Written ByJamieA golf club distance chart is only useful if you know what the numbers measure.
The only fully sourced golf club distance chart in this article is PGA Tour carry by club (TrackMan, 2023): driver 282 yards, 7-iron 176 yards and pitching wedge 142 yards, all for tour players. For club golfers, the sources used in this article cover only driver or tee shots.
A distance figure can be carry, total, or an average with no stated basis.
Golf club distance chart: PGA Tour carry by club
The table below is TrackMan’s tour averages for male PGA Tour players, carry distance in yards, from their 2023 release. The data comes from more than 40 events and 200 players, primarily PGA Tour events, collected on launch monitors.
| Club | Carry (yards) | Club speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | 282 | 115 |
| 3-wood | 249 | 110 |
| 5-wood | 236 | 106 |
| Hybrid (15-18°) | 231 | 102 |
| 3-iron | 218 | 100 |
| 4-iron | 209 | 98 |
| 5-iron | 199 | 96 |
| 6-iron | 188 | 94 |
| 7-iron | 176 | 92 |
| 8-iron | 164 | 89 |
| 9-iron | 152 | 87 |
| Pitching wedge | 142 | 84 |
PGA Tour players, carry, TrackMan 2023 tour averages.
From driver to 3-wood, tour players give up 33 yards. Through the irons the gaps run from 9 to 12 yards per club, and the middle irons sit right at 12 yards apart. Those gaps are calculated from the table by subtraction, and they describe tour players only.
Do not read this table as a target for a club golfer. A tour 7-iron carries 176 yards. For shaft flex by swing speed, see my shaft flex chart.
If you are new to the game and not sure what each club in that chart is for, my guide to the types of golf clubs covers what each one does.
Carry vs total distance
Carry distance is how far the ball flies before it first touches the ground. Total distance is carry plus whatever the ball rolls after landing.
Distance figures can disagree because they mix the two. In this article, the TrackMan tour table is carry. The R&A amateur data in the next section is total distance of tee shots, measured to where the ball finished. The Shot Scope figures do not say which they are, so no basis is assumed for them.
Two sources can therefore show different numbers for the same handicap band. The measures differ, so the numbers differ. Neither is wrong, and they are not interchangeable.
How far club golfers hit it, by handicap
The club-golfer data used here covers only driver or tee shots. The two datasets are each labelled with what they measure, and they are shown separately because they cannot share a scale.
R&A amateur tee-shot distance, by handicap band
The R&A’s analysis of amateur driving distance measured tee shots with laser equipment on six courses, on holes chosen to be flat and straight. These are men’s 2018 means, total distance to the final resting spot, with every tee shot recorded whichever club was hit. The R&A reports that in 2018 data came from only four of the six venues because of bad weather, so the 2018 dataset has 1,368 shots.
| Handicap band | Mean tee-shot distance (yards) |
|---|---|
| Under 6 | 240 |
| 6 to 12 | 220 |
| 13 to 20 | 204 |
| 21+ | 187 |
Total distance of tee shots, measured to where the ball finished. Men, 2018, four of the six courses, R&A. The overall men’s average was 215 yards.
Working up from the 21+ band, the bands sit 17, 16 and 20 yards apart, and the 21+ band is 53 yards behind the under-6 band. Those gaps are calculated from the table above. As a reading of the data, the 21+ band is the closest sourced stand-in for a high handicapper’s tee shot, but it is a handicap band of men, with no “beginner” label in the source.
Shot Scope driver averages, by handicap
Shot Scope reports a “Performance Average” (P-Avg), which removes 10 percent of extreme outliers, good and bad. These are its driver figures. Shot Scope does not say whether this is carry or total, and the pages do not state the population, gender or sample behind it.
| Handicap | Driver P-Avg (yards) |
|---|---|
| Scratch | 285 |
| 5 | 261 |
| 10 | 259 |
| 20 | 225 |
| 25 | 204 |
Shot Scope Performance Average, driver. Carry or total not stated by the source.
A 25 handicap sits 81 yards behind a scratch player on this measure, calculated from the table. Shot Scope’s 20 handicap driver average is 225 yards while the R&A’s 13 to 20 band is 204. The two measure different things on different populations, so the difference is not a contradiction.
Is there a beginner golf club distance chart?
This article prints no beginner golf club distance chart, because none of the sources it uses gives a club-by-club carry table for beginners or high handicappers.
The nearest sourced stand-ins are the R&A’s 21+ handicap band and Shot Scope’s 25 handicap driver average, both printed above with their caveats. Neither covers irons club by club.
Why a club number is not a distance
The number stamped on the club is a label. Loft and club design set distance, and both vary between sets.
A 4-hybrid and a 4-iron share a number but are different designs. For the loft side, the wedge lofts guide covers the wedges, and the hybrid vs iron comparison covers the long-club question, including distance. For driver loft and slower swing speeds, see what loft driver to use.
How to find your own carry distances
Your own carry for a club is the median of 5 to 6 well-struck shots. This is the test protocol from my iron distance control guide.
- Pick a club and hit shots until you have 5 to 6 that are well struck.
- Record the carry distance of each.
- Take the median of those shots as your calibrated yardage for that club.
- Repeat for each iron.
The full protocol, along with my own carry yardages, is in my iron distance control guide. My yardages for every club in the bag are below, in approximate yards.
| Club | Yards |
|---|---|
| Driver | 255ish |
| 3-wood | 235ish |
| 5-wood | 225ish |
| 7-wood | 210ish |
| 5-iron | 185 to 190 |
| 6-iron | 175 |
| 7-iron | 165 |
| 8-iron | 155 |
| 9-iron | 145 |
| Pitching wedge | 125 |
| Gap wedge | 115 |
| Sand wedge | 100 |
| Lob wedge | 80 |
The 5-iron through pitching wedge figures match the carry numbers in my iron distance control guide. This is one golfer’s set of numbers. It is not a target for anyone else, so measure your own.
Carry is the number to use for clubs you hit into greens, because it tells you whether the ball clears the water or the bunker. That is a practical rule, and no measurement in this article backs it.
My own carry yardages have held for about 20 years, with one exception: I can be a club longer when I am swinging my best in the heat of summer.
If you are building your numbers at the range first, see my driving range tips for beginners.
Golf club distance chart questions
What is the distance for each golf club?
The only fully sourced club-by-club distance table in this article is the PGA Tour carry chart from TrackMan, 2023: driver 282 yards, 7-iron 176 yards and pitching wedge 142 yards. Those figures describe tour players and do not describe a typical club golfer.
How far should a beginner hit a 7-iron?
This article has no sourced figure for how far a beginner should hit a 7-iron, because none of its sources gives a club-by-club beginner table. A tour 7-iron carries 176 yards; do not use that as a target for a club golfer. Measure your own: 5 to 6 well-struck shots, then take the median carry.
What is the best way to calculate your club distances?
The way to calculate club distances is to hit until you have 5 to 6 well-struck shots per club and use the median carry as your yardage. That is the test protocol in the Golfer Geeks iron distance control guide.
Is carry or total distance the one to use?
Carry is the distance to use for approach shots and anything over a hazard, because it tells you whether the ball gets there in the air. The R&A’s amateur data measured total distance to the final resting spot, which is why its numbers are labelled that way above.
How to use these numbers
Use the tour carry table for the shape of the distances, and the handicap data as a reality check on your tee shot. For everything else, your own median carry is the number to trust. To start choosing clubs, see my tested beginner golf clubs, then fill in your own golf club distance chart with your median carries.