01 Your 7-iron carry — the average one, not the career one
02 Where do your approach shots usually finish?
03 The shot in front of you
Forecast wind is fine to check mid-round; measuring it on the course isn’t — that’s Rule 4.3.
Plays like
150 yds
6-ironMonte’s pick
Smooth option: 5-iron at 80% — same number, more margin.
“Stock 6-iron. Aim it at the number your average hits — not the one you’re proud of.”
04 Your bag, modeled from that one number
| Club | Gap | Carry est. |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | — | 210 |
| 3-wood | 14 | 196 |
| 5-wood | 13 | 183 |
| 4-hybrid | 14 | 169 |
| 5-iron | 11 | 158 |
| 6-iron | 10 | 148 |
| 7-iron | 8 | 140 |
| 8-iron | 10 | 130 |
| 9-iron | 10 | 120 |
| Pitching wedge | 11 | 109 |
| Gap wedge | 11 | 98 |
| Sand wedge | 13 | 85 |
| Lob wedge | 12 | 73 |
Carry, not total. Modeled from public launch-monitor averages, scaled to your 7-iron — illustrative. Your real gaps beat any chart: when they disagree, trust your yardages.
Where the numbers come from
One honest number
beats twelve guesses.
Every distance chart you’ll find online shows the average golfer’s bag. You don’t play with that golfer’s clubs. This worksheet takes the one carry most players actually know — the 7-iron — and scales the rest of the bag from ratios in public launch-monitor data (PGA Tour players carry a 7-iron about 172 yards; a typical male amateur is closer to 140). The gaps widen at the top of the bag and tighten in the middle, the way real bags do. Curious about one number in particular? We broke down what club to hit from 150 yards — including the miss data that says take more club.
The wind math uses the caddie’s standard model: a headwind costs roughly 1% of the shot per mph, a tailwind gives back about half of that. Wind hurts more than it helps — which is why the smart miss into the wind is a longer club and a smoother swing, not a harder lash.
And the “where do you usually finish?” question is doing quiet work: most amateurs plan on their best-case carry, then wonder why everything lands on the front fringe. If you told us you miss short, we nudge the plays-like number up — one more club, seven greens out of ten instead of four.
All figures are illustrative estimates, not measurements. For your actual gapping, hit ten balls per club on a launch monitor and use those numbers — here’s the honest part: they’ll beat ours.
Fair questions