How to Find Club Distances at the Golf Course
Did you know that the average golfer doesn’t know their accurate golf club distances with each club in their bag?
Most golfers think they have an idea, but if we test them, they would be off by as much as 10-15 yards! No wonder your golf shots are missing greens at high frequency.
But don’t worry, today we bring you club distance finding methods you can utilize to get an accurate grasp on your golf club distances.
How Often Should You Check Your Golf Club Distances?
I would recommend testing your distances at least once per month as things can change with time.
You’ll likely experience warmer weather as the season progresses as well as improvement to your golf flexibility and golf swing from practicing. These things can shift how far you hit the golf ball.
So make sure you’re checking your distances at least once per month.
3 Best Methods to Find Club Distances
#1: Hit 5 Balls Per Club and Track Data
A simple drill is to head to your local driving range, grab a bucket of balls, a pen and pencil, and start tracking data from each shot.
You’ll want to purchase a golf swing launch monitor like the Mevo+ to track your swing and give you more accurate golf distance results.
For this drill, I like to hit 5 balls in a row with the same golf club to get 5 data points. After each swing, I’ll track the distance and after the 5 shots are finished, average the 5.
Repeat this for every club in your bag.
Make sure to throw out bad data points. If you had a bad swing don’t count the distance since it will affect results. Only average the normal golf distance shots, removing the outliers.
What to Do If You Don’t Use a Launch Monitor
To calculate the distance, determine how far away certain driving range targets are from your hitting mat.
For example, find the green out on the driving range that is 100 yards away. Use it to aim at for testing your wedges. If your wedge is landing 10 yards short of that green, then you know you hit your wedge around 85-90 yards with a full swing.
To get more accurate results, use a rangefinder to laser different distances after each shot.
#2: Track Distances on the Golf Course
A more accurate method is to track club distances out on the golf course. This method is more accurate because you can log your starting point and calculate the distance to your ending point when you get to your golf ball.
On a driving range, you can’t walk out to your golf ball so you’re trying to guess the approximate distance.
For tracking distance on a golf course, you can use a golf GPS watch which has a start and stop button to track distance.
You’ll press start when you’re at your swing location (point A). Then walk or ride the cart to your golf ball and check your GPS watch for the distance given at point B. The GPS system will have the distance calculated and displayed on your watch, which you can trust with accuracy since it’s GPS satellites.
Mark down this data.
To help you find club distances faster, hit multiple shots (extra swings) from the same spot and go find the distance for each shot. Then continue playing your original ball and pick up the extras.
It’s a way to get some extra shots in on each hole as you play the golf course so you can get your club distances dialed faster.
#3: Visit an Indoor Golf Simulator
If your local city offers indoor golf facilities, then you can access golf simulator machines like the Trackman to help you figure your club distances.
At my brother’s golf facility he founded, Mike’s Golf Center, he offers 9 different hitting bays for customers to come in and play on the golf simulator.
Each simulator offers a driving range function where you can hit your different clubs and get accurate data feedback for how far each shot went. The system tracks all this data and calculates averages for you and shot disbursement maps so you can see tendency as well.
And if you want golf practice plans to follow to help you know how to practice at the driving range and golf course, then check out Foy Golf Academy, co-founded by two golf teaching instructors, me and my brother Mike.
These practice plans have been used by thousands of students. Learn more at FoyGolfAcademy.com
