What are your average distances (carry) ?

[NeilWebb]

Driver - 290
3 iron - 245
4 iron - 225
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 165
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 145
Pw - 135
56 - 90
60 - 65

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Serious question for all of you guys carrying your driver over 260 on average. How are you measuring this? I'm assuming you've all got sky caddies and religiously measure every drive? Even the sh!t ones?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Driver - 290
3 iron - 245
4 iron - 225
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 165
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 145
Pw - 135
56 - 90
60 - 65

Really?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Driver - 290
3 iron - 245
4 iron - 225
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 165
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 145
Pw - 135
56 - 90
60 - 65

And your handicap?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've played with some really good ball strikers on here. Pieman and HTL were two of the longest guys I've seen and they were usually at least two irons less per shot into the greens. However HTL in particular, struggled with the putter and had a bit of a problem sometimes with his head dropping and so frittered shots away which is why he was off what he was.

I have always said I'm a short hitter. Hanving measured my clubs religiously (including into and down wind @ approx 10mph) I can safely say my smooth 7 iron goes on average 141 yards based on 10 balls hit and the distance between the best shot and the shortest one of those struck properly. I did the same with each club to get MY yardages. However as I've already said, just because SC tells me it is 138 to the flags doesn't mean it'll always be a 7 iron and it is variable on ground conditions, carry over trouble, wind, temperature and the way I'm hitting it

 

[Region3]

However as I've already said, just because SC tells me it is 138 to the flags doesn't mean it'll always be a 7 iron and it is variable on ground conditions, carry over trouble, wind, temperature and the way I'm hitting it

True, but you need to know your standard 7 iron is 141 so that when you have 120 to go into a stiff breeze to an uphill green and you figure you want 140 yards worth of club, you know what to use.

 

[Imurg]

I know someone - Oddsocks? - measured carry by pitching the ball into a bunker so he could see the carry.
Irons can be measured to the pitch mark on the green.

Unless it's boggy and the ball plugs, how the hell do you measure Driver carry accurately unless you use a launch monitor?
And if you used a launch monitor how come so many end up AVERAGING well over 260 yards carry?

As RGDave said earlier, to carry that far you need serious swingspeed - over 115mph - to make that happen. I'd end up in Hospital if I tried to swing that fast.
Sure there are some that do - Tim's an obvious and there may be some others but most of us will struggle to consistently get above 105.
Also, it's totally irrelevent to post your distances. They mean nothing to anyone else. It's irrelevent to me if Homer carries a 7 iron 141 or Tim's goes 171 or Region's carry is 157.......
I know how far I hit a 7. or a 5 , or a 9 but it's irrelevent to anyone else.....

 

[kid2]

I wasnt going to reply to the Op but seeing as nearly everyone had an input i might as well add mine...

We can all bomb a sunday best out there as well as the average Pro but to do it all the time...Well i think that is just being adventurous..

I take my average from what club ill hit near enough to the centre of the green with...
Everyone has a favourite club its usually a mid iron...Mines my 7 Iron... I can hit that club the same distance which for me is give or take a metre is 137-139 mtrs....

I know this because one evening on the course while it was quite late in the evening i dropped balls at the 150 mtr marker...Took my 7 iron and worked my way towards the green until i had my shots landing in the centre of the green.....

As most on here will agree we can all paste a 7 iron 160-170 yards on a good day but what are the chances of keeping it on target?
No point in missing left and right if a smooth one will give you a straighter and more accurate outcome from the proper yardage.

Im open to criticism here but i think for every 3-4 degrees of loft between clubs it equates to 8-10 yards or in my case 7-9mtrs......

So i just add or sutract clubs according to my 7 iron distance...Its pretty accurate and the good thing is only lately have i discovered the trick of swinging within myself and im much more in control of my shots.....

So here are mine...Bear in mind that my driver is just used as a transportation club for getting me from point A. to point B. There is no point in saying i have an average distance for it when the truth is i could top it like a hard boiled egg or nail it way yonder on said fairway....

I think that problem that most of us club golfers have is that we put a distance limit on all our clubs bar the driver...

56 deg SW Sand only
UW - 106 mtrs
PW - 115 mtrs
9 iron - 122 mtrs
8 iron - 130 mtrs
7 Iron - 138 mtrs
6 Iron - 146 mtrs
5 Iron - 155 mtrs
4 Iron - 166 mtrs
3 H - 185 mtrs
5 Wood - 195 mtrs
3 Wood - 210-220 mtrs

 

[Region3]

Bear in mind that my driver is just used as a transportation club for getting me from point A. to point B. There is no point in saying i have an average distance for it when the truth is i could top it like a hard boiled egg or nail it way yonder on said fairway....

I think that problem that most of us club golfers have is that we put a distance limit on all our clubs bar the driver...

That is true, but the same could be said for any club. I'm equally as capable of completely mis-hitting a wedge as I am my driver.

E.g. You're standing on the tee of a dog-leg left hole and cutting the corner gives you a massive advantage but there is a bunker on the inside of the dog-leg which your GPS tells you would take 245yds to carry over it.

If you don't have any idea how far you carry your driver how do you know if it's safe to attempt to cut the corner?

I'd guess not many people know exactly their distances. Mine (above 9 iron) were initially guessed, then the more I played the more I fine-tune the numbers based on results of shots played.

 

[kid2]

Bear in mind that my driver is just used as a transportation club for getting me from point A. to point B. There is no point in saying i have an average distance for it when the truth is i could top it like a hard boiled egg or nail it way yonder on said fairway....

I think that problem that most of us club golfers have is that we put a distance limit on all our clubs bar the driver...

That is true, but the same could be said for any club. I'm equally as capable of completely mis-hitting a wedge as I am my driver.

E.g. You're standing on the tee of a dog-leg left hole and cutting the corner gives you a massive advantage but there is a bunker on the inside of the dog-leg which your GPS tells you would take 245yds to carry over it.

If you don't have any idea how far you carry your driver how do you know if it's safe to attempt to cut the corner?

I'd guess not many people know exactly their distances. Mine (above 9 iron) were initially guessed, then the more I played the more I fine-tune the numbers based on results of shots played.

I wouldnt be taking it on Reg.
I cant draw the ball mate
But i do see your point. On a hole like that i would be playing to the bend not taking it on.Too much risk.

3 wood for me

 

[Swinger]

Just passing through.

 

[Piece]

Serious question for all of you guys carrying your driver over 260 on average. How are you measuring this? I'm assuming you've all got sky caddies and religiously measure every drive? Even the sh!t ones?

For me, I've had three fits for a driver in last three years, and three for irons, all with either Flightscope, Trackman or Vector Pro. My driver club speed was 118. Mizuno fit last month showed 6i speed of 97.

The ratio between driver and 6i speed should around 80 to 85%.

 

[Piece]

Driver - 290
3 iron - 245
4 iron - 225
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 165
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 145
Pw - 135
56 - 90
60 - 65

The gaps between irons look too large to be realistic unless there is some serious extra strong lofting going on...

A driver carry of 290 requires a minimum of 130 head speed. Looking at your 6i carry of only 180 (approx 92 head speed), that gives a driver-6i ratio of 70%; norm is 80%. Unlikely but willing to be proved wrong.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Serious question for all of you guys carrying your driver over 260 on average. How are you measuring this? I'm assuming you've all got sky caddies and religiously measure every drive? Even the sh!t ones?

For me, I've had three fits for a driver in last three years, and three for irons, all with either Flightscope, Trackman or Vector Pro. My driver club speed was 118. Mizuno fit last month showed 6i speed of 97.

The ratio between driver and 6i speed should around 80 to 85%.

That's all very nice, but how do you measure your drives in the real world?

 

[SimonC]

Serious question for all of you guys carrying your driver over 260 on average. How are you measuring this? I'm assuming you've all got sky caddies and religiously measure every drive? Even the sh!t ones?

For me, I've had three fits for a driver in last three years, and three for irons, all with either Flightscope, Trackman or Vector Pro. My driver club speed was 118. Mizuno fit last month showed 6i speed of 97.

The ratio between driver and 6i speed should around 80 to 85%.

That's all very nice, but how do you measure your drives in the real world?

I had one yesterday which hit the upslope and ran backwards about a foot so I thought I'll measure it and it was 267 yards with the wind slightly into and off the right. The thing is if you get fit on a decent launch monitor then the distances it throws out are the distances you hit it. I've been on a couple recently and get anywhere from 265 to 280 yards carry with the driver which stacks up the drive I measured last night.

 

[Piece]

That's all very nice, but how do you measure your drives in the real world?

There's a multitude of ways....

1. During autumn, spring and winter, the fairways I play on can be mushy, thus drives can effectively land with a splat and just pop out. Easy to measure using hole yardages.
2. Some holes have slightly raised tee boxes. You can see approximately where it lands. Again, using hole markers...
3. Uphill holes produce tiny carry and can be measured well.
4. A drive that lands just in the semi and goes into the rough is easy to gauge...as long as you see the landing
5. Additional measurement done by GPS, trolley pedometer count, and now Bushnell laser (none of those are owned by me though

The above is based on having played golf for 25 years now, thus I am very confident what my distances are.

 

[jammydodger]

The other day at Beau there was a hole with a 265 carry (15th)? I carried it just in the morning (rolled out another 20 or so yards) and landed on the humps in the afternoon. I had to overswing it a little though and wouldnt hit my driver that hard on normal shots. I usually like to hit the ball easy and have a bit to spare if its needed.

 

[Snelly]

I usually like to hit the ball easy and have a bit to spare if its needed.

I am with you on this.

As to the original question on what are my carry distances, I could give a list of numbers but really what is the point? They are totally irrelevant to everyone except me.

I think that the original question is pointless. The distance you can hit a given club is just one of many factors that govern club choice for the shot. E.g. lie, wind strength and direction, elevation to target, ambient temp, required height of shot, required shape of shot, type of roll needed on landing and I could go on. Added to all that is how hard you hit it which could make 30 yards difference from a normal swing to giving it a good belt.

There seems to be an obsession with yardage numbers corresponding to clubs with many golfers these days. I don't approach the game in these terms as I don't think it is the right way to think about a shot..

Golf is not a game of perfect numbers. If the question is more specific like how far can you hit an 8 iron on a warm day with no wind on the flat from a good lie with your standard 8 iron swing then fine, I can give a pretty accurate answer but given that these conditions don't occur that often, it is a meaningless number!

Far better in my view to look at the wider shot picture and ask what type of shot do I need to hit in order to get my ball roughly close to where I want to be and from there, what is the best club in my bag to try and achieve this with. This is a different thought process to asking how far something is away and then pulling your stock club for that distance.

 

[jammydodger]

Excellent post Snelly

 

[JJF69]

Driver - 290 3 iron - 245
4 iron - 225
5 iron - 200
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 165
8 iron - 155
9 iron - 145
Pw - 135
56 - 90
60 - 65

That you Bubba?