How important is Distance - Beginner's guide to Golf — The ramblings of a Golf, Fishing, Gaming, and Fantasy Sports Fanatic.

The quest to hit it long

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If you were like me in the beginning then Distance was the most important thing to you. It seemed like by gaining Distance your game would dramatically improve. Everyone else seemed to hit the ball a mile with relative ease. While you were swinging with all your might, and only carrying your 7 Iron 100 yards.

I remember thinking if I could only transfer my natural strength into my swing I’d be able to carry my 7 Iron at least 140 yards. Then I’d finally have an easier time making par on those long Par 4s. That was 3 years ago. Well now I can carry my 7 Iron 140 yards, and I still don’t have an easy time making par on those long Par 4s. What I’ve learned is that hitting it long doesn’t necessarily equal a better score.

Consistency over length

Distance isn’t really about how far you can hit a golf ball. It’s about how accurately you can hit a ball a particular distance. Then once you have your Distance control dialed in. You need to assemble a bag of clubs that allow you to leave a small enough gap from club to club to navigate your way through 18 holes on a Golf course. Understanding how to properly assemble a set with proper gapping is easier than you might think. As a Beginner I would suggest assembling a set that includes the Sand Wedge as your most lofted Iron, and a 3 Wood as your least lofted club. Once you know how far you hit your 3 Wood, and Sand Wedge. Take the difference in yardage between the two and divide it by 8. The number you arrive at will determine the average yardage between each club you should try to have. If the number is below 11. I would suggest reducing the number of clubs in your set until the gaps are at least 10 yards or more. As an example: lets say you are able to hit your Sand Wedge 90 yards but you only hit your 3 Wood 175 yards. The difference between the two is only 85 yards. Divide that by 8 and your gap average would be 10.62. In this case I would reduce the number of clubs you should purchase between the Sand Wedge and 3 Wood down to 7. This would provide you with an average gapping of just over 12 yards. Trust me when I tell you that as a Beginner you will make poor contact more often than not. It wouldn’t be uncommon for you to chunk shots, and come up ten yards short, or catch shots thin and end up hitting them 10 yards longer. At least with an average gapping of 12 yards you shouldn’t be over a club off the distance with most shots.

Something you should be aware of in that example is that I didn’t bother to mention how far you should expect to hit each club. It’s been my experience that the average male golfer only needs to be able to hit at least one club in their bag at least 200 yards to successfully play practically any course from the Whites. If that happens to be your Driver that’s fine. For me it’s my 3 Wood. Until you are able to successfully hit 200 yards with at least one club on a regular basis I would stick to short courses. That one club over 200 is the only case where total Distance really matters.

Disregard my advice if you bomb it accurately!

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. Dustin Johnson’s recent 433 yard drive to within one foot of the hole on a Par 4 is a great example. Ridiculous Distance can dramatically effect your score. It does come with a warning though. The further you can hit it, the worse a. miss hit will be. Sure bombing the ball can put you in advantageous positions. Just hit one of those monster drives a little off line and you will be reaching into your bag for another ball pretty quick. If given the choice between risky massive Distance, and controlled average Distance. I’d choose controlled average Distance every time.

OF COURSE I’M NOT DUSTIN JOHNSON!