Distance
is critical to the tour player and lower handicap golfer. How far
each iron is struck is information that can make a world of difference.
You hear every week how "So and So" hit a 5 iron 205 yards.
What ??? Are you nuts ??? On my best days I am happy to hit a 5
iron 180 yards and I am a 5 handicap. Where the heck am I going
to get another 25 yards from my clubs?
Let's
rethink this whole thing. Let's say that this is my chart ( in yards)
for the irons I play.
| Club |
Short |
Normal |
Long |
| 1 |
190 |
215 |
225 |
| 2 |
185 |
200 |
215 |
| 3 |
180 |
190 |
200 |
| 4 |
170 |
180 |
195 |
| 5 |
160 |
170 |
185 |
| 6 |
155 |
160 |
170 |
| 7 |
145 |
150 |
160 |
| 8 |
135 |
140 |
150 |
| 9 |
120 |
130 |
140 |
| PW |
105 |
120 |
130 |
| AW |
85 |
100 |
110 |
| SW |
70 |
85 |
95 |
| LW |
50 |
70 |
80 |
This
seems like a reasonable chart. But, here is the question. How often
do you hit the ball a 'normal' distance? Normal golf is described
as hitting your tee shot to the fairway, somewhere around the 150
marker. Playing an approach shot from there, to the green. I know
that this is only a dream but for argument sakes, let's say you
do this. How many times in a 18 hole round of golf do you actually
hit the ball the yardage you thought you should? Yeah, me either.
I
would be willing to bet, you have no idea how far each club actually
does go. I am speaking of impact to impact carry only. You can bet,
anyone that plays for a living knows exactly how far each club carries
a shot. I know that when faced with a 150 yard shot, most male golfers
will pull out a 7 iron. I know we hear that the pro's pull out an
8 or 9 nine but let's try to be realistic for a couple of minutes.
What if you need a 5 iron to go 150 yards? Will you use it or does
your ego get in the way? Face it, we are "men" and we
want to show that the "pros" are just normal "men".
How
sure are you that the club you choose will actually go the 150 yards?
If you hit the ball 3 times, will it go 150 every time? If it does,
then you have the potential to be a single digit handicap or already
are one.. If it does not, we need to talk.
Typically,
give a golfer 3 tries from a fairway under playing conditions, and
the second ball struck will be the "normal" ball. There
are many reasons for this but let's not discuss that here. Let's
assume that your 'normal' shot with a 7 iron travels 140 yards (impact
to impact). This means that you will be 10 yards short on your shot.
If you figure your distance to the middle of the green, you will
be on the front with a long putt. That is not all, most of us cannot
hit the ball straight, so we will be left or right and most likely
not on the green. Sound familiar?
What
can you do to improve this? Swing harder? Change balls? Have your
loft and lies checked? Naw, it is simple really. Take a paper and
pencil to the range the next time you go practice. Find a place
to hit that will give you the best look at the yardage markers they
have set up at your range. Find the 150 and the 100 yard markers
and get a good idea of where 110, 120, 130 and 140 yards are between
these markers.
After
warming up to on course playing temperature, prepare to record some
hits. Starting with a pitching wedge (45 to 48 degrees of loft),
hit 3 balls with the best possible swing you can make. Try to stay
relaxed and swing with a comfortable tempo and speed. Record the
distances. Be as accurate as you can with the spot it hits the earth.
Note whether the ball went straight when you hit it. Hit only 3
balls with each club. Use the 9 next. Then hit 8, 7 6 and finish
with the 5 iron. Record all distances as accurately as you can.
Below
is Jim Furyk's chart.
| Club |
Normal |
| 3 |
203 |
| 5 |
185 |
| 6 |
175 |
| 7 |
160 |
| 8 |
147 |
| 9 |
135 |
| PW |
125 |
| GW |
115 |
| SW |
105 |
| LW |
85 |
As
you can see, he is very specific about his normal distances. These
are distances he can totally rely on when the pressure is on. He
knows that from 135 he has a comfortable normal 9 iron. He can concentrate
on his alignment and zero in on how far left or right to aim to
get within 3 yards of where he is aiming.
You
can get this principle to work for your game too. Next trip to the
range, take some paper and pencil.
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