How Tight of Dispersion Is Considered Playable for Driver?

[klineka]

Just now, Slim_Pivot said:

When I heard of decade and saw Scott Fawcett having success, I thought of lowest score wins...I feel like LSW missed an opportunity to make an app and market what their book states.

i saw he’s coming out with a more generalized app for average golfers...I might look into it

Out of curiosity I looked into it as well, it's a bit expensive IMO, $149 for 12 months then $99 every 6 months, or $99 every 6 months and that's for the simplified version.

[Slim_Pivot]

2 hours ago, klineka said:

Out of curiosity I looked into it as well, it's a bit expensive IMO, $149 for 12 months then $99 every 6 months, or $99 every 6 months and that's for the simplified version.

Yikes, that’s a bit much for me. I understood LSW but it really helped to hear Fawcett compare it to a shotgun. 

I probably don’t need to spend $200 a year to adjust my already conservative aim by a few yards. 

Understanding the concept is probably enough for my game. 

[cutchemist42]

3 hours ago, p1n9183 said:

Exactly.. around 100 yards wide. You have to test your other long clubs but normally your dispersion decreses in proportion of the length of the shot.
As scott states.. "if you have to hit 4 iron or less off the tee to avoid penalties, the hole gets too long so it´s better to just hit driver" this doesn´t apply on drivable par 4´s. 

Because of knowing my dispersion and aiming properly I reduced my penalties and lowered my scores. It´s the same principle Iacas teach us with his shots zones and stuff.

Not necessarily trying to argue the point with you but related.....the recent distance report already said a lot of amateurs are driving it around 210. Gamegolf data says the same too.

If I dial back to my mini driver at 240 or even hybrid at 220, arent I keeping up with most of the golfing world anyway?

Also to add....before I fell down a staircase last summer and ruined my golf season I was hitting my approach shots at the same level as a 10hi and even had a round that approached a 5hi level according to gamegolf. I actually think avoiding the penalties while keeping my approach shots as is would lower my score. I'm still 2 months away from testing that theory though...

[billchao]

1 hour ago, cutchemist42 said:

If I dial back to my mini driver at 240 or even hybrid at 220, arent I keeping up with most of the golfing world anyway?

And you’re still hitting a shorter club in than they are.

---

I play a lot of clubs shorter than driver off the tee. I have a large shot zone with the driver and I lose more strokes playing it and hoping I hit it well versus just laying up off the tee. I’ll still mishit the ball but the miss with an iron is generally not going to cost as many strokes as an equivalent miss with the driver.

That said, my strategy is not a hard rule. I don’t just look at the yardage on a hole or how wide the fairway is and just say ok, I’m laying up here. It’s based on how well I’m hitting the ball, how the hole plays, etc. For example, if the underbrush is clear under the trees or they aren’t dense or something and I’ll have a good shot at hitting a trouble shot out if I end up in them, you bet I’m hitting driver.

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Slim_Pivot said:

Yikes, that’s a bit much for me. I understood LSW but it really helped to hear Fawcett compare it to a shotgun.

Dude.

LSW was first.

That's a shotgun blast right there… and… heck, the favicon for his site is two Shot Zone (oval)s.

[Slim_Pivot]

23 minutes ago, iacas said:

Dude.

LSW was first.

That's a shotgun blast right there… and… heck, the favicon for his site is two Shot Zone (oval)s.

Yes I know, that’s why I said LSW could’ve done an app. i tried to give LSW credit for being first in my post without being rude.

Who knew that an app telling ppl to aim toward the fat part of the green could be big bucks? Not me.

It’s not my fault that I didn’t relate swinging my 7 iron to firing a shotgun until I head it on YouTube. I’m sorry his branding got through to me! It’s not my fault! lol

[iacas]

1 hour ago, Slim_Pivot said:

It’s not my fault that I didn’t relate swinging my 7 iron to firing a shotgun until I head it on YouTube.

😉

It’s a shotgun blast in LSW is what I’m saying.

[p1n9183]

19 hours ago, cutchemist42 said:

If I dial back to my mini driver at 240 or even hybrid at 220, arent I keeping up with most of the golfing world anyway?

Yes, but this is not about been better than half of the world, it´s about shooting your best scores that your current swing allows you to do. If you can keep the ball in play with your driver you will score better than keeping the ball in play with 3 wood... hybrid or 4 iron. Beeing closer to the green in play makes you score better.

The same apply when lay-up on a par 5. I used to leave me a 90 yard full shot. Now i hit it as close to the green as I can and i´m doing a lot more birdies with half wedge and i don´t practice them at all, closer to the green in play is always better.    

[klineka]

Today while hitting on Trackman, I hit some of what I would consider really really poor and offline shots, I was surprised to see that every single one was within either 90 feet left or 90 feet right of center, which would fit into that 60-70 yard dispersion window. 

Now I just need to get in a better habit of looking the courses up ahead of time on Google Maps and measuring out how wide I have between penalty areas on each hole.

[Carl3]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:21 AM, cutchemist42 said:

 So with it being the offseason still, I find myself reading and watching a lot of topics on the sport. Lately i came across Scott Fawcett and his strategy for teebox decisions.

YouTube has a few videos of his but basically, for people who drive it over 270 pretty consistently, gameplanning should consider any trouble that is within a 70 yard dispersion.

Now I already have gamegolf so i can see some dispersion patterns but I obviously dont tag the shots where I completely lose a ball so data is missing. I decided to go to a sim bay using a GCQuad and did a 15 shot driver test.

In the end I averaged 268 off the tee in total distance. However off those 15 shots....3 were massive misses of 45, 52, and 60 yards offline. In real life at my home course and most trees courses I play those are lost balls with bad penalties applied. They would only be slightly salvageable at a course with adjacent fairways really. I would say when you look at my gamegolf rounds, the GCQuad result of 3/15 being lost/OB is accurate.

So it made me start wondering as someone who has read LSW and Every Stroke Counts and understands advancing the ball far but safely.....how wide of dispersion is considered unusable for a driver?

Until my swing improved would I be better off statistically going down to my 16* mini driver or just 21* hybrid? ( next time I do the simulator I was going to do dispersion tests for those)

I am concerned about this too. The course I played last summer had a back nine that was Donald Ross design that was fairly tight at times. The front nine was a modern Hurdzan design that had some fairways that were much wider. 

I moved to a new state and the course I am considering looks pretty tight all the way around. Most fairways look to be slightly wider than the greens. Maybe 30 to 35 yards. Which I think is more in line with a PGA tournament set up. If you have a consistent, reliable shot shape and no more than say a 20 to 30 yard dispersion, you might have a shot at a decent round. When I am swinging my best, I have a draw with driver so I would play down the right side and be in the fairway often enough. If it didn't draw I might be along the right near or in the rough. If I tugged it a bit I might be along the left side/rough.

Anything consistently 20 to 30 yards off line would seem to me to spell trouble unless you have a wide open course with a short rough and few trees. But then you learn a game that you can't really take elsewhere. I will need to learn quick at my new course and may need to pull out the 3W or 3H on a number of holes instead of driver.

Edited February 27, 2020 by Carl3

[DrvFrShow]

When I'm at the driving range, the poles at the end are 10 yds apart. So I pick a pole as my target, and my drift to either side is two poles. That should be playable on most courses around here. If the playable area is less than 40 yds. wide, out comes the 3W. From my experience, I'm not going to be any more accurate with my 6i than my 3W on shot dispersion. I may fade my 3W, but I can hook my 6i.