Help with irons / yardage selection

[Pat du Golf]

Dear golf nuts,

 

I need help with my irons selection: What is the proper yardage range for 3 - PW? I am tired of guessing all the time.......Thanks for your input.

[thenewbie]

the yardages of each club vary imensely from player to player. you'll need to figure out how far you hit each club, through range and on-course experience (the on-course experience will be more reliable, with your normal golf ball). generally, there is anywhere from a 5-15 yard gap between each club, with 10 yard gaps being about average. there are pro's who hit a 5 iron 215 yards, and there are amateurs who hit a 5 iron 150 or 160 yards. the key with irons is consistent distances, so you can know how far a shot with a particular club will go.

 

whenever you have an iron shot, make sure you know exactly how far out you are, then try to remember whether you come up short, go long, or get just the right distance. before long you'll be able to confidently pick the right iron for each shot. . .even if they don't always do what you want them to. that will come with practice.

[patrikhub]

i think my favorite game to play is looking at the WITB every month in Golf Digest... I love keeping a collection of the tour pro's that have the same yardages then me.... i really laugh when i can hit my 5 iron further than a few, even though they can school me with their wedge play ;)

 

my goal is to get somewhere similar to Camillo this year.

[smithjohnjr]

Dont mean to be a jerk but

 

why????

 

If you notice, its the guys who can control their distance that win ( plus being able to chip and putt ) not who hits is the furthest. There are other sports where you can measure your ego by length, but I would suggest golf is not one of them.

You may be able to hit your 5 iron farther than some pros but I would bet they can hit theirs inside you 98% of the time, which will help them score.

 

Worry more about how close you are to the hole and less about your ability to hit it far.

[irishfight4it]

here is my progression, but note I am a somewhat skilled amateur and numbers are greater than the norm, probably along the lines of an average tour player:

 

These are my comfortable 85% distances, I can stretch the shorter irons out more, the long irons i don't try to.

 

CLUB: CARRY (YDS.)

3 iron: 218

4 iron: 207

5 iron: 195

6 iron: 182

7 iron: 170

8 iron: 157

9 iron: 145

PW : 132

53 SW: 112

59 LW: 93

 

My Average Drive SS is 108 mph, my average 6 iron SS is 95 mph. Like I said this is greater than the norm. the Average American male golfer hits 5 iron 150 yds

[TEConnor]

I play in conditions throughout the year that vary from Sea Level at freezing temps to 6500 feet at 95 degrees. I also play from a variety of lies and off the tee. I occasionally catch fliers and I also sometimes play in "tight" conditions with muddy fairways. I've played three different sets of irons over the past two years, their lofts have differed by 1 - 2 degrees in total, and a few have been of the "player's cavity" design, thereby affecting the operative loft of the club).

 

Here are my club distances covering the range of conditions that I see throughout the year:

 

CLUB: CARRY (YDS.)

3 iron: 190 ~ 250

4 iron: 180 ~ 235

5 iron: 165 ~ 220

6 iron: 155 ~ 205

7 iron: 145 ~ 195

8 iron: 130 ~ 185

9 iron: 120 ~ 175

PW : 110 ~ 165

 

This data is from my 2-year chart of carry distances from all non-tourney rounds (using either GPS or rangefinder). I didn't include sand-lob wedges because I've changed # and lofts too many times for it to have meaning. I'm ignoring on-course elevation changes (such as hills), so some of the low and high numbers might be from an uphill or downhill shot, respectively. If I were to include tournaments, I've noticed that I can hit the ball about 5 - 10 % farther when adrenaline kicks in. I excluded these shots from my analysis to make it as meaningful as possible. This list also may include shots whereby I hit a punch or 3/4 shot in order to control spin...but those are hard to take out. Generally, I excluded data from any day when the wind was > 15 mph because that would unduly influence variability.

 

If you would clafiry what conditions you are inquiring about re: distance (for instance, sea level at 80 deg w/ average humidity or 2500 feet at 65 deg with dry conditions) I could be more specific about the ranges.

 

Hope this helps,

Tim

[patrikhub]

Dont mean to be a jerk but

 

why????

 

If you notice, its the guys who can control their distance that win ( plus being able to chip and putt ) not who hits is the furthest. There are other sports where you can measure your ego by length, but I would suggest golf is not one of them.

You may be able to hit your 5 iron farther than some pros but I would bet they can hit theirs inside you 98% of the time, which will help them score.

 

Worry more about how close you are to the hole and less about your ability to hit it far.

 

 

 

 

oh i'm not saying in want all of his iron yardages.... i'm just looking to pump up my driver and fairway metal distances another 8 yards.... i've just figured out my iron distances and i'd hate to start that process all over ;)

[GreekGodX]

Wouldn't all the iron distances be dependent on how strong the loft is? If someone is playing clubs that the 3 iron is a 19 degree loft and another person's 3 is 21 degrees there is going to be a difference in distance/carry.

[irishfight4it]

theoretocally yes, but it depends on clubhead design characteristics as well

[atlanta golfer]

I am thinking this is a thread starter to get conversation going, not an honest question. Even the most naive beginner golfer understands that everyone hits it a different distance, in many cases dramatically different distances.

[birdiemachine11]

On average, I have about 7 yards in between each of my irons.