August 2017Golf World 7WINNING GOLF
Know your full club
yardages – and
how to use the
information
At its core, golf is a game
of strategy and numbers.
Knowing how far you hit
the ball with every club in
your bag is the most basic
level of information you
need to create a game
plan for each hole and the
round. If you want to shoot
your lowest score possible,
guesswork is simply not
good enough. Using a
launch monitor, a laser
range finder (right) or
simply a good old-
fashioned yardage wheel,
measure and record how
far you can expect to carry
the ball with each club in
the bag.How to measure your yardage
Q Hit a minimum of 10 balls with each
club – from wedges to driver
Q Ignore any excessively poorly-struck
shots and take an average of the
remaining balls
Q Measure your carry distance only. Your
roll-out distance will vary according to
the course and weather conditions
Q Write down the yardages and, if
possible, commit them to memory
Q Know how far you carry each of your
wedges with different length swingHow to use the information
Q Select the correct club off the tee to hit
your preferred landing zone in the
fairway and avoid hazards
Q Select the appropriate club to clear or
lay-up short of greenside hazards
Q Lay up more accurately on long par 4s
or par 5s
Q Select the correct club to cut off the
corner of dog-legs4