How often do you come up short on a hole? Whether you're hitting a fairway wood, hybrid, or iron into the green, many golfers tend to overestimate their distances.
Even with the most advanced GPS devices or laser rangefinders confirming the yardage, there's often a tendency to mistrust the technology, believing in ability over accuracy, only to club down and fall short.
In recent years, both professional and amateur golfers have benefited from advancements in club technology, seeing their distances gradually increase. It’s therefore key to know your exact yardages and trust the club you're using for each distance.
Take six-time LPGA winner Celine Boutier as an example. She’s not one of the longest hitters on tour, but she’s made notable progress. When she joined the LPGA Tour in 2017, her average driving distance was 235 yards. In 2024 that number climbed to 255 yards.
Let’s consider the 7-iron, which is a club most amateurs pick up first because it’s one of the easiest to learn with. It remains popular in the bag, as it's versatile enough for a variety of shots. Looking at 2024 Trackman data, LPGA pros carry a 7-iron with an average of 143 yards. But how does that distance compare to the average female club golfer?
Thanks to performance data supplied by Shot Scope, our official data partner, we can break down 7-iron total distances for female amateur golfers by handicap, as seen in the table below. This offers a clear picture of how far you might expect to hit, depending on your level of play.
Of course, these are averages, ranging from scratch golfers to those with handicaps of 26+. It’s food for thought, and if you're unsure of your yardages, investing in a GPS device might be exactly what you need to sharpen your accuracy from tee to green.
