One of the most important lessons you could take is a Bag Mapping session. Bag Mapping is charting out your average carry and total distances with all the clubs in your bag. We will typically offer this service as part of a package of lessons that our students purchase through our Academy. This is also a service that is not rushed into, meaning I need to be convinced that you are first hitting the ball solid and then can demonstrate some clubface and club path control to get the proper distance potential based upon your clubhead speed.
We typically will select a 7-iron to start the process, and you will hit 20 full swing shots with all data being recorded with our TrackMan 4 launch monitor. We take out the 5 worst shots from the group and then take the average of the remaining 15 shots in regard to carry and overall distance. This average indicates what you SHOULD be playing your distances at.
I know you may be saying to yourself that you can hit your 7-iron further than the average data shows. As that may be true on the occasional “perfect” shot, how many of those did you hit out of the 20 balls you were given to start with? If it was only a few, then its time to realize that golf IS a hard game and we don’t always hit perfect shots. In fact, we maybe only hit a few “perfect” shots in an entire round, with the majority of your shots being considered “mis-hits”.
When you mis-hit your shots, you will lose distance and accuracy and one of the main causes of mis-hits is not finding the center of the clubface at the time of impact. This usually leads to distance losses anywhere from 5 up to 20 yards or more possibly! If you are not sure if you are striking the center of the clubface, try spraying some foot powder on the face and hit some shots. I am willing to bet that not too many are in the middle of the clubface. Other factors contributing to distance loss are poor clubface control and poor ground contact. Once we have the data with the 7-iron, we will continue with various other clubs using the same method to determine a true average carry & overall distance chart that you can rely on.
Knowing the actual average carry and overall distance you hit your irons will be a huge advantage for you golf game. Club selection decisions will be based more on reliable data averages rather than emotion. You will start to hit more greens in regulation rather than coming up short, or trying to get the maximum distance perfect shot by swinging out of your shoes because that is the distance you think you are supposed to hit it. And for that occasional “perfect” iron you just flushed over the green, enjoy a well-hit golf shot as they don’t come along too often! I bet you will have more birdie putts by playing the averages!
If you are interested in a Bag Mapping session, please contact Todd Campbell at the Golf Academy at Mulligan’s Island. Email: toddcampbell@pga.com / cell: 508-951-4371
