Okay, let’s talk about figuring out my golf club distances. For the longest time, I was kinda just guessing, you know? I’d hit a shot on the course, see where it ended up, and think, “Yeah, that’s about my 7-iron distance.” But I never really measured it properly, especially the carry distance, which is what really matters for clearing hazards and hitting greens.
Getting Down to It
So, I decided it was time to actually figure this out. I grabbed my clubs, bought a massive bucket of balls at the driving range – one of those ones that feels like it weighs a ton – and found a decent spot. I also brought my little laser rangefinder thingy, which is super helpful for this.
First things first, I did a little warm-up. Didn’t want to jump straight into hitting drivers. Just some easy swings, stretching a bit. Then I got started.
The Process: Hitting and Recording
I decided to start from the bottom of the bag and work my way up. So, out came the sand wedge.
- Sand Wedge: I hit about 10, maybe 15 balls. I wasn’t trying to smash them, just make my normal, smooth swing. I lasered a few flags and markers out there to get a feel for where the balls were actually landing in the air, not where they rolled out to. I ignored the really bad ones – the chunks and skulls, you know how it is. Found a number that most of the decent shots were landing around and jotted it down in my little notebook.
- Pitching Wedge: Same deal. Hit a good chunk of balls, focused on a consistent swing, lasered the landing spots for the good hits, wrote down the average carry.
- 9-Iron, 8-Iron, 7-Iron… I just kept repeating the process. Hit a bunch, find the carry distance for the solid strikes, write it down. It took a while, and yeah, I hit plenty of less-than-perfect shots in between. That’s part of it. You’re looking for the average of your typical good shot.
- Longer Clubs: As I got into the longer irons, like the 6 and 5, and then into my hybrid and fairway wood, I definitely noticed my consistency wasn’t quite as tight. Still, I hit enough balls to get a reasonable idea of the carry distance for each one.
- Driver: Finally, the big dog. Same process, but obviously looking for carry distance down the main part of the range. Hit a fair few to get a good sense of it.
The Result: My Numbers
By the end of it, my hands were a bit sore, and the giant bucket was empty, but I had a list. A list of my average carry distances for every club in the bag, based on actually hitting the shots and measuring them.
Was it perfectly scientific? Probably not. Range balls can fly a bit differently than the balls I play with, and the conditions (wind, temperature) matter. But it’s way, way better than just guessing.
Now, when I’m out on the course and I laser the flag, I can look at my little list and have much more confidence in picking the right club to carry that bunker or reach that pin. It’s something I’ll probably re-check every now and then, especially if I feel like my swing has changed, but doing this session was super helpful. Made me feel like I actually know what my clubs can do.
