Jump to content
IGNORED

Why do people lie so much about their distance?


Paiste
Note: This thread is 3617 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

The only thing that sticks out is your claim to have an average drive of 197 yards. I don't think it makes any sense to say that would be your average drive like it would be your "typical". When someone asks "How far do you drive?", most people think with a driver.

Yes, I could claim that my average drive distance is 197 yards as well, but the next time I hit into a group at 260 yards away I'll just tell them that some guy on the Internet told me that my average drive is only 197 yards.

And I can say that my average drive is just shy of 200 yards, because sometimes I use my PW off the tee which cuts my 240 yard drive down to 197.

It just doesn't make sense to quote such a number.

I agree it doesn't make much sense but it was the first time I attempted such an experiment and it made sense to me at the time. If I started over I would do it differently. But there are threads here that specifically state average distances ( Average Distances... How far do you hit each club? and don't lie... ), and people often post citing "average driver distance" numbers ... so?

I do think it is to my point though that most people are not lying. Online users posting "my average drive is XYZ" probably do not really mean average or if they do only some restricted kind of average. In the absence of information about the data and how it is used it is just a number without any context. Given some information about the data and how it was processed, it was easy for you to conclude (rightly) that while 197 might be correct it is hardly useful.

I also agree that the only club anyone ever asked distance for is driver (I alluded to that). I used to say "I'm not sure, what exactly do you mean?" and 100% of the time the answer would be along the lines of "Well you know, on average how far do you hit driver?". I do not take much responsibility to read minds but it is my fault for not leading with better questions like "You mean under normal conditions what is a good drive for me?".

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I never understood the emphasis on distance either - seems like a d1ck measuring contest (I guess if you're a tournament player it's more important).     I could care less about my distance - I'm your basic average.      Accuracy is what I'm working on - GIR's are the name of the game...

John

Fav LT Quote ... "you can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

At my home course we had a young assistant pro named Jordan who was a big kid at 6'4" and a very good player. He shot our course record(63) back in 2003 that still stands today. I've been a member there since 2005 and unfortunately my first year there was Jordan's last. I got to know him in the clubhouse we would have some good chats and he was just a nice humble kid doing his job. We talked about going out to play together but never made it out that season and he left to work at another course out of our area the following year.

Now here's the funny part:

Since I never got to see Jordan play and the guy was humble and would never brag about distance or his game, after he left older members would talk about how far he hit the ball. Listening to them talk about his distance was like reading old stories of Pecos Bill and Paul Bunyon, lol. Members would say he normally drove the ball 400 yards and would hit driver/wedge to all the par 5's.

There's no doubt in my mind that Jordan likely pounded the ball in the 300 yard range and hit all the par 5's with mid-irons but listening to the older members over exaggerate his distance had me chuckling inside.

I guess distance is just one of those things people like to increase in their mind to add that "bling" effect to their stories. As a scratch player I've had plenty of rounds over the years with average golfers that tell me you must be driving it 300 yards, which I have to correct them and say no that one was only 265-270. Because I'm 30 yards ahead of them and they think they drive the ball 260 so they assume my drive had to be close to 300,lol!

In my opinion one of the first steps in learning how to score in golf is you have to know how far you REALLY hit the ball. Without that information you will never be able to consistently hit the target and keep your ball out of serious trouble. For the most part I don't think the average golfer has that piece of information because they either just don't know or they think they hit it farther than they do so their game suffers.

But I wish I would have gotten out to play with Jordan before he left. I enjoy watching and playing with the good younger guy's that can put it out there 30 yards past me. It's fun to watch and I can still play within myself and give them a game.

In My Bag:
Driver: :Cobra Amp Cell Pro 9.5*, Stock X-Flex

3 Wood: :Cobra Bio Cell 16*, Stock X-Flex

5 Wood: Cobra Bio Cell 20*, Stock S-Flex
Irons: Bridgestone J40-CB 3-PW, Project-X 6.0

Gap Wedge::Vokey: 52* CNC  

Sand Wedge: :Vokey: 58* CNC  

Putters: Scotty Cameron Newport II 

Ball: Bridgestone 330-S(2014)

Link to comment
Share on other sites


It doesn't affect me at all but I'm just curious as to why so many guys tend to lie about the distance that they can hit their clubs with. Sooner or later, they're going to be out golfing with someone that they recently lied to and they will be exposed. I just don't get it. It doesn't make you a better golfer because you can hit it farther than everyone else.

The ones I love the best are guys that claim that they can hit their PW 160 to 180 yards. Seriously? I hit my PW about 115 to 120 yards and it's dialed in to that yardage every time and I'm not the least bit embarrassed that I can't bomb my PW. That's not what it's for; it's a scoring iron, more of a finesse club (IMO).

Anyways, just something that I wanted to bitch about. Cheers.

It's either that they don't really know or small P syndrome.

:nike:Covert Tour

:wilson_staff: Fybrid RS 15*

Irons??

:tmade: Tour Preffered 54* & 60* w/ ATV grind

:rife: Trinidad Tropical

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Good players hit the ball further. When I see a <2 handicap claim they hit their drives around 300 and PW 150 yards, I believe them. I have played with scratch golfers who hit most of their drives over 300 yards. But when a 15+ handicapper claims they hit their drives 300+, I assume they're lying. If you can hit 300 yard drives, it means you're hitting the ball with high swing speed in the center of the club face, and if you're hitting the ball with high swing speed in the center of the club face, you must be a really good player, not a 15+ handicap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I agree it doesn't make much sense but it was the first time I attempted such an experiment and it made sense to me at the time. If I started over I would do it differently. But there are threads here that specifically state average distances ([URL=http://thesandtrap.com/t/18426/average-distances-how-far-do-you-hit-each-club-and-dont-lie]Average Distances... How far do you hit each club? and don't lie...[/URL]), and people often post citing "average driver distance" numbers ... so? I do think it is to my point though that most people are not lying. Online users posting "my average drive is XYZ" probably do not really mean average or if they do only some restricted kind of average. In the absence of information about the data and how it is used it is just a number without any context. Given some information about the data and how it was processed, it was easy for you to conclude (rightly) that while 197 might be correct it is hardly useful. I also agree that the only club anyone ever asked distance for is driver (I alluded to that). I used to say "I'm not sure, what exactly do you mean?" and 100% of the time the answer would be along the lines of "Well you know, on average how far do you hit driver?". I do not take much responsibility to read minds but it is my fault for not leading with better questions like "You mean under normal conditions what is a good drive for me?".

I agree. To top it off, I would say when someone asks for "average" they mean "typical" as average does not have any direct bearing on score. It's a good performance metric for you to work on self improvement. It's probably just a semantics issue.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator

Good players hit the ball further. When I see a <2 handicap claim they hit their drives around 300 and PW 150 yards, I believe them. I have played with scratch golfers who hit most of their drives over 300 yards. But when a 15+ handicapper claims they hit their drives 300+, I assume they're lying. If you can hit 300 yard drives, it means you're hitting the ball with high swing speed in the center of the club face, and if you're hitting the ball with high swing speed in the center of the club face, you must be a really good player, not a 15+ handicap.

I doubt that. C'mon, look at the PGA Tour stats. Most golfers are not hitting the ball 300 yards. Most PGA Tour players are not hitting the ball 300 yards! Currently 22 of 206 average 300+.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I doubt that. C'mon, look at the PGA Tour stats. Most golfers are not hitting the ball 300 yards. Most PGA Tour players are not hitting the ball 300 yards! Currently 22 of 206 average 300+.

You can doubt it if you want but it's true. They're both tall and flexible. One is a soccer player and the other got a scholarship to some College in the US. I'm not considered a short hitter and these guys blew by my drives. The first hole is a par 5 that plays 520 yards from the tips, and one guy hit driver PW. He had no more than a gap wedge into all par 4's. I've never seen anything like it. They would both be up there on the driving distance stat if they played on tour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

  • Administrator

You can doubt it if you want but it's true. They're both tall and flexible. One is a soccer player and the other got a scholarship to some College in the US. I'm not considered a short hitter and these guys blew by my drives. The first hole is a par 5 that plays 520 yards from the tips, and one guy hit driver PW. He had no more than a gap wedge into all par 4's. I've never seen anything like it. They would both be up there on the driving distance stat if they played on tour.

I might have misread that. I didn't think you were referring to one or two specific players; I thought you were referring to "the scratch golfers with whom you've played." As in 10+.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I might have misread that. I didn't think you were referring to one or two specific players; I thought you were referring to "the scratch golfers with whom you've played." As in 10+.

Yeah sorry, I've played with many scratch players, but only 2 of those players hit their drives 300+. I might have worded that first post poorly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Here's my two cents... It is a collaboration of all players that make people lie... If everyone is saying 300, am I going to say my honest 245 (and average more like 230) Probably not. I'll say my drive of a lifetime. From what I've seen on the course, my 240 isn't getting stomped by that much that often. I'm not saying people don't, I watch the PGA pros at stores hit 3 woods that far, but your average 90 shooter golfer out there isn't that long. One more note: for the 25 handicappers hitting "300" out there.... If this really is true, I might lie the opposite direction. If you have the length to hit anything in 2, most with 2nd shot being wedge and are taking 4 strokes per hole more from beside the green, you have serious other problems.
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I hit a 330 yard drive this weekend...  Does it matter that it landed on a hard downslope and rolled the other 60/70 yards?! ;-)

Tony  


:titleist:    |   :tmade:   |     :cleveland: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


One more note: for the 25 handicappers hitting "300" out there....

You are addressing population of 0 ... :-)

RiCK

(Play it again, Sam)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

All this talk, I was just thinking a good drive for me is 230 yards including carry and (probably lots of) roll. That happens once or twice a round. I remember my longest drive last year went 260 (downhill, FTW) and thinking how nice it must be to be able to hit into the green with a wedge a couple times a round, haha.

Christian

:tmade::titleist:  :leupold:  :aimpoint: :gamegolf:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

All this talk, I was just thinking a good drive for me is 230 yards including carry and (probably lots of) roll. That happens once or twice a round. I remember my longest drive last year went 260 (downhill, FTW) and thinking how nice it must be to be able to hit into the green with a wedge a couple times a round, haha.

I only drive 240-ish and have at least 3 par 4 per round with only a wedge to the green. The answer is quite simple, play shorter tees.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

It doesn't affect me at all but I'm just curious as to why so many guys tend to lie about the distance that they can hit their clubs with. Sooner or later, they're going to be out golfing with someone that they recently lied to and they will be exposed. I just don't get it. It doesn't make you a better golfer because you can hit it farther than everyone else.

The ones I love the best are guys that claim that they can hit their PW 160 to 180 yards. Seriously? I hit my PW about 115 to 120 yards and it's dialed in to that yardage every time and I'm not the least bit embarrassed that I can't bomb my PW. That's not what it's for; it's a scoring iron, more of a finesse club (IMO).

Anyways, just something that I wanted to bitch about. Cheers.


I agree.

What's funny is I just played with one of these distance humpers the other day.  We rolled up to a 160 yard par 3 that's pretty straightforward with some water on the left and sand traps around half the green, all avoidable as long as you don't muff your drive.  Normally I hit a 7 on this hole but there was just enough of a headwind to make you think it might cause problems in getting to the green.  I decided drop down to a 6 to be safe and then watched this macho clown smash his ball 100 feet in the air and have the wind stop it probably 15 yards short of the green.  I hit mine and had it land on the front edge of the green and roll to the back.  This guy immediately turns and asks what I hit, and I tell him a 6 iron.  He does this mocking laugh and says he hit an 8 and sorta complains how my ball is pin high.  I basically just blew it off and kept playing my game, knobs like this I've already learned you just gotta ignore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I agree. What's funny is I just played with one of these distance humpers the other day.  We rolled up to a 160 yard par 3 that's pretty straightforward with some water on the left and sand traps around half the green, all avoidable as long as you don't muff your drive.  Normally I hit a 7 on this hole but there was just enough of a headwind to make you think it might cause problems in getting to the green.  I decided drop down to a 6 to be safe and then watched this macho clown smash his ball 100 feet in the air and have the wind stop it probably 15 yards short of the green.  I hit mine and had it land on the front edge of the green and roll to the back.  This guy immediately turns and asks what I hit, and I tell him a 6 iron.  He does this mocking laugh and says he hit an 8 and sorta complains how my ball is pin high.  I basically just blew it off and kept playing my game, knobs like this I've already learned you just gotta ignore.

160 is still good for a normal 7i.

:ping:  :tmade:  :callaway:   :gamegolf:  :titleist:

TM White Smoke Big Fontana; Pro-V1
TM Rac 60 TT WS, MD2 56
Ping i20 irons U-4, CFS300
Callaway XR16 9 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S
Callaway XR16 3W 15 degree Fujikura Speeder 565 S, X2Hot Pro 20 degrees S

"I'm hitting the woods just great, but I'm having a terrible time getting out of them." ~Harry Toscano

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

I agree.

What's funny is I just played with one of these distance humpers the other day.  We rolled up to a 160 yard par 3 that's pretty straightforward with some water on the left and sand traps around half the green, all avoidable as long as you don't muff your drive.  Normally I hit a 7 on this hole but there was just enough of a headwind to make you think it might cause problems in getting to the green.  I decided drop down to a 6 to be safe and then watched this macho clown smash his ball 100 feet in the air and have the wind stop it probably 15 yards short of the green.  I hit mine and had it land on the front edge of the green and roll to the back.  This guy immediately turns and asks what I hit, and I tell him a 6 iron.  He does this mocking laugh and says he hit an 8 and sorta complains how my ball is pin high.  I basically just blew it off and kept playing my game, knobs like this I've already learned you just gotta ignore.

160 with a slight headwind, I would probably try to flight an 8 iron in there.

I never really played with any macho type guys in the leagues I play in. They usually know their game because they have played the course countless times and know the distances.

There is one way to stop the lying. Stop asking how far you hit the clubs. :-P

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 3617 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.
  • Posts

    • I kind of like this interpretation especially if you think about it the unplayable rule would probably put you in a better spot.  using back on the line releief.  
    • I did not realize that, I was thinking a more traditional golf club.  
    • Thanks for the feedback. @StuM, we are a "club without real estate" so no facilities or pro. We have a membership of around 185 players and we only play together as a group at our tournaments, which are held at public access courses. A group of us setup the tournaments, collect the money and dole out the prizes.
    • In general, granting free relief anywhere on the course isn't recommended.  Similarly, when marking GUR, the VSGA and MAPGA generally don't mark areas that are well away from the intended playing lines, no matter how poor the conditions.  If you hit it far enough offline, you don't necessarily deserve free relief.  And you don't have to damage clubs, take unplayable relief, take the stroke, and drop the ball in a better spot.
    • If it's not broken don't fix it. If you want to add grooves to it just because of looks that's your choice of course. Grooves are cut into putter faces to reduce skid, the roll faced putter is designed to do the same thing. I'm no expert but it seems counter productive to add grooves to the roll face. Maybe you can have it sand-blasted or something to clean up the face. Take a look at Tigers putter, its beat to hell but he still uses it.     
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...