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help with computing distances with clubs

• Caddy04 15 Posts

  Tue, May 19 2015 9:44 AM

   I have always had a problem adding or subtracting yardage for iron shots and wedges. I have tried adding 3ft  because elevation on flag on green shows 3 ft. up or drooping back if it says down and on regular iron shots if the wind says 5-7 headwind adding 6 more yards to club swing. All this doesn't really seem to help. Could someone kinda head me in the right direction.

• alosso 21,091 Posts

  Tue, May 19 2015 11:36 AM

  Some say, add/substract 1 yd length for 3 ft elevation, but that's strongly related to distance, shot trajectory and spin.

  Some say, add/substract 1 yd distance for 1 mph head- or tailwind for a 200 yds shot, or a proportional part of it.

  It's a game of experience, and the numbers are never precise.

• siggipj76 2,989 Posts

  Tue, May 19 2015 11:36 AM

  Have a look in the forum , use search and type wind calculation, plenty of useful tips. 

• Chokie3 7 Posts

  Tue, May 19 2015 11:55 AM

  I usually divide by two for elevation for the yards to add or subtract and it seems to work for me.  On wind it feels like about 6 yards for every mph 10 and over.  Under I don't see much of a difference.

• skccvb 799 Posts

  Tue, May 19 2015 2:16 PM

  For the most game improvement, you may want to focus more on your putting- 30% 3 putts is higher than your one putts %. Get the distance correct you should rarely 3 putt-and you should be holing more putts esp with a short iron in hand...

• flopperboy2 753 Posts

  Wed, May 20 2015 9:08 AM

  hi caddy04

  i think this will help you    put in the searc h bar pinhunters go 4 down on this page you will lfind on first one up a link just tick it and find all the help you need

  good luck and happy golf

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Wed, May 20 2015 9:53 AM

  Caddy04:

  All this doesn't really seem to help. Could someone kinda head me in the right direction.

  Learn the carry of your clubs. Carry is the time a shot is actually in the air and this is crucial to know. Where the shot lands has as much to do with the result as anything. 

  The back 9 at BPB has nice, long, flat fairways. Set up a low wind practice game there and get into the fairway. Now you can hit an iron and watch the yardage meter. Note the number when you hear the thump of the ball on landing. Use the mulligan feature to repeat as many times as you need to and note the carry of each of your irons.

  Now, when you're looking at a shot, start with where you think it will land. Adjust from there keeping in mind wind strength and direction, elevation and green speed if you're hitting an approach. Study what happens from where the ball lands when hitting the green, just like you would a putt. 

  On the wind, I think you might be adding too much if your example is consistent with how you do it. I would add 2-3 yards, not 6. Try using 1/3 and learn from there. Top spin offsets head winds and back spin enhances it.  GL

• GirnBlanston 648 Posts

  Thu, May 21 2015 2:21 PM

  Caddy,

  Its a fruitless effort to try and figure it out.  175 yards with the same conditions on one course can be totally different on another.  Example I can give is Pinehurst distances lie a lot.  You can have a 175 shot downhill with a slight tailwind, hit a full 175 with full backspin and it comes up 6-7 yards short.  That same shot on kiawah and you can fly 6-7 yards long.  So as you see there is no real universal answer to it.  This is mainly due to the rampant and frustrating inconsistencies with the program.  Wgt "is working on it", which is code for we just don't care just keep dropping credits on balls and clubs and we can ignore you.

• MBaggese 15,378 Posts

  Thu, May 21 2015 3:07 PM

  GirnBlanston:

  Caddy,

  Its a fruitless effort to try and figure it out.  175 yards with the same conditions on one course can be totally different on another.  Example I can give is Pinehurst distances lie a lot.  You can have a 175 shot downhill with a slight tailwind, hit a full 175 with full backspin and it comes up 6-7 yards short.  That same shot on kiawah and you can fly 6-7 yards long.  So as you see there is no real universal answer to it.  This is mainly due to the rampant and frustrating inconsistencies with the program.  Wgt "is working on it", which is code for we just don't care just keep dropping credits on balls and clubs and we can ignore you.

  I'll agree with you that 175 at BPB vs 175 at PH might be two different results, what you have to realize is 175 at BPB is 175 (on a particular hole)

   

  And 175 at PH hole may/will play differently, but play pretty consistent.

   

  How many time to you say to yourself "Dang, I am always short/long here?...before you change your approach to the hole?

   

  What I am saying...each hole play's fairly consistent, but you cannot compare a 212 yard on CCC vs a 212 yard shot at a different course...100 percent of the time...many times yes, but not always.

   

  Learn the(any) hole, and play it correctly.

   

  PS to the OP...YJ nailed it.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Thu, May 21 2015 5:16 PM

  GirnBlanston:

  You can have a 175 shot downhill with a slight tailwind, hit a full 175 with full backspin and it comes up 6-7 yards short.  That same shot on kiawah and you can fly 6-7 yards long

  This is a perfect example of how knowing the carry of an iron can avoid bad shots. At PH, many of the approaches are to elevated greens where the landing of a shot is interrupted. The ground basically rises up to meet the ball and you don't get the action after landing. OR that landing is magnified, like using back spin and landing on a slope-high gear reverse.

  Knowing that carry number will help you decide how to get 175 yards. There's more than one way to do it  and you have to think about what works. It's real golf, not a program. Play it that way. Think like a golfer.