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The Carry Distance of the Clubs In Your Bag

I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

If I'm between clubs I don't even hit. I just pick up and say, "give me a double. Because I am effed." Hehe
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

I can only speak for myself, but the simple answer is my distances cited are at the top end of a "solid" swing. Can I get a little more out of them if I really get after it? Sure, but whether to do it or not depends on the situation/conditions.

Flat lie, no elevation change to target, no wind - I won't try to stretch much over the distances cited. If I need to hit it 175, I hit a smooth or slightly choked up 7 iron. I don't try to hit my 8 that far in those conditions.

Hope that helps. In addition to not being as consistent with contact when trying to hit them further, I also have spin issues, especially with the 8, 9, PW, on down if I try to stretch them. I might be able to carry a 9 iron 163, but it's likely to back up 5+ yards after I do.

Skipped off the pond using Tapatalk
 
Of course distance correlates to scoring, especially when the length of the course being played is considered. In my opinion, distance is a huge advantage in amateur golf when you get past about 6,400 yards. The longer hitters on Tour don't always win because the other guys hit it far enough, and the longs guys don't have the requisite short game to score consistently.

On occasion I can play the hell out it, but put me out past 6,500 and I start to struggle. I just don't hit it far enough anymore.

And that blows chunks. I haven't played or practiced much this year because of work and my daughter's tournament schedule. I'm hitting it shorter than last season, and it has kind of sucked the fun out of it for me. I'll be playing my club championship this weekend from just over 6,500, an event I made the final in last year, and I suspect it's going to be a long weekend.

Kevin
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

My gaps are for carry and then with roll. The larger distance is the average final distances. But, I can choke up or down and go +- 10 yards with most clubs.
 
I'm new to the game and usually only play alone or with a buddy from my old job. These distance comparisons are quite informative, and intimidating, for me. At this point, I know I hit shorter than most golfers and I'm fairly sure that, all things being the same, I would score better if I at least hit my driver longer.
Keep in mind, I hit
driver 220 total
3 wood 190 total
5 iron 150-155
9 iron 100
Since I'm older and have some flexibility issues, I doubt I will ever be a really big hitter, but I can't help but think another 20 yards or so on the driving distance would make even long par fours reachable and shorter ones reachable with a short iron. So to someone like me I believe some extra distance would help my score.
I'm not looking to change anything right away as I'm hitting fairly consisently right now and enjoying the game immensely.

Oh yeah, I don't have a handicap but have been shooting in the mid to high 90's most of the time for the last month.
 
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Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

Good question Tadashi...what I do with my gaps like that is to take the longer club and choke down on the grip a little, depending on how much I need to take off and then take the normal swing.
I find it much easier and more accurate to do that rather than trying to shorten or soften the swing.
For instance...my stock 9 iron shot is 150 yards and my stock PW is 135 yards. So when I have a 140 yard shot to hit, I choke down 1 inch on the 9 and that will get me just about 140 yards.
I'm a lot more accurate hitting it like that, than trying to kill the wedge or just soften my swing with the 9.
When I try to kill an iron, I tend to really pull it left and if I try to ease off on them, I feel I get too lazy with the swing and then don't make good contact.
And I should say I manage my distances with all the irons like that.
 
Tadashi I like to choke down. Doesn't always work but sort of also depends if it is better to be short or long
 
I dont carry an official handicap anymore. I was around 16 the last time I carried one. I have always been a long hitter with a very iffy short game. I am going to give totals as it is hard to estimate carry although the general 15-20yds roll on driver

Driver - 290-310
3 wood- has been shelved
3H - 230-240
4i - 220
5i - 210
6i -195
7i -185
8i -175
9 - 155 (still not getting distance here even after the loft was fixed)
pw - 145
50*- 120
56*- 100
60* - 80 or less, hardly ever use for full shots.
 
I don't really know what my carry averages are, even with my range finder. If the flag is about 155 -160 yards away, and I'm going neither uphill nor downhill, and the wind is negligible, I reach for a 5 iron. My driver goes about 220-240. My 3 wood 190-210. I'm a 9.3 and I don't think there is much of a corelation between distance and handicap.
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

If there is no wind, and i'm hitting on flat ground to a green that is level with me, I'll swing the 8 iron harder to fill the gap up to 155. Otherwise, I simply go a little easy on the 7 iron. More often than not, I simply give into the fact that the green is big enough for me to just be a little further away from the pin without having to change the way I swing.

~Rock
 
Tadashi70 said:
I have a question for those that have listed distances. I'm seeing 10-15yd gaps between clubs. Does this mean you can stretch the lower club to the distance of the next club or the other way around? Say you list your 8i 150 and 7i 162, can you stretch that 8i to fill in the gap or do ease off the 7i to fill in?
Click to expand...

Depends entirely on the hole and the flag's location. If I hit 8i 150 and 7i 160 and the pin is at 155, does it hurt me to be long vs short? Should I step on the 8 if long is bad or take some off the 7 or just hit it full if short is bad? I'm starting to figure out that I don't really care where the pin is, just get me on the green and give me a putt at it that doesn't have ridges and hills to deal with. 2 putt par is much better than trying to get cute with it and leaving myself with bogey.
 
These are averages of my last 20 shots with each club assuming a 10 yard roll out (actual distance was measured so I'm going to subtract 10 for carry distances.

Driver (carry) 220-250 yds (roll out) 230-260
3Wood (carry) 200-220yds (roll out) 210-230+ yds
20.5° Hybrid (carry) 195 -200
23° Hybrid (carry) 185 -190
5 Iron (carry) 175-180
6 Iron (carry) 165-170
7 Iron (carry) 155-160
8 Iron (carry) 145-150
9 Iron (carry) 135-140
PW (carry) 125-130

I wont attempt to analyze wedge distances as they vary far to much depending on the type of shot.
 
So after 5 pages of responses (thanks to all who responded) I think that we all come to about the same conclusions with reagards to to correlation of distance and handicap that one does not necessarily have to do a tremendous amount with the other. Accuracy and consistancy are more important than raw distance.


So for those of you who really read the reason for my thread, and didnt just go "oh no another one of these threads" I still have am wondering what the answer is to the thread written by "Bmik33" titled "Why the obssesion with distance"

I thought it was a great question he asked and other than the typically expected answers from some relating it to their manhood and other childish responses, it left me wondering the same thing. I am guilty of looking for the greener pasture of greater distance and as such 2 people on this forum were the recipients of great deals on some pretty high end Callaway Equipment at great prices. I have never, and will never hit it tour distances off the tee or with my irons, but I wll always strive to be as consistant and repetative with all my clubs as tour players are.

So thanks to all the Manufacturers Marketing Hype and congrats to them for successfully seperating me and my hard earned money that I could have spent on more Green Fees and High End Single Malt Scotch. Guess it just further proves that I am not or have I ever been the "Sharpest Knife in the Drawer"
 
I like how this thread had a purpose. Unlike the other eighty "how far" threads.
 
I've been hitting it longer than ever this year, but the really good scores I've put up the last month haven't been because of that added length, but rather because I'm getting great consistency in distance out of my irons. I know better than I ever have how far I'm hitting them (especially 7 iron on down) and am confident that even if I miss a little left or right, I'm going to be pretty close to the flagstick.

That, IMO, is most important to low scores once a player has achieved a minimum level of distance and has a minimum level of consistent direction to keep the ball in play with confidence.

Skipped off the pond using Tapatalk
 
Thought this was an excellent thread that produce interesting discussions. Completely agree that accuracy and consistency is by far the most important. Used to hit it further than I do now (swing change due to injury), but with a shorter swing I've become more consistent and accurate and my scores are dropping much faster than they were before.
 
This thread has been interesting to read. I don't have much to add that has not already been said, but has me reaching for an extra club more often than not as swinging harder tends to leave me in poor situations.
 
Kudos for the intention, but the internet has its way with posts of this nature. I believe that distance and accuracy can sleep in the same bed, but what it comes down to is more often than not consistency with the stroke that gets you either or. Personally I look at these posts to gauge whether or not my mechanics and tool selection is within reason based off distance average. Meaning...I could care less if a young buck or foal can slam a driver or iron said distance, but if what I am experiencing is within a range. I have dialed back my swing and have noticed a remarkable improvement in accuracy, given I let the club do the work and keep my ingrained testosterone out of it.

With having two recently obtained sets of irons, I have noticed some eye opening results. With shaft flex, weight, loft, lie, swing weight, MOI, component head and most importantly...ME, find a dynamic fitter. I have a long road ahead of improvement, and have really never looked at added distance (marketing with increased loft). The set that is currently in my bag has been fitted to ME.

With having the lofts adjusted from a PW of 48* and removing 4* down the line to the 4I and then to 21* on the 3 has helped me gauge my distances between clubs. How far you hit a club is between you and your ego, and wallet? Dance with the one who brought you, just work on your dance moves.
 
dAS0 said:
This thread has been interesting to read. I don't have much to add that has not already been said, but has me reaching for an extra club more often than not as swinging harder tends to leave me in poor situations.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I got from it....grab an extra club and don't try to muscle something that you know might not make it and put you in a bad spot.
 
I'm in the camp that distance absolutely gives on an advantage and can allow one's hcp to shrink. BUt more importantly, it's what you do with that distance. If you cannot control it, it will be a hindrance. If you can, you'll be hitting short irons and wedges a lot more. The fact is, any time you put a shorter club in your had, you see less lateral movement. Ultimately, I believe what makes one's hcp get lower is efficiency from 100 yards and in, but if you're constantly putting yourself close/around those distances due to your length off the tee then it's a massive advantage.

Here's my #'s. Driver ss avg 110mph/6iron ss avg 90 mph.

Driver: 260 carry avg.
3wood: 235 carry avg
5wood: 225 carry avg
4hybo: 205 carry avg
5iron: 190 carry avg
6iron: 175-180 carry avg
7iron: 165-170 carry avg
8iron: 155-160 carry avg
9iron: 135-140 carry avg
PW: 120-125 carry avg
50*: don't hit full shots. I can carry it anywhere from 60-115 yards.
56*: don't hit full shots. I can carry it anywhere from 5-80 yards.

All of my woods and irons (not wedges) have been on a vector so I have a pretty good idea what I can do with them.
 
Driver 270 carry, total 290
3w carry 240, 250 total
3i 215 total
4i 205 total
5i 195
6i 180
7i 170
8i 160
9i 150 ish
pw 135
i don't hit full shots with my 52 or 58. hcp about 7
 
ok here goes

driver - I'm so bad with it I won't even post a number
4 wood carry 230
3 hybrid 205 carry
4 iron only use off of tee carry 195
5 iron carry 185
6 iron carry 175
7 iron carry 165
8 iron carry 150 to 155
9 iron carry 140 ish
pw carry 130 ish
uw carry 120 ish
sw 54 105 ish
lw 58 90 ish and like a fool I take full swings with it

off the tee I'm pretty pathetic but when I can keep the ball in play I usually shoot late eighties
 
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