Golf Tutorial: Picking Right Club for Right Distance
Getting your distance right is one of the most important elements of any shot. Even if you hit the ball perfectly on line, it won’t do you much good if you are way short or long of the target. Controlling your distance successfully requires you to hit the ball consistently near the center of the club face so you get the ball to fly the same yardage time after time. Also, you should get better at this part of the game through repetition and experience.
Once you know how far your golf ball flies of off each club under ‘normal’ conditions, you will have to learn to adjust to a number of different variables that can chance your distances. While there are far too many variables to list them all in this article, following are three of the most important –
- Wind. When the wind is blowing, it is sure to affect your shot in one way or another. Generally speaking, a shot hit into the wind will fly shorter, while a downwind shot will go farther – but not always. A lot has to do with how you hit the ball, how much spin you put on it, etc. In order to get good results on your distances in the wind, you need to practice in windy conditions and see how it affects your shots specifically. Every golfer is different, and the unique elements to your swing will have a lot to do with how much or how little the wind changes your shots.
- Temperature. When the weather gets cold, the golf ball usually doesn’t fly as far as it would under moderate conditions. Conversely, warm weather usually means longer flying shots that add yards to your average distance. Again, getting comfortable with how much the hot or cold weather will affect your distance is something that comes with practice and experience. Take note early in the round of any differences in your distances and adapt as the round goes on.
- Elevation. Hitting an uphill shot should take yardage off of your distance, while a downhill shot will probably carry farther in the air. Just as with the previous two points, experience is key in making the right adjustment for elevation change on a given shot. Once you have played a few rounds on hilly golf courses, you should start to get a feel for how much shorter or farther your shots travel, and you can then adjust accordingly.