How to Do a Gapping Session (Range or Simulator)

A gapping session has one job: turn “I think my 8-iron goes about 150” into a number you’d bet a hole on. It’s not a practice session. You’re not working on technique. You’re collecting data, and the quality of the data depends entirely on how you collect it.

When you’re done, put the numbers into the CarryMap Gap Checker to see your ladder, gaps and weak spots.

What you need

• A way to measure carry. A launch monitor is easiest. Without one, use a range with flat, visible targets and a rangefinder, and watch where the ball lands, not where it stops.
• Your own golf ball, if the facility allows it. Range balls can fly very differently from a premium ball.
• A notebook or phone to record every shot, not just the good ones.
• About an hour. Rushing is how bad data happens.

Before you start: control what you can

The number you record should represent a normal shot on a normal day. Remove as many variables as you can:

• Warm up fully before recording anything. The first few swings of the day are rarely representative.
• Use the same ball throughout.
• Note the conditions: temperature, wind and altitude all change carry. Write them down so you can compare sessions.
• Use a consistent lie. Hit off a good mat or a flat, decent turf lie. Don’t tee up irons.
• Pick a real target for every shot. Aimless swings produce aimless numbers.

The routine

Step 1: Work through the bag in order

Start with your shortest full-swing wedge or your longest club, then move through the bag in sequence. Going in order keeps fatigue roughly even and makes it easier to notice when two clubs are producing the same numbers.

Step 2: Hit a set per club

Hit a set of full, stock swings with each club, the swing you’d make on the course with nothing special required. Many players hit roughly 8 to 12 swings per club. Record carry for every shot.

Don’t chase distance. If you start swinging harder because you “know” your 7-iron should go further, your data now describes a swing you won’t use when it matters.

Step 3: Remove only true mishits

Shanks, tops, and fat shots that barely got airborne go. Everything else stays, including the slightly thin one that came up short and the one that jumped. Those are part of your window.

This is where most gapping goes wrong. Golfers filter out anything they don’t like and end up with a “carry” that’s really their best-third average. Then they come up short all season.

Step 4: Calculate your numbers

For each club, record two things:

1. Typical carry: the median works well, because one flier won’t drag it around. An average is fine too.
2. Carry window: the shortest and longest carry from your remaining shots. If one remaining shot is a clear outlier, you can trim one shot from each end. Just be consistent across clubs.

These are exactly the two input modes in the Gap Checker: Single carry and Carry window.

Step 5: Add wedge partial swings (optional but valuable)

Inside full-wedge range, a gapping session should also record your partial swings. A simple matrix uses quarter, half, three-quarter and a controlled stock swing for each wedge. See the wedge clock system and wedge distance chart for how to set this up.

Note that the stock wedge swing in that table is a controlled swing, not a max-effort one. It’s often shorter than your full-swing carry, and that’s fine. Record what you actually measure.

Sample recording sheet

Club	Shots kept	Median carry	Shortest	Longest	Notes
7-iron	10	156	149	161	slight draw, 1 shank removed
8-iron	10	145	139	150

Illustrative example. Your numbers will be different, and that’s the point.

Common mistakes

Measuring total instead of carry. On a firm range a ball can release a long way. Club selection is about carry. Read carry vs total distance.

Too few shots. Three swings tell you very little about a window.

Mixing balls. A range ball and a tour ball can produce different carries from the same swing. Pick one.

Ignoring conditions. A cold, damp morning and a hot afternoon can give noticeably different numbers. Compare like with like.

Testing tired. If you hit the long clubs last after an hour of swinging, they’ll look shorter than they are. Take breaks.

Reading the results

Once your numbers are in the Gap Checker, look for three patterns:

1. Holes: in window mode, places where the longer club’s minimum is above the next club’s maximum. The tool will say “nothing covers X–Y”.
2. Overlaps: two clubs whose windows substantially overlap, which is often a sign one of them is redundant.
3. Uneven spacing: a run of tidy gaps followed by a big jump, usually at PW to the next wedge or in the long irons.

Then go to the golf club gapping chart guide for how to fix each one.

How often to repeat

Re-test after any equipment change, a significant swing change, or a change of ball. Otherwise, once or twice a season keeps your numbers honest. Compare sessions in similar conditions, and update your yardage book when a number moves.

The takeaway

The value of a gapping session comes from discipline, not equipment. Warm up, use one ball, hit enough shots, keep the ordinary misses, and record carry. Do that and your numbers will survive contact with the golf course.

FAQ

How many balls should I hit per club in a gapping session?

Enough to see a pattern rather than a single result. Many players hit somewhere around 8 to 12 good-quality swings per club after warming up, then discard obvious mishits. More shots give a steadier picture of your window, but fatigue starts to distort the later clubs.

Should I remove bad shots from my gapping data?

Remove true mishits, such as shanks, tops and heavy duffs, because you would not plan a shot around them. Keep ordinary slight misses. They are part of your real window and removing them makes your numbers look better than they play.

Are range balls OK for gapping?

Range balls can fly differently from the ball you play, and they vary from range to range. They are fine for relative gaps between clubs, but for absolute carry numbers use your own ball where possible.

Is a simulator accurate enough for gapping?

A good-quality launch monitor measuring your own ball indoors is a practical way to gap. Check the settings, such as ball type, altitude and conditions, because they change the reported carry.