Can Golf Simulators Help You Learn Club Distances?

Golf simulators can be a great way to fit in a solid practice session when you can’t visit the golf course or driving range. They also provide bundles of entertainment when your golf-loving friends want to stop by and partake in some fun competition!

But from a technical standpoint, do they really have anything to teach us? Specifically, if you’re at a point in your game where you’re still unsure of golf club distances, can a golf simulator help you learn these figures?

It’s an interesting question, given simulators are just that - a simulation - and can’t possibly match up with the yardages you’d see on a real-life course… can they?

The experts at Black Box Golf are here to enlighten you, so keep reading to learn more.

Are golf simulator distances accurate?

As it turns out, yes! Modern golf simulators are incredibly accurate, offering simulated yardages very close to what you would expect to see on a real golf course.

They do this by analysing key data from your swing and ball that’s captured in real-time, before performing rapid-fire calculations to determine how far your ball would have travelled had you been playing off a real tee, fairway, or rough. It'll also show you what location on the hole your ball would have landed. 

Plus, because you can easily input which club you’re using at any given time, the simulator will adjust its measurements and results accordingly.

All of this happens in less than a couple of seconds, making golf simulators a fast and effective tool to identify club distances. At Black Box Golf, we’re certified vendors of the world-renowned Trackman Virtual Golf Simulator; one of the sport’s most popular golf simulators widely used by professionals and golfing stars.

You can read more about the accuracy of distances measured by the Trackman golf simulator at our blog.

How golf simulators and indoor golf can help you learn golf club distances

If you’re a beginner player and are still getting to grips with how far each golf club should carry the ball, and if you have access to one, a golf simulator could be a huge source of education, inspiration, and support on your golf journey.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how these innovative technologies help you memorise golf club distances:

  • On a standard golf hole, golf club distances are quite formulaic. You’ll start with the longest club (often the driver) and finish with the shortest (often the putter).

  • Driver - Fairway Wood - Golf Iron - Putter is a common string of clubs to use, though wedges and hybrids may also make an appearance. This gives you a good basic understanding to begin with.

  • The more holes you play on your golf simulator, the more data you’ll have compiled about each club distance. Eventually, you’ll begin to see a pattern and commit these numbers to memory.

  • By having this data readily available in the app (if you’re using the Trackman simulator, or similar), you’ll be able to refer back to it instantly, helping to memorise these numbers more effectively.

What makes the Trackman Golf Simulator so good?

If you’re looking for the cream of the crop when it comes to golf simulators, you needn’t look any further than the Trackman Simulator.

Able to deliver accurate yardages within 1-2 yards, this device is easily considered the gold standard in the golf simulator world, with Trackman technologies being used by some of the sport’s biggest names to refine their swing ahead of big matches.

The simulator is installed in a suitable space (often a spare room or garage), with the subject hitting golf balls into a screen that features a projection of a golf course.

The Trackman simulator uses Doppler Radar Technology and golf launch monitors to analyse your swing and ball flight, to present the most accurate and realistic vision of where the ball would have landed on a real fairway or green (or rough, if you’re unlucky!).

The system tracks such metrics and club data as:

  • Club path

  • Face angle

  • Ball speed 

  • Spin rate

  • Carry distance 

And so much more golfers can use to perfect their swing in tranquil, relaxed settings, before heading out for the real thing. Ideal for players of all skill levels.

Not only that, but travel fans amongst you will be thrilled to know that the Trackman Simulator comes jam-packed with sims of hundreds of real-life golf courses. Including the ones you always see on TV! 

You could be chilling on your sofa one second and taking on the iconic fairways of Augusta the next, for an undeniably immersive experience.



player using trackman

Explore the Trackman Golf Simulator at Black Box Golf

If you’re on the hunt for a golf training tool that’ll help you master golf club distances while improving overall technique and offering instant insight into key metrics, Trackman and Black Box Golf are here for you.

For more information on the Trackman simulator (powered by the Trackman 4 launch monitor), including the price, the screen, software, and any specific requirements, speak to a member of the Black Box Golf team today.

Alex Sutch