Focusing distance on 17-85 IS

Alright, so my 17-85 IS showed up about an hour ago and I haven't had but a couple minutes to play with it, but it seems to me that it focuses a lot closer than the 1.15ft that Canon claims. What is that distance measured from, the tip or rear of the lens?

With my Sigma 30mm it seems like the focusing distance is from the front element but this one almost has to be from the rear because I took a picture of a tape measure at 85mm with the tip of the lens about 6 inches from the focus point and the AF didn't have any issues.

EDIT: Just tested it again with someone in my office. Person looking on said it was more like 7-8 inches from the tip to the focus point, not 6, but that's still quite a bit less than the 14 inches spec'd by Canon

I'm pretty sure it's the distance from the sensor, but don't quote me.

I believe you're correct (oops, I quoted you )

garryknight wrote in post #6199137
I'm pretty sure it's the distance from the sensor, but don't quote me.

Look at your camera, there some line drawn on it. That's where you measure.