Opinion & Analysis

The Art of Club Throwing

Published

11 years ago

Jan 17, 2015

Every golfer has at some point throttled the daylights out of that inanimate steel or graphite-shafted object in their hands, blaming it for the errant shot they just hit — or more appropriately, mishit. Some, and I’d be willing to wager the vast majority, have gone a step further and chucked that sucker for all it was worth.

If you’re among the hurlers, don’t be ashamed. This transference of aggression is healthy, not to mention a heck of a lot less troublesome than slugging your caddy or playing partner. Take my word for it, writing down a crappy score on your card pales in comparison to being the defendant in a slam-dunk civil lawsuit.

But just for a moment let’s forget about the why and focus solely on the act itself. Some golfers, even those with spectacularly low handicaps, have turned this tantrum-esque spectacle into an art form. And while there are a plethora of varying styles and techniques, it seems all club-throwers tend to agree on one thing: Distance is all that matters.

According to an old report by the GCSAA (Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), certain clubs will travel farther than others. They labeled the driver the shortest throw-able club in the bag and claimed the putter was capable of achieving the greatest distance. Now while the GCSAA is a fine organization, I’ve never been one to accept anyone else’s findings for an experiment I could carry out myself. And so, armed with my trusty bag of steel-shafted Cobra metal woods and oversized irons, I ventured out to the nearest football field—with freshly painted hash-marks, no less—to accurately gauge each club’s chucking distance.

After a few practice tosses of varying techniques with my 7 iron—years ago, a pro I was taking lessons from told me, “when in doubt, use your 7”—I decided to throw all the clubs by the grip using the more common arm extended, full shoulder flinging motion. While I have seen golfers use the overhand javelin method, since I’ve had no training in proper Track & Field techniques, and have also never hunted for big game using a spear, atlatl, or similar implement, I believed my best results would be achieved via flinging.

Before I reveal the data, let me state for comparative purposes that I stand 5-feet 8-inches short, weigh 185-pounds, and have a rather muscular build with what I’d characterize as above average strength. I’m no Hulk, mind you, but I’m not a daisy, either.

All clubs were thrown on a level surface and, as luck would have it, it had rained the night before, thereby reducing the risk of added yardage from bouncing. Each club was thrown five times. The longest and shortest tosses were dropped and the remaining three were averaged. Miraculously, none of my clubs were bent, deformed or broken during the tests, which undoubtedly helped to keep the data consistent and accurate. Here are my results (rounded to the nearest quarter-yard):

1-Iron — 54.25 yards

2-Iron — 53.75 yards

3-Iron — 52.50 yards

4-Iron — 51.75 yards

5-Iron — 51.25 yards

6-Iron — 51.00 yards

7-Iron — 50.25 yards

8-Iron — 48.50 yards

9-Iron — 47.25 yards

Sand Wedge — 45.50 yards

Pitching Wedge — 43.75 yards

Putter — 54.00 yards

Driver — 41.00 yards

3-Wood — 39.75 yards

5-Wood — 38.75 yards

Granted, one could surmise that I was growing more tired as the experiment progressed but, full disclosure, at no time did I experience any fatigue.

Realizing there was much more to be learned I decided to throw other golf-related items, just to see how they stacked up.

Tees flew an average of 12 yards. Steel green repair tools averaged 36.50 yards. Golf balls traveled an average of 48 yards before striking ground (tack on an additional 23 yards for the subsequent roll). And for the record, there were no dramatic differences between 90 and 100 compression balls or between Surlyn and Urethane-covered balls. My golf glove averaged 3 yards (open) and 5 yards (crumpled). I attempted to toss a passerby (in lieu of a caddy or playing partner), but he was not keen on the idea and threatened me with bodily harm should I attempt it. I’ll trying posting on a forum for a volunteer and let you know. Lastly, I attempted to throw an electric golf cart but, just as the rear wheels came off the ground, I felt something rupture in my lower back and decided to cancel the attempt, as immediate medical attention was required.

So, what does all this prove—beside the fact that I have serious issues? In truth, I haven’t the foggiest, but it certainly disproves the theory that the driver is the longest club in your bag!

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An adrenaline junkie with an unusual and widely varied skill-set, Adam took “participatory journalism” to the next level, penning hundreds of high-octane feature articles for many of the hippest men's lifestyle publications including Maxim, Stuff, Razor and Robb Report. Some have been optioned for feature film development. Factor in a Cryptozoology degree from the U of Haiti in Port-au-Prince—perfect for Bigfoot safaris and Chupacabra expeditions—and Adam has pretty much covered it all. He's a far better writer than he is a golfer, although that might not be saying much! For those of you who actually enjoy my writing you might want to check out my latest book, Cracked Aces: The Wildest, Craziest, Most Unbelievable TRUE Poker Stories. Visit my website

27 Comments

Frank

Jan 19, 2015 at 3:43 pm

After a four put (not the first in the round) i took a swing at the ball with my putter. But my aim was still useless and I hit the ball with the shaft.
The shaft snapped and the head of the putter flew about 40 yards and almost nailed my best mate.
I never even thought of just throwing the putter. I might have stood a better chance of hitting him 🙂

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rgb

Jan 18, 2015 at 10:59 pm

Back in the 60s a friend of mine threw his approach iron into the pond that his wildly duffed shot had landed in. It had not been his day, and with this the air was blue. Looking out his anger quickly melted away as he realized that he both liked and did not want to trash the now-discarded club. We were rolling, as was the next foursome that had caught up to us, as he waded fifty feet into and back out of the under-the-armpit-deep water. Got totally soaked and after 10 minutes of rummaging found his club. Ruined the club’s leather grip and his leather shoes which he had decided to keep on.

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Chet

Jan 18, 2015 at 4:23 pm

Played with a guy who was very proud of his faux wooden shafted clubs. He topped a three wood and then proceeded to take a crack at his push cart, which snapped the shaft. He was destroyed the rest of the day because his new father in law had painstakingly built him the set.

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White Tiger

Jan 18, 2015 at 9:13 am

After a short miss putt, I turn over and hit the ball with my putter with full power 2 feet in the air. There was my friend’s stand bag just beside the green. And on the bag, there was his 450$ range finder. The ball hit it even if we were barely seeing the range finder from where I was. My most accurate shot of the day!!! Lucky enough that it was working even after that at the cost of 2 strips of electrical tape for the waterproofing (hum!) and a supper for my friend and his wife… This is the last time that I throw something on a golf course…

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Chip

Jan 18, 2015 at 12:46 am

Is that carry distance or total distance?

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Mad-Mex

Jan 17, 2015 at 9:55 pm

Sorry but you MISSED THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Always,,, ALWAYS throw the club TOWARDS where you next shot will be shanked/sliced or hooked from, saves time.

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Phread59

Jan 17, 2015 at 8:53 pm

Totally, totally unprofessional, everybody knows that a few enraged hammering blows to a nearby object(tree preferred) or ground is necessary to warm up before the toss. A minimum of 3 astounding carefully vectored transfers of momentum Is the accepted amount of warm up before the actual hurling of the club.

Tacky,tacky,tacky Mr. Slutsky, you need to watch more Mythbusters to hone your scientific approach more!

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Ken

Jan 17, 2015 at 7:26 pm

Played with a guy who launched his wedge after a poor approach. Unfortunately, it was a direct hit on his own bag. He cracked two grapite shafts. Expensive toss, but cheaper than a shrink.

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Rich

Jan 17, 2015 at 5:23 pm

I’ve thrown the odd club in my day and even had a playing partner tell me that another member in the group was concerned about it. I for one think it’s one of the funniest things when someone (especially an opponent) throws a club. You know you’ve got them on the ropes. Nice article, very funny stuff.

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Adam

Jan 17, 2015 at 5:07 pm

Im sorry but this is not scientific enough, could you please use a trackman next time. HAHAHA

Reply Report comment
Philip

Jan 17, 2015 at 4:10 pm

Throwing a golf club doesn’t even rate as a thought in my world. Doesn’t alleviate anything for myself. Now throttling the living shite out of a particular wedge, that shall rename nameless for obvious legal reasons (I don’t want any one wedge to start feeling inferior to the rest), bending it into the ground and snapping it in half did nearly occur last season, but I digress.

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Ron

Jan 17, 2015 at 2:48 pm

Apparently the 1 iron goes further being thrown than it does hitting a golf ball! Funny article!

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- Barney Adams
  
  Jan 17, 2015 at 4:08 pm
  
  Once again a story with no regard to the senior golfer. That requires more research as the issue is releasing the club in rhythm and not simultaneously throwing a muscle or ligament or god forbid your back. Takes years to perfect.
  
  Reply Report comment
Connor

Jan 17, 2015 at 2:03 pm

“My golf glove averaged 3 yards (open) and 5 yards (crumpled).”

HAHAHA!

Reply Report comment
Joe

Jan 17, 2015 at 2:01 pm

lost all credibility with a one iron in the bag. Haven’t seen a one iron in a bag since the 80s

Reply Report comment
- Adam Slutsky
  
  Jan 17, 2015 at 2:21 pm
  
  I agree about the 1-iron. I only carry it in the event I encounter rampaging Jihadists!
  
  Reply Report comment
  - rgb
    
    Jan 18, 2015 at 11:04 pm
    
    Story goes that after he was struck by lightning at the 1975 Western Open, Lee Trevino was asked by a reporter what he would do if he were out on the course and it began to storm again. Trevino answered he would take out his 1 iron and point it to the sky, “because not even God can hit a 1-iron.”
    
    Reply Report comment
Brett Carter

Jan 17, 2015 at 1:52 pm

Thanks to this, now I’ll get a little bit of a smirk everytime I rear back to let one fly. For the follow up article, you may also want to look into # of times thrown without a break. That is the real art. The key (for me) is to make sure the club rotates in helicopter mode (parallel to the ground). Also, in addition to distance I think # of revolutions would be interesting. Sometimes its more of a release if you really get one spinning. Thanks for keeping it light…

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- Adam Slutsky
  
  Jan 17, 2015 at 2:22 pm
  
  Much appreciated, Brett! I’ll have to practice.
  
  Reply Report comment
GatorCalaway

Jan 17, 2015 at 12:37 pm

There is nothing i repeat nothing like the sound of a well thrown driver that passes the ball and the womens teebox on its way to the fairway. I prefer the sidearm discus type throw.

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tom stickney

Jan 17, 2015 at 11:43 am

Now that’s a funny article!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply Report comment
D man

Jan 17, 2015 at 11:20 am

This is excellent

Reply Report comment
Mikko U

Jan 17, 2015 at 11:19 am

Where’s the hybrid? It might top the list being heavy and having a long shaft.

Reply Report comment
James

Jan 17, 2015 at 11:10 am

All this time, I figured the 3 wood would have flown furthest, nice amount of weight, long, but not overly light like the driver. Although, your decision to throw other golf related items had me rolling.

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Jcorona

Jan 17, 2015 at 11:06 am

Horrendous, really. Golf is not a “hold my beer and watch this” sport. The fact that this was even approved by WRX is mind blowing.

Reply Report comment
- Gloover
  
  Jan 17, 2015 at 11:15 am
  
  You don’t get it. He is performing this experiment (sober) so we don’t have to. Golf as a sport remains pristine.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Me Nunya
  
  Jan 17, 2015 at 12:28 pm
  
  2/10
  Not ready for bridge duty.
  
  Reply Report comment

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