This article is part of the Smarter Golf series, powered by Arccos data.
About half of golfers with a handicap of 15 to 20 hit their 5-iron and 6-iron within five yards of each other. At a handicap of 20 to 25, it is a little more than half. If you are, two of your irons can end up in almost the same place and this does not help your game.
Most gapping tips average each club in many golfers. We did it differently. Arches looked into the pockets of more than 38,000 men, one golfer at a time, and compared each iron to the next. The question is not how far a 5 iron goes. That’s how much further away your 5-iron goes better than your 6-iron and if that’s normal for a golfer who swings like you.
The chart below shows what is normal. Find out how much you usually drive, check your own gap against the chart and then read about what to do if it’s short. (This data only covers men.)
What is a normal distance between your 5-iron and 6-iron?
The normal gap between your 5-iron and 6-iron is directly correlated to how well you drive the ball. Find your typical unit on the chart and then compare it to your own gap.
Golfers who drive under 200 yards typically have 4.6 yards between the 5-iron and 6-iron. Golfers who drive 260 or more have 9.0, about twice the room for the same two clubs.
This chart shows what is typical, not what is ideal. Better players run a little wider at the same distance as the driver, up to about two yards. A range slightly below the typical number for your unit is not a red flag. A gap at or less than five yards means your clubs are sometimes doing the same thing.
How crowded are the long irons on your handicap?
The higher the handicap, the more likely the 5 iron and 6 iron will overlap.
Between 15 and 25, about half or more of the golfers have a 5 iron and 6 iron that end up five feet from each other. Under a handicap 10, is the exception.
What a good gapping it looks
Scratch golfers have about nine to 14 yards between irons, extending toward the pitching wedge, and about 16 to 18½ yards between full-swing wedges.
Two things to note. The steps widen as you go down the bag and the 9-iron pitching wedge is the widest for irons at about 13 yards for zero to 25 handicap golfers. A distance of 20 yards is also normal between wedges, but not between irons.
The top of the bag is where the pattern breaks most often. The step from your longest iron to the next is typically about eight yards compared to about 11 lower in the set. About one in four golfers will hit those two clubs within five yards of each other.
Don’t expect to match every scratch number. It is not realistic for most golfers. The goal is form: stairs that widen as the loft goes up with as little overlap as your swing allows.
If your space is too small, here’s what you see
If your longest iron and the next iron end up about five yards apart, carry two clubs for a distance. These are options to consider, not guaranteed fixes.
- Check your 3-wood and 5-wood. About three in 10 golfers who carry both hit them within five yards of each other.
- Take a club outside. If two clubs go the same distance, shoot harder to hit and pass the slot in a distance that you miss.
- Try a taller long club. Among 5 to 20 handicappers, golfers with a hybrid over the 6-iron tend to have a swing of 11 to 14 yards versus six to eight yards with a 5 iron.
- Check for a missing gap wedge. About one in seven golfers from zero to 20 handicaps go directly from the pitching wedge to the sand wedge, a step of 30 yards or more.
The only way to know your gaps is to track them
The only way to really know how well you hit your clubs is to track your game. When you do, you can see which clubs will help you, what will hurt you and where changing a club could make a big improvement.
Follow your game with Arches it’s easy. Whatever you choose Smart sensors or play without sensors with Arcos Airyou will understand your game and improve faster. These data points give you a place to start, but knowing the data specific to your game will make all the difference.
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