Club Distance & Gapping Calculator

How the projection works

Club-to-club distances follow surprisingly stable ratios: whatever your speed, a 3-wood carries roughly 30% further than your 7-iron and a sand wedge roughly 36% less. The calculator scales a ratio table — calibrated against published amateur averages from Shot Scope's shot-tracking database and MyGolfSpy's distance charts — from your reference club, then treats your corrections as truthwherever you enter a real number. The gap analysis applies the fitting-industry standard: adjacent clubs should sit 10–15 yards apart, so anything over ~18 is a coverage hole and anything under ~7 is a redundancy. The classic findings are a crowd of long clubs separated by nothing and a canyon between pitching wedge and sand wedge — check yours before your next club purchase, because the answer is usually not "more driver".

Frequently asked

How far should there be between each golf club?

The fitting-industry target is a consistent 10 to 15 yard gap between adjacent clubs. Wider than about 18 yards leaves a hole in your coverage where no club fits the shot; tighter than about 7 yards means two clubs are doing the same job and one slot in the bag is wasted.

How far does the average golfer hit a 7-iron?

Around 155 yards of carry for the average male amateur, according to Shot Scope's published data from millions of tracked shots. It varies sharply by handicap: roughly 164 yards for a 5-handicap, 154 for a 15-handicap, 146 for a 20-handicap and 132 for a 25-handicap.

Why does the calculator ask for my 7-iron?

The 7-iron is the standard reference club in fitting: it sits in the middle of the set, most golfers know their number for it, and the rest of the bag scales from it in fairly stable ratios. Enter it, then correct any club where you know your real number — your edits always override the projection.

Are these carry distances or total distances?

Carry — how far the ball flies before it lands. Carry is the number that matters for gapping and for clearing trouble, and it is what launch monitors and fittings measure. Total distance adds roll, which varies with ground conditions.

How do I find my real distances?

Track shots on the course over several rounds with a GPS watch or shot-tracking system, or measure carries directly on a launch monitor at a range session. Use averages of good strikes, not your best-ever hit — playing to career-best numbers is the most common distance mistake in golf.

Measure your real numbers: the Launch Monitor Finder matches you to the right unit, our best GPS watches guide covers on-course tracking, and the rest of the tools collection lives here.