What to hit from 170yds out...

[mpare]

For me it depends on a number of factors. These would include: the temperature (the hotter it is, the less club that I will need); how "quick" I'm feeling (if I'm tired and sluggish, I'll need more club); my adrenaline level (the higher it is, the less club I'll require). You notice that I have not mentioned such things as wind, rain, elevation changes, and so forth as I have assumed that for the purposes of this question that wind and elevation are not significant. All of that said, for me the club is likely to be either a 5 or a 6 iron. There are other times (this past Saturday, for example) when a 4 iron might be appropriate and other times (in the heat of summer when I've been on vacation for 3 weeks) that a 7 iron might be perfect. In short, at least for me, I am not committed to a particular club under any and all conditions. My advice, for what it's worth, is to be flexible and to use the club that all of the circumstances dictate after you have suspended the irrational influence of your ego.

[Nat Williams]

You forgot your most important factor pare ... am I playing for money?

In this case, I could see you going wedge wedge then casually asking to double the stakes

[mpare]

When I read that, Nat, I burst out laughing. Thanks for brightening my day.

You forgot your most important factor pare ... am I playing for money?

In this case, I could see you going wedge wedge then casually asking to double the stakes

[rhh7]

I played mostly Dynamic stiff, starting in 1956. My driver in recent years has been a Titleist 975-D, which I reshafted with a Dynamic Gold X-100, 44". But as I say, I have seen the error of my ways. I believe that I would have developed a better swing, swinging easier with a more flexible shaft. For whatever years I have left, I want to play from the middle of the fairway, and I want to hit more greens in regulation.

[MusicMan]

smart...

[Kiwi]

TM Rescue Mid 25 degrees, to the pin, no role.

[Pinshark]

You forgot your most important factor pare ... am I playing for money?

In this case, I could see you going wedge wedge then casually asking to double the stakes

If he was playing for money he would probably take WAYY to much club play a knockdown 3 iron and place it oh so nice within 10 feet....just to make it sting a little more

[Farzin]

Are you guys talking indoor or outdoors?

[Started2k3]

Are you guys talking indoor or outdoors?

If you find a place indoors that you can hit it 170yds let everybody know about it.

[Farzin]

Ha ha, Golf O Max. I can hit a 9 Iron there. But seriously as far as outdoor goes. At ideal condition I can carry my 7 iron 165 yards perfect. here is an example. measured with an EMD.
hole in one

I know pinshark has no problem hitting an 8 or a 9 iron.

[downhillslider]

A 6I for this old guy.

[jbrace]

I could get a 6 iron there if I flushed it, but more often than not, I would opt for a smooth 5 iron from 170.

[clankoffdatee]

On the idea of "distance claims" can we come up with a question that will give a more reasonable picture of distance. Let's try the following:

Which club would you use if you had 170yds to the pin?

.

Should add...and actually get it there within 15' 70% of the time...
8 iron -puhlease????

[Hacker]

It all depends on what is 170 yards away............from that distance I can probably hit any large-ish body of water, trees, traps, buildings (especially private homes), parking lots pretty much anything that one could reasonably expect to see around a golf course (except the green, but that goes without saying)

[Big Johnny69]

It all depends on what is 170 yards away............from that distance I can probably hit any large-ish body of water, trees, traps, buildings (especially private homes), parking lots pretty much anything that one could reasonably expect to see around a golf course (except the green, but that goes without saying)

Hence my comment about playing in the 80s, 90s and 100s.

[Farzin]

Should add...and actually get it there within 15' 70% of the time...
8 iron -puhlease????

Also
Should add...and actually get it there within 15' 70% of the time...
with a 7, 6, or 5 Iron.

Inside the 15 feet 70% . Not even the pros me thinks.

[Indio]

Hence my comment about playing in the 80s, 90s and 100s.

geoff, Geoff, Geoff.... Hacker is a wee bit short and stuff like that just zooms over his head like a Mazda! You gotta draw the boy a picture of a themometer with the red line between 80 and 90.......

[Big Johnny69]

geoff, Geoff, Geoff.... Hacker is a wee bit short and stuff like that just zooms over his head like a Mazda! You gotta draw the boy a picture of a themometer with the red line between 80 and 90.......

[shovellover]

Smooth 5i is about 175. That works.

Would it be anywhere near the pin? Probably not. Waaay left would be my guess.

[Hacker]

Post removed

[Colby]

post removed

On topic please, and remember the TOS.

[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

[hoolio]

I have no idea where I fit in that graph. My irons (3-PW) are in line with the LDOG, but there is no way I even come close to averaging 300 yards with the driver let alone 274 with the 3 wood. My wedges also run more in the Average OG.

I think I need to get a set of wedges and get them setup better, they are the scoring clubs after all, and you should at least have a good idea how far they go.

[John]

I'm in the same boat Hoolio, i would say my average drive is 270 or so. Maybe 250 if i smack the 3 wood. The irons seem right though.

[Kilroy]

I fit the "Short hitter" bill pretty well, but with a 220 (actual average) drive. All the other numbers line up. Now you know why I groan when I have to play the blues.
I am the tortoise!

[clankoffdatee]

Interesting info..
My yardages are almost identical to average og.
Pretty cool.

[ironmaster15213]

Interesting info..
My yardages are almost identical to average og.
Pretty cool.

....add 3 or 4 yards for each club and I'm right there except s.w. and g.w. are a little shorter. Driver is definitely longer but than again it's 46 inches and I like to swing hard with the driver compared to a easy controlled swing with the irons. All said and told I would say the Info is pretty acurate. Good job

[Started2k3]

I have no idea where I fit in that graph. My irons (3-PW) are in line with the LDOG, but there is no way I even come close to averaging 300 yards with the driver let alone 274 with the 3 wood. My wedges also run more in the Average OG.

I think I need to get a set of wedges and get them setup better, they are the scoring clubs after all, and you should at least have a good idea how far they go.

I'm in the same boat Hoolio, i would say my average drive is 270 or so. Maybe 250 if i smack the 3 wood. The irons seem right though.

I just made an assumption of 300 yds for the LDOG's.

It is surprising is that it fits the irons extremely well for you guys but seems to be missing out on the woods. Not exactly sure why?

It may be due to my assumption of using a linear gap between all clubs, whereas in real life the gap may shrink towards the tails of the set of clubs (woods and wedges). MOI affecting the swing speed or the change in lofts are not able to match the pattern as well.

I rechecked my calculated distances and it appears that the calculated 3-wood and 5-wood are only 7yds longer than my usual distances. This may be due to the loft of my woods in comparison to my driver.

I don't see this as a problem but something to strive for.

Thanks for the input.

[jeffc]

Driver 250
3 wood 230
2H 210
4i 195
5i 185
6i 175
7i 165
8i 155
9i 145
PW 130
GW 100
SW 85
LW 60

I have no idea how anyone hits a LW 90-100 yds.

[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!