Is it really all about the long ball ??

[carpediem4300]

Originally Posted by Deryck Griffith

If only it was that easy....

it is,...hence why im still at 17.1 haha

[GixxerTed]

Distance is less important that accuracy.  You need a mix of both but i'll take accuracy over distance any day of the week.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by GixxerTed

Distance is less important that accuracy.  You need a mix of both but i'll take accuracy over distance any day of the week.

From 240 to 270 out on a par 5, what would be the approximate accuracy for someone who can only hit the ball 180 yards? Factor in their perfect 180 yard shot then a tour player's accuracy from 100 yards. I'll take distance.

[Shorty]

Originally Posted by GixxerTed

Distance is less important that accuracy.  You need a mix of both but i'll take accuracy over distance any day of the week.

So, you'd rather hit it 190 off the the and never be able to reach a par 4 in two on a proper golf course?

[GixxerTed]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

From 240 to 270 out on a par 5, what would be the approximate accuracy for someone who can only hit the ball 180 yards? Factor in their perfect 180 yard shot then a tour player's accuracy from 100 yards. I'll take distance.

270-180 leaves 90 in vs tryin to smash a 3 wood that goes out of bounds and you take a penalty stroke?  Like i said to play good golf you need a mix of both accuracy and distance. To the op, If your hitting it 240 off the tee in the fairway thats excellent. You might wanna move up a set of tees to make the game more fun instead of being 200 plus out on par 4's.  Especially if your not breaking pars.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by GixxerTed

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

From 240 to 270 out on a par 5, what would be the approximate accuracy for someone who can only hit the ball 180 yards? Factor in their perfect 180 yard shot then a tour player's accuracy from 100 yards. I'll take distance.

270-180 leaves 90 in vs tryin to smash a 3 wood that goes out of bounds and you take a penalty stroke?  Like i said to play good golf you need a mix of both accuracy and distance. To the op, If your hitting it 240 off the tee in the fairway thats excellent. You might wanna move up a set of tees to make the game more fun instead of being 200 plus out on par 4's.  Especially if your not breaking pars.

If OB is a problem, then a layup is a smart play, but otherwise a missed green and an up and down for birdie is a better option for many than a layup with another chance at a missed green and up and down. Guys who can't hit the ball 240 are not likely hitting ball consistently 180 and then the green from 90. Regardless of what people on the internet say they can do, they're not doing it in consistely in reality. They're just simply not getting it done - at least I never see it with the guys golf with.

[oregongolfguy]

I guess it all depends on what kind of a track and how much ego you have....Obviously distance becomes a big deal when you start to stretch it out into the 6500+ yard range.  But, why would you play a 6800 yard track if you hit the ball 230 off the tee.  I am a firm believer that golf is supposed to be both fun and challenging.  Nothing drives me nuts more then when the group in front of me are playing from the tips and only hit the ball 220-240 off the tee's.  It makes for a long day.  Obviously if your playing tournament golf that is another story.

I would also say that most reasonably fit men that take a few lessons and play a driver that is fit for them, maybe a little shorter shaft and a little more loft for alot of people...should be able to get around 220 ish carry at least.  And that should allow anyone to be able to play a 6000-6200 yd course and have a legit shot at being on the green in regulation every time as long as they hit it straight.

You don't need to play 6800 yds to be playing a "proper" golf course.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by Shorty

So, you'd rather hit it 190 off the the and never be able to reach a par 4 in two on a proper golf course?

i don't think anybody's talking 190 off the tee, we're talking the usual 230-240 off the tee.    Again, we're talking the benefits of a smooth & easy 230 yard drive on the fairway, as opposed to a longer drive often not in the fairway.     We've determined it comes down to your relative skill level (what tee's you play from - at a certain skill level, length is required) & what follow up clubs you need to be good with depending on what strategy you prefer.    I should have directed this thread to the mid & high cappers - short & straight doesn't apply to the low cappers ...

[DenisO]

Originally Posted by inthehole

i don't think anybody's talking 190 off the tee, we're talking the usual 230-240 off the tee.    Again, we're talking the benefits of a smooth & easy 230 yard drive on the fairway, as opposed to a longer drive often not in the fairway.     We've determined it comes down to your relative skill level (what tee's you play from - at a certain skill level, length is required) & what follow up clubs you need to be good with depending on what strategy you prefer.    I should have directed this thread to the mid & high cappers - short & straight doesn't apply to the low cappers ...

What do you mean, short & straight doesn't apply to the low cappers?

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by DenisO

What do you mean, short & straight doesn't apply to the low cappers?

The concensus is better players play from the blues or tips and need extra length off the tee to get the ball in position to score low.     The 2nd shot seems to be the key to it all ... by using length, low cappers get a shorter 2nd shot and aren't as concerned from recovering from the rough; my approach is to just get the drive out there reasonably on the fairway & stay the hellouta the rough.

I could be wrong, but seems to me it comes down to your goal ... if you're a good player, you are thinking birdie, thus gotta get it out there for a shorter 2nd shot.      As a newer player, my goal on an average par 4 is par - all I can ask for is an up and down opportunity from somewhere around the green.    Birdlies are few and far between hitting it short & straight.

[DenisO]

Originally Posted by inthehole

Better players play from the blues or tips and need extra length off the tee to get the ball in position to score low.

I got down to 2.5 only hitting it 230-240 and playing from the blues or tips. Short and straight still works for me.

[inthehole]

Originally Posted by DenisO

I got down to 2.5 only hitting it 230-240 and playing from the blues or tips. Short and straight still works for me.

awesome - that gives me hope and confidence to keep going with my current controlled game approach.     You must have a fierce short game !

[Double Bogey]

I am just like you inthehole.  I am a bogey golfer, and only about 240 off the tee.  I can hit it 280+ off the tee but it will not be in the fairway nearly as often.  I have played that way for years and the scores never really dropped. With going shorter and keeping it in the fairway and really working on the second shots I have been able to drop my scores.  I really to think being 240 off the tee is fine if your goal is par (which mine is).  I know that birdie is out of the question without getting very accurate with the second shot, and when I am accurate the birdies do happen.  Just not as much as I like.

To all the posters about moving up a tee.  That is not really and option at my club.  While I would love to move up to the whites (roughly 6000 yds) so golf can be more "fun." All the tourneys are played at the blues (roughly 6500), therefore I need to play and practice where I would be during tourney time.  I have played the golds (6800 yards) once and that is just horrible for my 240 off the tee.  Just saying.

[x129]

I think people are talking across each other

1) Distance is a huge advantage. It is easy to trade distance for accuracy when you are driving the ball the ball 240. You can still hit all the GIR with decent 2nd shots on most courses (<6500 yards or so will rarely have 600 yard par 5s or 440+ yard par 4s). Drive it 220 max and then think about how much giving up 40 yards hurts.

2) Golf is an accuracy game. In general as you progress in the hole, your accuracy becomes more important. Hitting the fairway (heck even having a playable shot depending on how bad the rough is) off the tee is good enough in a lot of cases. Getting the approach shot to 20 feet instead of 40 feet matters a lot more in scoring well. It is a lot easier to hit a 120 yard shot to within 20 feet of the pin than a 200 yard hybrid. If you trade off distance for accuracy on your first shot, you have to factor in how much accuracy you are losing on your second shot to see if it is worthwhile. No one on the net can tell you that without knowing your game and the hole.

Originally Posted by Double Bogey

I am just like you inthehole.  I am a bogey golfer, and only about 240 off the tee.  I can hit it 280+ off the tee but it will not be in the fairway nearly as often.  I have played that way for years and the scores never really dropped. With going shorter and keeping it in the fairway and really working on the second shots I have been able to drop my scores.  I really to think being 240 off the tee is fine if your goal is par (which mine is).  I know that birdie is out of the question without getting very accurate with the second shot, and when I am accurate the birdies do happen.  Just not as much as I like.

To all the posters about moving up a tee.  That is not really and option at my club.  While I would love to move up to the whites (roughly 6000 yds) so golf can be more "fun." All the tourneys are played at the blues (roughly 6500), therefore I need to play and practice where I would be during tourney time.  I have played the golds (6800 yards) once and that is just horrible for my 240 off the tee.  Just saying.

[EverythingGolf]

Originally Posted by inthehole

From all we read about longest clubs, longest balls, most efficient swing to get 99.9% of potential swing speed to give maximum distance ... I may be the only golfer left who isn't concerned with distance.     My game has improved DRAMATICALLY when I changed the whole way I approached it - I have a bad back, so I have recently worked on a swing that suits me & I can actually play rounds in consecutive days - never could do that before without practically overdosing on Advil.    I'm all about a slow backswing, controlled downswing and solid ball contact.     Never hit better & my distance hasn't dropped off much at all.    It's amazing what happens when you make clean ball first contact & don't try to overpower it.      Yesterday, I hit 14 out of 15 fairways with my ho-hum 220-240 yard drive.  Game is monumentally more enjoyable playing from the fairways.    Hit a 3w on a 220 yd par 3 to 15 ft.     Granted, I don't have the body left to give me the distance required to ever be a scratch player, but this new approach is paying huge dividends for me on the scorecard.

Curious if anybody else has given up their quest for the long ball & went for more of a controlled game ?

Slow your swing down make better (center) contact and you will hit it straighter and farther.  Better smash factor = higher ball speed = more distance.

[ghalfaire]

Here's my story and I'll stick to it.  Yesterday a buddy and I played a little best (better) ball match with his son in law and friend.  We are in our sixties and not what you would call long while the young guys are in their thirties and probably 270 off the tee and not too bad with the accuracy.  They managed to keep most of them in play if not on short grass.  So after the first tee drives I was a little worried my buddy in his desire to beat the son in law had talked me into a stupid bet.  But I quickly learned these young guns apparently didn't think it important to play from 50 yards and in as it was clear they didn't practice that part of the game much.  So to make a long story short we beat them 4&3 and the short game was certainly more important than the long game. It was the best hamburger and beer I've had in awhile.  Avoid Testosterone poisoning and practice the short game too is my advice.

[DocPangloss]

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

Here's my story and I'll stick to it.  Yesterday a buddy and I played a little best (better) ball match with his son in law and friend.  We are in our sixties and not what you would call long while the young guys are in their thirties and probably 270 off the tee and not too bad with the accuracy.  They managed to keep most of them in play if not on short grass.  So after the first tee drives I was a little worried my buddy in his desire to beat the son in law had talked me into a stupid bet.  But I quickly learned these young guns apparently didn't think it important to play from 50 yards and in as it was clear they didn't practice that part of the game much.  So to make a long story short we beat them 4&3 and the short game was certainly more important than the long game. It was the best hamburger and beer I've had in awhile.  Avoid Testosterone poisoning and practice the short game too is my advice.

Advocating that the long ball is more important does not mean advocating that short game matters so little as to require minimal practice.

Nice story, but it doesn't prove that short game is inherently more important...

[shiny]

After reading this thread all the way through I found this topic to be very informative... nice job gents.   My take as a average distance driver (240) being longer (270+) might help me, but it would need to be at least 30 yards longer.  Adding a 2 and 4 hybrid to my bag and learning how to hit them is what has made my scores drop.  I am still a high capper, but mainly due to the couple of chunks around the green or the dreaded topping a shot. I can top it with a hybrid or a 9 iron, I am an equal opportunity topper ;-)

Thats the quote of the month for me, well said Sir. I am a short hitter average 220 off the tee and there is a differrence on the longer holes of hitting a 3 hybrid or an 8 iron into a green. I suppose it all depends on what you want out of this game and how much you are going to work on getting it. I would love to be hitting 280 yard drives but realistically I have only been playing for 2 years, have a handicap of 20, am the wrong side of 40 and have limited practise time. I have found it more beneficial rather than working on driver distance to work on hybrid/long iron/fairway wood distance and accuracy to get me a decent second shot arsenal. Once I got better at this and learned to chip my scores started dropping.