Stock Yardages

[Seanmiller]

Hi everyone, for the first time in my golfing life I have down my average yardages for every club in the bag so hoping it makes a big difference. Just curious, is this something most people know about their own game?

[Hook DeLoft]

I know mine.  They are much shorter than yours.

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, Seanmiller said:

Hi everyone, for the first time in my golfing life I have down my average yardages for every club in the bag so hoping it makes a big difference. Just curious, is this something most people know about their own game?

 

Most good players know the carry distance for their clubs.   If you don't know how far you hit each club it makes it hard to decide which club to hit

 

[cksurfdude]

I have a general idea from shot tracking on post seasons, but actually not sure exactly the I'm at now.... TBD.

Curious, though, @Seanmiller - why do you feel you need to compare your yardages to vintage Tiger..?

I mean your distances look really good, but how does the comp with Tiger help you..?

[GolfSpy_APH]

Welcome to the forum! 

Definitely know mine, although with new wedge lofts I am doing some tweaking of lofts to get things in order and the proper gapping. 

The larger gaps you have, how do you manage those? Impressive distance!

[Seanmiller]

7 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

I have a general idea from shot tracking on post seasons, but actually not sure exactly the I'm at now.... TBD.

Curious, though, @Seanmiller - why do you feel you need to compare your yardages to vintage Tiger..?

I mean your distances look really good, but how does the comp with Tiger help you..?

It was just so I had a comparison with something, I’m quite sad like that. Further along on the spreadsheet I’ve got Dustin Johnson’s as well doesn’t help me in anyway really but I would like to get the distances closer I suppose

[injectedcutty]

I have shotscope and started really tracking data last year. I've been playing long enough that I knew the carry on each club pretty close, but it helps seeing real data to back it up. Definitely a confidence booster when addressing a shot, knowing you have the right club for the conditions. Here is my performance avg, I'm 40 and have a short backswing...

[Rob Person]

Welcome to the site!

I have to redo mine, but I have a cheat card on my bag with avg distances written down.  As I progress further with improving my swing and contact, they will change a bit.

[Seanmiller]

Mine are my totals, I still need to work out the average carry. The club I play at has a trackman I can rent for an hour or 2 but when I went on it I was hitting it like a plum so there are so absolute shockers included so just need to take them out. Good distances though

[Seanmiller]

2 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Welcome to the site!

I have to redo mine, but I have a cheat card on my bag with avg distances written down.  As I progress further with improving my swing and contact, they will change a bit.

Thank you!

yeah I’m going to print mine out and have them somewhere on my bag or scorecard holder. I’m working of a few things as well but increase ball speed. Trying to go full Bryson mode haha

[Northern Monkey]

I know mine as a rough guide through my use of shot scope. These are likely to change though as I find as the weather improves the ball carries further

[cnosil]

4 hours ago, Seanmiller said:

Mine are my totals, I still need to work out the average carry. The club I play at has a trackman I can rent for an hour or 2 but when I went on it I was hitting it like a plum so there are so absolute shockers included so just need to take them out. Good distances though

Driver is both carry and total,  but other clubs should be carry.    You should also understand your dispersion patterns for how long/short and left/right you hit the ball.  This helps with course management so you know where you should be aiming. 

[Seanmiller]

Just now, cnosil said:

Driver is both carry and total,  but other clubs should be carry.    You should also understand your dispersion patterns for how long/short and left/right you hit the ball.  This helps with course management so you know where you should be aiming. 

I’ve got a good idea on dispersion and my misses, most of my misses are to the right which I don’t really mind to be fair

[Hacker60521]

Yep! I track my carry and total distance for each club. I also track carry and distance for clubs that I use for my chipping and pitching.  I also have a mental sense of my dispersion 

Edited March 31 by Hacker60521

[Kenny B]

I only know roughly how far I hit any club; not precise carry distance.  I am not that good to hit any club consistently the same distance.  

What I do know is how far I can’t hit a club.  Using GPS I know F, M, B distances, and when I know the back distance, I know what club will not go off the back; same goes for a layup shot… hit a club that I can’t get to the water even of I flush it.  I will usually shoot for middle of greens, knowing that mishits could still be on the front.  I will use the front number on some greens where there is no trouble short and I would rather chip than have long, downhill breaking putt if I don’t hit the number.  My strategy.

[Hacker60521]

2 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

I only know roughly how far I hit any club; not precise carry distance.  I am not that good to hit any club consistently the same distance.  

What I do know is how far I can’t hit a club.  Using GPS I know F, M, B distances, and when I know the back distance, I know what club will not go off the back; same goes for a layup shot… hit a club that I can’t get to the water even of I flush it.  I will usually shoot for middle of greens, knowing that mishits could still be on the front.  I will use the front number on some greens where there is no trouble short and I would rather chip than have long, downhill breaking putt if I don’t hit the number.  My strategy.

@Kenny B I’m with you. On my approach shots I plan for middle of the green regardless of where the pin is located. Pretty much the same strategy as Jack Nicklaus. I’d rather have a long putt than not be on the green.  

[Dweed]

I have a good idea on my carry but my problem is as I get older I have to keep adjusting downward.

[Rob Person]

Today taught me 2 things. 1, I need to get my butt to a trackman or top tracer range ! 2. Just when you think you know your clubs,  they do more (or less) of what you wanted them to do!  

[Gusset]

Until recently I had a decent idea, but isolating carry was a bit of guesswork. I recently picked up a used Garmin R10, and it's helped me dial things in more accurately. Adds a bit of confidence to club selection. 

[Flanpro]

I have been using Shot Scope for 2 years now and it really has helped me dial in my distances. I was frustrated with my distances ( or lack of ) as I get older, I’m 65 now, so I decided to find out my “real” distances. It has made a huge distance to my game. 
Based on the info I get from Shot Scope I have gone from hitting 35% of greens in 2021 to 54% overall after my winter vacation in Florida. 
I believe it is all attributed to knowing your distances for each club. My goal now is to get it up to 70%!!!!

[Toji]

What's the best way to figure out distances for each club. Is it just time and experience or tracking distances and getting the average 

[Hacker60521]

28 minutes ago, Toji said:

What's the best way to figure out distances for each club. Is it just time and experience or tracking distances and getting the average 

@Toji use a Trackman or something similar to collect data and then average it. Personally, I think the more data the better since as amateurs our shots tend to vary a lot. That said, even if you took 10 shots with each club you’re looking at trying to hit 130 consistent shots. So do this over a few days. 

[Rob Person]

54 minutes ago, Toji said:

What's the best way to figure out distances for each club. Is it just time and experience or tracking distances and getting the average 

We have a top tracer range here that I use. I hit 10 shots with each club. Irons on one day, drivers and woods another day. Mark them down. Later I will go back and hit another 5 with each and take those down. I then use the long and short # for each club.

I have a plastic card clipped to my bag for easy reference. 

Like @Hacker60521 said, do this over a few days.

Take your time with each shot. Just hacking through a bucket of balls quickly is no good for you or your numbers

[Delaware Joe]

I’ve been playing for a long time. Started playing regularly when I was 18, and now at 72 I have engrained in my head the distances that I hit each of my irons, both max and minimum. With time I’ve learned how to use the clubs based not just on distance but also where I may want to leave the ball for my next shot, especially when going for the green is that “Hero” shot. It’s really important to know your clubs and how you can use them in different situations. In the last year I have learned how to hit a 3 or 4 wood punch shot from the rough that covers more distance than I would ever get with a 5 iron or hybrid. Yeah I used to have a 110mph swing but now I’m lucky if I can crank out 92mph. It’s really important to know your clubs and what they can do for you, it’s not all speed and muscle. But Seanmiller, those are some very impressive numbers. Keep up the good work. With those numbers I really expect your handicap to drop a point or 2 this year.

[THE GOLF GUY]

I work at a golf course and have unlimited access to the range and equipment, I might add that I use my balls to document the information, not the range balls ! (I only use the 9 wood in the winter months instead of my 5 iron)

Edited April 2 by THE GOLF GUY

[Everardo]

I play year round so I check my gaps 2-3 times a year. Usually it's my wedges that get out of sync so then I know grooves or loft/lie got out of whack a little. 

I have a Trackman membership so it makes it easy to do this. I have a couple sets of irons so it's fun to see what the differences are between sets. 

Interestingly enough this is Nelly's. I worked the LPGA this week in AZ and find most amateur men are comparable with the LPGA player's distances but nowhere near their game haha. I followed several groups during the week and they rarely miss a fairway and their short game is amazing. 

[Everardo]

56 minutes ago, Hacker60521 said:

@Toji use a Trackman or something similar to collect data and then average it. Personally, I think the more data the better since as amateurs our shots tend to vary a lot. That said, even if you took 10 shots with each club you’re looking at trying to hit 130 consistent shots. So do this over a few days. 

I still do mine all in one day just for scheduling reasons but I hit 3-4 shots per club first, then go back and do more after hitting all the clubs. I do this 2-3 times a year so then I can average it out as well. 

A big thing that I see with first-timers doing this is they are trying to max out and go for distance. Once the excitement wears off and they go for accuracy then they also don't get as tired. 

[Everardo]

Here's another aspect of gapping sessions that is valuable. It's not just the average distance but it's also tracking the accuracy of your individual clubs. Front to back, left to right, does one club have a more right or left bias?

During this fitting it was from my 5 iron on that would start to have a right bias. So I had the lie angle changed, adjusted weights in the woods and started working on my swing path more. 

Then this gapping session just over a year later, the dispersion circles shifted. The swing changes were working but now to move those weights back to the toe side.