Yardage gaps

[Alan Pllu]

I am having a rethink to my bag layout and yardage gaps between clubs. 

 

How do people set their bag up with gaps? Consistent number right through the bag, smaller gaps one end than the other? 

 

Just now the clubs I have available and carry yardages are as follows

 

Driver 275

3w 260

1 iron 240 (this is used as a tee club for wind, live in Scotland so need to flight it down. Flatter flight is needed since my home course has a few into wind tee shots)

Hybrid 1 235

Hybrid 2 220 

4 iron 220 (not in bag just now)

5 iron 205 (not in bag just now)

6 iron 195

7 iron 180

8 iron 165

9 iron 150

Pw 135

Gw 120

Sw 105

Lw 90

 

I feel like top is a bit clustered and there is too big a gap between hybrid 2 and 6 iron. 

 

I am looking at reshafting an old set of irons that have weaker lofts and thinking about going to the following 

 

Driver 275

3w 260

1 iron 240

Hy1 235 

Hy2 220

5i 200

6i 185

7i 170

8i 155

9i 140

Pw 125

Sw 110

Lw 90

 

I am not sure about dropping a wedge because I have always had at least 4 wedges in the bag but the only other option is dropping hybrid 1 which is a club I hit really well so reluctant to drop it. 

 

I am also looking at a steel iron shaft in hybrid 2 to drop the yardage on that a bit so not sure if doing that and dropping the 5 iron is a better option? 

 

Anyone give any thoughts? 

 

Also I have my own flightscope and a loft and lie machine so yardages are not guesses and I am able to bend irons to achieve gaps required. 

[EDT501]

In general, yardages don't need to be even through the bag so long as you don't have any massive gaps and know exactly what yardage to expect from each club. Having a denser lower half of the bag allows you to more consistently generate height and spin on wedge shots, which is helpful when playing target-style golf, especially on shorter courses. Having a denser top half of the bag is helpful if you frequently need to play forced-carries with mid to long irons on your approach.

 

There isn't one right setup, each person just needs to find the right balance for the courses they play and their own strength and weaknesses on the course. I am confident with my ability to play 3/4 wedge and short iron shots and don't have trouble generating sufficient spin on partial swings. On the other hand, I often face shots with the mid and long irons where I need to carry the ball onto the green. Maintaining sufficient carry as a % of total distance with partial swings on long irons requires tour-level speed and precision in ball striking. So, based on the conditions I face, I choose to have slightly tighter gaps at the top of the bag (10-12 yards) than at the bottom (13-16 yards). 

[TLUBulldogGolf]

How often are you hitting the hybrid 1 into greens? That seems like it could be dropped if you have to have the 1 iron. 

Edited October 27, 2020 by TLUBulldogGolf

[jvincent]

@Alan Pllu  I prefer to have smaller, evenly spaced gaps at the shorter end of the bag because that's where you are generally going to want to hit a precise distance.

 

At the top of the bag it's usually a "best distance" type of club plus there is inherently more variability in strike quality making dialing in a distance harder.

 

If I were you I'd drop the long hybrid and adjust the loft of either the 4i or 5i to give you a better gap with your 6i.

[Alan Pllu]

14 minutes ago, TLUBulldogGolf said:

How often are you hitting the hybrid 1 into greens? That seems like it could be dropped if you have to have the 1 iron. 

At my home course depending on drive 2 par 5's and depending on the wind direction potentially on one of the long uphill par 4's but that's a rare occurrence. 

 

I think you are probably right, I really like the hybrid and don't want to drop it but it probably makes sense to take it out. 

[Alan Pllu]

28 minutes ago, jvincent said:

@Alan Pllu  I prefer to have smaller, evenly spaced gaps at the shorter end of the bag because that's where you are generally going to want to hit a precise distance.

 

At the top of the bag it's usually a "best distance" type of club plus there is inherently more variability in strike quality making dialing in a distance harder.

 

If I were you I'd drop the long hybrid and adjust the loft of either the 4i or 5i to give you a better gap with your 6i.

As I said above, you are probably right about the hybrid, I just really like the club and hit it well although it is probably doubling up with the job its doing with the 1 iron. 

[jvincent]

32 minutes ago, Alan Pllu said:

As I said above, you are probably right about the hybrid, I just really like the club and hit it well although it is probably doubling up with the job its doing with the 1 iron. 

 

Are the lofts on the hybrids adjustable? You could always bend it a little weak and drop the other one. With the 5i adjusted a little strong you should have pretty decent gapping.

[Alan Pllu]

12 minutes ago, jvincent said:

 

Are the lofts on the hybrids adjustable? You could always bend it a little weak and drop the other one. With the 5i adjusted a little strong you should have pretty decent gapping.

Both of them are adjusted as weak as they will go. 

[Alan Pllu]

2 hours ago, EDT501 said:

In general, yardages don't need to be even through the bag so long as you don't have any massive gaps and know exactly what yardage to expect from each club. Having a denser lower half of the bag allows you to more consistently generate height and spin on wedge shots, which is helpful when playing target-style golf, especially on shorter courses. Having a denser top half of the bag is helpful if you frequently need to play forced-carries with mid to long irons on your approach.

 

There isn't one right setup, each person just needs to find the right balance for the courses they play and their own strength and weaknesses on the course. I am confident with my ability to play 3/4 wedge and short iron shots and don't have trouble generating sufficient spin on partial swings. On the other hand, I often face shots with the mid and long irons where I need to carry the ball onto the green. Maintaining sufficient carry as a % of total distance with partial swings on long irons requires tour-level speed and precision in ball striking. So, based on the conditions I face, I choose to have slightly tighter gaps at the top of the bag (10-12 yards) than at the bottom (13-16 yards). 

My home course doesn't have forced carry shots but it is quite positional from the tee, not a lot of sensible driver holes so I end up hitting a lot of positional shots from the tee which the hybrids are perfect for as long as there is no wind but when it gets windy I am struggling which is why I put the 1 iron in. There are a couple of short par 4's that look driveable but is too risky so on is 9 iron sw the other is 7 iron gw its a funny course that way, lots of different yardages required for tee shots. 

 

It makes bag setup awkward for me because this season i haven't hit an approach shot with anything more than a 7 iron so would make sense to tighten the gaps lower down but then there are a lot of different yardages needed from the tee so don't know where to have most options. 

 

Might just need to go lighter at the top of the bag and give myself a bit of a longer approach on a couple of holes, or just go more risky off the tee!

[getitdaily]

I feel like the top of the bag is an area that's over-thought. Driver and 3wood are almost always a must. 

 

From there to about 4i, too many clubs can be an issue. It seems you're a good player. Better players get caught into 215-240 being a scoring area in thought. 215-240 is not a scoring range. It's a range where you want to be able to hit a good shot (usually into a par 5) and 2 putt for birdie (or 2putt for par if on a long par4).

 

Smaller gaps at the bottom of the bag are much better. That's the scoring zone. Don't overthink it. Work from the bottom up. Scoring first, then where you have room for the top of the bag, decide based on tee shots needed or carry yardages desired. 

 

I go 4i at 207 then 3h at 225 then 3wood at 245. My gaps at the bottom are very small and my scoring has improved (added a 50* wedge in the last year).

[Alan Pllu]

17 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

I feel like the top of the bag is an area that's over-thought. Driver and 3wood are almost always a must. 

 

From there to about 4i, too many clubs can be an issue. It seems you're a good player. Better players get caught into 215-240 being a scoring area in thought. 215-240 is not a scoring range. It's a range where you want to be able to hit a good shot (usually into a par 5) and 2 putt for birdie (or 2putt for par if on a long par4).

 

Smaller gaps at the bottom of the bag are much better. That's the scoring zone. Don't overthink it. Work from the bottom up. Scoring first, then where you have room for the top of the bag, decide based on tee shots needed or carry yardages desired. 

 

I go 4i at 207 then 3h at 225 then 3wood at 245. My gaps at the bottom are very small and my scoring has improved (added a 50* wedge in the last year).

That's a trap i have been falling into a couple of times over the last few years with being too heavy in the top end when I am probably over thinking it. 

 

Might be better off with smaller gaps lower down maybe 10 yards at bottom end increasing to 20 at the top? 

 

More like

 

Driver 275

3w 260

1 iron 240

Hybrid 220ish

5 iron 197

6 iron 182

7 iron 167

8 iron 152

9 iron 138

Pw 125

Gw 112

Sw 100

Lw 90

[getitdaily]

3 minutes ago, Alan Pllu said:

That's a trap i have been falling into a couple of times over the last few years with being too heavy in the top end when I am probably over thinking it. 

 

Might be better off with smaller gaps lower down maybe 10 yards at bottom end increasing to 20 at the top? 

 

More like

 

Driver 275

3w 260

1 iron 240

Hybrid 220ish

5 iron 197

6 iron 182

7 iron 167

8 iron 152

9 iron 138

Pw 125

Gw 112

Sw 100

Lw 90

Yeah. That looks solid to me. That 200-220 gap will come up and you'll just have to hit the right shot. But it'll come up less than a half wedge that's hard to control, distance-wise.

[Alan Pllu]

19 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

Yeah. That looks solid to me. That 200-220 gap will come up and you'll just have to hit the right shot. But it'll come up less than a half wedge that's hard to control, distance-wise.

Yeah, the thing is the 200-220+ is more tee shots for me at my course so not critical to scoring really, just the difference of one club more into the green for second shot which has been 7 iron at most this year so no big deal really. 

 

If I change back to my old irons with different shafts then max second shot would be 6 iron as the lofts are weaker.

 

Off the tee I can take a little off the hybrid and also give it a bit extra if needed so I can make it almost like a wedge with versatility which I am not confident of pulling off as consistently with a 4 or 5 iron. 

[EDT501]

2 hours ago, Alan Pllu said:

My home course doesn't have forced carry shots but it is quite positional from the tee, not a lot of sensible driver holes so I end up hitting a lot of positional shots from the tee which the hybrids are perfect for as long as there is no wind but when it gets windy I am struggling which is why I put the 1 iron in.

With this being the case I'd feel comfortable leaving with larger gaps at the top and really getting dialed in down low. Also maybe worth considering playing a different make up based on daily conditions. I have a 2 iron and 5 wood I switch out based on course conditions and wind. Keep both in the car and just put whichever seems most appropriate that day into the bag. 

[getitdaily]

13 minutes ago, EDT501 said:

With this being the case I'd feel comfortable leaving with larger gaps at the top and really getting dialed in down low. Also maybe worth considering playing a different make up based on daily conditions. I have a 2 iron and 5 wood I switch out based on course conditions and wind. Keep both in the car and just put whichever seems most appropriate that day into the bag. 

I do the same with a 19h and 19 3i. 3i carries about 7 yards less than 3h but I note controllable. 

[Alan Pllu]

27 minutes ago, EDT501 said:

With this being the case I'd feel comfortable leaving with larger gaps at the top and really getting dialed in down low. Also maybe worth considering playing a different make up based on daily conditions. I have a 2 iron and 5 wood I switch out based on course conditions and wind. Keep both in the car and just put whichever seems most appropriate that day into the bag. 

That makes sense, lock everything else in and when it's calm grab the hybrid but when its blowy stick in the 1 iron. 

[Alan Pllu]

Just went through my shotscope data for the last 3 seasons to see if i can pick up any trends. 

 

Majority of my approach shots are from 100 yards or less. Next biggest group is 140/170 and its only really when I have gone off line or hit a poor tee shot that I have anything in the 110/130 range. 

 

I think my biggest gains are going to be made from inside 100 yards and getting it in play a little further down the hole off the tee. There are a couple of holes that I have been struggling to get into a decent position off the tee which I am hoping the 1 iron will solve which if goes to play will save a couple of shots a round. 

 

My current wedge setup is 46 degree pw (mp18), 50, 54 bent to 55, and 58. I am considering putting my old mp68's back into play which is 47 pw that I was considering weakening a little and wondering if I should then go back to 52, 56 and 60 in the wedges since most of my approaches are inside 100yards which is less than a full 54. Might give me more options with higher lofts?