Knowing your golf club distances is a critical part of the game of golf. It can also be one of the hardest parts of the game because the conditions are never the same.

You have to set yourself up with a base set of golf club distances from which to work from. What I mean by that is finding out how far you hit the ball with your driver, other woods, irons, wedges and putter. These must be figured out in perfect conditions(no wind, rain, snow etc.)

Take a pad of paper or small book with you to the driving range or golf course and write down how far you hit each club. Also write down how far each shot travels in the air. This will give you your base set of golf club distances.

The next thing to do is figure out which golf clubs you're most comfortable hitting from the key distances on the course. What is your best club off the tee, form 200 yards out, your 150 club, and your 100 yard club.

I say this because these are the main marked distances on most public golf courses. If you know these key golf club distances you will easily be able to calculate what clubs to hit between these main yardage points.

I mentioned earlier about knowing how far each club travels in the air. This is very important because in a lot of cases, specially with your longer irons and woods you will get some extra roll along the ground.

You need to know how far these shots travel in case you have to hit over water, a ravine from the tee, or if you have an approach shot over a pond or sand trap into the green. Here is a yardage chart that might help:

One way to learn which clubs are the best for you is to do some golf club comparisons. At your local golf course or driving range watch for demo days and take advantage of them to do some tests and comparisons. Try some different sets of clubs to see which distances and ball flights you like the best.

For the more advanced players it is also important to learn how far you hit the low and high shots into and with the wind as these distances will change considerably. If you could also learn your 3/4 shots and 1/2 swing shots you will have a huge arsenal of shots to choose from. Know your golf club distances, and you'll be miles ahead of your competition.