Distances

[Allanxyz]

So how does everyone work our their distances?

... I recently got a Garmin watch, didn't particularly need it as I was never really bad with picking a club for what I thought was the write distance, just wanted a new toy (ok, this is a bit silly I know... but it is what it is). I'm moving back to the UK so will be changing courses so my old knowledge of what to use and when will also be lost..

So now I really need to work out how far each club through the bag goes in order to get some use out of it... I have a rough idea but have never been precise as I never had precise yardages..

Seems like a couple of options... go to the range and see how far the ball goes against the markers.. couple of reasons I don't like this... often ranges aren't flat, they use range balls which might not fly as well, you're hitting off mats alot (not sure this makes a difference) and the yardages aren't that exact...

The alternatives would be finding a good hole and a quite time out on the course or booking a trackman session to get distances... what do you do?

 

[Martin70]

So how does everyone work our their distances?

... I recently got a Garmin watch, didn't particularly need it as I was never really bad with picking a club for what I thought was the write distance, just wanted a new toy (ok, this is a bit silly I know... but it is what it is). I'm moving back to the UK so will be changing courses so my old knowledge of what to use and when will also be lost..

So now I really need to work out how far each club through the bag goes in order to get some use out of it... I have a rough idea but have never been precise as I never had precise yardages..

Seems like a couple of options... go to the range and see how far the ball goes against the markers.. couple of reasons I don't like this... often ranges aren't flat, they use range balls which might not fly as well, you're hitting off mats alot (not sure this makes a difference) and the yardages aren't that exact...

The alternatives would be finding a good hole and a quite time out on the course or booking a trackman session to get distances... what do you do?

Might be a bit basic but I worked out I hit my 7 iron pretty much spot on 150 while playing on the course (jacked loft I know lol) and I just add or subtract 10 yards each club in either direction - seems to work for me.

 

[Piece]

For me definitive average distances were derived from a Trackman session. Then the lofts were adjusted to get the right gapping.

 

[drdel]

I used to remember the 'best' distances I reached with my clubs as a consequence I was always trying to hit it as well as I possibly could which nearly always led to disappointment. Now I am more realistic and my scores are better.

Make sure you use your average distances with relaxed swing which is best done on the course not on the Range while trying to knock seven bells out of the ball so it goes further than the ball of the guy in the next bay !!!

 

[jimbob.someroo]

I have a general idea of how far I can hit each club, but this will change depending on the day and how I'm swinging. This knowledge of how far I think I can hit each club has come from nothing more than experience of hitting clubs certain distances.

For example; if I've got 150 to a flag with no wind I know from experience that I can hit the backside off a 9, a 'normal' 8 or a smooth/soft 7 iron. Which one I do will depend again on the day and how I'm playing.

In terms of gathering those distances from scratch, potentially the best (most enjoyable) way of doing it would be to go out on your own one evening and play multiple balls. Lasering how far your hitting each shot from each lie and making note of the conditions. If you literally write this stuff down in a notebook, before long you'll get a pretty good idea of your distances across your bag.

 

[Jack_bfc]

As usual with a high handicapper I had an overinflated judge of distance and generally came up woefully short.

So now I use my golfshot dmd and take the yardage to the back of the green add my 'ego' factor and pick the club to get me there.

I am consequently hitting more greens. Still at the front though

 

[Scooby999]

I bought one and had the same issue so-

quiet day on the course and basically had a piece of paper and tracked the yards for each club. So say for you drive it say you have 400 yards to pin, take measurement when you get to the ball and subtract and so on. There is also a distance measurement tool on the S2 which I used. What I did realise quickly is that it is a gauge unless your a pro and hit the same distance every time, but it did give me some surprises on how close club distances were together. For example there was very little distance between my 6-8 iron, reason being i tend to hit the 8 hard and high to get over bunkers etc on the course but tend to stroke a 6 iron.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

For wedges, I go to the practice ground, hit 10 shots down the range and measure the average, taking out the obvious howlers. Then do the same back in the other direction. For my other clubs I started with my trackman distances from my fitting and then adjusted them as I played until I got to some numbers which on a still warm day are pretty accurate. I then just use my experience of playing in different conditions and the reuslts of the first few holes to adjust clubs to yardages based on the conditions of the day.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I usually go to the practice ground and hit 10 shots and use my sky caddie mark ball feature. I tend to discard the duffed ones and those I've nailed and use the three or four remaining to give an average. I tend to do it the other way too as it plays into and down wind on the range. Repeat through the bag.

 

[bladeplayer]

So how does everyone work our their distances?

... I recently got a Garmin watch, didn't particularly need it as I was never really bad with picking a club for what I thought was the write distance, just wanted a new toy (ok, this is a bit silly I know... but it is what it is). I'm moving back to the UK so will be changing courses so my old knowledge of what to use and when will also be lost..

So now I really need to work out how far each club through the bag goes in order to get some use out of it... I have a rough idea but have never been precise as I never had precise yardages..

Seems like a couple of options... go to the range and see how far the ball goes against the markers.. couple of reasons I don't like this... often ranges aren't flat, they use range balls which might not fly as well, you're hitting off mats alot (not sure this makes a difference) and the yardages aren't that exact...

The alternatives would be finding a good hole and a quite time out on the course or booking a trackman session to get distances... what do you do?

This on a quiet day , decent weather , you are hitting off proper fairways in the outside air .. be honest with yourself as to how well you hit it , if you totaly cream your best shot ever , dont think because you hit it that far once thats your yardage , its only yourself you are fooling ..


Take Hawkeyes advice in post #8 & Homers in #9 to get a proper idea

 

[ManinBlack]

I use a laser rangefinder. I use it a lot on my own course which I've been playing for 55 years so I'm familiar with most of the distances! I use it so that I get to know exactly how far I'm hitting my shots. That way, when I'm playing a course I don't know I can translate the rangefinder reading into a club. Based on this experience I reckon that, on average, I carry a 5 iron 150 yards. While warming up on a GC2 the other day I noticed that the 5 iron I was using was going 150 most times. I think on course experience in actual play gives you the best idea.

 

[la_lucha]

For me it's all worked from the 8 Iron, which usually goes 150 on flat ground. I just go 10 yards per club in either direction. Anything over 170/180 is a three wood unless I'm on a tee where I can hit a 4/5 Iron as far as my 3 wood just straighter.

Having said all that, last night I was standing on our elevated 9th tee 181 yard par 3 and I managed to shoot through the green with a 7iron. 190 Yard, cleanly struck 7 iron and that's not forum distance. I bet I couldn't do it again though.

 

[upsidedown]

I went to our practice ground first and hit 10 to 15 balls with a 7 iron then discarded the short and long and lasered back to my bag. Applied the ten yard rule and used these figures as a baseline for on course play.
Made mental note of being long or short from lasered distances with different clubs to build up a better database which you then adjust depending on conditions.
Distances recorded whilst playing will always be the ones to work with.

 

[CMAC]

mine were derived from my eyes:lol:


sounds a glib answer but it's not meant to be.

I grew up without any dmd's or course yardage markers but after playing awhile I knew how far I would hit a shot by looking, just as you would do if throwing a ball or rolling a bowl to a short jack etc

it involved a lot of guess work when higher or lower than a green, wind/cold etc etc so when I first used a DMD when an FC told me a distance I wasn't sure of I clubbed down from the 5 iron I had in my hand and stroked a 3 iron to 10 feet!

That sold me on the usefulness and affirmation of a DMD which can only lead to a tad more confidence as one variable is eliminated from guesswork.

 

[Allanxyz]

Thanks all, very interesting, some really useful hints and tips to think about... this sort of leads onto a second question, which I'll open a new thread about as it's only not fully related...

 

[Hacker Khan]

Write down how far you think you hit each club (which inevitably be the one occasion you middled it with perfect contact). Then take off at least 10 yards to get back into the real world, and you'll be there or there abouts

 

[Alex1975]

I have often thought about opening a post on this subject as its often said "know your yardages" but honestly its different ever single round.

Wind, rain, lie, air pressure all make such a huge difference you need to know your yardage plus and minus the conditions. If you know your flat calm carry distance of course that's a starter for ten. I rarely stand over a shot and have not made an adjustment for the conditions.

 

[Hacker Khan]

I have often thought about opening a post on this subject as its often said "know your yardages" but honestly its different ever single round.

Wind, rain, lie, air pressure all make such a huge difference you need to know your yardage plus and minus the conditions. If you know your flat calm carry distance of course that's a starter for ten. I rarely stand over a shot and have not made an adjustment for the conditions.

True. I play in the Denver/Boulder area a bit with work, and the first time there I thought I was nailing every shot as I was getting at least 10 yards on all clubs. Till I realised its the mile high city so the air is thinner. Which became very obvious towards the end of the round as I was panting a bit.

 

[LinksTurf]

My iron dispersion is fairly tight, so I hit 10 balls of the type I actually use on course at the practice ground and measure from the middle of where they landed, having excluded the best 2 and worst 2. Has helped me a lot.

 

[Oddsocks]

I went through a process based on a still day in average warmth conditions.

From 150 yards (to middle of green) I hit 5 balls with an 8i, all where between middle and back, giving an average of 155

From 100 yards (to middle of Green) I hit 5 balls with 52, average was pin high, with a couple rolling out so average was 100 with an easy swing.

From here I went into the indoor simulator and hit the same clubs, which gave very close distances so I knew what was where effectively. Basing it slowly on steady swings and not trying to force it I worked out my distances according, taking averages only, buttoned shots need not apply until this is my average,

This was all well and good until I hit a 9i from 140 last night and mailed the green by 20 yards at least... This driving with the hips could be scary,