Why 150 to 200 Yards Costs 15-Handicappers So Many Shots

Performance from 150 to 200 yards is what separates the 5-handicap player from the 15-handicapper. Shot Scope's data proves it, and it's time to start taking that ground back.

As an instructor, I hear students say "I hit my 6-iron 175 yards" all the time.

Maybe.

You've probably hit your 6-iron 175 at least once. Most golfers have. The useful number, however, is how far it carries with a decent strike and a less-than-perfect lie. That is the shot golf asks you to play.

Shot Scope's on-course data puts a number on the problem. From 150 to 175 yards, a 5-handicap finishes on the green 34% of the time. A 15-handicap does it 19% of the time. The gap is just as big from 175 to 200 yards. The 5-handicapper gains 0.43 strokes on the 15-handicapper on every single shot from 150 to 200 yards.

If you face five shots from this distance in a round, the 5-handicapper is gaining about two strokes from that area alone.

Here's how to get your game on the right side of these numbers.

Shot Scope's proximity numbers offer another clue. From 150 to 175 yards, the 5-handicap player finishes an average of 71 feet from the hole. The 15-handicap is 106 feet away. From 175 to 200, the 5-handicapper is 44 feet closer on average.

Poor contact gets part of the blame, but club selection is responsible for more than most golfers realize. And that's something you can control before you even take a stance.

To work on this with my students, I have them hit 10 balls with each club they use from 150 to 200 yards. We record every carry distance, including the thin one and the ball that leaks right. A launch monitor helps, but marked range targets work, too. Since you have to count your misses on the course, we count them in practice, too. No removing bad strikes from this drill.

Most of the balls gather around a useful number. One 6-iron may jump well beyond the rest, and golfers love that one. I don't ignore it, but I don't let students base a club selection for a forced carry off of that one outlier, either. The balls that are bunched give us the yardage we can trust.

For each club, take three quick notes:

1. The predictable carry distance (the bunched balls)
2. The typical front-to-back dispersion
3. The most consistent miss

Long-iron and hybrid practice often looks good because you hit the same club from the same spot until your timing settles in. On the course, you don't get a warm-up ball at 183 yards.

Here's a drill you can do to make the strike travel from practice to the course.

On grass, draw a chalk line across the hitting area, if the facility permits it, and place the ball on the line. After impact, you want to see the turf disturbed in front of (on the target side) where the ball sat. On a mat, a towel three inches behind the ball provides similar feedback. You can also use face spray to show whether contact is in a manageable area of the clubface.

I rarely let golfers empty the pile with one club, and I don't suggest you do it, either. Instead, hit three, then change your club or target. If you need eight swings to find the bottom of the arc, you will struggle during a round.

I also like a five-shot reality check. Pick five different yardages between 150 and 200 and imagine a green around each target. No mulligans and no consecutive shots with the same club. Here's how to score it:

• 2 points: The ball finishes on the imagined green
• 1 point: The miss leaves a straightforward next shot
• 0 points: Poor contact, but no real damage
• Minus 2: Water, a bunker or the short side enters the picture

Four points is respectable in the early going. Get to six and the practice is beginning to travel. The score also exposes the player who stripes balls after settling into a groove but struggles when each shot presents a new challenge.