Distance question

Den60

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The range where I normally practice the hitting area is about 5-6 feet higher than the landing area. Never thought much about it until I started posting in the club distance thread. What should I figure as the extra distance I am getting because of the elevation change? I expect there is more of a benefit as the loft of the club decreases. I should note that most days we hit into a quartering headwind but yesterday it was quite calm.
 
Five or six feet height difference isn't much, especially at 200 or so yards. A few degrees of slope on a 150 yard par three is only a few yards.
 
There needs to be some additional yardage due to the increase in elevation. Not much. I guess around 5 yards. I can be wrong, but for every 10 feet of elevation you need to club up one step.

That said, what we need is our average distance, which to me includes mediocre hits. I can't pure every 7 iron to 150, so I dial back a bit.

Bottom line, use the yardage and club that will get you to your target. I have no qualms clubbing up one or two steps, and I don't mind hitting hybrid when all the other guys are hitting irons, I get my ball on the green while the rest of my buddies end up short or off line.
 
I wouldn't worry about distance on the range. That's just me.
 
As long as your distance gaps are good in your clubs I wouldn't worry.


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Never judged distance on the range, balls are not your gamers

I know what club I hit to a particular spot on the range and as long as I'm doing that I'm good.


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Never judged distance on the range, balls are not your gamers

I know what club I hit to a particular spot on the range and as long as I'm doing that I'm good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I normally play a B330-RX so I expect I'm giving up some distance on the range. I just noticed my distance at the range yesterday was quite a bit longer than I normally hit there. I have also been longer on my approach shots than expected when I play. My bag is all new so I am just trying to figure stuff out. Last time I played I was long on damn near every approach shot and much longer than I expected when hitting my wedges. Hell, even taking something off my 58 I was hitting it 60 yards. With my Cobra 60 I had to hit the hell out of it to get it to 60. But even my MD3 shafts are now graphite with a light flex that Callaway stiffened at the tips.
 
There needs to be some additional yardage due to the increase in elevation. Not much. I guess around 5 yards. I can be wrong, but for every 10 feet of elevation you need to club up one step.
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I don't know this for certain but I don't think even 10' would yet require an extra club. I don't club longer until the elevation is pretty significant.
 
I don't know this for certain but I don't think even 10' would yet require an extra club. I don't club longer until the elevation is pretty significant.

Depends on the distance you're hitting from, I think - longer distances will have more of a change for the same slope. There have been a few times when the slope function of my Bushnell has surprised me on elevations that didn't look that much, but when I trusted the distance, it was spot on.
 
I normally play a B330-RX so I expect I'm giving up some distance on the range. I just noticed my distance at the range yesterday was quite a bit longer than I normally hit there. I have also been longer on my approach shots than expected when I play. My bag is all new so I am just trying to figure stuff out. Last time I played I was long on damn near every approach shot and much longer than I expected when hitting my wedges. Hell, even taking something off my 58 I was hitting it 60 yards. With my Cobra 60 I had to hit the hell out of it to get it to 60. But even my MD3 shafts are now graphite with a light flex that Callaway stiffened at the tips.

You may not be giving up distance vs your 330's. It just depends on the range balls imo. The 330 is probably a higher spin ball than your rang balls which (depending on your launch numbers) may work just as easily for being longer or shorter. The biggest problem imo with range balls is the percentage of them that are just outright bad ones. They travel all kinds of different directions and stuff. But putting that percentage of bad ones aside I find my average range balls (used at my range) magnify everything. Poorly hit balls are worse while well hit ones are better.

As for getting use to your new bag? The course imo is the only place to get things better dialed in. Just some time and rounds things will fall into their own new places and imo you'll have it figured out fairly soon.
 
Depends on the distance you're hitting from, I think - longer distances will have more of a change for the same slope. There have been a few times when the slope function of my Bushnell has surprised me on elevations that didn't look that much, but when I trusted the distance, it was spot on.

you seem here^^^ to be talking about distance to the pin vs clubbing up or down due to the elevation involved. 150 to the pin flat vs uphill vs downhill is still 150 but then we lose or gain club distance accordingly.
 
I normally play a B330-RX so I expect I'm giving up some distance on the range. I just noticed my distance at the range yesterday was quite a bit longer than I normally hit there. I have also been longer on my approach shots than expected when I play. My bag is all new so I am just trying to figure stuff out. Last time I played I was long on damn near every approach shot and much longer than I expected when hitting my wedges. Hell, even taking something off my 58 I was hitting it 60 yards. With my Cobra 60 I had to hit the hell out of it to get it to 60. But even my MD3 shafts are now graphite with a light flex that Callaway stiffened at the tips.

I know what your saying but depending on how worn the balls are what kind of turf/mat your hitting off spin numbers could be higher or lower as well as LA.

The best way to get your yardages down is to hit an empty course and drop a couple balls marked balls 1,2,3 at 100, 120, 150 from front of green or to center and hit what club you believe is the right club to get there. Make sure you pick a green with no trouble near it besides a bunker. If you figure out your 7 iron or whatever is 150 you can figure out by adding 10yards per club up or subtract 10yds for every club lower.


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My normal facility uses Srixon range balls. They don't feel like rocks like I find at other places. They looked in pretty good condition, some looked quite new. I can get them to draw as well, which is my normal shot shape.
 
The flighted range balls probably even things out.
 
My normal facility uses Srixon range balls. They don't feel like rocks like I find at other places. They looked in pretty good condition, some looked quite new. I can get them to draw as well, which is my normal shot shape.

That's all well and good. Sounds like a nicer range. But for me, distance isn't learned or fine tuned on the range. Swing mechanics and tuned on the range. Distance is a course thing. But that's just how I go about it.
 
That's all well and good. Sounds like a nicer range. But for me, distance isn't learned or fine tuned on the range. Swing mechanics and tuned on the range. Distance is a course thing. But that's just how I go about it.

Yeah, I'm just trying to get in the ballpark. I only get a chance to go out and play for real 3-4 times a month but I may make it out twice this week. I typically go to the range every weekend.

I probably should use the shot tracker function on my watch more though on approach shots I use my rangefinder to zap the pin.
 
Yeah, I'm just trying to get in the ballpark. I only get a chance to go out and play for real 3-4 times a month but I may make it out twice this week. I typically go to the range every weekend.

I probably should use the shot tracker function on my watch more though on approach shots I use my rangefinder to zap the pin.

Use ALL of the data you can. It's alright to get an idea off of the range. But dial it in on the course. That's just my take on it. Plus, distance is flexible. One day your 150 club may be a 7i, then you get to the course and find that something is missing and it's only going 140. It's ok to may some flexibility. The skill is noticing and adjusting to it.
 
you seem here^^^ to be talking about distance to the pin vs clubbing up or down due to the elevation involved. 150 to the pin flat vs uphill vs downhill is still 150 but then we lose or gain club distance accordingly.

Yes, but the OP is talking about figuring out club distances based on elevation changes - I was saying that the difference you'll see at a given elevation is somewhat dependent on the distance you're hitting from (so the "fudge factor" will be a bit different club to club). To that extent, I agree with blu that the range is probably not the place to figure that out if you don't have a monitor available - there's a lot of error that can be made eyeing where the ball is landing.
 
10 feet is like you're on the first storey and you're trying to land the ball on the second floor.

The guys have a point on the kind of balls you use on the range and on the course, but with me it so happens that the balls I use in my games are almost as ratty as the ones that are in the driving range, so no distance difference for me :).

That said, in my games, I rarely miss long, and I miss short much more often. So that is why I club up.
 
10 feet is like you're on the first storey and you're trying to land the ball on the second floor.

The guys have a point on the kind of balls you use on the range and on the course, but with me it so happens that the balls I use in my games are almost as ratty as the ones that are in the driving range, so no distance difference for me :).

That said, in my games, I rarely miss long, and I miss short much more often. So that is why I club up.

Once I get a scuff on a ball it goes in the shag bag. I'm pretty anal when it comes to that. Anyway, the Bridgestones I play aren't very expensive as compared to something like a ProV1.

I have always been one to take one extra club and swing "easy" going into the greens but recently I have been long much more often than short. Every club in my bag is pretty new and I do notice my swing has been getting better, much better synching of the upper and lower body so even though I feel I'm swinging "easy" I'm hitting farther.
 
I wouldn't worry about distance on the range. That's just me.
Yeah... pretty much feel the same, the striped balls on the range are typically pretty crappy and accurate distances really can't be ascertained. You can hit a ball perfect, but if it happens to be worn slightly smooth, that ball is not going anywhere near where you would hit your normal gamers. And so many range balls are actually dialed back so you can't hit them as far (distance limited balls).
 
There are a lot of factors when dealing with elevation changes such as the obvious differences in decent angle of a wedge versus a punched 4 iron. My home course is very hilly with 50 foot elevation changes being common so I'm pretty good at making the adjustments. The 9th hole has a green that is elevated 13 yards from the 150 yard marker and it requires me to hit my 8 iron which normally is a 165 club. My 9 iron is my 150 club so with my short irons, Each uphill elevation change of a yard takes off about a yard of carry distance. On the downhill 11th hole, the green is 30 yards below the tee and it plays about 18 yards shorter so going downhill the adjustment is less, more like 2/3rds of a yard for each yard of elevation drop, at least for my ball flight with mid and short irons.
 
Distance question

Does anyone know for a fact that range balls are shorter than normal balls? I know some do but do all range balls fall short in distance?
 
Does anyone know for a fact that range balls are shorter than normal balls? I know some do but do all range balls fall short in distance?

Not all do just seems to me that most range only balls are shorter, where as a nice course with range I don't see as much loss. Also depends on mat vs grass.


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