What are your distances per club?

Its probably been asked a million times but what sort of distances do you get per club but importantly what make clubs do you use? I use Nike Machspeed irons and there a game improver so quite high lofts so was just wondering what the average was. My distances. 4 rescue 180-190 5 iron 160-170 6 iron 150-160 7 iron 140-150 8 iron 130-140 You get the jist of my distances so anyone else? And what ball?

Last time i really thought about it...

Wilson FG Tour Irons (spring/summer distances)

4 - 220-225yds 5 - 200-210yds 6 - 180-190yds 7 - 165-175yds 8 - 160-165yds 9 - 145-155yds P - 130-140yds
56 - 90-100yds (vokey) 60 - 60-70yds (vokey) (yet to purchase a 52 but its on the list!!)

I use the Nike Ignite irons and a machspeed hybrid in place of a 3iron. So roughly ... hybrid 190, 4-180, 5-170, 6-160, 7-150, 8-140, 9-130, pw-120, sw-110, 60* wedge -80 although, personally, I'd always rather hit say, 3/4 6 iron, than try and rinse a 7.

Mike, you are about 15 yds longer than me with each club. I use Mitsushiba Stealths. PS. I'm 65, so I suppose the distance variation is about right.

Ahhhh yes the age factor, well for the record im 45 but i have no idea of my swing speed but im going for a fitting soon so will find out then. Just thought balls would make quite a bit of difference, i use a few but srixon soft feels, nike pd soft and wilson dx2s are the main ones.

Distances are not as important as everyone thinks, as long as you hit a 5 and 6 iron as well as a 9 iron then approaches become the same. Getting off the tee well definately helps your confidence, but length is becoming an obsession that leads to problems for many of us amateurs. Obviously there are different shapes of shot which affect distances but that withstanding

3 iron - 220 4 iron - 195 5 iron - 185 6 iron - 175 7 iron - 165 8 iron - 155 9 iron - 140 Pw - 125 50* - 105 56* - 80 ( rarely hit it full ) 60* - 65 ( never hit it full ) 3 wood - 230/240 Driver - 280/290

Sorry 3 iron should read 210 yds

Oh & I use Nike PD soft balls. Definitely agree with Tim, too much is put on distances off the tee & not enough on short-mid irons. Unless you're playing courses over 6000 to 6500 yards every week your distance really won't matter & even the it's subjective. I have to disagree with Chris, about hitting a club 3/4 (it's probably just me though). I'd rather hit a fully committed iron shot every time than try to take something off a lower iron.

Ask any Tour pro and the game is won and lost from 120 yards in! Distance control is vital though and knowing your yardages is a must for any good golfer no matter how far you hit it.

I hit varying yardages dependent on whether I hit draw or fade as well as weather conditions. In general though, 51 w - 110yds, PW - 125, 9i - 140, 8i - 150, 7i - 155, 6i - 170, 5i - 180, 4i - 195.

Importantly, I use a Bushnell when I play and gauge my distances from the first few shots. Some days, there is a difference of 10-15 yards between my yardages. Tells me I'm not swinging well and that I need to club up. Without the Bushnell and practice time, I would have guessed my yardages and not accepted that my swing varies each round.

When I am swinging really well and the weather is great, I can hit the 4 iron past 200 and that is carry most of the way

@Andy P - each to their own mate, I just find 3/4 hits easier for me and my swing. Which in all honesty, isn't the best, but the style of golf I'm playing at the moment seems to be working.

@Chris M. Completely agree mate. It's what ever works best for the person swinging the club!

driver: 230-240 3 hybrid: 205 4iron: 190 5iron: 180 6iron: 155 7iron: 145 8iron: 140 9iron: 130 PW: 110 52: 95 56: 80

I understand its not all about length as control is the key but i mainly started this thread as many club makers now seem to shout about our furthest ever clubs etc and just wanted to gauge what most peoples yardages were. I used to hit my clubs a lot less than i do now but have gained around 10 yds per club since having lessons and understanding how to hit sweeter

I think the thouhts on this are not the important ones, the important bit is that you know how far YOU hit with each club so that you can make the right selection. The game is about the accuracy, not the length of each shot, how many people can say that the spread on their 5 iron is 20 yards, and on their wedge it's 8 yds, as that matters far more.

I use Ping Eye2 and depending on the course either ProV1 or Srixon AD333, which ever club is best for the shot -

Spot on Colin, that's what I was meaning really, we see the pros on tv hitting huge distances and short irons into par 3s. It is meaningless for my game as I don't hit it in quite the same fashion !! In the same way that I hit it differently to people that I play with, distances are useful to yourself only.

I think the main thing is not how far you hit the ball, it's how far you hit the ball with a particular club, if you have a 120 yard approach you use your 120 yard club, for me it's my 9 iron, for others it would be their PW or even less. The danger is that you get carried away when you see your partner pull out an 8 iron, when you would use a 6. Know your own distances, and really take no interest in what distance anyone else would hit with that club. That way only misery lies!

Couldn't agree more Greg. I never bother to sneak a look at another player's club choice. It is totally irrelevent to me as he is using it not me. Also, conditions and terrain often vary the length of shot. Having said this it is important to have a good handle on how far one hits each club in general.

Distance is meaning less, consistency is everything. Know your distances and repeat under pressure, but this will still lead to nothing without a good short game.

This sort of thread always brings out those of us that live in a dreamworld. There's an 18 handicapper here who claims to hit the ball 210 yards with a 5 iron which is about the same distance a tour pro would hit a 5 iron.....his short game must be shocking...lol

Dreamworld or not, Garry I have come across many players of a high handicap who can hit the ball prodigious distances, but, as you said, have very poor course management and short game flair.

The modern game is a completely different kettle of fish to golf in the old days, when shot making skills were required to get into difficult pins on hard and fast greens.

Modern clubs have made these skills a thing of the past, which is a great shame in my opinion.

Looking at most, in fact everyone bar one, I'm just about the shortest hitter in here.

.............................and my lowest score this year is a 1 under gross 71. Although length undoubtedly helps, and I wish I still knocked it out there, its short game that makes a good score.

Brian, you may well get away with missing greens on your links, and getting up and down all the time, but you would be very fortunate indeed to do that at my course. One hardly ever has a chip shot as there are too many bunkers to negotiate around the greens. Length is essential at my course, but I doubt you are as short as you are making out.

If I play off of a good players drives then I am his equal, off my own, I just cannot clear the front bunkers to get to any greens.

John, a good drive will go 250yds, which to a 400yd par 4 would see me with 150yd, maybe a good 7 iron but more likely a comfortable 6 iron. But you're right, typically of a links course, although there are plenty of bunkers they are not in front of the greens. They are firm, and mainly thin, so chipping over a bunker from the side will mean a long putt.

My best ever with a 4 iron, a lot of years back, would be 190yds...

250 yards is something I would like but have no chance. You are 60 yards longer than me off the tee.

My course is only designed for the modern game and big hitters, almost 6900 off the whites the tee we always play from.

The greens are very holding but are also very undulating and large. One green in particular is often a three putt, because of its poorly designed shape.

It is strange that from the 150 yards I normally hit a six iron, so probably not much difference in our iron play lengths.

Too much emphasis is put on how far one hits a club. Manufacturers use spurious claims about hitting it longer when really they make the lofts stronger. I believe the correct shaft paired with ones individual swing will give you the optimum distance. Once you find that shaft and work to determine how far you carry each club then leave it at that. Don't try and outdrive your playing partners, dont take an 8 iron just because they have, forcing a shot will reduce your chances of a good accurate strike. So what if they hit it further. Whilst practicing, I have tried different swings and really there's not much in it if you do 'hit it sweet' going for it v a slower swing good tempo. In fact I have found a well struck 3 wood off the tee is not far behind my driver.

On a slightly different thread but still distance related. Don't believe everything you here when watching golf on the tele, I have always been a little dubious on some of clubs the commentators say the pro's are using, and sure enough I was watching on Saturday and Sunday and on three occasions the pundits got it wrong. 159 yards was apparently a soft 9 iron for Rory, but as he held his finish the camera showed the number on the club as an 8 iron, and then a different player can't remember who, a 7 Iron they said, same thing camera showed the number on the club as a 5 iron, and lastly a Pw they said, turned out to be an 8 iron. Just thought I would share this, don't get caught up in how far others hit there clubs, as long as you know how far you hit yours that is all that matters.

PB, you're not wrong about different iron specs for different manufacturers, e.g. the new TM RBZ irons are reputedly 17yds longer. But when you look up the specs a TM 6iron is closer to a 4 iron for most other manufacturers...

The weather makes a difference too. I just played Moor Allerton in a comp. It was about 7 or 8 degrees and the fairways and greens were soft. I was hitting my driver about 220 yards and my 7 iron 135 yards. This meant I was taking approx 2 clubs more for every iron shot. I finished with a gross 9 over, net -1 which considering 9 of the greens had been hollow tined made putting a bit rubbish. I three putted 3 times.

Nice round, Adrian, well done.

I agree with Adrian's point about the weather making a difference. I played in a pairs match yesterday and hit everything shorter. From 170, I hit 4 iron and that worked it's way downwards. Again, my scope helped as I gauged early on how much shorter each club was going and adjusted accordingly. Rained all day and was miserable but managed to get 18 in

Mike just 1 thing.......try a bridgestone fix ball instead of a srixon soft feel, same 2 piece feel to the ball but i think 20yrds further off the tee! me and mate have tried both and agree.