Just a reminder, while it is helpful to know your stock yardages for your clubs, don't get locked in on those yardages while playing. Wind, temperature, humidity, and daily swing variance can play a roll in how close those stock yardages are to what you hit on any given day. That said, if you do not have access to a launch monitor, just take a rangefinder with you to the practice range and use it to pinpoint your shots. It may not be super accurate but it will be better than guessing based on the range stakes. Be sure to point to landing areas and not the ball after roll out to capture your carry distances. Using the simulator, your plan sounds like a good approach. Go for it!

I agree with Dale. Being in Michigan I get an idea of my club ranges. In the spring I hit the driving range and use my range finder to get the range. As Dale has indicated Wind, Temperature and Humidity will impact the ball flight.

This sounds like a good plan. Take time to get out and do the same in natural environment as well. Even slight breezes can change some of the outcomes and up in Fort Worth, you'll get plenty of those. A 100% and a 75% average is good to have. When I tracked my yardage more, I would use a dry erase marker and place the yardage on the back of my clubs. When it would change, I'd wipe and shift. Good luck!

I actually did the same thing, I went to the simulator and took 15 swings with each club, then took the average. If you find a better way, please share.

Launch monitors are useful, but there is really no substitute for hitting and logging shots and distances on the golf course IMO.

Probably the best or most accurate way would be to do it while practicing on a real course.

Hit shoots off grass or conditions that replicate the real-world conditions found on courses not simulators.
SIM's can get you possibly close, but they usually are off mats, with no wind or environmental conditions to take into play or factor in.

I usually play more than a couple rounds early each season here using just irons and hitting various shots just to get accurate distances before playing any round for score with others.

To answer your question/query Yes this is the best way to work out your yardages for each club as you will get the average from your best and worse strikes.
I have done this in the past and to be honest I need to do it again as I have changed clubs as now playing T100s.
Good luck and have a great season.

When I practice at the driving range. I take my rangefinder (Bushnell because of their accuracy) and I will practice with maybe a few clubs at a target down range. I am 77 years old and if I do not have an approximate idea of my distances by now, time to hang them up. We must face the fact that we are not pros and those guy hit thousands of golf balls and their degree of accuracy with their shots is something we may achieve on out of every ten shots. Because they practice. Even after a round, the go back out and work on their misses. We were mesmerized at the shots that Joe Highsmith was hitting on the range demonstrating his four iron. This is his rookie year and he was so close to his target. Ben Hogan was a master at hitting golf balls til his hands bled and he did have the technology to measure his yardage that we have. He just practiced, practiced, practiced and filed all that info in his head. If you spend the time on the range, working on each club, developing that MEMORY, when you get on the course, it will come naturally. As I have gotten older I have lost mucho yardage but I adjust with more club and have a pretty good idea that if I hit the ball well it will be close enough to a good chance for a birdie putt. Anything on the green has a change to go in, or at least in my mind it does. Even though I spent many hours taking college accounting classes, I am not a numbers cruncher on the golf course. But life is about choices and if it helps your game. Go for it. Hakuna matata.

As usual , we'll put Mr. Chuck Z.
Play Well,
Steve S.

Simulators do not work or have the accuracy I prefer....however when I am out on the course I use the USGA GHIN app (with a paid subscription) to track all my actual yardages as I play...I have noticed the balls on ranges do not have the same peformance on course as my ProV1x's....

IMHO

I would second Chris' comment above. The range or practice balls will not have the same flight characteristics as a regular ProV1(x) etc. They simply aren't made to fly as far.

I am going to try the Arccos sensors to see how they perform, thanks to my TT Friend Chris Price!

If you use a simulator, make sure you use the same ball you play with on the course. I actually tested some things out at Golftec yesterday during my practice session. Their balls were so much shorted than a brand new ProV1x that I use outside. I was baffled why I hit every club so much shorter hitting inside. Thought it could be hitting off mats, bad balls or the maybe it's the simulator. Now I know that the ball was the problem.

Simulators are called simulators for a reason. The distances are just estimates. Not to mention hitting off of mats. At least they are more comfortable than playing a round in 35 degrees and a wind of 35 mph. I only rely on them for relative distance gaps. Just need to know the approximate distance between a half swing of a gap and sand wedge.

Sounds like you need to play more. I think I wrote my yardages down when I first started playing. But I know exactly what I'm hitting once I know the yardage and know what the wind is doing.

I don't have any fancy gadgets so I just went to my nearest golf simulator and logged yardages there.

Best thing I found was hitting a decent number of shots (about 30 per club) on a driving range to get an idea on carry distance, obviously not all clubs in one session! personally, I prefer to see the flight of the ball rather than hitting a screen, and then only remove extreme outliers from the values. That should give a good idea of your best and not so good shots with each club, I wouldn't say its best practice to only count best shots as we're not pros as per a previous comment and can hit some questionable shots and inconsistent distances

Simple, MORE rounds of golf with a rangefinder! You'll begin to learn how far each club goes under real conditions. Hitting the range as others have mentioned works well also!

I really like your idea of using a simulator to track your yardages for different swings. It's a great starting point because it gives you the opportunity to control the conditions and eliminate any outliers. This method will give you a solid foundation for understanding how far you can hit each club. But you know what would take it to the next level? Integrating technology like Arccos shot tracking. Seriously, this thing is a game-changer! It adds so much value by capturing real-world data that takes into account all kinds of factors like wind, terrain, and pressure situations. With this data, you'll be able to fine-tune your yardages even more accurately as time goes on. Trust me, it's definitely worth considering!

I start with a range finder on the range and get some base numbers for my yardages. Use those numbers and adjust as I get feedback of numbers through shot scope. After a handful of rounds my distance numbers have a solid range.

Good luck and play well.

I track my yardage by club with my Sky Caddie. Data shows more total distance in the spring and fall when the fairways are drier compared to summer conditions.

I tracked all my clubs this winter in my own warm dry simulator , 20 hits a day over several days , took the average and jotted them down on a waterproof tag that I hang on my bag ... unfortunately all my shots out on the course now are longer (except the driver ) .. I think the mat scrubs off some club speed compared to real turf... the driver being on a tee probably aids that clubs readings . But I cant think of a better way to do what you are asking .. just be prepared to adjust as the seasons change ..