How do you do YOUR gap test?

[StrokerAce]

It *might* be the most important test that you ever do.
It *might* be one test that you haven't done.
It *might* be costing you 1 or more strokes per round.

A recent survey of Arccos data found 42 percent of golfers had at least 1 gapping issue in their set.
(A gapping issue is 2 clubs that are within 2 yards of each other)
 

So... now that we know how important it is, how do YOU do it?

If you are a member at a club and/or have access to a launch monitor it's easy.... but what do you do if you aren't in this group?

Do you rent a launch monitor somewhere?
Do you have a device you use on the range?
Do you go to a fitter?

Furthermore, when doing it, how do you execute it?  10 shots with one club, write down the distance on each shot and take the avg?  Or do you go through your bag X number of times and record each shot?

 

Thanks for indulging me!

 

[perseveringgolfer]

It's been bugging me for years, especially when the range boards say I hit an 8 iron 'X' yards but on the course it's 'Y' yards.

My testing of the Precision Pro NX9 HD will encapsulate a lot of this and hopefully show me exactly how far I hit each club, consistently.

Plus I'll be lasering these pesky range boards and if they are not right I'll be submitting a strongly worded letter 

[Golfspy_CG2]

Great topic, and I'm interested to see some of the answers.

I just joined the arccos bandwagon, so I will be using that going forward, and just posted some thoughts on it in the PING Long Game Gapping thread.    

But prior to that, I just went by seeing and results.  Like, "Hmmmh, that 6 iron seemed to go the same distance as the 5 I just hit two holes earlier."   I had also used SC200 and Trackman on the range, but never to any real great detail to get a full gapping idea through the bag. 

[StrokerAce]

I did it once a year ago...

Printed off an excel spreadsheet, rented an indoor hitting bay, set it on the 'driving range' setting and wrote down all of the distances.  Took a while and would have been nice to have a person doing the writing down part.

I suppose if you have Arccos and get enough rounds in all of this stuff is automatically done for you.

[THEZIPR23]

Arccos is how I do it now. I used to do it just by yardages on the course and feel.  I never use the range for any kinda of distance numbers. 

[TR1PTIK]

I did a "bag analysis" with a fitter an hour away from me wherein we went through each club (about 5-6 balls each) to verify the gapping was good. In the event it was off, he'd check the loft, make adjustments as needed, and give it back to me to confirm. When we were done he sent me the Track Man data for the full session. My yardage has changed since then (I've regained some clubs speed and changed lofts on my wedges), but gaps are essentially the same (except the new wedges).

[yungkory]

18 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Arccos is how I do it now. I used to do it just by yardages on the course and feel.  I never use the range for any kinda of distance numbers. 

Same for me. Arccos showed me that while I can hit my 8i 150, most times it's going 140-145. It'll be interesting if/when I change irons since I'll probably be playing different (stronger) lofts.

[edingc]

Similar concept as @THEZIPR23 and @yungkory, but I combine my GAME Golf stats with the range data from my Swing Caddie SC200. 

I always assume I will lose some yardage on the course, as elevation changes, lies, stress, etc. all impact me a ton. For example, last week my SC200 said I was carrying my 8 iron 160+ when flushed. Realistically, under the gun, I wouldn't trust it to carry anything more than 145 yards or so.

And then of course I make swing changes and distances change. This is how you fly a green with a 48 degree gap wedge from 125 yards out, like I did this morning. That was supposed to be my 115 club!

EDIT: This is 100 percent important, as I've learned recently. I have awkward gaps between my GW, 54 degree and 60 degree, and I've been struggling to hit quality shots from 110 yards and in because of that. 

[perseveringgolfer]

56 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Arccos is how I do it now. I used to do it just by yardages on the course and feel.  I never use the range for any kinda of distance numbers. 

Agreed, the range is pointless using old soft balls and markers that are 'probably' wrong.

[Kenny B]

I'm not that good to hit a club a certain distance every shot.  The quality of my strike varies.  I know about what each club flies, but it might be + or - 8 yards.  It's the part of my game that I live with, and why I practice my short game a lot!  I also fly irons 10 yards further off a tee than off the grass, so I have to figure that into my distances on par 3's.  I haven't checked gaps recently.  

A few weeks ago, my wife wanted to know what the yardage difference was between 3 of her FW/hybrid clubs.  After a shotgun tournament the course was empty one evening.  We went out to the fairway of Hole #11, a par 4 where she dropped 8 of her yellow gamers.  I zeroed my GPS at that point, then drove to the edge of the fairway about the yardage she hit them.  She hit 8 shots with one club, and I tossed a white ball to where each one landed.  I picked her up and we looked at the groupings; where the white balls indicate carry and her yellow balls indicate the rollout.  Measure both distances for each ball.  Picked up the balls and repeated for the other two clubs.  Two of her hybrids were basically the same; one she didn't like using anyway, so it's gone.

[cnosil]

I want to do a gap test using a GC quad but haven't had an opportunity.  Right now,  I have basically figured out my distances based on evaluating my shots over time.  

[alfriday101]

From observation on the course, I know my basic distances.  A couple of times a year I go out and test them.  I'll set up my bag as the target (at the basic distance from observation) and hit an odd number of balls to the target.  Say I hit seven balls, I note the shortest and longest balls to give me my range and then pick up the three shortest and three longest.  The ball that is left is my median distance for the club.   

[ED13]

I live near TXG in Toronto and got fit for my clubs last year.  I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to make sure clubs are still in spec and get gapping distances.  My most common irons hit are 5-7, might only hit P-8 a few times a round in total.  I have just been guessing with the short irons.

[chershey]

I just recently started a 6 month lesson plan at Golftec that includes practice time in a bay whenever I need to schedule it. I'm planning on using to some of my practice time to do some quality gap testing, so I know where I'm at with every club.

[Shankster]

I was reading an article in GOLF magazine about Francesco and his bag set up.

For his wedges he has 50, 52, 56, 60. His reason was to give himself more full shots in the scoring zone... I like his approach.

I’d probably go something like 50, 53, 56, 59.

Hopefully the PING rep has a trackman in a few weeks. Might have to sneak in a few shots with the wedges.

[tony@CIC]

My approach is a combination of actual measurements on our practice holes and averages from recent games. It's a bit more "primitive" since I don't have ARCCOS or a similar system. 

On our practice hole I'll use my gamers and measure clubs/distances from 100 yds in (both total and carry). Generally 10 yd increments. I'll also note swing; full, 9;00, 8:00 and grip (choking down an inch etc). 

On the longer clubs, I'll document how far I hit them using my iphone GPS app. Using hits from multiple games I'll then average out the distance. The data is less accurate for carry and total distance since I generally can't identify exactly where the ball landed but it still serves my purpose. 

I do carry around a "cheat sheet" which is especially useful for pitching and chipping. 

 

[Smellis745]

I put my gaps together during a trackman session, but it had only confirmed what I had already put together just tracking things and making notes over time.  I know my stock numbers for perfect stance and lie, but knowing how different stances and lies affect those distances is just as important and that's something you won't find on a launch monitor.  

[cnosil]

I put my gaps together during a trackman session, but it had only confirmed what I had already put together just tracking things and making notes over time.  I know my stock numbers for perfect stance and lie, but knowing how different stances and lies affect those distances is just as important and that's something you won't find on a launch monitor.  

Great point! launch monitors are great for perfect. People spend a lot of time chasing perfect numbers and then struggle to execute when actually on the course where having perfect numbers dont really matter.

[StrokerAce]

the thought behind it is having a baseline to work from; you certainly need to consider several factors once on the playing field - weather, lie, course conditions, etc. - my point is that we should ALL have a good solid baseline and work from there.

 

[ZJBogey2]

Combination of Arccos, SC200, and Golf Sim at our local rec center.

 

Question for those using Arccos...when it gets down to my 8-LW, how do you account for those distance averages that get skewed by 1/2, 3/4, chips, ect. For example, it shows both my 54 and 58 average distance at 90 yards. My full swing 58 is 95, but my full swing 54 is 110, the numbers are lower though because I use my 54 chipping around the green. 

[Smellis745]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

the thought behind it is having a baseline to work from; you certainly need to consider several factors once on the playing field - weather, lie, course conditions, etc. - my point is that we should ALL have a good solid baseline and work from there.

 

But to answer your question, for my stock distances, I went to my fitter and spent an afternoon on Trackman.  I hit 8 shots with each club and excluded any abnormal shots.  Then took the average carry distance and wrote that number down.  I want to go back and do an afternoon where I'm only hitting waist high, shoulder high, and choked down scoring iron shots, as I believe it could be beneficial, but I've always relied on feel for my approach shots.  I couldn't tell you the last time I hit a full shot from inside 150.

[StrokerAce]

2 minutes ago, Smellis745 said:

But to answer your question, for my stock distances, I went to my fitter and spent an afternoon on Trackman.  I hit 8 shots with each club and excluded any abnormal shots.  Then took the average carry distance and wrote that number down.  I want to go back and do an afternoon where I'm only hitting waist high, shoulder high, and choked down scoring iron shots, as I believe it could be beneficial, but I've always relied on feel for my approach shots.  I couldn't tell you the last time I hit a full shot from inside 150.

That's great!  

If folks don't have access to something like a fitter with a Trackman what type of suggestions do you have to establish the baseline?

[Smellis745]

28 minutes ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

That's great!  

If folks don't have access to something like a fitter with a Trackman what type of suggestions do you have to establish the baseline?

I'd say that really depends on what someone does have available.  I had a pretty close idea (actually within 5 yards of the TM session data) how far I hit each iron just from familiarity with my equipment (I'm not a hoe) and making notes on par 3 shots.  I would write down how far I carried each one based on how far the ball mark was from the hole and figured that against what the actual distance was based on my range finder.  This can work great if you have an evening where the course is all to yourself and it's a longer par 3 that you can work your way down the bag hitting approaches.  That was the best route for me because range balls can be finicky and you don't have targets for each distance at a range.  As far as my driver and 3w, I had an idea of the overall distances, but not carry.

[Kor.A.Door]

I’ve never done a test. I do my “testing” on course, and basically play with the game I brought that day. I have a pretty good idea how far I can hit each club, but sometimes I have to adjust as we play, my stock 8i that I know is 160, I can hit it 165 when I have to. There are days like last weekend, where the temp was hot and humid, but the air seemed heavy, the ball just didn’t go, so the adjustment was to add a club until the ball started flying. My gapping puts me about 10 yards apart through the irons. 

[THEZIPR23]

Who has adjusted their lofts to fit their gaps?

When I got fit form my P790's the lofts scared me because it appeared that gaping in bottom of the bag would be very difficult. So when CC built them I gave them lofts specifically for what I thought would be good gaps for my game. I guessed right on my lofts and gaps are good. Just curious about others. 

[MDGolfHacker]

I was a Cobra connect 2 tester last year so I used Arccos to verify my general feeling on my gamers last year and the Cobra F8s.  In general, I still just go with my gut feeling for the shot and the distance I think the club will go for better or worse.

 

MDGolfHacker

 

[archieadams]

16 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Who has adjusted their lofts to fit their gaps?

When I got fit form my P790's the lofts scared me because it appeared that gaping in bottom of the bag would be very difficult. So when CC built them I gave them lofts specifically for what I thought would be good gaps for my game. I guessed right on my lofts and gaps are good. Just curious about others. 

Where's the best place to have this done? I'm wanting to have my lofts checked and potentially adjusted. I'm seeing about 160-165 out of my PW, 9, and 8 and that should be my 9 based on the top end of my irons.

[THEZIPR23]

2 minutes ago, archieadams said:

Where's the best place to have this done? I'm wanting to have my lofts checked and potentially adjusted. I'm seeing about 160-165 out of my PW, 9, and 8 and that should be my 9 based on the top end of my irons.

Most places that do fitting would have the equipment. Locally I do it at Roger Dunns. If you have a PGA SS nearby I believe they would be able to assist. 

[edteergolf]

clubs within ten yards is a gaping issue.  rental time on a launch monitor  - period.  Have loft angles adjusted so you have 12-15 yards between all your wedges and irons and 15 or more with long hybrids and fairway woods.  Likely won't cost you a round of golf and will have a positive effect on your game.  

[JerryM]

Very interesting question

I believe a lot of club golfers are unaware of the importance of gapping....
At 62 I am old school in that the clubs I started with were 2-3 degrees weaker in loft, my original Pitching Wedge was 49 degs. 
They are now down as low as 44 i.e. a 1990's 9 Iron! 1960's 8 iron..... that's how Pros hit a 7 iron 210 yards!!

Hence the need for a gap/approach....

I do it this way.....
1. select the clubs you LIKE to use and make a note of the loft. i.e. 5-PW + DW + SW + LW
2. Find a facility with a trackman, not easy I know, but in my remote region of Scotland I have several.
3. Hit at least 10-15 balls with each iron & wedge, Trackman can report on Average Yardages and discount the odd bad one ;-)
4. I record them in EXCEL and work out the degrees of gap v yardages....
5. Go to the range repeat the process but off grass (not mats) and see if the reality matches the computer!

Doesn't always follow that a 45 deg from one club manufacturers should go further than as 47 deg from another?
I have a MacGregor 52 Gap and it matches the 48 deg Cleveland?
Shaft has a huge effect too....

At one stage I had 2 Pitching Wedges 2 6 irons and no 9 iron - but had 3-4 degrees gapping across all the irons. 

Cheers

Jerry