with that club when you hit it ok but not perfect. In my case it´s 5 yards shorter than perfect and 10 more than a bad hit. Then i add 10 yards for the 6 iron.. 20 for the 5 iron and so on.

I play for 160 yards for my 7Iron, but I can hit it 150 when hit it poorly, or 170 if i hit it perfect with bad luck of hitting it a little flyer. 20 yards gap with the same club. I aim pin-high ??? no way, always 10 yards beyond the front of the green and 10 yards in front of the back of the green, generally the middle of the green.

  

I like this. I have assumed a 10 yard gap as well and filled gaps with specific degree clubs, not club numbers. 12 degree driver, 16 degree wood, 20 degree hybrid etc. I used nine iron as a starting point as I found a range where someone shot a target for me. It started as only 85-95. I'm old and slow. With a little more experience that has moved out 10 yards. 

I went up and down 10 yards from 9 iron, up to driver and down to 60 degree.

That doesn't handle partial shots, be it with any club, heck I use a hybrid when I am in the jungle just off the green collar. At some point, feel, spatial distance comes into play.

Clubs are going to be unique to you but you have to know , even approx., how far a specific club is going to roll to. I'd love to be able to say I hit 7 iron 150. I don't. It's 110-115'ish. I can call it 150 all day long but will always come up short for 150

[todgot]

In Junior High we used to be impressed by how far someone hit a 7 iron or 5 iron... I guess all of us still are impressed by driver distance.  Personally, and I think everyone has a different approach to game management,  I have a low range for a club and a high range then things change based on elevation changes, lie, pin placement, wind, magnetic north, earth rotation and so on.  I can step on a pitching wedge and get it up to 130 or hit a smooth 120.  Which one I try to hit depends on the situation.  I don't think it matters a lot if someone is hitting an 8 iron from 180 or a 6 iron... it's still 180 yards.  I like the idea of having a range I hit the ball... of course I'm assuming a good ball strike every time.