Clubs and Distance

Although I have played golf on and off for quite a few years, I have only been a member of a club since last August, and started playing regularly. I have noticed my game improve and now have an official handicap of 26. My problem is that when selecting a club, it really is guess work as to the distance I can expect, especially when using long to mid irons, can anyone tell me the distances one can expect from various clubs and how best to judge the distance in the first place! Thanks.

Unfortunately, I cannot. Distances are a personal thing - like how long you like your fingernails, or your haircut.

Hit a range where they use real balls (not limited-flight), and make sure the yardages (metreages?) are marked off. Hit 20 or so balls with each club, and make a note of your average distance with each club. Those will be your distances - and you can write down your distances and tape them to your clubs, just as a reminder.

Thank you LowPost42, I thought as much, when my son has joined me for a round and asks what club he should use, I guess even more! I don't know of any ranges in the area I live, that use real golf balls, they all use range balls, so I guess it's learning as I play each round, thanks again for your reply.

Lowpost is right.
However now that you play one course regularly you should have worked out what you need to hit on the par 3's.
Does you course have distance markers on the fairway to either the front or center of the green?.
As for distance on one of the par 3's if its around 150 yards long and you hit a 5 iron you could ROUGHLY expect about 12 yards difference between clubs ie:
3 iron 174
4 iron 162
5 iron 150
6 iron 138 etc
But I stress this is only a ROUGH calculation.
Distance judgement without markers is something you pick up over time,I witness more golfers hitting their second shots short 90% more times than long, so if your standing over a shot and undecided wether to go with a 4 or 5 iron hit the 4 iron. Most trouble on course is short of or to the side of the greens.
Goodluck
Kiwi

Thanks Kiwi, the usual indicators are on the tee, with yardage, give or take a few depending where the Tee markers are placed, on par 4's and 5's there are markers for 150yrds to green (small concrete square, ok if your near enough to see). Your rule of thumb will prove very helpful, especially the 90% short observation, thanks again.

The distance you get with each club is totally a personal thing. It depends on things like swing speed, ball placement, and a lot of other things. I've seen some posts saying they get 130 yards with the PW. Personally, I use my PW with a full swing at 100 yards. At that same distance, my brother uses a 58 degree wedge. It's all personal.

The advice to use the 150 yrds to the green marker and judge from the yardage on Par 3's is a good suggestion (which I have done myself).

But on my local course - when it's not busy - I just drop balls from places I often play 2nd or 3rd shots and try a few different clubs from the same spot. Say your 160 yrds to the pin (10 yrds from 150yrd marker) - you try a 7i and it's a really good connection and you end up pin high... Now do it again with a 7i now try an 8i, now try a 6i. In the end a 6i might give better results for you....

Stand beside the fairway bunker on the Par4/Par5 and once again drop balls and use different clubs. Say it ends up that a 5i is best for you. If you end up 10 yrds back the next day then it's a 4i, if you end up 20/25 yrds ahead of the bunker then use a 7i etc.

You can use the same method with your son also. Not only will you be able to give him answers you can teach him to think for himself. It will also get him into the logic of course management. He might end up aiming for beside a tree on his 2nd shot on a Par 4, because he knows its a 7i from beside that tree.... Rather than him just whacking his 2nd shot and not caring where it ends up as long as its closer to the pin...

hi goat,

i,m off a similar handicap and i sometimes have the same problem. one of the problems is the wind. and another is course management when theres a difficult pin middle of the green is where you should be going.

liam,

http://www.csgnetwork.com/golfclubdistancecalce.html

Try this. Fill out the form based on how far you hit a 5 i plus how good your are. Print out the page at 50% and take it with you on the course. Note how far you actually hit each club. Over time you'll get a better feel for distance.
Knowing how far YOU hit a certain club is VERY IMPORTANT!