250 yards is a respectable carry distance

[caliangels93]

I completely agree with you. Today I took my dads clubs to the local range and played for the first time since last summer. I was watching the PGA tour and wanted to play again. I'm and ex high school baseball player and swinging a club comes sorta naturally to me. Today my average drives rolled 275-280 with my longest rolling to the fence(no i don't swing out of my shoes i swing like how i do on the course)...believe me i was surprised too...and my friend, who is much larger then me, couldn't manage to make it farther then 50 feet.  Now that's not to mention that about 15-20 percent of the time ill shank one way to the right or send a piss rod 2 inches off the ground screaming up the range(remember i golf once a year take it easy). So I believe that you are right on the spot. I can smoke the ball most of the times but it doesn't resemble my uhh handicap...s**t I don't even know mine and I can tell you it's probably not great.

King Cobra LD

5000 inertia

weight 50 g

torque 4.5 degrees

ball speed 110-140 mph

m/10.5

This club is amazing to swing and as light as a feather...has a nice loud TINKKKKKKKK sound to it:D

[bunkerputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

None

If I didn't use them, then I'd have wasted a lot of money buying them. I try to use every club in the bag at least once per round - if I don't use one for 3 consecutive rounds it goes into the big bag o'spares in the basement.

Playing well designed courses is a better way to exercise all of your clubs than making less optimal shot choices.  Not everyone has this as an option, however, so my apologies if you are one of the unfortunate ones.  I play a really crappy and short course every once in a while.  I think I maybe use 5 clubs the entire round, not including putter.  My home course, every single club gets used at least once.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by caliangels93

I completely agree with you. Today I took my dads clubs to the local range and played for the first time since last summer. I was watching the PGA tour and wanted to play again. I'm and ex high school baseball player and swinging a club comes sorta naturally to me. Today my average drives rolled 275-280 with my longest rolling to the fence(no i don't swing out of my shoes i swing like how i do on the course)...believe me i was surprised too...and my friend, who is much larger then me, couldn't manage to make it farther then 50 feet.  Now that's not to mention that about 15-20 percent of the time ill shank one way to the right or send a piss rod 2 inches off the ground screaming up the range(remember i golf once a year take it easy). So I believe that you are right on the spot. I can smoke the ball most of the times but it doesn't resemble my uhh handicap...s**t I don't even know mine and I can tell you it's probably not great.

King Cobra LD

5000 inertia

weight 50 g

torque 4.5 degrees

ball speed 110-140 mph

m/10.5

This club is amazing to swing and as light as a feather...has a nice loud TINKKKKKKKK sound to it:D

You probably need to revise either your ball speed or your yardage.  They don't coincide unless you are getting more than 50 yards of roll.

[40learner]

What would I know as I am only 3 yrs old in this game and hooked.

What is respectable distance?

I have hit 325 yards-298 meters on 2 occasions with good weather and wind behind me. I can crunch a drive some days that feel great but measure out on gps around 220 yrds.

I think I average 250 yrds.

I play with people that hit 180yrds all day and win a comp.

Does it matter how long a drive is if the rest of my game is rubbish?

I enjoyed reading the distance of your clubs.

I am so random and weather is a major factor.

I can hit a 9 iron 150 meters-164yrds with the ball back in my stance or 125meters-136yrds.

I can also hit a 5 iron 150 meters or a 7 iron.

As we all know, just because we think we know our club distance we also need to know how to choose a club when slicing, hooking, hitting low, wind, wet conditions, etc. That is when all these figures go out the window.

Thank you for the read guys

[Kev McDonald]

Anything over 220 is a good drive and leaves you a good chance for GIR my mate hits his driver about 270-290 and plays off 7. I hit mine 240 on my best day and still compete with him. People want to smash it like Bubba but it'll never happen for the majority of us so iron play is your best bet and using Hybrids to help get it close. I've realized now that the putter is the deadliest weapon and mastering that will help no end.

[nescafe]

I'm guessing you have great tempo.  Trackman is really the only launch monitor I trust.  We golfers who have great tempo don't look/feel like we are swinging fast but we have usually finished our swing when someone who swings hard is just hitting the ball.  Case in point...Freddy Couples...looks like he is swinging slow, but his swing speed is 112-118mph.

[AmazingWhacker]

I can carry my driver 220. If I could put the drive where I wanted, that's enough distance to absolutely tear up the courses I play at. I could easily be a single digit handicap and never hit it any farther.

[vangator]

250 yards is a very respectable carry distance. I'd say 95% of golfers can't do that. I'm a pretty long hitter (used to be much longer), and I don't think I could make that claim. Not consistently. There are a few shorter holes on the course I play where I judge my driver length. The first hole is a 317 par four. My typical drive leaves me in the 40-50 yard range to the middle. I have driven into the green side bunker but never on. The approach really narrows at the green, so the best shot is where I typically hit it. Another hole is 360 yards with a wide open fairway. I usually hit it from 60 - 120 yards from the middle of the green. I have driven that green before, but when I was a tad younger. Another hole has a tree beside the tee box that is 225 yards from a canal which is about 20 yards wide. If the tee markers are even or in front of the tree and the wind is not in my face, I will try to carry the canal. That's 245 yards carry. That's about my limit right now. There's a 309 yard par 4 that I have driven many times, but usually I have 40 - 50 yards in with my driver now. It's a dog leg right and I plat a draw, so I became tried of driving thru the fairway and hacking from underneath branches or from rough. Too easy of a hole to make bogey, so I hit 3 wood now. There's a 410 par 4 that is uphill and usually into a breeze off the bay. If I hit it to the 150, I feel pretty good. Typically 180 is my yardage in. I know these are internet yardages, but it is what it is. I'm usually the longest hitter in the groups I play with. I can hit the driver pretty long, but not as accurately as I'd like. On any hole, I make note of where I'd like to hit it but also where I can't. If there's a chance of OB or water, I back off on the drive and try to rely on a longer iron for the approach. That's how you consistently score. Middle of the green on approaches will save a lot of pars. I play a guy this next Monday in league who is a 2 capper ( I get a stroke or two, yeah), and he is a LONG hitter. Longest hitter I've ever seen. Routinely hits in the 340 range. And he's ridiculously accurate. On quite a few holes, he hits a hybrid where we're hitting drivers. Irons are long too. Thank heaven his pitching, chipping and putting are mediocre at best.

[Dave2512]

I don't see many guys not playing in single digits that carry it 250 frequently. Most over estimate carry. The other day I hit a drive 255 total, not great for me, and the guys I was with thought I hit a bomb. They were all woah that is at least 300. I said no see that trap, that is 269 to carry and I am behind it.

[Aflighter]

I don't see many guys not playing in single digits that carry it 250 frequently. Most over estimate carry. The other day I hit a drive 255 total, not great for me, and the guys I was with thought I hit a bomb. They were all woah that is at least 300. I said no see that trap, that is 269 to carry and I am behind it.

yeah,i was playing with guy and he hit it I thought around 300 cause it looked like it but after using skycaddie marking it from tee it was only 265.It was downhill with some wind too.I don't think to the naked eye we can guess how far someone or ourselves have  hit it.With the ability of skycaddies and other devices its amazing people still don't know exactly how far they generally hit it.

[vangator]

nm

[Boucie]

On March 9, 2010 at 6:25 PM, bunkerputt said:

I was at the range today getting back into golf shape for the spring, and took some googleearth measurements prior to heading out. The back fence was at 260 and I think, though can't confirm empirically, that it was playing uphill a bit, though I don't think it would make it play more than 265. I sat there and watched a whole bunch of people for a couple of hours and not one of them even came anywhere near the back fence. It's crazy how short people actually hit the ball in reality. If you can really (not on the internet) carry 250+ (don't post and tell me, I don't care), that's pretty damn respectable. Distance is obviously not holding you back. What's really funny is that I heard a group behind me talking about how they were hitting a flag at 165 (actually 125) with a 5-iron when one guy said you should be using a 9-iron from 165. My buddy told me that on the Ray Romano version of the Haney project, Ray was hitting his driver about 220 and Hank Haney said he's got the distance to shoot in the 70s. I tend to think he was right.

I'm a 13 year old junior and a good drive for me is 220. Now not to say thats my average, since most slice into the woods or are cuffed 50 yards shy of where i want them to be, but an optimal shot for myself is 220, my best ever (that i measured out with my brothers laser) is 231, and a lot of the golfers me and my brother get paired with can barely outdrive me so ya your about right.

 

[CyboNinja]

I was speaking to the starter on the turn my last round out and I asked him "How do they determine where to put the tee markers on each hole? Is it relative to where the pin is that day? Like when the hole is more forward do they move the tee markers back?" He informed me that hole placement has little to do with it. Their main concern with regards to the placement of the markers is to preserve the grass on the tees. As they get more chewed up they move the markers around. He said that the distances given on each hole are measured from center of the tee box to center of the green.

So my drive earlier  that seemed to be about 290 based on proximity to the 150 marker was really more like 260-270. Still a good poke but easily 20 yards short of my best estimate when I was out there playing the hole. It was a par 4 420 and I drove it 10-15 past the 150 sticks. But the markers were all the way to the front of the tee boxes which added 10-15 yards to my estimate at the time. 

[paininthenuts]

On 3/9/2010 at 10:25 PM, bunkerputt said:

I was at the range today getting back into golf shape for the spring, and took some googleearth measurements prior to heading out. The back fence was at 260 and I think, though can't confirm empirically, that it was playing uphill a bit, though I don't think it would make it play more than 265. I sat there and watched a whole bunch of people for a couple of hours and not one of them even came anywhere near the back fence. It's crazy how short people actually hit the ball in reality. If you can really (not on the internet) carry 250+ (don't post and tell me, I don't care), that's pretty damn respectable. Distance is obviously not holding you back. What's really funny is that I heard a group behind me talking about how they were hitting a flag at 165 (actually 125) with a 5-iron when one guy said you should be using a 9-iron from 165. My buddy told me that on the Ray Romano version of the Haney project, Ray was hitting his driver about 220 and Hank Haney said he's got the distance to shoot in the 70s. I tend to think he was right.

I don't want to read through every post to see if someone else has said this, but range balls travel only two thirds the distance of a normal ball. therefore to reach  260 yards, the person in question would have to actually hit a 350 yard drive

[dennyjones]

I don't hit the ball long but after getting a range finder,  I realize I don't hit it as far as I thought.   I believe that Game Golf would be an eye opener for everyone.  

[Zekez]

The woods are full of 300 yard drives!  :)

[cutchemist42]

5 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I don't hit the ball long but after getting a range finder,  I realize I don't hit it as far as I thought.   I believe that Game Golf would be an eye opener for everyone.  

Yeah Gamegolf has been a big help to me for yardages. I never grossly over-estimated my drives before, I average about 230 and thought I was more 245 before Gamegolf.

I've also seen the stats of average driver carry to handicap, and I honestly thought most people hit it huge based off internet talk.

Edited July 28, 2016 by cutchemist42

[natureboy]

11 hours ago, paininthenuts said:

I don't want to read through every post to see if someone else has said this, but range balls travel only two thirds the distance of a normal ball. therefore to reach  260 yards, the person in question would have to actually hit a 350 yard drive

That's not universally true.

Some range balls may only go that far if they are distance limited and / or the cover has worn down so much they don't have any more lift-producing dimples.

The average I have seen for typical difference between range balls and regular balls is 5-15%, with ~ 8-10% most common. Also some ranges at premium clubs have regular balls like pro V's. If you have a higher SS, a high compression range ball may go close to as well as a premium ball. This is my experience where my range carries with driver are fairly comparable to my on-course while my irons are consistently much shorter on the range.

Edited July 28, 2016 by natureboy