Know Your Distances

[AlchemyGolf]

Do you all know exactly how far you hit your clubs?
Do you know how to work this out?
Do you know how to use this information successfully?

This may seem a bit much for any beginners but as you progress this is so important.

You must know how far you hit your clubs and have equally spaced gaps between them.
Obviously depending on your standard you will not hit it flush every time so how do you work this out.

Well I did it by buying a simple gps unit for £40,one that just marks locations.I went on the practice ground and hit 20 LW,Then 20 SW,Then 20 PW and so on.From these 20 shots you walk down take your average of the 20 and measure the distance.It is very important to just swing within yourself!
You need to know the distances of your smooth shots not the ones your knocking the back out of.

My distance are as follows:-
Hybrid 1......235y 7I.........156y
Hybrid 2......220y 8I.........142y
3I............205y 9I.........130y
4I............188y PW.........114y
5I............177y SW.........92y
6I............165y LW.........84y

The distances are not important,doesnt matter if your 7 iron goes 165 or 135,the important thing is that by putting an easy rhythmical swing on a shot you know your distance and as you can see mine are nice and equally spaced out which is what you need.

Once you have this you need to use it properly!
My smooth 7 iron goes 156.
I have 160 to the middle of the green,right between my 6 & 7.a lot of higher handicappers are more comfortable hitting the shortest club possible and hit 7 iron hard losing control.
Now you have a situation where anything else other than my very best 7 iron is going to get to the green,This is WRONG!!!.

My 6 iron goes 165 so i swing EASIER maintaining control and if I flush it im on the back of the green,If i slightly mishit it I crawl on the front of the green so im playing the percentages to help me score around the golf course.

Use this and it can help knock a few shots off your score for sure and its how the better players gain extra advantage on top of there talent by thinking better.

I never play a game without my distance chart in my back pocket.

There Endeth The Lesson

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Already done it. Went on my practice ground last year when I got skycaddy5 and hit 20 balls with every club into and down wind and recorded the longest, the shortest (assuming correctly hit) and the average for every club in the bag. I've put this info into the scoresaver I use so I have it to hand for competitions when GPS can't be used.

I have to say I thought your post was a tad sanctimonious as most of those on here at least have an idea about club selection even if their swing doesn't always let them execute.

 

[Cernunnos]

Although I've a fairly good idea of yardages, at least percieved.I've recently gotten a golf-gps unit, so can shortly sort out a revised set of figures. It'll be interesting to see how my percieved compares with what the gps will have to say. I'd think not too far out, though some clubs may give some suprises... We'll see.

 

[AlchemyGolf]

I have to say I thought your post was a tad sanctimonious as most of those on here at least have an idea about club selection even if their swing doesn't always let them execute.

Homer
I actually didnt put it on for you or anybody else who is doing this already.
I would be pretty shocked if everyone said I dont do that,thanks.
There might be people who are not and will hopefully find this information useful and Realise there thought processes are possibly not as sharp as they could be.

 

[RGuk]

Rule no.1 of my game, this is.

I work on a different principle to you though. My Grandad described it to me years before I took the game up.
I know the average distances from 20 (eg. 7 iron = 146) but I work on his system, which saves the need for a chart!!

Take your 6 iron distance (157 for me), round it down to the nearest 5yds and go from there.....add or minus 10 yards (maybe 11 or 12 for a stronger player) up to 4i and down to 8i.

For me this means 6i = 155, 5i = 165, 4i = 175.
Going the other way 6i = 155, 7i = 145, 8i = 135.

Always compare your 9i to your PW. My "new" wedge goes 110-115, so adding 10 gives me 120-125 9i....almost the same as continuing the 10 yard thing.

I could do the accurate thing but off my h'cap it's not an issue. If I'm in-between, I go up.....

Today's experiment (see weird hybrid thread) discovered my 3h is more likely to go 175 than 185, hence dropping the 4i for 3i.

 

[AlchemyGolf]

realgolfuk
Thats great the main thing is you have a system.

You would be surprised how many people only have a rough idea of there distances.

I mean how many times have you played with someone who hits there shot out of the screws,there eyeing it up and down and it lands 5 yards short of the green or waves bye bye to the flag as it disapears over the green.

 

[Cernunnos]

There are many factors from, creaming a shot right out of the sweet spot & over the green it could go. Not being as near to the green as you thought you were & it will be short. There is such a thing as optical illusions, especially where some courses use longer flagsticks where they expect you to have trouble seeing the flag from usual layup points.

Other variables can be: Wind direction, Temperature & Barametric pressure. All will have an effect upon how far the shot goes. Not to mention not taking into account slope. Its not necessarily a golfer not knowing his distances, but failing to take into account certain factors.

Get to know a course, then you will get to know what holes have optical illusions, where slope has more effect than others, where & when to account for wind.

As we go from Summer towards winter, or from late winter into spring & summer, we can be caught off gard as distances we strike the ball adjusts.

This is before we get onto balls & equipment changes.

 

[pigmeister]

Do you like the sound of your own keyboard? Or are you looking for Lounge dommination or to be the forum guru? Most of the golfers on here know, by previous posts,(if you`ve bothered to read them) how to work out their yardage. I have to agree with Homer`s comment, that was santimonious. Here Endeth The Rant.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think a lot of players make decisions by what they perceive they see. A lot of the older course builders will actually build in dead land in front of the green which when looked at from the fairway will make the flag look closer than it is. The result is they underclub. Alternatively they see a hazard in front and automatically club up and then relax knowing they have sufficient club and hit it perfectly and it sails over everything.

We have had a pretty healthy and frank chat about GPS on here and those that have it agree that it has vastly helped their clubbing by knowing exactly how far is left and most now have a fair idea how far they hit (as opposed to what they use to think). There are those that view GPS as not being in the spirit of the game (including many low and good golfers) and the pros and cons have been chewed over.

At the end of the day I agree it is important for people to have an idea the ACTUALLY hit each club. However for that to happen they have to have the time, patience and facilities to do this. Some won't be able to and some on here actually just play for relaxation and don't really care how competitively they play. I take your point but its a case of each to their own.

 

[Imurg]

I'd love to be able to measure my shots using my SC2.5 but I don't have access to a grass practice ground. If I tried measuring on the range I'd get killed very quickly.

I've got to try to do it during a practice round on my own when the course is almost empty to give me time to hit the 20, measure, pick them up and move onto the next club.

Fortunately, I've been playing long enough to be able to gauge distance pretty well, but it would still be nice to have them confirmed.

 

[Basher]

Alchemy, keep on doing what you're doing.

I find most of your posts very interesting to say the least. Quite rightly, there are many forum usuers out there who do look for valid tips and info to help their golf.

Nowt wrong with what you're trying to do, stick with it mate!

 

[USER1999]

Although I do know how far I hit each club, roughly based around 150 for a 7i, plus minus ten yards for each club, I still have the inate talent to flush one 15 yards further than I have allowed for, if I swing easy, thus airmailing the pin, the green, and often the nearest tree line too. Sometimes knowledge is not enough.

 

[AlchemyGolf]

Thanks Basher

I have been told on PMs that I am preaching rather than suggesting.

Its not meant, My posts are to genuinely try to pass on a wealth of knowledge built up from playing at a pretty high level in the past.

I promise to start every post from now with

"I suggest this might help"

 

[John_Findlay]

It's good to have you on board, Alchemy. You're one of the lower handicappers on the forum (there are a few others off 2 or better) and undoubtedly have a lot to offer by way of advice.

I can see why a few may have taken the hump, though, as people tend to ask for advice on here, if and when they need it, and don't enjoy being lectured to. We're mostly all of a certain age and don't react well to going back to primary school. I know I don't. You're not a teacher by any chance? I'm afraid that's the way you sound, particularly in this post.

I think the subtle approach might be better appreciated by some. But what do I know?

 

[Sam]

as most of those on here at least have an idea about club selection even if their swing doesn't always let them execute.

And how do you know that? If you are talking about most of the regular contributors then maybe so but lurkers and occasional posters - doubt that can be said with any authority.

Keep it up Alchemy - thought it was a great post.

 

[AlchemyGolf]

O.K fair enough I understand.

I will only offer advice when asked.

Speak to you around May to see how your seasons are going.

Good Luck

 

[Earl]

Do you like the sound of your own keyboard? Or are you looking for Lounge dommination or to be the forum guru? Most of the golfers on here know, by previous posts,(if you`ve bothered to read them) how to work out their yardage. I have to agree with Homer`s comment, that was santimonious. Here Endeth The Rant.

May i suggest if you don't like a post by the way it is written, don't read it. It was informative and could have helped somebody, a lot of golfers will be out their looking for places like this to read tips, ideas or is it a closed shop and you can only post new stuff.

 

[John_Findlay]

Don't take it the wrong way, Alchemy. Don't go disappearing just cos' you got a little criticism. If everyone did that then the forum would have a grand membership of about 2 at the moment. Your post was very useful.

 

[Tommo21]

O.K fair enough I understand.

I will only offer advice when asked.

Speak to you around May to see how your seasons are going.

Good Luck

Ah for gods sake, don’t worry and besides you’ve not made 100 posts, aaaand, you’ve not got any stick from me yet. Onwards and upwards.

 

[bobmac]

As a qualified PGA Professional, I know how difficult it is to teach. You have to be able to adapt your teaching style to suit all types of golfers.
It's one thing to be able to play well and have all the knowledge but you have to be able to put into words your instruction the way your pupil will understand.
The PGA place a great emphasis on not just what you teach but how you teach it.
I have learned over the years there's a fine balance between helping people who ask for help and trying to force tips on people who may be happy duffing it round.
I have been following this thread closely and there's no doubt that Alchemy has all the knowledge and experience and genuinely wants to help people enjoy their game.
It's no surprise to me then that some love the tips and some dont BECAUSE WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
Please dont give Alchemy a hard time, he is only trying to help.
Alchemy, if you want to chat, drop me a pm