Irons Distances
It is said that you drive for show and putt for dough. By comparison, Irons are the work horses of golf clubs. Even professionals do not often sink an iron shot nor do they hit the irons as far as they go. Irons are all about precision. You want your iron to land close to where you are aiming, and that is why knowing the distance of your irons is so important.
Irons are rarely hit with full strength, and can often be hit with a half swing or less, depending on the exact job for which you are using it. However, for reach iron you have a normal swing, which will be a little less than the full power swing with which you can hit the club.
The table below shows indicative distances for irons when hit with their normal swing. The distances are displayed in yards.
Club |
Loft (degrees) |
Distance for men (yards) |
Distance for women (yards) |
1-iron |
15 - 18 |
177-215-242 |
108-139-177 |
2-iron |
18 - 20 |
161-195-219 |
98-126-161 |
3-iron |
21 - 24 |
148-180-202 |
90-117-148 |
4-iron |
25 - 28 |
140-170-191 |
85-110-140 |
5-iron |
28 - 32 |
132-160-180 |
80-104-132 |
6-iron |
32 - 36 |
124-150-169 |
75-97-124 |
7-iron |
36 - 40 |
115-140-157 |
70-91-115 |
8-iron |
40 - 44 |
107-130-146 |
65-84-107 |
9-iron |
45 - 48 |
95-115-129 |
58-75-95 |
Pitching wedge |
48 - 52 |
87-105-118 |
53-68-87 |
Gap wedge |
52 - 54 |
78-95-107 |
48-62-78 |
Sand wedge |
54 - 58 |
66-80-90 |
40-52-66 |
Lob wedge |
58 - 62 |
58-70-79 |
35-45-58 |
Here is a complimentary tip for you. When you hit your irons, move your back foot so it is angled at right angle to the direction of the target. This will slightly restrict you back swing, giving you more consistency over the distance that you hit the ball.
Want to Improve Quickly?
Join the Golf Mentor site, it is like having your own personal trainer. You will be guided to set goals and plan practice sessions, it can diagnose weaknesses, has a mental game module and much more. All this, for the price of a golf ball per month. For a limited time, there is free 7 day trial, so why not try it now!
You can cancel at any time within the 7 days trial at no charge. Over 1,400 golfers have joined the site during our 10 years of operation. All credit card transactions are directly processed by Stripe, who handle billions of dollars of transactions per year. Try it for free Now!