Pick better clubs, hit more greens, and watch your scores plummet
Aligning Carry Distance Data from Indoors to Outdoors
Now that spring is here and people are transitioning from indoor games to the actual course, I want to talk about a fundamental concept you need to pay close attention to…
Carry distances!
I always tell golfers that if they want to shoot their lowest scores, they have to build their games around hitting more greens in regulation.
Approach play is where golfers separate from one another the most. But the most common mistake at every single level is missing greens on the short side.
One of the main reasons this happens is that golfers either don’t know their carry distances or aren’t being truthful about them.
How many times have you pulled a 7-iron for a distance where you have to hit it flush?
Instead, if you gave yourself a little bit of cushion for a mishit, or catching it a little heavy off the turf, that can be the difference between a routine par and struggling to make bogey.
If you have an accurate launch monitor for your indoor setup, benchmarking your carry distances for each club can be a huge advantage.
Yes, you’ll want to see how far you can hit your pitching wedge, 7-iron, or hybrid when you strike it well. That shows you the upper limits of your carry distance.
But more importantly, you want to see where most of your carry distances start to cluster on your less-than-perfect strikes. This is the real gold.
If you hit your 7-iron 165 on the upper end, you might notice that 155 is a more truthful number. That way, when you transition to picking clubs on the course, you can have more accurate selections.
I can’t stress how much this can lower anyone’s scores. It’s a huge deal!
However, there is one crucial caveat. When we’re indoors, hitting off artificial turf, we can get away with less than perfect ground contact.
Certain players may see more inflated carry distances if they consistently strike the ball slightly behind the turf, causing the club to bounce upward. On the golf course, that shot wouldn’t travel nearly as far.
So when you do play, it’s very important to keep track of your carry distance feedback.
Pay close attention to your intended number and where the ball is ending up. Using shot tracking systems like Arccoss or Shot Scope can be helpful here.
Final Verdict
Overall, the goal is to match the data from your launch monitor with your on-course numbers.
For some players, they might be pretty close, and there won’t be many adjustments. For others, you should choose clubs closer to your on-course feedback.
Either way, if you want to lower your handicap, this is one of the best ways to do it using technology. Pick better clubs, hit more greens, and watch your scores plummet.
Author: Jon Sherman
Jon Sherman is the author of the international best-selling Foundations of Golf series. He also is the co-host of the Sweet Spot podcast, a PGA Tour coach, and the owner of Practical Golf.
