Carry and Total Distance

The Distance a golf ball travels is broken into two parts, Carry Distance and Total Distance.  Carry Distance is the distance the ball travels in the air.  Total Distance is the distance that the golf ball travels, from the point where it is struck by the club to the point where it ultimately comes to rest.  Total Distance is the Carry Distance plus any distance achieved by bounce and roll after the ball hits the ground.



Many amateur golfers overestimate how far they hit their clubs. During play, they will base their club choice on the best shot they've ever hit with a given club. Instead, it's best to know your median carry and total distances for each club in the bag. Launch monitors and on-course data tracking technologies like Arccos can help you build a comprehensive golf club carry distance chart that can dramatically improve your on-course club selection, strategy and performance.

In the following video, Titleist staff member James Sieckmann shares a great tip for managing your club selection with your wedges. By simply scotch-taping your average half-, 3/4- and full-wedge carry distances to the shafts of your wedges, you'll never have to guess. You'll have access to your distance chart numbers right at your fingertips. And James' solution is not limited to your wedges - you can mark your average carry and total distance numbers on every club in the bag.