The Drive for 5...

[Faksakes]

I was just responding to the post where CY hit it 155 instead of 140. If you can hit the 8i anywhere from 140 to 155, either the 155 is too far or the 140 is too short. Ideally, you want the minimum to maximum distance to be within 5 yards, or better, and it doesn't have to be far.

Ah sorry i missed that. cheers

[Fairway_CY]

It's not necessarily hitting far that improves your scores. It's hitting more consistently so that you don't expect your 8i to go 140 and hit it 155 where you can start to improve your scores. Knowing how to hit distances within 5 yards of a target from inside 150 yards can save you a lot of strokes. The closer you are to tightening distance the better you will become. Of course, I'm still working hard on this too!

I agree... 100%!

In the instance of my post, I had been struggling with my irons up to that point and hitting them crisply was becoming infrequent.  My distances with my irons had dropped significantly.  The increase in distance was signifying that I was making clean contact again and compressing the ball properly.  I had literally played 10+ rounds with about a 10 yard decline in yardage until that round.

My distance control is typically pretty good.  Obviously, I'll hit a few fat or thin here and there... but when I make clean contact, I'm usually within that 5 yard target you mentioned.

The one thing I've always struggled with is what you mentioned in the first line of your reply which is that distance doesn't equate to better scores.  I've always been enamored with hitting the ball further than others in my group... so much so that when I get paired with someone who hits the ball 275+... my game gets messy because then I have a tendency to swing harder.  My scores would be MUCH better if I could get myself into the mindset of swinging at 80%, which I've seen others mention here.

Giving up some distance to be able to keep the ball in play would improve my scores by probably 5+ strokes almost instantly.  I've done it on the range, but when I get back to the course... old habits return.  It's always a struggle for me to take it from the range to the course.

CY

[Lihu]

[QUOTE name="Lihu" url="/t/82815/the-drive-for-5/36#post_1161955"]   It's not necessarily hitting far that improves your scores. It's hitting more consistently so that you don't expect your 8i to go 140 and hit it 155 where you can start to improve your scores. Knowing how to hit distances within 5 yards of a target from inside 150 yards can save you a lot of strokes. The closer you are to tightening distance the better you will become. Of course, I'm still working hard on this too! ;-) [/QUOTE] I agree... 100%!   In the instance of my post, I had been struggling with my irons up to that point and hitting them crisply was becoming infrequent.  My distances with my irons had dropped significantly.  The increase in distance was signifying that I was making clean contact again and compressing the ball properly.  I had literally played 10+ rounds with about a 10 yard decline in yardage until that round.   My distance control is typically pretty good.  Obviously, I'll hit a few fat or thin here and there... but when I make clean contact, I'm usually within that 5 yard target you mentioned.   The one thing I've always struggled with is what you mentioned in the first line of your reply which is that distance doesn't equate to better scores.  I've always been enamored with hitting the ball further than others in my group... so much so that when I get paired with someone who hits the ball 275+... my game gets messy because then I have a tendency to swing harder.  My scores would be MUCH better if I could get myself into the mindset of swinging at 80%, which I've seen others mention here.   Giving up some distance to be able to keep the ball in play would improve my scores by probably 5+ strokes almost instantly.  I've done it on the range, but when I get back to the course... old habits return.  It's always a struggle for me to take it from the range to the course. :doh: CY

It's tough. .

[Faksakes]

Man oh man. I just got back from a little practice facility called "The loop" here. It's a dogleg right par 5, a par 3 and a dogleg left par 4. Very tough and challenging. It's $25 and you can play all day. Great way to practice imo as you get the real tee jitters like in a normal round etc.

Anyway once you finish the third hole you have to walk past the driving range to get back to the first tee. After I did two loops there was a Ping tent set up for a demo day. I had been fit for my G20 about 3 and a half years ago. I have a high swing speed (I am not bragging really, just a big guy) and was fit for an 8.5 head with tour stiff shaft. I hit it really long although accuracy isn't as good as some drivers I've had.

I haven't found in the past that a new driver has given me much more distance. They've all been roughly the same with the G20 getting out there a little further so when the rep asked me if I wanted a driver fitting I wasn't expecting much difference.

Well I hit 3 balls as well as I can with my G20, 162mph ball speed average and carry distance of 295 rolling out to 305. My spin was 3500 which he said is pretty high (I hit the ball high).

He then swapped me into an X stiff shaft which I've never used and the G30LS head adjusted down to 8 degrees loft. My first swing the ball carried 316 yards and rolled out to 330! I was shocked. I continued to hit and although that was my longest I averaged 10 more yards carry and my ball speed went up to 165mph average. As high as 168. The guy said the crappy nike range balls would take a lot off that as well.

My spin got down to about 2600 average which he said was still a touch high although a huge improvement. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Would a different shaft help or does bringing the spin down to around 2000 cause the club to be less forgiving? I don't want to sacrifice forgiveness. Appreciate any advice!

I really thought most of the distance gained had to do with the ball but this really blew my mind. I'm probably going to order one now lol.

[Fairway_CY]

I can only tell you what I was told when I went for a fitting recently... and that is that the shaft, unless you have a swing speed over 105 (which you may) won't make much of a difference.  I kept asking to try an extra stiff shaft and he kept telling me that it wasn't going to make much of a difference.

He had me swing my driver (10.5* TaylorMade Burner Superfast), which was averaging about 235 carry and 250 after roll out... then he had me hit the Ping G30 set at 9* with the Tour Stiff shaft.  I was hitting the ball much lower with much less spin and my carry went up to about 255 and the roll out went up to about 275.  My swing speed was always between 96 and 101.  I didn't get ball speed numbers or specific spin numbers... but, they did decrease significantly.

The guy who was fitting me (I didn't buy, BTW) said that the first thing I needed was a lower loft, which is why he dropped me to 9*... and then I needed to work on my swing path.  He said my over-the-top swing was exacerbating a lot of my ball flight issues.  He refused to say that the shaft was making much of a difference and kept pointing to my relatively slow swing speed.

But... damn man.  316 yards carry?!?  You're the type of person who would put me off my game so badly because I'd be trying so hard to keep up with you, and the only way it'd happen is if you mishit one and I absolutely pure a drive.

CY

[Faksakes]

I can only tell you what I was told when I went for a fitting recently... and that is that the shaft, unless you have a swing speed over 105 (which you may) won't make much of a difference.  I kept asking to try an extra stiff shaft and he kept telling me that it wasn't going to make much of a difference.

He had me swing my driver (10.5* TaylorMade Burner Superfast), which was averaging about 235 carry and 250 after roll out... then he had me hit the Ping G30 set at 9* with the Tour Stiff shaft.  I was hitting the ball much lower with much less spin and my carry went up to about 255 and the roll out went up to about 275.  My swing speed was always between 96 and 101.  I didn't get ball speed numbers or specific spin numbers... but, they did decrease significantly.

The guy who was fitting me (I didn't buy, BTW) said that the first thing I needed was a lower loft, which is why he dropped me to 9*... and then I needed to work on my swing path.  He said my over-the-top swing was exacerbating a lot of my ball flight issues.  He refused to say that the shaft was making much of a difference and kept pointing to my relatively slow swing speed.

But... damn man.  316 yards carry?!?  You're the type of person who would put me off my game so badly because I'd be trying so hard to keep up with you, and the only way it'd happen is if you mishit one and I absolutely pure a drive.

CY

Thanks it's really fun when it's not in the woods hah. My ss was 112-116 so if I gather from what you said it may matter. There is a really top notch fitter where I live so I think I'll go see him and get his opinion on things.

[iacas]

Man oh man. I just got back from a little practice facility called "The loop" here. It's a dogleg right par 5, a par 3 and a dogleg left par 4. Very tough and challenging. It's $25 and you can play all day. Great way to practice imo as you get the real tee jitters like in a normal round etc.

Anyway once you finish the third hole you have to walk past the driving range to get back to the first tee. After I did two loops there was a Ping tent set up for a demo day. I had been fit for my G20 about 3 and a half years ago. I have a high swing speed (I am not bragging really, just a big guy) and was fit for an 8.5 head with tour stiff shaft. I hit it really long although accuracy isn't as good as some drivers I've had.

I haven't found in the past that a new driver has given me much more distance. They've all been roughly the same with the G20 getting out there a little further so when the rep asked me if I wanted a driver fitting I wasn't expecting much difference.

Well I hit 3 balls as well as I can with my G20, 162mph ball speed average and carry distance of 295 rolling out to 305. My spin was 3500 which he said is pretty high (I hit the ball high).

He then swapped me into an X stiff shaft which I've never used and the G30LS head adjusted down to 8 degrees loft. My first swing the ball carried 316 yards and rolled out to 330! I was shocked. I continued to hit and although that was my longest I averaged 10 more yards carry and my ball speed went up to 165mph average. As high as 168. The guy said the crappy nike range balls would take a lot off that as well.

My spin got down to about 2600 average which he said was still a touch high although a huge improvement. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Would a different shaft help or does bringing the spin down to around 2000 cause the club to be less forgiving? I don't want to sacrifice forgiveness. Appreciate any advice!

I really thought most of the distance gained had to do with the ball but this really blew my mind. I'm probably going to order one now lol.

Not to throw a bunch of water on you or anything, but I'm doubtful as to those numbers. Not the swing speed you generate, but the carry yardages given the swing speed and spin rates you're talking about.

Here you can find 163 ball speed optimizes to about 279 carry (and that's with just about 2400 RPM spin). Even 171 ball speed with under 2358 RPM carried 295. I'd be doubtful about the 316 carries, and especially doubtful about the ball carrying farther if they're not range balls.

Your clubhead speed is likely 110-113 on average. That's good - it's PGA Tour average at the top end. But they carry the ball about 275 or so (median player was 274 in 2014).

[Faksakes]

I appreciate the input and l I have a gps that tracks shot distance and its not unusual to get a few a round over 300. One big factor that I didn't mention is that I live at elevation. It adds about 8% carry to drives from what I'm told (Calgary AB, pretty close to the Rockies). regardless if the machine was accurate on overall distance (Gc2) the difference between the clubs should be accurate no?

[Lihu]

I appreciate the input and l I have a gps that tracks shot distance and its not unusual to get a few a round over 300. One big factor that I didn't mention is that I live at elevation. It adds about 8% carry to drives from what I'm told (Calgary AB, pretty close to the Rockies).

regardless if the machine was accurate on overall distance (Gc2) the difference between the clubs should be accurate no?

Okay, that makes sense.

[PJCdude]

Dropped .3 today! Shot a 101 at Pelham Bay in the Bronx but I dropped from 28.6 to 28.3

I felt so out of control in regards to my swing today but managed to score well (for me) despite this. I had 5 holes that were triple or worse (including a 10 on a par 5) but also finished the round bogey, par, bogey, par.

35 putts (Good for me. Short game was decent but I wasn't able to warm up pre round which cost me a little on the opening holes)

2 GIR (mid Irons/hybrids were plain awful today. I went to the range post round and discovered that I was probably swaying a ton. Worked on Key 1 and was back to smackin them decently)

7/14 FIR (Driver was ballooning a tad and limiting distance but most were a good 220 in the middle of the fairway. My long poke was 240)

2 penalty strokes

I'm playing on a shorter tighter course Thursday. I usually don't use my driver on this course (Van Cortlandt Park) but since I've seemed to straighten it out, I'm hoping to take advantage of some newfound control off the tee and score better. Definitely hoping for a sub 100 round

[rkim291968]

Started at 17 HI at the start of this thread and taking a backward step to 17.5 HI on today's GHIN update.   Nope, I am not playing worse.  It's just that I have been playing in very narrow scoring range which  dropped a few exceptional rounds from the GHIN system.  I have been going back and forth from 16 - 17 HI in the last few months.  It's frustrating to stall on progress but that's reality.  Here's my realistic goal for the next 4 GHIN reports.

Current HI 17.5

7/15 HI target = 17.5 (maintain while I work out some kinks in my swing, anti-chicken wing & anti-flipping drills)

7/31 HI target = 17.0 (reap the benefit of improved ball striking accuracy)

8/15 HI target = 16.5

8/30 HI target = 16.0 (initial 2015 golf goal at start of 2015)

The final HI target = 12.

[Faksakes]

I've got a tournament tomorrow. Stroke play withnet and gross winners. HopHopefully I play well, very tight course.

[rkim291968]

All,

Please keep to the OT, OP's intent of this thread.   This is not a catch all thread for golf.   State your goal to reduce 5 strokes and do below.

----->     2. Update your progress and tough slugging in the thread.

In addition, what are you working on, what's working, update on HI reduction, ....

[nick1998bunker]

My goal for this summer was to drop 5 strokes off my handicap. I keep track of all my differentials and hope to get the average to 0.0 by the end of August. My handicap up to about 3 right now so taking 5 off would be a +2 which would get me set to try and play college golf. I'm starting lessons tommarow, and spending much more time on my shortgame. I also am going to start playing more big name open tournaments like AJGA and HJGT

[Fairway_CY]

My index dropped from a 19.3 to a 17.9R.

I got the restriction tag for the second time in my life.  While I have had some abysmal rounds this season, I've had 2 good tournament rounds on the second day of tournaments, which has led to the restriction tag.

In those tournaments, I shot 101 on day 1 and 85 on day 2... then I shot 100 on day 1 and 86 on day 2.  In both cases, I had little-to-no practice prior to the tournaments and, clearly having played the day before got me in a 'groove' and I was able to come back the next day and shoot well.  It also didn't hurt that I was so far out of it after the first day in each tournament that I had literally zero pressure and played freely.

It's also worth noting that on 5/15, my Handicap Index was an 18.0 before I had a run of some poor scores (99 - 94 - 98 - 100) which raised it to as high as 19.3 before this revision.

Anyway... that's where I stand.   I haven't touched a club in 10 days, and likely won't get to touch one until next week at some point.  I'll update with any progress after that.

CY

[Salte]

Shot 44 today (9 holes obv), and my handicap dropped to 17.1 (started at 18.0, target 13.0). My best round to date (first time I'm under 1 over par / hole on average).

3 pars, 4 bogeys and 2 doubles.

44% gir, 16% fairways hit, 18 putts (2,8 putts per GIR, thats really bad, one four putt).

Driver is still my biggest weaknes, so I'll continue focusing on that (havent really had much time to pratice it since my last post).

Todays drives: 2 good, 2 ok and 2 bad (but luckily both ended up in fairway/light rough of adjacent hole).

This weekend I'll play four different courses, and I've only played two of them before (once each), so this will be a good indication of how much my handicap has been helped by playing a course where the ball often will end up ok, no matter how much you mishit your driver.

[Faksakes]

My current index is down to just over 14 so 4 more strokes to go. I've been getting to the range more

My index dropped from a 19.3 to a 17.9R.

I got the restriction tag for the second time in my life.  While I have had some abysmal rounds this season, I've had 2 good tournament rounds on the second day of tournaments, which has led to the restriction tag.

In those tournaments, I shot 101 on day 1 and 85 on day 2... then I shot 100 on day 1 and 86 on day 2.  In both cases, I had little-to-no practice prior to the tournaments and, clearly having played the day before got me in a 'groove' and I was able to come back the next day and shoot well.  It also didn't hurt that I was so far out of it after the first day in each tournament that I had literally zero pressure and played freely.

It's also worth noting that on 5/15, my Handicap Index was an 18.0 before I had a run of some poor scores (99 - 94 - 98 - 100) which raised it to as high as 19.3 before this revision.

Anyway... that's where I stand.   I haven't touched a club in 10 days, and likely won't get to touch one until next week at some point.  I'll update with any progress after that.

CY

Congrats on lowering the cap, those are some good tournie rounds for your HC.

[Faksakes]

Well, didn't play great in my tournament. Iron play was the biggest culprit. I shot 95 on a very tough course but still some large room for improvement. My driver was actually pretty good, which has not been the case this year so that's positive and my short game was solid. My cap went down below 15 for a few days but with this round I'm back up to 15.4. I did win the long drive which got me a box of Pro V 1's which was nice. Back to the range for me guys...