You have 150 to the pin and water short. “That’s a smooth 7,” you think, and the ball comes down in the hazard. The 7-iron number in your head may be your best shot of the summer, or it may include 10 yards of roll. Neither one is what the club carries on an ordinary swing.
This guide walks through measuring your carry for each club, turning the numbers into a one-page chart, and using that chart to find the gaps and overlaps in your bag. You don’t need a launch monitor, and a notebook or spreadsheet is enough.
The short version: hit 6 to 10 shots per club, then use either the average without the longest and shortest or the median of all your shots. Keep a range next to that number, not just a single figure.
It’s written by the developer of CarryBook, an iPhone app that turns the distances you see at the range into a yardage chart (view on the App Store).
What this guide covers
- Why your chart should use carry, not total
- Four ways to measure, with or without a launch monitor
- How to turn 10 shots into one honest number
- What range balls do to your data
- How to do a gapping check on your bag
- Why carry, not total distance?
- Step 1: Pick how you’ll measure
- Step 2: Hit 6 to 10 shots per club
- Step 3: Turn the shots into a number and a range
- Do range balls ruin your numbers?
- Step 4: Build the chart
- Step 5: Check the gaps in your bag
- Step 6: Remeasure now and then
- Tracking it in CarryBook
- Key takeaways
Why carry, not total distance?
Carry is how far the ball flies in the air. Total includes the roll after it lands.
GOLF.com gives a good example: an 8-iron that goes about 142 yards in total but averages 135 yards of carry. With a 137-yard pin and trouble short, the total number leaves you short [1]. Roll also depends on the ground, so carry is the steadier number to plan with [2].
Step 1: Pick how you’ll measure
| Method | What you get | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Range with shot tracking or a launch monitor | Carry numbers you can read straight off the screen | Check them against what happens on the course |
| Rangefinder | The distance to flags and targets at a range without tracking | You have to watch where the ball lands |
| Yardage markers | A way to start with no gear | Rough numbers, so note that they came from markers |
| Measuring wheel on the course | The actual distance to where your shots finished [2] | You need a quiet time and permission from the course |
Don’t let a missing launch monitor stop you. A rough number for all 14 clubs beats a perfect number for three. You can replace marker numbers later.
Step 2: Hit 6 to 10 shots per club
PlayBetter suggests this order [3]:
- Warm up properly for about 10 minutes
- Start with your wedges and short irons, not your driver
- Work through the mid irons, long irons, hybrids and fairway woods, and finish with the driver
- Hit between 6 and 10 solid shots with each club
Throw out shanks and bad swings, but a slightly thin or toe-side strike stays in. That’s a normal shot for most of us [3]. You don’t have to do the whole bag in one visit. Odd irons one week and even irons the next works fine.
Step 3: Turn the shots into a number and a range
PlayBetter’s method is to throw out your longest and shortest shots and average the rest [3]. Here’s an example with 10 shots (made-up numbers):
138, 149, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 160, 162, 171
- Best shot: 171 yards
- Average without the longest and shortest: about 156 yards
- Median (the middle value): 156.5 yards
- Range without the top two and bottom two: 153 to 160 yards
If you remember this club as a “170 club,” you’re about 15 yards long on an ordinary swing. The trimmed average and the median end up almost the same, but the median needs no trimming. One great shot can’t move it much.
In Google Sheets or Excel, put one club per row and 10 shots in columns B to K:
| What you want | Formula |
|---|---|
| Median | =MEDIAN(B2:K2) |
| Average without longest and shortest | =TRIMMEAN(B2:K2,0.2) |
| Bottom of your usual range | =SMALL(B2:K2,3) |
| Top of your usual range | =LARGE(B2:K2,3) |
Do range balls ruin your numbers?
PlayBetter says to map your bag with the ball you play [3], but most ranges won’t let you. Two tests show why you can’t just add a fixed number.
| Test | Club | Range ball result |
|---|---|---|
| Golf Digest, 2024 (human golfer) [4] | Gap wedge | About 3 yards shorter carry |
| Golf Digest, 2024 (human golfer) [4] | Driver | About 6 yards shorter carry |
| GOLF.com, 2024 (robot) [5] | 5-iron | 8 yards shorter |
| GOLF.com, 2024 (robot) [5] | Pitching wedge | 4 yards longer |
| GOLF.com, 2024 (robot) [5] | Driver | About 12 yards shorter |
The difference changes with the club and the ball. In the robot test, individual driver shots ranged from 2 or 3 yards shorter to 25 yards shorter, and the 5-iron’s carry spread was about four times wider [5]. Limited-flight balls fly shorter still [4].
So record which ball you used. Once you have both kinds of numbers for the same club, you’ll know your own difference.
Step 4: Build the chart
Keep the columns to what you’ll actually use.
| Column | Example | Why it’s there |
|---|---|---|
| Club | 7-iron | Row label |
| Loft | 30° | Spot odd jumps between clubs |
| Carry | 157 | The number you play |
| Usual range | 153–160 | Helps on in-between yardages |
| Total (optional) | 165 | For when roll matters |
| Date measured | Nov 2026 | Tells you when to remeasure |
| Method and ball | Markers, range ball | How much to trust the number |
| Gap to next club | 11 | Your gapping check |
For the course, copy the club and carry columns onto an index card and keep it in your bag [3].
Can’t measure every club yet? Use a placeholder. One coach’s rule of thumb is that with the same swing, each club changes the distance by about 10 yards [8]. Pencil that in, then replace it with a real number when you get the chance.
Step 5: Check the gaps in your bag
This is what gapping means: looking at the distance between each club and the next. GOLF.com puts the ideal at 8 to 12 yards [6], and PlayBetter says about 10 [3]. Here’s a made-up example:
| Club | Carry | Gap to next | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-wood | 190 | 5 | Overlap |
| 4-hybrid | 185 | 23 | Gap |
| 6-iron | 162 | 10 | Fine |
| 7-iron | 152 | 11 | Fine |
| 8-iron | 141 | 11 | Fine |
The 4-hybrid to 6-iron jump is the kind of “20-yard dead zone” that GOLF.com warns can leave you stranded, and two clubs that overlap are wasting a slot [6]. You’re limited to 14 clubs under the Rules of Golf [7], so each slot counts. Common fixes are [6]:
- Add a gap wedge (50 to 52 degrees) if there’s a hole between your pitching wedge and sand wedge
- Swap long irons you can’t hit consistently for hybrids or high-lofted fairway woods
- Get fitted if you’re unsure, because there are no industry standards for lofts
Before buying anything, measure both clubs again. A gap can come from a small sample as easily as from your set.
Step 6: Remeasure now and then
Your distances will change over time [3]. Start with the numbers that have the oldest dates, and always remeasure after a new club goes in the bag.
Tracking it in CarryBook
In CarryBook, tap Build your bag on the Chart tab and pick your clubs from the template. At the range, tap Log a practice session, choose how you measured (launch monitor, rangefinder or yardage markers), and tap in each distance.
Carry is the median of your shots. Mishits you mark are left out, and with five or more shots, outliers are too. Your usual range is the middle 60% of your shots. Once two clubs with a loft are measured, the others are estimated from their loft and marked as estimated.
The Chart tab flags a gap when two neighboring clubs are further apart than your gap threshold (15 yards by default, and you can change it), and flags an overlap when two clubs are less than 5 yards apart or their usual ranges overlap. For range balls, you can set a discount and shots are adjusted to your own ball.
You can also enter a target distance to see which club fits. The Rules of Golf don’t allow viewing a club recommendation from a device during a round [7][9], so use this for practice and for planning before you play. Checking a yardage chart you measured beforehand is fine during a round [7][9].
Every feature is free for up to 20 sessions, with practice and rounds combined. Clubs, setups, wishlist items and individual shots don’t count. Pro is a one-time purchase that removes the limit and the watermark on share cards (view on the App Store).
Your wedges deserve more than one number each, so see how to build a wedge distance matrix. For upkeep, here’s how often to regrip and replace wedges.
Key takeaways
- Build your chart on carry and treat total as a bonus
- Hit 6 to 10 shots per club, and keep a trimmed average or median plus a range
- No launch monitor? Start with a rangefinder or markers and note the method
- The range ball difference isn’t fixed, so record which ball you used
- Check the gap to the next club to find holes and overlaps
Sources
- GOLF.com, Maddi MacClurg, on carry and total distance (November 2025) https://golf.com/instruction/common-golf-mistake-making-you-miss-greens/?amp=1
- Golf360, “How to measure your golf club distances” https://golf360.co.nz/blogs/scotts-corner/how-to-measure-your-golf-club-distances
- PlayBetter, “Map your golf bag: step by step golf distance chart guide” https://www.playbetter.com/blogs/golf-tips/map-your-golf-bag-step-by-step-golf-distance-chart-guide
- Australian Golf Digest, Drew Powell, Golf Digest range ball test (September 2024) https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/?p=121701
- GOLF.com, Jonathan Wall, range ball and premium ball robot test (August 2024) https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/range-ball-premium-ball-testing-fully-equipped/?amp=1
- GOLF.com, on distance gapping https://golf.com/gear/improper-distance-gapping-wreak-havoc/?amp=1
- R&A, The Rules of Golf, Rule 4 https://www.randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-4
- Sportiva, golf lesson series (June 2020, Japanese) https://sportiva.shueisha.co.jp/dosports/golflesson/2020/06/22/post_10/?page=2
- USGA, “Understanding the Rules of DMDs” (2023) https://rulesworkshops.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/2025/2023%20Update%20USGA-DMD.pdf
(All checked November 6, 2026)
About the sources for this article This article is based on information from public agencies, official sites and specialist media, reorganized by the editors from a recording and organizing perspective. Figures and statements about specifications or safety were checked against primary sources where possible.
This article organizes information from a recording and organizing perspective. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us. Last verified: November 2026
