Competing Against Players at Another Level

[p1n9183]

The other day, playing a tournament that gives points to the international amateur ranking, I stayed after my final round to follow the leaders and compare my stats/game with them. It was a threesome, guys from Canada, Spain and South Africa. My god..  those 20 year old boys hit it really long. On a 0 roll day, after a couple of days of heavy rain, they were driving it in average from 290 to 305.. all carry at sea level and 20°C. My 260 carry was totally useless against this guys. They were literally playing a different course, even a different sport. On a par 4, 480 yards, playing 1 club against the wind, I didn't reach the green after 2 average shots. All of them drive it 310 to the 170 mark and hit a 7 iron to the green. Remember, no roll and against the wind, it was ridiculous. 

On one hole it was really funny and incredible at the same time. It was a 360 yards par 4 with OB left and dense trees rights. Also you have a couple of bunkers that make the fairway even tighter from 110 to 50 yards of the green. After that the trees and bunkers ends and you have an open right towards the green and also an open to the right of the green were the next tee box is placed. 
This day the wind was coming from the right and slightly on our backs. 99% of players hit and iron of the tee to leave themselves 130 to the green. The Canadian and the SA guy did exactly that.. but the Spanish guy had something different in his mind. He took out his driver and gave it a go. The ball started right, directly to the trees. In my mind I thought, "he is dead".. is almost always bogey from that trees. Well I was wrong.. the ball flew, and flew and flew over the trees to land and plug a couple of yards before the tee of the next hole. I google it and it was 330 carry, no elevation change. Never in all the years I played that course thought that it could be possible to play the hole that way. In case you are wondering, yes he made birdie from there with a good 15 footer and proceeded to win the championship by a couple of shots.

What is most amazing and terrifying is that this were just elite amateur golfers. Imagine how much more ridiculous it could be to compare you game to the bombers from the PGA tour.      

[iacas]

Until you reach the top, there are always players better than you. 😄 

[Maroon88]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:35 PM, iacas said:

Until you reach the top, there are always players better than you. 😄 

Well in that case, I guess there will always be players better than me!

[ChetlovesMer]

On 11/15/2023 at 1:01 PM, p1n9183 said:

The other day, playing a tournament that gives points to the international amateur ranking, I stayed after my final round to follow the leaders and compare my stats/game with them. It was a threesome, guys from Canada, Spain and South Africa. My god..  those 20 year old boys hit it really long. On a 0 roll day, after a couple of days of heavy rain, they were driving it in average from 290 to 305.. all carry at sea level and 20°C. My 260 carry was totally useless against this guys. They were literally playing a different course, even a different sport. On a par 4, 480 yards, playing 1 club against the wind, I didn't reach the green after 2 average shots. All of them drive it 310 to the 170 mark and hit a 7 iron to the green. Remember, no roll and against the wind, it was ridiculous. 

On one hole it was really funny and incredible at the same time. It was a 360 yards par 4 with OB left and dense trees rights. Also you have a couple of bunkers that make the fairway even tighter from 110 to 50 yards of the green. After that the trees and bunkers ends and you have an open right towards the green and also an open to the right of the green were the next tee box is placed. 
This day the wind was coming from the right and slightly on our backs. 99% of players hit and iron of the tee to leave themselves 130 to the green. The Canadian and the SA guy did exactly that.. but the Spanish guy had something different in his mind. He took out his driver and gave it a go. The ball started right, directly to the trees. In my mind I thought, "he is dead".. is almost always bogey from that trees. Well I was wrong.. the ball flew, and flew and flew over the trees to land and plug a couple of yards before the tee of the next hole. I google it and it was 330 carry, no elevation change. Never in all the years I played that course thought that it could be possible to play the hole that way. In case you are wondering, yes he made birdie from there with a good 15 footer and proceeded to win the championship by a couple of shots.

What is most amazing and terrifying is that this were just elite amateur golfers. Imagine how much more ridiculous it could be to compare you game to the bombers from the PGA tour.      

This is a good story. 

I know how you feel. Maybe even more so. I'm a not particularly athletic guy who didn't take up golf until relatively late in life. (post-college). So, on a similar vein my wife and I lived on a pretty nice city golf course in Iowa for 5 years. (2009 to 2014i) The course hosted the Iowa boys and Iowa girls state championships. Our backyard faced the tee-box of a par 5. In terms of golf I think Iowa is known for Zach Johnson and ... I'm not sure much else. But even so, there were high school kids that were hitting it what looked like 50 yards past were I would normally land my driver. 

These kids would come walking around (one of them, was the kid who mowed my lawn) and tee-up at the tips and land it well past were I'd normally play my second shot... ahem... from the mids. My wife and I would laugh because some of these kids looked like they'd weigh a buck thirty soaking wet. This was pre-Bryon DeChambeau getting huge. But they could hit it. This was Iowa elite high school players. Not college players, not mini-tour players, certainly not PGA pros and definitely not PGA tour pros.