[TOOGUEITEME]

This came up in the range ball thread; that on the range it's hard to get a playable distance from your clubs because the range balls are limited flight balls. I never knew this, and explains why I've been consistenly overshooting greens lately as my groove has become more consistent. Besides having a few really bad rounds of missing the greens either short or long (which I've been doing alot lately), what is your way of dialing in your club distances for when you use your "game" ball?

[Todilrdc]

Experience throughout the round and previous rounds. If you are playing the same course over and over generally you are gonna land in the same lie and position on a good drive on the hole. Experiment with a couple clubs and see what gets you there. Next round you can remember what you used and perhaps you'll know the yardage.

[Krruqgwt]

Experience throughout the round and previous rounds. If you are playing the same course over and over generally you are gonna land in the same lie and position on a good drive on the hole. Experiment with a couple clubs and see what gets you there. Next round you can remember what you used and perhaps you'll know the yardage.

well said Dent....+1

[PolPitasc]

Dent brings up a great point. I often times write down the club I used from certain spots on the course and results so I know to add or subtract on the next round.

[Assunkkensatt]

I figured out all of my distances from round after round. I found the range was never accurate because most out here are mats and its not really a game situation for me.

[TOOGUEITEME]

So it sounds like the suggestion is to carry a notepad (which I do anyway) and record the club you hit, approx. distance travelled, and then tally up/average after the round?

[DfrtYhyu]

Dent brings up a great point. I often times write down the club I used from certain spots on the course and results so I know to add or subtract on the next round.

This is a good idea, I need to start trying this and noting down the club I use, the location of my golf ball, and the distance travelled. This will give me a rough idea!

[oyymoss]

I went to my local course on a day when there were very few people out and hit several diffent clubs from the tee box and then went out and used a range finder back to the tee to get my distances. I can be time consuming going out after each club it I think it provided me with a good representation for distances.

[Keendwainge]

Experience throughout the round and previous rounds. If you are playing the same course over and over generally you are gonna land in the same lie and position on a good drive on the hole. Experiment with a couple clubs and see what gets you there. Next round you can remember what you used and perhaps you'll know the yardage.

This is me. I have a pretty good idea just from experience. I'm usually pretty good with distance... it's my sense of direction that seems to have a problem.

[VonErmad4]

Well, since this thread's now over here, I'll just post what I wrote over there:

Back before everyone had their lawyers on speed dial, I used to be able to go to a schoolyard and hit golf balls all over the place and that's where I "dialed in" all of my distances (nowadays, hitting golf balls at a schoolyard ist verboten! due to liability and injury concerns).

I used to hit to a baseball diamond way back in the corner of the lot and before I'd get started, I'd march off whatever distance from which I wanted to practice starting from the pitcher's mound and walking out into the field. As a target, the infield grass represented the green and the infield dirt represented bunkers and I'd hit 50 balls and then count how many ended up on the "green".

After a while, I got to know most distances by memory so I didn't have to march them off all the time and I quickly developed a very detailed inventory of which club did what and from how far. So after a while, I knew that my standard 8-iron was 152 and my standard 7-iron was 163 and so on.

But if you don't have access to a schoolyard or a big field, you should investigate whatever ranges are nearby and ask if they use "real" golf balls or LD balls and then pay close attention to where your ball lands (not where it ends up) when practicing. It's not as accurate as being able to walk out and actually see where the balls landed, but it's the next best thing.


Another, much slower way of doing it is to keep track of what you do out on the course and keep track of the clubs you're selecting and for what distances. After a while you'll be able to see just how far you hit your clubs based on the distances for which you use them and you'll be able to associate a certain club with a certain distance.

This is admittedly more trial-and-error than anything else and it will take some time, but it's a very accurate way of determining your "real" distances as opposed to what you may think your doing at a range. -JP

[Gskdmidd]

A few courses in Chicagoland have Practice Holes to which you pay a fee and get unlimited use for a day. One of my favorite courses has a practice course consisting of two par 4s, a par 3 and numerous pitching/chipping/putting greens.

About once a season I go to this practice area and gauge my distances with each club. I do the same with pitching, etc.

[7kitthuptarill]

A few courses in Chicagoland have Practice Holes to which you pay a fee and get unlimited use for a day. One of my favorite courses has a practice course consisting of two par 4s, a par 3 and numerous pitching/chipping/putting greens.

About once a season I go to this practice area and gauge my distances with each club. I do the same with pitching, etc.

That would be awesome!!!! I wonder if there is a course like that in SoCal.

[7kitthuptarill]

Dent brings up a great point. I often times write down the club I used from certain spots on the course and results so I know to add or subtract on the next round.

How do you do that? Hit 5 iron from third tree on the left, went 178yds ?

I think the gps app for my phone has a shot measuring feature in it.. I wil try using that.

[DfrtYhyu]

That would be awesome!!!! I wonder if there is a course like that in SoCal.

That'd be cool!!

[Maserati]

Experience throughout the round and previous rounds. If you are playing the same course over and over generally you are gonna land in the same lie and position on a good drive on the hole. Experiment with a couple clubs and see what gets you there. Next round you can remember what you used and perhaps you'll know the yardage.

Dent - My brother carries 5 wedges and has them labeled with the distances he hits each.

[VonErmad4]

I once wrote all of my yardages on an index card and I laminated it and put an eyelet on it and hung it from my golf bag. I would refer to it regularly until I memorized everything.

It was very helpful.


-JP

[Krruqgwt]

I once wrote all of my yardages on an index card and I laminated it and put an eyelet on it and hung it from my golf bag. I would refer to it regularly until I memorized everything.

It was very helpful.


-JP

+1...exactly what I did too JP

[AlexanderDrew]

I recently adopted a new (home made) score card that I use. It gives yardage needed, club selection, and out come of the shot. This for each shot into the green. Once on the green, it gives me distance in "feet", (P)utter, and out come of the putt. Some days I hit the ball farther than others, for what ever reason. Some days I putt the ball shorter than others, again for what ever reasons. Usually course conditions, and weather dictate what my distances are. After two or three holes, I pretty much know where I am for the day as far as distance is concerned, just by referring back. Even if I have not hit a specific club yet, I can still factor in any distance issue, because my club distance separation is pretty consistent.

[VonErmad4]

I recently adopted a new (home made) score card that I use. It gives yardage needed, club selection, and out come of the shot. This for each shot into the green. Once on the green, it gives me distance in "feet", (P)utter, and out come of the putt. Some days I hit the ball farther than others, for what ever reason. Some days I putt the ball shorter than others, again for what ever reasons. Usually course conditions, and weather dictate what my distances are. After two or three holes, I pretty much know where I am for the day as far as distance is concerned, just by referring back. Even if I have not hit a specific club yet, I can still factor in any distance issue, because my club distance separation is pretty consistent.

That sounds like a good idea and if it works for you then you're all set.

As far as "day-to-day" stuff goes, you're right in stating that you don't generally hit the ball the same way every day (most people don't, not even the pro's).

That's why I always warm up before a round. What I specifically look for is shot shape (what my tendencies are that day) and most importantly, distance. My "150 club" is usually my 8-iron, but some days, when warming up, I find that I'm coming up short of the 150 target while on other days I may be hitting longer than 150.

I make a note of that and try to assign a rough percentage to that and I club accordingly out on the course. For example, if my 8-irons during my warmup are consistently landing, say, five yards short of the marker, then I'll know to either club up when faced with that yardage or remind myself to use my 100% swing if I choose to stick with the 8-iron.

I think many people can get "stuck" on a yardage and it becomes their "always" yardage when in fact, as you pointed out, it can vary from day to day.


-JP

[7kitthuptarill]

I once wrote all of my yardages on an index card and I laminated it and put an eyelet on it and hung it from my golf bag. I would refer to it regularly until I memorized everything.

It was very helpful.


-JP

+1...exactly what I did too JP

No doubt a great idea and one I would gladly do but the point is how do you get the distances with no place to really hit a ball 5-15 times with each club using "real" golf balls