AI Caddy › Club distances › Your own yardages

How far should I hit each club?

The honest answer: as far as you actually hit it. Averages show where golfers like you land, but the spread is wide. Here's how to find your own numbers in a few sessions, and how to use them.

Why the averages won't do

A 15-handicap man averages 154 yards with a 7-iron in Shot Scope's data. But among Arccos's men with a 15–19.9 handicap, golfers in their 20s averaged 140 yards with a 7-iron and golfers in their 70s 118. With the driver, the middle half of Shot Scope's LM1 owners carry it anywhere from 186 to 245 yards (median 217). Your number could sit anywhere in a range that wide.

Source: Shot Scope on-course data for men, published by MyGolfSpy (7 Jan 2025, updated 6 Jul 2026); Arccos on-course data by age, published by MyGolfSpy (29 Oct 2026); Shot Scope LM1 launch-monitor data, press release of 15 Oct 2026.

Step 1: know carry from total

Carry is how far the ball flies. Total is where it stops. Use carry to clear a bunker or water, and total off the tee where roll counts. For irons and wedges, carry is the number to learn, because the green decides how far the ball runs.

Step 2: measure on the range

• With a launch monitor (at a range bay, a fitting or your own), hit 10 balls with each club and record carry.
• Without one, aim at flags of known distance and judge where the balls land, not where they finish. Range balls often fly shorter than your own, so check the numbers on the course.

Step 3: measure on the course

After a full shot from a good lie, walk to your ball and measure back to where you hit from. Pacing works. A GPS app is quicker: in AI Caddy, open the satellite map and tap the spot you played from, and it shows the distance from where you're standing to that point. Do it over a few rounds and you'll have real-world numbers that include the conditions you actually play in.

Step 4: take the middle, not the best

Your longest 7-iron is a number you'll hit one time in ten. Plan with it and you'll come up short nine times. Sort your shots for each club and take the middle one. Ignore the duffs, but don't throw out shots that were only slightly off; they're part of your real distance.

Step 5: check your gaps

On the PGA Tour, from 5-iron to pitching wedge, each club carries 10 to 12 yards further than the next (199, 188, 176, 164, 152, 142 yards). Your gaps will be smaller if you swing slower, but they should be steady. Two clubs that go the same distance mean one of them is wasted; a big hole between two clubs is where a hybrid or an extra wedge earns its place.

Source: TrackMan tour averages, 2023 season, published 2 May 2024.

Step 6: write them down and use them

Put your carry and total for each club on the printable club distance card, and your wedges at three swing lengths on the wedge card. Then enter them in AI Caddy: ask “how far?” and it gives you the distance and the club that fits it. (In competition, switch off club advice and use distances only; the Rules of Golf don't allow a device to recommend clubs.)

Re-check them

Your distances change with the season, a new set of clubs, a lesson or a few years. Cold air and soft ground cost distance; firm summer fairways add roll. Re-measure a few clubs each season and update the card.

Reference numbers: club distance chart, driver, 7-iron, calculator.