Golf Clubs Distance Chart (By Skill Level and Gender)
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Let’s face facts: we golfers are typically obsessed with distance, and it’s not so hard to see why? The growing fascination when we see a Rory Mcllroy drive that carries over 300 yards or the Brooks Koepka pitching wedge that can go as far as 150 yards. There are so many club choices out there that offer fascinating distances to all kinds of golfers.
Well, these golf club distances may seem unrealistic for an average amateur golfer, but we often can’t help but wonder what distance we can hit if we keep trying.
At the very least, every golfer wants to know how their distance compares to other golfers, which is why the latest golf technology and innovations featured on the golf hot list are so important. It’s therefore not surprising that we often hear golfers ask questions like:
- Do I measure up well to other golfers in terms of distance?
- Do I hit my clubs as far as I want to hit them?
- What is the proper distance for each club?
The truth is that there’s no single correct distance when it comes to how far you can hit each club. Don’t worry; we’ll share detailed charts of how far the average golfers hit their shots in this article. But beyond that, what’s more important is knowing whether you are getting the best yardage from your hits.
We’ve seen instances where high handicap players choose clubs because of physical looks. You see a club and assume it’ll reach the green because of its radical design. Unfortunately, this often leads to disappointments, as you’ll hit so many shots that won’t reach the green.
You need to have a comprehensive understanding of each club and how far you can hit them. This way, you can create goals and work towards reaching them. Here are charts representing golf club distances under different categories:
Golf Clubs Distance Chart By Skill Level
| Club | Novice (Yards) | Average (Yards) | Good (Yards) | PGA Tour (Yards) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 190 | 220 | 250 | 296 |
| 3-wood | 170 | 210 | 225 | 262 |
| 5-wood | 150 | 195 | 205 | 248 |
| Hybrid | 145 | 180 | 190 | 242 |
| 3-Iron | 135 | 170 | 180 | 228 |
| 4-Iron | 125 | 160 | 170 | 219 |
| 5-Iron | 120 | 155 | 165 | 209 |
| 6-Iron | 115 | 145 | 160 | 197 |
| 7-Iron | 105 | 140 | 150 | 185 |
| 8-Iron | 95 | 130 | 140 | 172 |
| 9-Iron | 80 | 115 | 125 | 159 |
| PW | 70 | 100 | 110 | 146 |
| GW | 60 | 90 | 100 | 135 |
| SW | 50 | 80 | 95 | 124 |
| LW | 40 | 60 | 80 | 113 |
Average Golf Club Distance Chart for Women
| Club | Short Hitters (Yards) | Mid Hitters (Yards) | Long Hitters (Yards) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 150 | 175 | 200 |
| 3-wood | 125 | 150 | 180 |
| 5-wood | 115 | 135 | 170 |
| Hybrid | 105 | 130 | 165 |
| 3-Iron | 100 | 125 | 160 |
| 4-Iron | 90 | 120 | 150 |
| 5-Iron | 80 | 110 | 140 |
| 6-Iron | 70 | 100 | 130 |
| 7-Iron | 65 | 90 | 120 |
| 8-Iron | 60 | 80 | 110 |
| 9-Iron | 55 | 70 | 95 |
| PW | 50 | 60 | 80 |
| SW | 40 | 50 | 60 |
What Affects Golf Club Distance? (5 Factors)
Now that we’ve looked at golf distances and compared them using different metrics, it’s only natural that you try to inquire what can affect your golf speed. If this is you, here is a brief review of some factors that can influence your golf club distances.
1. Club Speed
You guess right – club speed can significantly affect distance. It’s simple. If all other factors are equal, more swing speed would mean that more energy transfers from the club to the golf ball, and this can, in turn, result in higher ball speed. With all these in context, one can easily tell higher ball speed would translate to more distance.
However, beyond the speed of the ball, you must also pay attention to factors like club path, clubface, launch angle, and spin rate when calculating distance or trying to improve your distance.
2. Impact Location
Like club speed, impact location is a very important factor in determining how far your ball can go. Impacts out of your iron’s “sweet spot” would usually lead to higher smash factors compared to strikes that are too high, too low, off the heel, or off the toe of your wood or iron.
The smash factor stands for how well you can convert club speed to ball speed, and it is usually calculated as ball speed/club speed.
To be more specific, low strikes and strikes out of your club’s heel can significantly reduce distance.
Until you learn to hit the ball with your club’s sweet spot, you’ll struggle to keep your yardage consistent enough.
3. Club Path and Spin Rate
Let’s face it, the role of spin rate in determining the distance of your ball cannot be overstated. Too much or too little spin rate can cause your ball to fall short of the distance you want.
Some of the common causes of too much spin on the ball with drivers include
- Too much loft on your club
- Poor control of the clubface
- Poor strikes.
If you’re confident that your hits are good enough but think you’re not getting enough yardage to match, you can contact a club-fitter to help check the loft of your driver.
While the ideal spin rate would typically depend on club speed, too much spin on the ball will reduce your distance.
Remember aiming the clubface too closed or too open can cause hooks and slices, respectively, and this can either add more spin on the ball or cause the ball’s spin axis to go too strongly from right to left or left to right.
The movement of the ball from left to right or right to left that comes from a slice can cost you a lot of yardages compared to straight movements.
4. Launch Angle
Each club is designed to feature a unique optimal launch angle and optimal spin. So, it’s ideal to check this information before choosing your club.
You don’t want to launch your ball too low or even too high because these can cost you a significant distance.
Yes, launch angle problems are mostly due to swing, but it can also be a situation of playing the wrong clubs for your swing. Therefore, if it feels like you’re hitting the ball too low or too high, you can contact a club-fitter to help with dialing your clubs in.
5. Other Factors Out of Your Control
In your quest to understand why you’re not getting sufficient distance on your ball, you may find a few factors that you can’t control.
Such factors like altitude and temperature can slightly affect your strikes. But don’t worry, as you master your shots, you’ll find that you can simply adjust a few things to suit the weather and other natural elements.
How To Calculate Your Average Distance (3 Steps)
Beyond knowing what average distance is and how it affects your standard play, it’s also essential to understand how to calculate it.
Average distance is significant for every player, irrespective of playing experience. Every player has a different average distance, and it’s not strange to see people being recognized by their average distance. Therefore, beginners are often urged to learn how to calculate average distance.
This section has enough information to help you calculate your average distance.
Don’t forget that the easiest way to calculate average distance is with a launch monitor. But, you won’t always have a launch monitor, so what should you do when you want to calculate your average distance without a launch monitor?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you.
Step 1
The first and most crucial step is to go to a course when it is empty. Going to an empty course will help take away every feeling of anxiety. Besides, there’ll be no rush in the background, so you’ll have all the time to do what you want to do.
Once in the course, use your different clubs to take your ten best shots with your mind relaxed.
Next, use another ten clubs to take shots from the same spots you took the initial shots. This way, you can see the difference between the first set of clubs and the second set of clubs in terms of average distance.
Step 2
While taking these shots, arrange a range-finder and use it to measure the ball’s distance for each shot after the ball becomes steady.
Remember to take note of every distance. Write the distance somewhere, alongside the name of the club you used.
Pro Tip: Since different clubs have different distances, it may be nice to note them down in a tabular format.
Step 3
Finally, check the prescribed average distance for each club to see whether you’re doing well or not. This information is usually available online, so it shouldn’t be stressful finding it.
However, bear in mind that the data provided online are typical values. So, you shouldn’t be surprised if It’s a little different from the actual data. But the difference is typically very little, so it shouldn’t bother you.
Again, remember that the best results are found using launch monitors.
How to Increase Your Golf Distance
Now that we’ve talked so much about average golf distance and how to calculate it. It’s only right that we also explain how you can improve your golf distance.
That said, here are useful tips that you can incorporate into your game to make your golf shots go further.
1. Love Your 3 Wood
The process of hitting a 3 wood off the deck can be difficult for even seasoned professionals.
There’s simply no room for errors!
Therefore, it’s important to ensure that you have a 3 wood specifically designed to do the job. If you’re unsure, ask the attendant in your local golf shop or any professional to check whether your 3 wood would be great for hitting off the fairway.
One of the first places to look at is the loft.
Ensure that the loft is good for the swing and the shaft long enough. You can also use bad lies for experiments. It’ll help you know how bad the lie has to be for you to put the 3 wood away.
2. Master Good Fundamentals
We can’t overemphasize this. Having a fundamentally sound swing would help you hit the ball farther. We’ve seen many golfers struggle with their setup and swing. These struggles can cost you vital yardage every time you play.
Factors that can rob you of driving distance include:
- Poor weight transfer.
- Incorrect grips.
- Excessively steep or flat swing plane.
- Bad posture.
- A soft left side.
- Excess hip turn.
One of the best ways to get over this is through consistent practice. Apart from helping you master good fundamentals, consistent practice can also help for faster swings. Moving your club faster enhances your opportunity for increased distance. So hit the course every once in a while to practice.
3. Use Your Wrists
Once you’ve properly set yourself up at the address, you can significantly boost your distance by allowing the free movement of your wrist.
Proper grip involves holding the club on your fingers and should naturally allow security to enable you to use your wrist during your swing.
This tip would particularly come in handy for women and seniors who may lack strength but can leverage their wrist’s speed generator to improve distance.
Golf Club Distance Conclusion
If you’re like most other golfers, you’ll be concerned about distance. Beyond knowing how much distance you can cover in different situations, you want to know how you can improve.
We’ve provided all the information you’ll need to calculate your average golf distance throughout this article. Beyond that, we’ve also provided useful tips to help you improve distance.
We hope you can use these tips to improve distance and up your game. Club-fitting is another option to look at when trying to improve distance. Talk to your club-fitter today about the condition of your clubs, and they’ll tell you how you can leverage fitting to reach your desired distance goals.