20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[jb1982]

just wondering if the 20 handicappers that AVERAGE 300yards i read about on golf forums are hitting 5,6 and 7 irons into par 5s how are they playing off 20 plus - swinging driver at an average of around 120mph

I'm just curious. Why start the thread if you don't want any replies. I would agree that it is very rare. But the post does not say "who hit 300 yards IN THE FAIRWAY". There are some people out there who hit the ball a LONG way but are not good golfers.

[TheNatural]

110mph ss does not produce a 300 yard carry,

Yes I agree with you on this aspect, but in general I was happy with the trajectory, previously with the s shaft(+2 inch) it was too flexible and trajectory was straight down. Goes to show that fittings are a must. My initial thread was asking whether the minds here thought it best to go Xshaft.

[TheNatural]

110mph ss does not produce a 300 yard carry,

The one time i know it carried the distance was on a course and the length of the hole in relation to how far past i was the 150 marker tells me 320 yds, and plug. unless they moved the 150, but it looked far as hell to me and this was the same hole i won a ld contest in a bestball tournament, but it was 30 yds shy of this plug shot. Yes lightening might strike once. i will even take off 20 yards for error.. I am aware the simulator is flawed, but oddly my fathers drive was consistent with his distance, there may be a spike in higher swing speeds...I would guess those drives were 250-275 on the sim. b/c I was restraining swing a little.

[TheNatural]

So lets see a video of you.

I will try, but the advice wont take. My grip is strong to the point of grotesque and if I have success placing ball in fairway with a driver, i wont change grip. Oddly my irons are a average grip, but i tend to close down the face. I was just asking whether people would advise an x shaft based upon my size and distance with my old driver shaft. what type of ball o you use ?

[TheNatural]

just wondering if the 20 handicappers that AVERAGE 300yards i read about on golf forums are hitting 5,6 and 7 irons into par 5s how are they playing off 20 plus - swinging driver at an average of around 120mph

Just curious, how often do you play with 20 hc players? The strapping type not the guys struggling to swing...I have never played with a scratch player, but have played with a 5 hc who had no doubt of my ability to hit long, he had known me since a teenager and we played football. He just understood that my ball striking was awful,(topping) and it seems the x shaft has already made an improvement.

I expect to reach 15HC if this driver problem has been remedied.

[grantc79]

I use a Nike One Platinum.

[Stacey_E]

I use a Nike One Platinum.

Titleist NXT Tour but trying out some Bridgestone e5+.

[Les]

I thought i would put this to the test this weekend so i played 36 holes sunday and marked all my tee shots on my gps. I had 6 drives that went 300 or a little more with carry and roll. The telling part was that when we avg. all of the drives of the day my avg was only 271 and i play to a 3-4 and considered one of the long drivers at my course. One of the guys i play with in our choose up and skins game is around a 15 hcp and he bombed the ball pass mine several times but on most occations he was 20 to 30 yards off the fairway. I think next sunday we are going to avg his drives and see what the difference is between his and mine. I will let you know next week.

[TheNatural]

I thought i would put this to the test this weekend so i played 36 holes sunday and marked all my tee shots on my gps. I had 6 drives that went 300 or a little more with carry and roll. The telling part was that when we avg. all of the drives of the day my avg was only 271 and i play to a 3-4 and considered one of the long drivers at my course. One of the guys i play with in our choose up and skins game is around a 15 hcp and he bombed the ball pass mine several times but on most occations he was 20 to 30 yards off the fairway. I think next sunday we are going to avg his drives and see what the difference is between his and mine. I will let you know next week.

sounds interesting

[4ringslvr]

Next time I play ill average the distance from all my drives but Ill bet its in the 280-290 range. I grew up playing baseball and when I started golfing it was all about hitting the ball as hard as could which translates now into developing a lot more control with it and being able to hit fairways and still be long but when you start off as a 25 capper thats all you think about. I know one of the big things was mentally when I got the driver in my hand I just wanted to hit it as hard as I could. That was the biggest challenge for me was being able to pick up the driver and think about just slowing down. It just wasnt in my blood.

[verse214]

QUESTION:::

Aren't the PGA driving averages based on drives that land in the FAIRWAY?? in other words, the drives that land in the rough aren't counted in their averages?

Just wondering;

[ryohazuki222]

Driving distance fine print on the PGA site: "The average number of yards per measured drive. These drives are measured on two holes per round. Care is taken to select two holes which face in opposite directions to counteract the effect of wind. Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not. (101)"

OK! Now I'll chime in since I've hit a couple legit 300 yard drives (in texas with dead grass cuz of no rain the roll helps more than elsewhere I'm sure.)

Take one -- completely possible for a 20 handicapper to hit 300 yard drives.

Take two -- completely impossible for a 20 handicapper to AVERAGE 300 yard drives. If one has the ballstriking consistency to average 300 yards with a 45" driver... no way he'll still be a 20 handicap.

Take three -- I guess the only way it could be possible is if said golfer hit 300 yards average with no control (possible) and ends up OB or in trees/traps every time... he can both avg 300 and be a 20 hc.

[TheNatural]

well I played 2 days ago and didnt hit one ball over 275, 20 mph sustained winds didnt help. they should have helped but much too distraction for me. first time i used the new driver shafts...need to go to the range for a few sessions. then maybe/....but my strokes did all carry into the fairway or just off, where as before I would worm burn

[Pablo McGheesio]

I hit a fairly long ball. Always have done.

To claim an avergae is 300 yards is quite something. I would say my average is below 300. Yet I can smash some way past that mark...but average takes into account all your shots. Not just the ones you remember.

[HytrewQasdfg]

I don't understand the rant. If yo use a little logic, you'll quickly see that most duffers hit the ball 300 yards.

1. Most duffers use a stiff or x-stiff shaft.

2. You need a swing speed of at least 105-110 to use this type of shaft.

3. A swing speed of 105-110 is adequate to produce a 300 yard drive.

4. Most duffers hit 300 yards drives.

See, simple logic. The fact that most duffers use a stiff or better shaft proves they also hit 300 yards drives.

[TheNatural]

the post that wont die.

I went to the range today and bombed the first ball a weathered faded range ball ...it carried past 250 ,,,toe'd a couple, then heeled a few, then hit about 10 in a row over 250. I had to ask a guy next to me to see what the carry was since my eyes cant track a ball after 250 yards and then toed another and then began bombing again, sprayed them a tad but that will come. I used a baseball swing on Sunday when I played with this new shaft and heeled many. Today I came over the top more than the 3/4 baseball swing and was able to stop the heel shot and got massive loft. even gave the guy next to me a dozen balls for watching me ..awww yea.

[blackxpress]

I know one. He was in our foursome yesterday. He drives the ball farther than anybody I know but his short game is horrible. Yesterday he drove the green on the 2nd hole. It's a 283 yd. par 4 that plays 300+ because it's up a steep hill. He put his ball 2 ft. from the cup. He then proceeded to 3 putt for a par, one of the few pars he had all day. On the par 3 4th hole he put his tee shot in the greenside bunker and then took 3 strokes to get it out. Most of the time his long drives go out of bounds or into the adjacent fairway or into some other kind of trouble. I don't think he has an official handicap but if he did it would easily be 20+.

[abris33]

most high handicappers focus just on driver when they practice because they think that is what makes them good when in turn that is actually hurting them(ie:+20)