How Far Should You Hit Each Club? Build Your Own Distance Chart

How far you should hit each club is however far you hit it on average, not what a tour pro or a chart on the internet says. The best way to find your numbers is to track real shots on the course and use your average, not your best. The free SwingU app does this for you: track a shot with Club Tracker and SwingU records the distance, then keeps an average for every club in your bag under My Clubs.

Most golfers think they hit every club farther than they actually do. They remember the one 7-iron that flew the green, not the ten that came up short. That's why a personal distance chart, built from your own shots, is one of the easiest ways to save strokes without changing your swing.

Is There a "Right" Distance for Each Club?

No. Your distances depend on your swing speed, how solidly you hit the ball, the lofts of your clubs and the conditions you play in. Two golfers with the same handicap can hit the same club very different distances.

Lofts matter more than most people realize. Club makers have strengthened iron lofts over the years, so a 7-iron from a newer set can carry like an older 6-iron. That makes generic charts even less useful, because they don't know what's printed on your clubs.

What matters is knowing your own numbers, and knowing the gaps between them.

How Do You Find Out How Far You Hit Each Club?

You have three main options:

• Track shots on the course with a golf app. This is the most realistic, because it records real shots from real lies on real holes. SwingU does this for free.

• Use a launch monitor at a range, fitting or lesson. This gives you carry distance and ball data in one session, but range balls and mats don't always match what happens on the course.

• Pace it off or use a rangefinder. It works, but it's slow, and most golfers stop doing it after a few holes.

Tracking on the course is the one most golfers will actually keep doing, because it happens while you play.

How to Track Your Club Distances With SwingU

SwingU's Club Tracker is part of the free app. Here's how it works:

1. When you're standing at your ball, tap Track on the GPS screen.

2. Select the club you're hitting.

3. Put your phone in your pocket and hit the shot.

4. As you walk up to your ball, turn your screen on so the app can lock in your location.

5. Tap End Shot. SwingU saves the distance for that club.

On an Apple Watch, tap Track Shot below the yardage. On a Wear OS watch, tap the dashes at the bottom of the main screen. With a watch, you just track and hit.

To see your numbers, open the menu on the SwingU home screen and tap My Clubs, then tap any club to see its stats. You can also add, edit or remove clubs there and type in a starting average distance for each one. If you enter a starting distance, SwingU recalculates it the next time you track that club on the course.

How to Build Your Own Golf Club Distance Chart

Whether you use the app or pen and paper, the method is the same:

1. List every club in your bag, from driver to putter, with the loft if you know it.

2. Track at least a few full shots with each club in normal playing conditions. More shots give you a more honest average.

3. Use your average, not your best. Your longest shot with a club is the exception, not the plan.

4. Leave out the mishits you'd never plan for, like a chunked iron or a punch out, so they don't drag your average down.

5. Look at the gaps between clubs. You want each club to cover its own distance, without two clubs going the same distance or a big hole between them.

6. Update it as your game changes. New clubs, a new swing or a change in season can all move your numbers.

Here's a simple template you can copy into your notes:

If you track in SwingU, the My Clubs screen keeps this chart for you, so you don't have to fill it in by hand.

Why Wedge Gapping Matters Most

Gapping is the yardage difference between a full swing with one club and a full swing with the next. Irons are gapped fairly evenly by design because their lofts step down at regular intervals, but wedges are where gaps often get too big or too small.

SwingU instructor Josh Kelley recommends about a 10- to 15-yard gap between each of your wedges, consistent with the gaps between your other clubs. That way you're never forced to swing a club too hard or too soft as you get close to the green, which is where most scoring shots happen.

If your distance chart shows two wedges going about the same distance, or a big hole between your pitching wedge and sand wedge, that's worth bringing up at your next fitting.

Why Do My Club Distances Change From Day to Day?

Your averages are a baseline, not a guarantee. Wind, elevation, temperature, firm or soft ground and the lie all change how far the ball goes on any given shot.

That's what "Plays Like" distances are for. SwingU Plus adjusts the yardage for live wind and elevation, so you see how far the shot will actually play, not just how far it measures. Plus also adds club recommendations. They start from the club distances you enter in the app, then get smarter and more accurate as you track more shots. (If you're new to the idea, here's our guide to whether you need a rangefinder if you have a golf GPS app.)

On iPhone, Plus and Pro members also see Plays Like distances and club recommendations on the lock screen during a round, through SwingU's Live Activity banner.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far should an average golfer hit a 7-iron?

There's no single correct number. It depends on your swing speed, how solidly you strike it and the loft of your 7-iron, and lofts vary a lot from set to set. The useful number is your own average, which you can get by tracking a few rounds of 7-iron shots in a free app like SwingU.

Should I use carry distance or total distance?

For approach shots into the green, carry distance is usually what matters, because you need to know what the ball will fly over and where it will land. Total distance, including roll, matters more off the tee. Track both if you can, and remember that firm or soft conditions change the roll.

How many shots do I need to know my average with a club?

More is better. A handful of solid, full shots gives you a starting point, and your average gets more reliable the more you track. In SwingU, your average for each club updates as you track more shots.

Is SwingU's club tracking free?

Yes. Shot tracking for club distances is part of the free SwingU app, along with the GPS rangefinder, digital scorecard and the SwingU Handicap Estimate. Club recommendations and Plays Like distances are part of SwingU Plus ($59.99 a year, or $4.99 a month billed annually).

Can I use club recommendations in a tournament?

SwingU lets you turn them off. When you set up a round, choose Tournament or Qualifier as the round type, and SwingU turns off club recommendations, wind, elevation and Plays Like distances for that round. Switch back to Standard for your next casual round. Always check your event's rules on distance-measuring devices.

The Bottom Line

You don't need a chart from the internet to know how far you hit each club. You need your own averages, built from real shots, and a clear picture of the gaps between them. Download SwingU free to track your club distances on the course and keep your distance chart in your pocket, and upgrade to SwingU Plus when you want Plays Like distances and club recommendations built on your own numbers. For more on what the paid plans add, see SwingU Plus vs. Pro, or start with what SwingU is.