For any amateur golfer trying to improve their game, adding distance is usually high on the priority list.
How far you hit your clubs is usually directly correlated to your handicap index, and despite golf being an individual sport, it's hard not to compare yourself to other players.
Understanding where you sit in the overall picture can help to pinpoint areas of strength and weakness in your game, with shot tracking playing a crucial role in providing key insights to help you improve.
In this article, we use the latest numbers from our official data partner, Shot Scope, to share how far golfers hit their irons on average.
In the table below, you can see that a scratch golfer hits their 7-iron, on average, 178 yards (that's total distance, not carry).
For clarity, Performance Average removes all outlier shot distances (for example, a shot that strikes a tree 40 yards away) to give the true representation of the distance a well struck golf shot travels.
How, then, do these figures compare to golfers with higher handicaps?
In the table below, we've displayed average iron distances (Performance Average) for the 10-, 15- and 20-handicap golfer.
As you'd expect, the average distance falls in each category.
These drops offs are larger in the long irons, with the average distances closer at the bottom end of the bag.
If you're wondering how far the average PGA Tour players hit their irons, some of the most recent data we have from Trackman reveals a carry distance of 176 yards, which is with a 7-iron.
And to re-emphasize, this is total carry, not total distance, which are displayed in the tables above.
If you want to hit your iron shots further, we can offer plenty of iron play tips and drills - most of which focus on sound fundamentals and technique.
In other words, to hit iron shots further, it's not simply about swinging the golf club as fast as you can.
If you're really struggling to get the yards you need, you may want to check out the best distance irons, as equipment can also give you significant performance benefits.
