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Judging distance with irons.

• Partsman41953 341 Posts

  Mon, Jul 5 2010 2:20 PM

  Hello all, 

  I have been having a problem judging the distances of my irons and getting the ball close to the hole. It seems like I am always having at least a 15 to 20 foot putt which on most of these courses is not a good birdie try. 

  How do you judge the distance in order to get the ball close to the hole?

   

  Thanks for any advice. 

   

  Glenn

• Joeyola 1,210 Posts

  Tue, Jul 6 2010 4:11 PM

  Pay close attention to club characteristics when equipping your bag.  For example, look at distance gaps for your clubs.  The hybrid has the exact same distance rating, with similar characteristics, as your 3 iron.  There is also a 30 yard gap between your PW and your SW.  I'd consider eliminating the hybrid and adding a club to make up the wedge gap...this could help with the accuracy of those shots between 70 and 100 yards.

  Joey

• swannyxx 303 Posts

  Tue, Jul 6 2010 5:12 PM

  I have a question. on the green's i understand 1 inch up add a foot on approach shot isee 164 up hill 33 ft i understand i need to convert that to yd's hence 11 yd's.now i see 130 yd's,22inches up hill....now do i convert that to feet then to yd's or is there a different formula i need to use?     i do thank you for any help with this

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Tue, Jul 6 2010 5:34 PM

  Partsman41953:

  How do you judge the distance in order to get the ball close to the hole?

  Two things play a big part in what you're trying to understand, Glenn. The rated distance of your clubs is not how far they fly but how long they would typically go on flat ground with no wind and includes the roll out at the end.  This is not exact but close enough to give you the idea. The action of the ball after the landing has a lot to do with the distance. Land going uphill and you'll be short. Land going downhill and the ball rolls past the rating.

  The other thing you want to consider is the trajectory of your irons. Med/High loft is affected by elevation changes and will knock down that rated yardage or increase it. Try taking a club longer than you normally would and back off the swing. Backspin will slow down the rollout and you may find it easier to run up to holes. 

  A good way to see what your actual flights are is to go to BPB10 and 11. Long flat fairways let you hit back and forth to judge the distances. When you hit the club watch the yardage marker and listen for the thump of the ball on landing. This will get you the actual in-air distance of each club and give you something to work with. GL

• JuanMendoza 469 Posts

  Tue, Jul 27 2010 8:03 PM

  *cough* meter strip *cough*

• TextMyPC 232 Posts

  Tue, Jul 27 2010 8:17 PM

  Well,

  That's like asking how do I eagle every shot? There's no catch-all answer.

  There are many factors at play and the biggest one being the wind and the spin you're putting on the ball.

  Trajectory on your clubs also plays a big  role in how the ball will respond when it hits the ground. For example, a medium trajectory club will roll a lot more simply because of the arc while high trajectory clubs require a lot less back spin to stop the ball.

  Honestly, there's only 1 way to stop the ball from rolling and that's with high spin balls and high spin clubs. Everything else will roll until it finds rough or worse.

  The ultimate answer is practice and take notes. Later you won't need much of either but in the process you'll familiarize yourself with your clubs.

  TMP