Oft' asked question...

GreenHorn

I think it's the Irish Times that has the "A round about with..." piece every week where they interview a celebrity about their golf game and they finish off with the following question:

* 150 yards out. Flat, calm, dry day (ie - perfect conditions) - what's in your hand?

For me it's a nice 9 iron... How about the rest of you?

MisterAnarchy

8 iron for me.
Hard to compare really as each manufacturer will have different lofts for each club.
Newer clubs have lower lofts than older ones in general,so you can boast you hit your x iron further than Joe Soap.
Silly really.

Dman_15

MisterAnarchy wrote:

8 iron for me.
Hard to compare really as each manufacturer will have different lofts for each club.
Newer clubs have lower lofts than older ones in general,so you can boast you hit your x iron further than Joe Soap.
Silly really.

Yep

I used to have titleist 990's with a PW that i hit from 150. My ping Eye 2's 8 iron went the same distance and now my RAC's 9 iron does the trick. go figure

J.R.HARTLEY

i use a 7 iron for 150 yards. my mate hits 7 iron about 185 it can be depressing but then i'm riddled and he's not.

css

For me it depends on the ball. If i'm using a prov1 its a 9 iron, if it's a topflite or something like that (Windy days!), its a PW.

GreenHorn

... forgot to add to original post - after the 9 iron, it's usually a wedge to try and get up n down!

swingking

In a recent golf survey, golfers overestimate their distances greatly

I very much doubt that people can hit their PWs or 9 Irons 150 yards. I hit a 7 iron from 150 yards- this is what most pros hit

GreenHorn

swingking wrote:

In a recent golf survey, golfers overestimate their distances greatly

I very much doubt that people can hit their PWs or 9 Irons 150 yards. I hit a 7 iron from 150 yards- this is what most pros hit

I've heard this and I would certainly say there is some merit in it but on a dry warm day (perfect conditions as the question says) my club from 150 yds (to the pin) is a 9 iron. This isn't a boast - I find hitting half/three-quarter shots very difficult and therefore when I'm inside short iron distance I find I have more success hitting a hard 9 rather than a soft 8... Would love to have the option of doing both but don't unfortunately...

I played your home course on Friday (badly) Swing King - Killeen - and after a trying day I hit PW to 12 ft at 18 while one of my partners hit 7iron to about 10. If I'd tried punch a 9 iron I'd have been swimming...

I remember reading a quote from Jack Nicklaus where he said he feels ALL amateurs should take one more club than they think they need for their approach shots and he guarateed that they would overshoot less greens than they used to come up short on...

badbrian

swingking wrote:

I very much doubt that people can hit their PWs or 9 Irons 150 yards. I hit a 7 iron from 150 yards- this is what most pros hit

Taken from leaderboard.com

These are the ranges for the average hitters on the PGA Tour.

4-Iron 210-220
5-Iron 195-205
6-Iron 180-190
7-Iron 165-180
8-Iron 150-170
9-Iron 140-155
PW 130-135
SW 115-120
Lob Wedge 75-95

Personally I'd probably be taking an 9 but I would be acknowledged as a reasonably big hitter.

stringy

150 yards is 137metres so in between clubs, prob would hit a 9 although depending on how i was striking could easily hit a hard PW. Best way I measure these distance is by knowing what I'd hit on a par 3, yest played a par 3 152metres (166yards) and hit 8 iron, calm warm day and it was the perfect club

pros 7 iron, 150 yards, really don't think so

swingking

Point I'm getting at is that the 9 iron that goes 150 yards is fine when you are playing well and you strike the clubface on the sweetspot. Under pressure in a tournament, you won't hit a club as far.

BTW I play mp37 blades with traditional lofts unlike Callaway with a Pitching Wedge loft of 46 Degrees

Take one more club and swing easy, what handicaps are we dealing with that hit their 9 irons and pitching wedges so far.

I wonder

css

You do have a point Swingking, but generalising is dangerous too.

I used to hit a 9 iron effortlessly from 150m. Not forcing, not hitting hard, and pretty accurately. Now I did overswing somewhat at the time. I have now shortened my backswing to a 3/4 type swing (feels like it anyhow!) and I use an 8 iron from 150m. It all depends on the weather though, you know yourself. I found myself using anything up to a 6 iron from the same range in cold wet winter weather!

My favourite shot right now, the one I play for actually if i am laying up is a 53 GW from 100-110m. Accuracy with that shot shocks me, long may it continue i say!

Btw I'm 12.0 exactly at the moment..

badbrian

13.6 for me. Of course my previous answer was based on the assumption that we are talking about summer conditions here.

And if css is hitting 8 iron for 150m then I'm guessing he's hitting 9iron for 150y.

GreenHorn

14.0 for me...

Again, saying I hit a 9iron from 150 is not a boast at all - it's just the club I hit!

I play regularly with 3 fellas who are h'cap 12, 16 and 16 and I would find myself hitting further off the tee and hitting less club at par 3s than all of them. That's just a fact although I would say all three are better golfers than me (ie they shoot good scores more consistently) whatever about the handicaps...

BrianD3

In my experience golfers don't tend to exaggerate/lie about their 9 iron distance. If someone says they hit a sweet 9 iron 150 yards then it's probably true. It's also easy to judge how far you're hitting a 9 as roll is very little and doesn't vary much.

Driver distance is a different story....

stringy

I'm off 12 and a reasonably long hitter

distance threads are usually pointless if anyone has ever experienced american golf forums - worth a laugh sometimes!!

Dman_15

i'm off 8

I do play links and at this time of year its a PW from the 150m mark. In winter its an 8 iron for me. It's irrelivant what you hit from 150, what matters is how many you get on the green. From 150 yards im really p1ssed off if I miss the green.

J.R.HARTLEY

while i'm certainly no long hitter it would be foolish of anyone to say that they doubt some people can hit their nine iron that far, sure look at the differences between the pros on the tv, some are huge, some aren't, but they are accurate, i just wouldn't get annything shorter than a 7 in from 150 yards but i've seen it done day in day out by lads with less club. my own brother hits two clubs less than me on most shots. and he's shorter than me. just better. 150 yards form a nine iron is being done all over the country every day. (i just wish i could do it)

BrianD3

To answer the question I'd usually take a PW from 150 yards. Remember that 150 yards is only around 137 metres. Most courses seem to be marked in metres these days.

Yesterday I hit a beauty of an 8 iron 158 metres (approx 174 yards) Stuck to the pin on a par 3. Ball came back around 1-2 feet from its pitchmark. Used a 45 cent Donnay ball - who needs Pro V1s

delboy159

I usually hit a 7i 150yrds with a little role. Thats only if I'm feeling relaxed and easy, then I'll go with a 6i to be sure it goes 150. Not looking to hit it any farther than that, just looking to get more accurate and consistent - if thats possible...

Must admit I was dubious of the pw 150 yrds plus type of claims, because most guys I play with have the same or shorter distances than myself. But I played with a close friend who plays in phases, but mightn't touch the clubs for months. We were on a par 3 175 yrds to the pin. I take out my 4i hybrid type club as there is a bunker at 170yrds and want to be sure of beating it safely. He takes out a 9i - I say nothing and think he'll be lucky to make the bunker. He gives it all he's got and lands 5 feet beyond the flag. He hit hit it over 175 yrds with a 9i and no wind... The real irony is he plays of 24 and can't manage to play to his handicap.... I can just about match his 4i of the tee with my driver.... That sort of distance is awesome - and real...

GreeBo

Firstly "Summer Distances" are misleading, especially when you live and play in Ireland.
Carry is whats important, you cant roll through rivers.

I'd be amazed and not a little annoyed if I was hitting a 9i 150yrds+ and was not off < 5.