So I’m back into it, training, playing a bit and enjoying it immensely. The wife hates it of course

What I am struggling with is how to pick my club. It’s too early to come naturally to me, I use GolfShot app on the phone, look at the distance to the pin, and refer to
a spreadsheet I keep on the phone which shows distances on the left and clubs on the right, based on average distances I found on goggle somewhere in yards, and had to convert to meters

Do you guys do the same, have a better system etc?

Of course I will work out my average distance per shot / club etc as I play more but as my stroke play improves with each outing, I’m still getting there I guess

Anyway this is an important factor here as it means hitting onto a green from 140m out and being able to put in for one put, or not etc

Cheers

By braille; going by the amount of greens I miss.

Knowing how far I hit each club in different conditions (hot, cold, windy, upslope etc) is the only method I have found useful.

I always choose an 80% club. By that I mean; if I hit this club 80% good will it make the green.

If I absolutely cream it then it will be over the back but that doesn’t happen that often : )

How do I pick my club??
Intelligence and good taste, that is why I pick Collingwood…

Oh, GOLF club, how do I pick my golf club…?
Experience will ultimately inform on your club selection, as you said. Having a structured list of distances and clubs is fraught with dangers, especially if you are just coming back into the game, and even more so if you are new to the game.
With an inconsistent stroke, no system of club selection will be reliable. Your process (including swing) needs to be consistent for you to have consistent result – and by that,be able to judge what club to use from a specific situation.

In other words, don’t worry about which club you need at the moment, just focus on being able to use your clubs with a consistent and repeatable process – and from there your answers may appear automatically.

I have become less and less concerned with picking the right club into a green. I am now much more concerned with picking a club which I can be confident of hitting reasonably well and which should leave me in a good position. I am trying to be disciplined about having that be a higher priority than hitting a green.

So normally I am choosing a club which I can hit comfortably short of the green or comfortably through the green, depending on where the danger is for me.

If I get to the stage where I have that confidence with a larger number of clubs, then it will give me more options about flying at pins, but until then, I have at least an extra shot on every hole to get to the green and I intend to use it for that purpose rather than waste it on a penalty or trying to get out from behind a tree or out of a bunker.

The only way to “pick a club” I think ….. is by experience.

Pick a specific distance and then just pick the club you think will do the job the best,

Hit some balls, check the resulst, then hit one club more to the same target …....... and then try to hit one club less to the same target.

Then try to hit the ball left to right to the target, then right to left.

Then do the same for all the various conditions, into the wind, with it, cross winds, up hill down hill etc ….. and then you’ll start to develop both your feel for the swing, and the requirements of the shot under all sorts of conditions.

One you have that sorted out, try taking two or three clubs more and hit to the same target using only a 3/4 or shortened swing, and again, check the results.

All of this of course is just to give you experience and options, all of which we need to improve our golf.

What you’ll find is that there not always one solution or one option, there are often several to choose from, and learning as much as possible and giving yourself options can only help your game I reckon.

This is a really interesting question. Playing as much golf as I do, it’s not something that I really think a lot on

I’m even at a point now, where if I’m hitting a 7 iron or less, I can subconsciously take off a few meters if it’s needed.

Saying that though, i do know within a meter or so how far I can hit each and every club. So I guess the best solution is to just wait it out and let the knowledge come over time.

The only way to “pick a club” I think ….. is by experience.

Pick a specific distance and then just pick the club you think will do the job the best,

Hit some balls, check the resulst, then hit one club more to the same target …….... and then try to hit one club less to the same target.

Then try to hit the ball left to right to the target, then right to left.

Then do the same for all the various conditions, into the wind, with it, cross winds, up hill down hill etc ….. and then you’ll start to develop both your feel for the swing, and the requirements of the shot under all sorts of conditions.

One you have that sorted out, try taking two or three clubs more and hit to the same target using only a 3/4 or shortened swing, and again, check the results.

All of this of course is just to give you experience and options, all of which we need to improve our golf.

What you’ll find is that there not always one solution or one option, there are often several to choose from, and learning as much as possible and giving yourself options can only help your game I reckon.

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2012 Rotary Ambrose Champions “All Star Team” Member.
LD Champion – Growling Bog ’11, A Grade WV ’12, Bendigo ’12.
Albatross – 3rd hole Par 5 Beaconhills 19-11-2012 3W-6 iron.

Good advice for a skilled golfer, GPJ.
But Sir Toppy is just getting back into golf and has a long way to yet.

Toppy, get yourself a gps or laser DMD, take your measurement to your target and choose a likely club. You will very quickly learn how far you usually hit each one of your clubs. As your skill improves and distances increase, that will be very plain to you, too.

IMHO at your current level of play I would simply pick a club to work off.

Lets say a 7 iron hit 10 – 12 balls go out to where they have landed, discard the long thin hit shots and the short fat hit shots and worh out your average from the ones left over and finally work out your distance that you hit that club (Shot tracker should help you do that).

So lets say you hit your 7 iron 130m just take off or add 10m per club as a rough estimate

4i 160m
5i 150m
6i 140m
7i 130m
8i 120m
9i 110
etc

It’s a bit rough but it will give you something to build on.

As a general rule, you’re better off selecting a club you think may get you onto the green but will probably land you just short unless of course there are hazards such as water, bunkers etc immediately short of the green. The reasoning for this is that most golf holes have more trouble behind the green than in front of it. Not always a hard and fast rule but it’s usually a good bet.

I worked out my distances initially at the driving range. Went all the way through my set over a few visits.

Probably hit at least 50 balls per club to get consistent distance ranges.

Thought I had my distances down pat and then realised once I hit the course that the newer balls flys 5-10 metres further than range balls.

I’m assuming the new ones have a great deal more compression than the shagged out range balls.

Just something to keep in mind.

And then you have to allow for run. So working out your distances on the range is great, but you normally only get an idea of carry. How much run you will get will depend on the club and also the condition of the course.

This is really good feedback and opinions guys, the amount of replies illustrates what an important topic this is.

yes, for me, and thousands like me out there, obsessed with the game, starting to hit the ball ok, this is key now as we try and get accuracy into our game, now that we start to get good impact and strike

I must say I like the “add 10 meters to a 7 iron shot” idea, and a laser MD sounds good.

I forked out $30 for the Android version of GolfShot, which I love mind you, so maybe I head to a course at 6am and hit 20 balls with a 5 irons and walk out and measure my distance, because yes, I’m worried that a driving range is slower balls and Barton Park I go to is good, but rough ground so it’s tough to see any run on the fairway

Right now also, I hit today, 100 balls.
60 I hit with my PW, and I managed to hit I reckon 80% onto the green, with big hits, beautifully high, long and straight, right off the golf show shots.

Then I couldn’t hit more than 25% of my 5 irons straight or more than 5 mtrs off the ground

As my striking of the PW to land onto a green has excelled beautifully, I have now lost my ability to drive my Rocketballz driver straight and 250mtrs, which until 2 weeks ago was the highlight of my game again

What the, crazy game this one and seems anything I do on one stroke impacts on another

Right now

I doubt that 60 consecutive shots with the same club would be a good idea.

On the course, you rarely use the same club for two consecutive shots. Being able to chop and change at will is important.

OldBogey fair point

I was merely trying to get my individual clubs sorted, mainly my approach (PW) as that’s what was initially causing me to drop too many shots

I thought if I sorted out and struck the ball well and clean and accurate with the PW for approach, I could then go onto other clubs. Basically smoothing out my swing and confidence in striking the ball

The other day I practiced at the range on the real grass area. You’ll like this bit:

1. I lined up a few balls near a tee, a few 2 ft along, more a few more feet along and the same again further

2. I lined up my driver, a 4 iron, 7 iron then my PW next to each consecutive pile

3. I then hit off with my driver off the tee

3. I dropped the wood, went to the next and hit the 7i

4. Next pile I hit with my 7i

5. Next pile an approach shot with the PW

Each time it played out the scenario in my head, and almost felt like it was a real simulation, worked pretty well and made it “more real”

Range balls are generally heavier and don’t go as far, the weight also decrease’s slice and hook. So you go and hit the new driver at the range, 180 is probably 200 and 250 is actually 225. But anyway your not slicing this new driver worth $500 and your hitting it longer than ever before, than you go hit your pro v’s in comp on the weekend and don’t hit a fairway and but no, it’s only the nerve’s of playing comp!

Range balls are generally heavier and don’t go as far, the weight also decrease’s slice and hook. So you go and hit the new driver at the range, 180 is probably 200 and 250 is actually 225. But anyway your not slicing this new driver worth $500 and your hitting it longer than ever before, than you go hit your pro v’s in comp on the weekend and don’t hit a fairway and but no, it’s only the nerve’s of playing comp!

“the weight also decrease’s slice and hook”
I didn’t realise that, good point, I did notice more slice on the game day

• Just worked out my PW approach shot distance.
  I was hitting my PW with a full shot yesterday at the driving range, and it was landing a few feet, fairly consistently from the two flag mound / target

I called this morning and they told me it’s 100m from the hitting mats

So if I’m striking the PW well, and it’s going high and straight, it’s a 100m shot nearly all of the time. Of course it might roll another 5m or more I guess, not sure if i’m getting any spin on it…

Not sure how accurate it might be as a starting point to then add on 10m increments to increase the club head size?

Is 100m ok for a PW shot for distance?

Club choice into a green for me is a feel decision as well as a club choice. So you can hit many shots with a 7 iron ranging in distance from 60 meters to 130 meters. Depends on the circumstance

Golftime, good if you can do that. I struggle hitting shots anything less than 199%, I tend to hit off the side of the club, miss hit etc

Expect this will come with practice but it would be great to do just what you’re saying

Sorry typo, 100% I meant

I spend hours on the practise range with a GPS. Have an average for each club & shot.

Before I got the GPS was hitting 2-4 GIR’s per round and 80% of my misses were short, short left and short right.

The 2 rounds since I have hit 6 greens each round and my misses are much more evenly spread.

simmo, that’s encouraging. GPS you mean a laser distance thing, or a GPS?

I use GolfShot on my Android phone, but I have to walk to be able to work out the distance a shot traveled

I’ve spent so much so far already, next purchase I am thinking about Cleveland wedges (588 or CG16 maybe) so I’d prefer not to get one of those yet, though I do see how it would help, a LOT

GPS (golf buddy world). I use the practise fairway at my club. Hit 10 balls with 3 different clubs then take notes when I pick my balls up.