Good morning, Dave Cahill here with Cahill Golf at the Cimarron Golf Resort, Palm Springs, California. Today we are talking about a method to determine the exact carry* of each one of your clubs. It is very important to know carry distance. If I am hitting over a bunker or water hazard, I need to know where the ball is going to land. Below is a method to determine club carry distance.
The first thing I need to do is determine the distance to a known target. On the cart, the GPS will tell you the distance, but the distance GPS is measuring is frequently inaccurate and should be compared against course markers. However, course markers generally measure to the center of the green, not the hole. My choice for accurate measurement is a range finder. The range finder will give the accurate distance to exactly where the pin is placed today. This is what I need to know to determine carry distance. The exact distance to my target determined by the laser is 66. My cart GPS said 70, it was off by 4 yards (94% accurate).
Now that I know the exact distance to my target is 66 yards, I will take my 60-degree wedge and 5 -10 balls. I will hit the balls to my target and see where they land on the green. I use my normal swing. Once I am done hitting all the balls, I will go to the green to measure where they actually land.
I place tees in the ground indicating where the ball landed by their pitch mark on the green. Next, I step off and see how far the balls really roll out. On this particular green with my 60-degree wedge they did not roll much, between 3 and 6 yards. Now I know the carry distance on my 60-degree wedge is 75 yards and the balls roll out somewhere between 3 and 6 yards.
I have determined the carry and roll out distance on my 60-degree wedge. I will want to do this with each one of my clubs. Then I will know which club to hit into the green.
*The carry distance is the yardage from the point of impact to the point of landing. Tip: Go to the driving range once a month or so and hit five – ten golf balls with each club to track off the distances you achieve with each club.
PGA Instructor Mike Cahill and PGA Master Instructor Dave Cahill are here to help you play better and enjoy the game more. To learn more about club carry distance please come see us in Palm Springs for golf lessons or visit us for a Palm Springs Golf School.
PGA Instructor Mike Cahill 612-501-9015 mikecahill@cahillgolf.com
PGA Master Instructor Dave Cahill 952-994-0387 davecahill@cahillgolf.com