What to hit from 170yds out...

[Started2k3]

Thanks to everybody who responded, a real “eye opener” for me. I realize that this is not a perfect poll, but it is still interesting. There is probably nothing new here for most of you but I thought I would share.

I choose 170yds to make sure that most of the respondents would be using an iron, which is the case. If I made it less, then some of the really long hitters would be saying “3/4 gap wedge”. If I made the test length longer, then some of the shorter hitters would be saying “driver then putter/wedge”, and there was more risk of getting into the “21° hybrid”.

From the surface the poll makes it seem like 50% of respondents are only 1 or 2 clubs away from hitting it long like John (and the other LDOG – Long Drivers of OttawaGolf.com – who I am guessing has a PGA tour length swing: aka ~300yd drive). But is this true?

There are a large number of factors coming into play, to name a few:
- 170yds is right between two clubs (aggressive 6-iron versus smooth 5-iron)
- iron loft creep (modern versus classical loft angles)
- Skill level of the respondents
- Yardage gap between successive clubs

This is a subtle bias comes from the lack of knowledge as to whether a respondent used an aggressive 6-iron, normal 6-iron or a smooth 6-iron. But this would be the case independent of which length was chosen. If the poll used 175yds or 165yds, then the ones who used a “nice full swing with a 6 iron” would more than likely have to pick between adjacent clubs. While others would move from choosing between two clubs to knowing that is a full swing with one club. Overall, this bias probably can’t be overcome in this type of poll, but it should be recognized.

Iron loft creep over the decades has done a number of things, one of which is that a modern 6-iron is probably closer to a classical 5-iron, so as pointed out by Chieflongtee this will matter in club selection. To determine if respondents are using modern or classical lofts in their irons another poll could be run, but a large majority would probably come back with “I don’t know”. If this was corrected for it would only shift some people either up or down a club – there is a reason why they are called “modern lofts”. This is another case of recognizing that a bias exists, but there is little that could be done about it in an internet poll. A great article on this is at:
http://www.leaderboard.com/LOFTINFO.htm

We see from another poll on this forum that the weighted average handicap of the respondents is about 12.
http://forum.ottawagolf.com/showthread.php?t=20657
This is definitely lower than the average handicap of people playing golf on any given Saturday in June, which I would guess would be in the 20-25 range since according to golf lore most golfers never break 100. This means that respondents are mainly of higher skill than average which would mean that the respondents of this poll are more likely to make better than average contact and have better than average distance.

The really interesting thing for me is what this says about yardage gap between successive clubs. The common assumption is 10yds between successive clubs (so 6-iron at 170yds and 5-iron at 180yds). However, as you progress from the short hitter to the longer hitter the gap between clubs lengthens. So a long hitter like John may have 13yds between clubs while Hank Hill (you admitted to it and you didn’t have to ;-) )may have 9yds between clubs. This doesn’t seem like much.

The table below is initially based on the assumption of 10yd gap between clubs and can get the driver out 230yds. To get the other distances I scaled up the gap by the ratio of the new drive distance over the “normal hacker” distance. (I tested this with my normal drive distance and the iron distances that came back were pretty much spot on.)

See Attached jpg.

So an LDOG and the average OG is probably only 1 club different when faced with a 100yd pitch (LW vs SW), but 3 clubs different off the tee (4 wood vs driver).

Another interesting thing (to me) is that the SS is almost directly proportional to the gap between clubs. LDOG has a 30% larger gap than the normal hacker and 120mph is 30% larger than 92mph (normal hacker SS).

I am sure there is more I could write because I find so much of golf stuff exceptionally interesting, but I will stop now.

Except to say I hope the LDOG event actually happens.
Later,
Charles

[rhh7]

"Iron loft creep over the decades has done a number of things, one of which is that a modern 6-iron is probably closer to a classical 5-iron, so as pointed out by Chieflongtee this will matter in club selection. To determine if respondents are using modern or classical lofts in their irons another poll could be run, but a large majority would probably come back with “I don’t know”. If this was corrected for it would only shift some people either up or down a club – there is a reason why they are called “modern lofts”...

You have hit the nail on the head. My new dream set of irons is going to be the Bang Tour Tools Classic II, which replicates the Wilson blades of the early 60's. The 5-iron has a loft of 30 degrees, lie of 59 degrees. Now that's how I remember learning the game!

Back in the day, a 9-iron carried 110, and a driver carried 220...if you were a good player!