What Are Stock Yardages in Golf?

Knowing exactly how far you hit each golf club is the foundation of confident, intelligent golf. If you’re tired of standing over a shot caught between two clubs, unsure of what to do, this guide will show you precisely how to establish your personal stock yardages. We'll explain what they are, why they are so important for lowering your scores, and walk through a step-by-step process to find yours starting today.

What Exactly Are Stock Yardages?

In the simplest terms, a stock yardage is the reliable, average distance a specific club sends the golf ball when you make a normal, comfortable swing. It's your baseline, your go-to number. This isn't the distance you hit a club when you connect with it perfectly and swing out of your shoes, it’s the consistent result of a smooth, repeatable, 80% effort swing.

Think of it like this: your maximum 7-iron might go 165 yards once in a blue moon, but your stock 7-iron reliably carries 155 yards almost every time. That 155-yard number is the one you can count on, plan around, and use to make smart decisions on the course.

For every club in your bag, from your lob wedge to your driver, you should have a stock yardage. This set of numbers becomes your personal playbook for navigating the course.

Why Knowing Your Yardages Is a Game-Changer

Guesswork is the enemy of good golf. When you don't have a reliable set of numbers, you're just hoping for the best on every approach shot. Developing your stock yardages eliminates that uncertainty and provides some serious benefits that directly lead to better scores.

• Smarter Club Selection: This one is obvious but profound. When the pin is 140 yards away and you know, without a doubt, that your stock 8-iron flies 140 yards, the choice is simple. There's no more indecision, no more waffling between an easy 7-iron or a hard 8-iron. You just pick the club and swing with conviction.
• Unshakable Confidence: Confidence comes from positive past experiences. Once you’ve done the work to establish your numbers, you build a foundation of trust in your equipment and your swing. Stepping up to a shot knowing you have the right club for the distance is a massive mental advantage. You'll stop worrying about the result and focus on making a good, smooth swing.
• Better Course Management: Golf isn’t just about hitting the ball, it's about playing the course intelligently. Knowing your stock yardages allows you to plan your way around a hole. You’ll know which club to hit off the tee to leave yourself a specific distance for your approach. You can lay up to a comfortable number on a par-5, avoiding hazards and setting up an easy third shot.
• Hitting More Greens in Regulation (GIR): More confidence and better club selection naturally lead to hitting more greens. Hitting more greens directly translates to lower scores. It’s the single most important statistic for separating high-handicappers from low-handicappers. Being on the green with a putter in your hand is always better than chipping or playing from a bunker.

How to Find Your Stock Yardages: A Step-by-Step Guide

This process takes a bit of time and effort, but it's one of the highest-return investments you can make in your golf game. Find a solid hour or two, grab your clubs, and let's get dialed in.

Step 1: Choose Your Proving Ground

The best place to do this is a practice facility with a launch monitor, like a golf simulator or a modern driving range with Toptracer or TrackMan technology. This gives you precise carry distance numbers, which are far more valuable than total distance (which can be affected by bounces and roll).

If you don't have access to a launch monitor, a regular driving range with accurate yardage markers will work. Just be sure to find a clear target flag to aim at and estimate your carry distance as best you can. A third option is a good handheld GPS or laser rangefinder at an empty range.

Step 2: Warm Up Properly

Don't just jump in cold and start hitting balls for data. Go through your normal warm-up routine. Start with some light stretches, then hit some half-shots with your wedges, and gradually work your way up to full swings. The goal is to get your body moving and grooving so that the swings you measure are your real, on-course swings.

Step 3: Begin with a Mid-Iron

A good place to start is with your 7-iron or 8-iron. It’s a "middle-of-the-bag" club that is easy enough to hit consistently and will give you a good reference point for the clubs around it. Pick a clear target and get ready.

Step 4: The 10-Ball Method

Now, the real work begins. The goal is to hit a set of shots with the same club and find the average carry distance. Here’s the process for your starting club:

1. Hit 10 good shots aiming at your target.
2. Focus on a smooth, comfortable swing. We’re not trying to hit the ball as hard as possible. This should be your controlled, "I need to find the fairway," 8-out-of-10 effort level type of swing. This is your stock rhythm.
3. After each well-struck shot, make a note of the carry distance. This is the most important number because it tells you how far you need to fly the ball to clear a bunker or land on the green.
4. Don’t record the bad ones! If you hit one thin, fat, or way off-line, disregard it. We only want data from shots that represent a decent swing. Hit another one if needed to get your 10 good shots.

Step 5: Do the Math

Once you have the carry yardages for your 10 solid shots, it’s time to find your true stock number. You can just take the average of all 10, but a more accurate method is to remove the outliers.

• Look at your 10 numbers.
• Cross out the one absolute longest hit and the one shortest hit. These are outliers.
• Calculate the average of the remaining eight numbers.

This average is your stock yardage for that club. Write it down.

Example for an 8-Iron:

Your 10 shots carry: 142, 138, 145, 136, 140, 141, 137, 144, 133, 139.

• Remove the longest (145) and the shortest (133).
• Add the remaining eight: 142 + 138 + 136 + 140 + 141 + 137 + 144 + 139 = 1117
• Divide by 8: 1117 / 8 = 139.6

Your stock 8-iron yardage is 140 yards.

Step 6: Repeat for Every Iron and Wedge

Work your way through your entire bag. Move from the 8-iron down to your 9-iron, then your pitching wedge, and any other wedges you carry. Then, go back and do the longer irons (6-iron, 5-iron, etc.). Use the exact same 10-ball method for each one. Consistency in your process is what makes the data reliable.

Step 7: Create Your Yardage Chart

Now that you have all this great information, you need to make it accessible. Create a simple chart that you can keep in your golf bag or in the notes app on your phone. It should look something like this:


--- My Stock Yardages ---
Lob Wedge (LW): 75 yards
Sand Wedge (SW): 90 yards
Gap Wedge (GW): 105 yards
Pitching Wedge (PW): 120 yards
9-Iron: 135 yards
8-Iron: 145 yards
7-Iron: 155 yards
6-Iron: 165 yards
5-Iron: 175 yards
----------------------------


Taking It to the Next Level: Half & Three-Quarter Shots

Once you’ve mastered your full stock yardages, you’ll notice there are "gaps" between your clubs. For example, your stock Pitching Wedge might go 120 yards and your Gap Wedge might go 105 yards. What do you do for a 112-yard shot?

This is where partial or "feel" shots come in. The best players have yardages for swings that are less than full. You can establish these the same way you found your full yardages.

• The Clock System: A popular method is to think of your arm swing as the hands of a clock. A full backswing goes to about 11 o'clock. A three-quarter swing might be to 10 o'clock, and a half swing to 9 o'clock.
• Practice the Gaps: Go back to the range, pick one club (like your sand wedge), and hit 10 shots with a 9 o'clock backswing. Find the average carry distance. Then do the same for a 10 o'clock backswing. Do this for each of your wedges.

This lets you build a more detailed yardage matrix, allowing you to hit those tricky "in-between" numbers with precision and confidence.

Remember: Stock Yardages Are Just the Baseline

Your stock yardages are your benchmark in a neutral environment. On the golf course, conditions are never neutral. An intelligent golfer learns to adjust their stock number based on the countless variables the course presents. Always consider:

• Wind: The number one factor. A 10 mph headwind can easily take 10-15 yards off a shot. A tailwind can add the same amount.
• Elevation: Hitting uphill requires more club. A good rule of thumb is to add one club for every 15 feet of elevation gain. Hitting downhill allows you to take less club.
• The Lie: Is the ball sitting perfectly in the fairway? Or is it in thick rough? In a fairway bunker? Buried? A shot from sitting-down rough will usually fly shorter and with less spin than one from the fairway.
• Temperature & Air Density: A ball doesn't fly as far in cold, dense air as it does in warm, thin air. On a cold day, expect your numbers to be slightly lower.

Final Thoughts

Building a list of stock yardages is the most effective way to take the guesswork out of your game. It gives you a reliable foundation for club selection, builds your confidence, and empowers you to think your way around the golf course like a seasoned player.

After finding your stock yardages, learning how to adapt them to real-world situations like wind, elevation, and tough lies is the next step. For those moments on the course when you're caught in-between clubs or facing a difficult shot, we developed tools to give you more confidence in your decision-making. With Caddie AI, you can get instant, personalized advice on club selection and strategy for anv very shot, combining the power of your stock knowledge with expert-level course management anytime you need it.