Unless you are a pro in golf, this would be the question that will haunt you, “How far can I hit with each of my clubs?” Maybe this is a question for almost any golfer who has learned how to swing their club correctly.
The reason to ask this question is that many beginners and amateur golfers know how far they can hit with each of their clubs, but they want to know if they can hit further? Yes, they can but how far is the question.
The essential thing about the golf club is the distance they make the ball fly depends on the swinging power of a golfer. The swinging ability varies with different levels of players ranging from Beginner, Average, Good, Excellent, and PGA tour.
Here, we will discuss how far a golfer can hit with each of his clubs for the rest of the golfer’s level.
Golf Club Distance by Skill Level : Beginner
Who are considered Beginners in Golf? Golf is a sport like any sport that has beginners, pros, and players between them. Here, the beginners of golf are those who want to play the game but haven’t taken any lessons previously or tried some pitching and putting yet feel uncomfortable on the course.
In most cases, a beginner is a player who just started with the game, and they know how to grab a club and swing. But their skills are imperfect, and they need to go a long way to get them perfected for a tournament.
According to a survey, a beginner golfer can be found with a handicap of 30. The handicap 30 means for a golfer covers a 72 par 18-hole course with 102 strokes that may go up or down. Breaking the 90 is simply considered the best goal for a beginner.
Unlike professionals and trained golfers, who can carry up to 14 clubs in their bag, beginners only need three or four clubs like a driver, an iron, and a wedge. (Find here the best Clubs for Beginner) The reason: starting with only a few clubs at a time will help the beginners focus on their shots rather than different clubs.
One more thing that professionals have suggested for beginners is to try the fairway woods with a loft of more than 10 degrees. Almost any beginner golfer would struggle to make a straight shot because of the lateral spin that applies to the ball. Some extra loft on the woods would help the beginners to hit straight without spin.
Note: A beginner golfer should spend time learning the game, not on spending a lot over different clubs.
The distance covered by a beginner almost depends on swing speed which differs from player to player. Soon as you hit your first ball off the tee box, you come to know whether you are a long hitter or a short hitter.
Almost any beginner in golf falls within the hitting distance that is categorized for beginners alone. But if you are a beginner who is also an athlete playing softball and tennis, you may cover more distance in golf than the rest of your fellow beginners.
Here are rough numbers that’ll help you understand how far as a beginner you can hit with each of the clubs in your bag. The numbers are for men. Though it is generally considered women hit shorter than men, it is widely accepted some women golfers can hit longer than men when they are trained enough.
| DRIVER | 190-200 YARDS |
| 3 WOODS | 170-180 YARDS |
| 5 WOODS | 140-150 YARDS |
| 2 IRON | 140-145 YARDS |
| 3 IRON | 130-135 YARDS |
| 4 IRON | 120-125 YARDS |
| 5 IRON | 115-120 YARDS |
| 6 IRON | 110-115 YARDS |
| 7 IRON | 100-105 YARDS |
| 8 IRON | 90-95 YARDS |
| 9 IRON | 75-80 YARDS |
| PITCHING WEDGE | UPTO 70 YARDS |
| SAND WEDGE | UPTO 55 YARDS |
| LOB WEDGE | UPTO 45 YARDS |
Golf Club Distance by Skill Level : Average Golfer
Who are average golfers? The population of average golfers is literally high compare to the rest of the population in golf. An average golfer is a golfer who is one level ahead of beginners. A large percentage of average golfers consists of business people and the wealthy population of the world. The reason? Golf courses are the best place to discuss business apart from golfing!.
An average golfer is a person who knows how to hit the club properly but doesn’t know or doesn’t have the strength to cover more distance. According to a survey, the average age of an average golfer in the United States is 54, and most of them are running some business. They come to spend their quality time on the course.
According to the USGA, the handicap of an average golfer would be 14 or 15. This means an average golfer can complete a course with 14 or 15 shots over par. Like the beginners, the average golfers are still falling under “Bogey Golfing.”
Generally, average golfers are often referred to as Amateur golfers, and there are separate tournaments for them. Though the average golfer’s population is mainly dominated by business people and CEOs of Fortune 500, some golfers genuinely want to move to the upper levels. They work on their shots and stick to a plan for improvement. Because almost every golf legends we are celebrating today were once Amateurs; Fortunately, such golfers are primarily young and dynamic like Tiger Woods of the late 90s’.
According to the data collected by TrackMan through its golf launch monitor, an Amateur golfer is giving up 30 yards from his shot which affects their improvement. TrackMan points out the lack of technology implementation for the loss of 30 yards. But it has also been claimed that most amateur golfers play on a club that hits less on a longer par, making their approach shot even harder on the fairway.
That’s how TrackMan implies the amateurs to learn how far they can hit with each of their clubs in the bag. Based on data collected by many golf launch monitors like TrackMan, SkyTrak, FlightScope, and Foresight Sports, along with the data of USGA, here are the numbers for amateurs golfers on how far they can initially hit with their clubs. Note: These numbers are for those Average golfers who are genuinely interested in becoming a pro.
| DRIVER | 210-220 YARDS |
| 3 WOODS | 200-210 YARDS |
| 5 WOODS | 190-195 YARDS |
| 2 IRON | 175-180 YARDS |
| 3 IRON | 165-170 YARDS |
| 4 IRON | 155-160 YARDS |
| 5 IRON | 150-155 YARDS |
| 6 IRON | 140-145 YARDS |
| 7 IRON | 135-140 YARDS |
| 8 IRON | 125-130 YARDS |
| 9 IRON | 110-115 YARDS |
| PITCHING WEDGE | UPTO 90 YARDS |
| SAND WEDGE | UPTO 80 YARDS |
| LOB WEDGE | UPTO 60 YARDS |
Golf Club Distance by Skill Level : Professional Golfer
The number of Amateur or average golfers looks impressive compared to the beginner level. But that’s not the place for real amusement as we didn’t reach the numbers of professional or tour-grade golfers.
Do you know there is a lot of difference between a pro golfer and a professional golfer? Yes, Pro and Professional are not the same in golf. A pro golfer can be anyone who is a pro in the game and earns money by teaching the sports or playing it in tournaments.
Unlike the pro golfers who do both teaching and playing, a professional golfer is a golfer who made playing golf their profession. A professional golfer plays in popular championship tournaments such as PGA, The Masters, The U.S. Open, and the most famous Grand Slam and earns money out of it or through sponsorship.
It is commonly believed that pro golfers are those golfers who didn’t succeed at becoming a touring professional, but there are exceptional cases. You can find pro golfers who didn’t become touring professionals who have become club professionals and golf instructors and earn money.
As mentioned before, almost any pro or professional golfer were once an amateur, and they have trained hard enough to become a pro. Some of the common areas a pre-pro golfer focuses on to become a pro are swing speed, club handling methods, course strategies.
How long can they hit with their clubs? You can simply find the professional level of a golfer with their driver’s distance. Bryson DeChambeau is the current longest hitter on the PGA Tour. Next to Bryson, there is Rory Mcllroy. According to a survey, an average of 86 golfers, including the above two, hits further the 300-yard mark that honors the PGA tour level.
| DRIVER | 289-323 YARDS |
| 3 WOODS | 243-304 YARDS |
| 5 WOODS | 288 YARDS |
| 2 IRON | 280 YARDS |
| 3 IRON | 265 YARDS |
| 4 IRON | 254 YARDS |
| 5 IRON | 243 YARDS |
| 6 IRON | 229 YARDS |
| 7 IRON | 215 YARDS |
| 8 IRON | 200 YARDS |
| 9 IRON | 185 YARDS |
| PITCHING WEDGE | UPTO 170 YARDS |
| SAND WEDGE | UPTO 115 YARDS |
| LOB WEDGE | UPTO 105 YARDS |
Golf Club Distance by Skill Level : Senior Tour Level Golfers
Senior golfing in the world of professional golf is considered both a dreaded end and an advantage. Professional golfers who have crossed the age of 50 are automatically considered seniors in golf. Once a golfer hits 50, he gets the card to play Senior PGA Tours, where the target for each club falls real low.
Though you are considered a senior after 50, there is no rule in golf to push you out of PGA tours. Whether move on to senior golfing or not is a decision that lies with you and you alone. There are players over the age of 65 playing PGA.
The reason for changing the titles of PGA professional into senior PGA professional is the distance they once hit as a pro may decrease and get as low as the level of amateurs.
There are a lot of complex stories in the Senior PGA, which we are not going to discuss here. So, here’s how to further a senior tour professional can hit with each of his clubs.
| DRIVER | 284 YARDS |
| 3 WOODS | 239 YARDS |
| 5 WOODS | 226 YARDS |
| 2 IRON | 216 YARDS |
| 3 IRON | 208 YARDS |
| 4 IRON | 199 YARDS |
| 5 IRON | 191 YARDS |
| 6 IRON | 180 YARDS |
| 7 IRON | 169 YARDS |
| 8 IRON | 157 YARDS |
| 9 IRON | 145 YARDS |
| PITCHING WEDGE | UPTO 134 YARDS |
| SAND WEDGE | UPTO 108 YARDS |
| LOB WEDGE | UPTO 97 YARDS |
I hope you all get the data useful. But there is still something I might let you know before you go purchasing some high-end golf clubs. You have so far read all about the distance you can hit from each club. But you really want to know the factors that affect the distance and in a more remarkable way. Almost any golfer who swings off the ball from the tee box on par-5 has only one thing in his mind, get the ball as close as possible to make the approach shot easier.
Here, the final part of this article specially and briefly discusses the factors that affect the golf ball’s carry distance.
Step 1: The Swing Speed
Swing Speed is, of course, the first and foremost factor that decides the distance of the golf ball. The swing that gives the initial impact to the ball gets the ball out of the tee and gets it flying. The initial impact should be created with good swing speed and proper loft angle to help the ball move through the air resistance and reach the desired target. The height of the ball flight is inversely proportional to the distance covered by the ball. It means distance decreases as height increases.
Unless you are an amateur, use a less loft driver or fairway wood to cover more distance. The loft increase, the height increases, and that result in the decreased distance.
The swing speed of a beginner golfer ranges up to 80mph. On the other hand, the swing speed of an amateur golfer ranges up to 94 mph. But for a greater distance, there needs a greater swing speed. That’s why the swing speed of PGA players ranges from 110 mph to 195 mph (Bryson Dechambeau).
Step 2 : Physical Strength and Body Flexibility
Physical strength plays an important role in improving the swing speed. But that doesn’t mean you need to hit the gym and do the dead-lifting this evening. All you need to do is to work out every day to keep yourself in shape. Eat better and stay healthy. Enhancing your overall health and stamina helps you go head to head with the swing speed on the course.
Apart from your physical strength, your body flexibility has an important role in driving the ball further on the fairway. A good golf swing involves your shoulders, arms, your hip, and legs working in correlation with maximum flexibility.
You may have enough physical strength to generate speed on your club. But that will not match the speed generated by the body flexibility combined with physical strength.
Step 3: The Wind and Air Density
The swing speed and physical strength are known to directly influence the ball distance. But the wind and air density are known to be the indirect influencers.
When considering wind, it is a sole benefit when used properly and terrible detriment when your hit the ball unconsidered. Once you hit the ball into the air, the wind comes into play.
There is a tailwind, the wind that blows from behind the ball. Tailwinds are beneficial winds as it helps the ball to cover more distance by pushing it from behind. But the same tailwind could be a terrible disadvantage as it can push the ball further beyond the greens.
You may not fear the tailwinds, but you need to worry about the headwind and crosswinds. The headwind blows opposing the ball, which will drastically decrease the total carry distance. On the other side, there is this crosswind that blows from side-ways to the ball. It can redirect the ball completely off the target and make it land on the rough or into the woods.
You may need to consider the air density as much as the wind. Air density is directly proportional to the humidity and temperature present in the air over the golf course.
The humidity in the air is mainly caused by water molecules in a gaseous state. They are lightweight than Oxygen and Nitrogen that makes up dry air which is more resistant to ball flight. With humidity, you hit the ball into less resisting air, which results in more ball distance.
On the other side, when temperature acts on humidity, it expands the molecules present in the air, making the air less dense and less resistant. The result: You get to thrust the ball further towards the hole.
Many factors affect the ball flight and carry distance in golf, including the dimples on a golf ball and the core inside it. However, the above three are the most crucial factor you need to consider.
Conclusion:
Now, you are all the way down to the conclusion of this article. You might have got the slightest idea of how you stack up with the Pros in ball distance, comparing the data in this article with your numbers. However, some crazy words like “Rough” and “tee box” may have to sound a little irrelevant to the context, but they are not.
They are golf terms that are commonly used on any golf course. To know more about that golf term, look at this separate work of “Basic Golf Terms you should know as a golfer.”