99% of golfers are carrying a club they don't need

Published 13 days ago • 1 min read

Hi Reader,

Which of your 14 clubs are doing nothing?

A few weeks ago we told you the neat 10-yard ladder between your irons probably doesn't exist.

This week someone put a number on it.

Golf Digest went to Cobra, whose Connect sensors feed into Arccos, and asked how common the problem really is. And they found ...

42% of golfers have one gapping problem. Two clubs sitting within two yards of each other.
19% have two.
38% have three, four or five.

Now look at how far the average male amateur hits his irons. A 14.2 handicap swinging 93mph, measured by Arccos across millions of shots.

3-iron 172 yards. 5-iron 159. Thirteen yards to cover two clubs.

Then 9-iron 121 down to pitching wedge 110. Eleven yards for one club.

The top of the set is where the ladder starts to collapse. And that's the average amateur, so your 'yardage' ladder could potentially be even more uneven.

The fix hasn't changed since we last discussed this. Anchor off the one number you actually trust, your pitching wedge carry, and map up from there.

Then count how many of your 14 are earning their place.

*Our full iron distance guide, by handicap, age and swing speed →*

Should anyone over 18-handicap be banned from comps?

National Club Golfer asked it this week. The numbers are awkward.

England's men average 17.38. More than a quarter of men play off 21 to 28.

So a cap at 18 excludes a good chunk from the Saturday sweep.

But the suspicion is half right.

A 35 to 39.9 index has a 1 in 23 chance of going net five under. A 5 to 9.9 player, 1 in 140.

*USGA ‘Exceptional Tournament Score Probability Table*

But that's variance, not evidence. A 35 index is inconsistent by definition. Wider spread, more freak rounds, in both directions. Nobody complains about the other ones.

We noted last month: a handicap is potential, not a Saturday score. You'll reach it one round in four.

A cap doesn't catch cheats. It just bars the players whose scoring moves around most.

Thanks for reading and as ever and most importantly enjoy your golf!

Play well until next time 👍

Graeme Hay

Founder, GolfingFocus.com

Golfing Focus Limited, 73 Maple Road, London, KT6 4AG
Unsubscribe · Preferences

Your irons yardage gap is only half the test

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, The second way an iron fails your bag audit Last week I asked you to check whether any of your 14 clubs are doing nothing by measuring the yardage gaps between them. But that is only the first test. Your 5-iron might sit exactly where it should between your 4 and 6. But if you can’t produce that distance reliably, the gap exists only on paper. That is what MyGolfSpy examined this week. Their normal score when testing an iron set combines results from a...

6 days ago • 2 min read

2-Piece vs 3-Piece vs 4-Piece vs 5-Piece Golf Balls

The ball that suits you can be the hardest to build

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, The ball that suits you can be the hardest to build If your swing is under 85mph, we’ve told you a soft 2-piece ball is probably right for you. This week MyGolfSpy put the best-selling one under the microscope. The Callaway Supersoft. Grade C. Not Recommended. Weight and diameter, fine. Compression, not fine. Across 36 balls the spread ran 40.3 to 53.8 — 13.5 points against a 9.7 average. Here’s the bit that's most noticeable, and it’s their line, not...

20 days ago • 1 min read

What is a perfect strike actually worth?

Fully Focused On YOUR Golf Hi Reader, 🏌️♂️ Same speed. 60 yards gone. Everyone chasing distance frequently starts in the same place. More speed. The data says start somewhere cheaper. Golf stats guru Lou Stagner pulled launch monitor numbers from an academy he works with. Over 100,000 swings. He then paired swings that were identical in clubhead speed, and differed only in where the ball met the face. At 86 mph: 227 yards from the middle of the club face, 190 from the low heel. At 100 mph:...

27 days ago • 2 min read