How far should I hit each club?

Typical total distances for every club, by handicap. A 7-iron goes about 172 yards for a scratch golfer, 153 at 10 and 133 at 20.

Distance by club and handicap

Club	Scratch	5 hcp	10 hcp	15 hcp	20 hcp	28 hcp	36 hcp
Driver	275	260	245	229	212	182	161
3-wood	240	227	214	200	185	158	141
5-wood	225	213	200	188	174	149	132
4-hybrid	209	197	186	174	161	138	122
5-iron	199	188	177	166	154	131	117
6-iron	190	180	169	158	147	125	111
7-iron	172	163	153	143	133	114	101
8-iron	158	149	141	132	122	104	93
9-iron	145	137	129	121	112	96	85
Pitching wedge	132	125	117	110	102	87	77
Gap wedge	118	112	105	98	91	78	69
Sand wedge	98	93	87	82	76	65	57
Lob wedge	82	77	73	68	63	54	48

Total distance in yards, carry plus roll, on a still day at sea level.

Why your numbers will be different

These are averages. Two golfers with the same handicap can hit the same club 20 yards apart, depending on swing speed, strike and the loft of their clubs: a modern 7-iron is often as strong as an older 6-iron. Weather moves them too; the plays-like calculator shows by how much.

What matters on the course is your own distance with each club, and the gaps between them. If two clubs go the same distance, one of them is wasting a place in your bag.

Golf Scout starts from these numbers for your handicap, then learns how far you really hit each club from the shots you mark. Get it on the App Store.