Do You Know Your Distances?
What a difference a week makes! I was chatting last week about the frustrations of winter golf conditions, and while that’s still the case, as courses continue to dry out, a dose of spring sunshine has definitely made me feel better about myself and my game.
The long-term forecast is looking pretty good too, and I really hope it stays that way as I’m off to Wales tomorrow for my first ever visit to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, venue for this year’s AIG Women’s Open. Essentially, this is to film some content for Golf Monthly’s Top 100 supplement, but it will also be an opportunity for me to see what the world’s best female players will be up against this summer.
If you’ve been lucky enough to play Royal Porthcawl, you’ll know that it’s not a traditional links layout with an out and back routing. Golfers have to play into all directions, and no doubt holes are made trickier depending on which way the wind is blowing. It sounds stunning, as you can see the sea from every hole, and with plenty of undulations, it’s a good spectator course with various vantage points. With that in mind, you might want to consider a summer getaway at the beginning of August to watch how the game should be played!
When I watch the pros, it always impresses me how dialed in they are with their distances from fairway to green. Of course, they spend hours practicing, and they’ve also got a caddie to offer advice on distance and club selection, but even so, I’m at a level where I’m beyond excited if I stiff an approach shot that lands no more than a couple of feet from the pin.
It got me thinking when I wrote this article on the average distance that a female club player hits their 7-iron. The data from Shot Scope is based on total yardage distances (not carry) for different handicap brackets, but remember, these numbers are averages.
Generally, many of us think that we hit the ball further than we actually do. I’m also sometimes guilty of questioning the yardage I read on my GPS and I pull out a club that I’m convinced is the right one for a certain distance. But inevitably, it’s not, if anything I’ll come up just short and wish I’d taken an extra club! Does this sound familiar?
It’s therefore important that we all know and trust our exact distances with each club. If you’re a golfer who is fast improving, you might have noticed that you’re hitting the ball further with certain clubs, or if you’ve changed your equipment, this can also make a difference to your yardages. It might not be drastic, but enough to impact your accuracy.
The good news is that we don’t have to guess our distances, there’s so much technology out there to help us. Invest in a GPS device and use an app to track your yardages – and remember, the numbers don’t lie!
Alison Root
Women's Editor
Golf Monthly