20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[jcrob902]

Honestly, I disagree.

Well come to michigan I'll show you a guy that's 5' 6 and 180 that will out drive you 10 out of ten time's he's not a 20. But I will show you 2 guys one's 61 230 and the other is 5'10 210 and both of them will out drive you but they wont beat you I know because I can hit the ball 245 - 260 on average withthe occasional bomb for me any way of 275 - 285 and I'm happy withthat I might say but these guy's can't pst a decent score to save there life. There full swing I wish I had that ! but there iron play and 120 yds and in game I mean it when I say this it's painfull, they take this big swing and then try to slow it down to hit the shot the right distance, it's, it's ugly it's real ugly, and then you put them on the green for a good 2-3 strokes and that my freind is how you shoot a 92 - 102 every day of the week don't matter how big you are but how cordinated you are and how much feel you got brotha....

[JaY_B]

I still genuinely believe that most people do not know what a 300 yard drive really is, and what it takes to achieve one. Granted I live in England where 300 yard drives are harder to achieve than in America but it would take a good 110 mph + swing to come close to that yardage, a 110 mph swing is not easy to achieve, on top of that SS you still need to hit the ball solidly.

I must admit I would challenge most the high handicaps who claim to hit it miles to a long drive contest, as quite frankly I don't believe them, I have played with plenty of 'long' high handicappers who just can't come close to me, and I'm not 'long' off the tee (imo).

[TN94z]

I have a friend that I occassionally play with and he is probably 6'1" 220 or so and he hits the ball a ton!! I have a skycaddie and I he regularly hits 300+ yard drives. He generally shoots in the upper 80s, but has a ton of power! I think he hits his 9i 150 or so. He was told by our local pro that he for sure has tour length. But he has control problems with that length and that is why he is not better...that and his putting needs work. But I would put him up against pretty much anyone for longest out of 10, all things being equal.

[HytrewQasdfg]

on top of that SS you still need to hit the ball solidly.

I think that is the gotcha in my mind. I don't doubt there are plenty of people with 100 mph swing speeds at all handicap levels, but few people who are high handicappers CONSISTENTLY hit the ball solidly.

I have no doubt there are plenty of HH with high swing speeds who OCCASSIONALLY have everything fall together (nail one right in the center of the face, etc...) but that isn't what you measure. What you can do 80% of the time (8 out of every 10 swings) is what you do. Hitting a 300 yard shot 20% of the time, and slicing it into the woods at 230 yards 80% of the time doesn't mean you hit the ball 300 yards. It means you are a 230 yard hitter.

[flopdarock]

there's alot of ego's being bruised in here...
a few days ago i played with a 'long baller' he hit the tips... i hit the middle tees... and a senior playing from the fronts...
guess who was the scratch golfer an who couldnt break a hundred...
the old guy had a nice smooth flowing swing and didnt even look like he was trying... he 1 putted everything and was getting girs like another day at the office...
the long baller looked as if he wanted to tattoo every ball he hit with every club in his bag... including putter... the putts that were dead on would hop out of the hole and roll 6 ft past... the guy had no touch even if he hit them straight...
the old guy would birdie par 3's and the long baller wouldnt even get on the green in 4


dont frikken worry about guys that can hit it way past you... dont cry over it... i love playing with guys that hit it a hundred yards past mine but end up triple-quadrupling every hole... i just smile and enjoy my par/birdie/ even a single bogey is sweet while they rack up a good 100+

[becksfan2185]

No doubt the accuracy issue is true.

My only point was that out of all the pros, only a very small % of them actually average 300+. There's just no chance that the same or even a higher % of amateurs average the same distance - which I think is the claim. We're not as fit as the pros, we don't practice nearly as much (even if when we do practice, it's all with the Driver), we have flawed swings, etc. The vast majority of us cannot hit the ball as far as the professionals, regardless of where it ends up.

[Petden]

I dont think iron distance has much correlation to driver distance. I average about 145 yards with my PW. That is beastly long, my 7 iron is around 170-175. My driver is only 260 with a comfortable shot.

[65withatriple]

Bottom line is most golfers, pro or am, dont average 300. Many can hit it 300 yds. Key word is average !!! Most pros only swing at 85% most of the time and many could add 15 or 20yds to their average drive. But they understand accuracy is more important than length.

[jcrob902]

No doubt the accuracy issue is true.

Part of the reason all the pro's don't average 300 yd drives is because alot of them are playing for placement not distance, when you can have an easier shot into and a better chance of even hitting the green by hitting a 2 iron and laying up instead of trying to turn a dog leg with the driver ( and hitting a 4 iron is just as easy as hitting a wedge for them) then you lay up and it's those 2iron and 3 wood tee shots that level out the distance average of the 360 yd drives with the driver, what was tigers average ? 290 something but he hit the ball like 392 yds in the U.S open at oakmont on that 600 yd + par 5

[flopdarock]

why arent remax long drive champs beating tiger in tourny's?

[TMO]

I knew a few 20 handicappers that could hit the ball 300. The problem was that they would hit the ball everywhere. Don't sweat it ... just give them a five a side, talk about how amazing it is that they hit it 300, and then collect at the end of the round. You'll see, they are the kind of golfers that will come back for more again and again and fund your golf career.

[Petden]

I knew a few 20 handicappers that could hit the ball 300. The problem was that they would hit the ball everywhere. Don't sweat it ... just give them a five a side, talk about how amazing it is that they hit it 300, and then collect at the end of the round. You'll see, they are the kind of golfers that will come back for more again and again and fund your golf career.

Lol, ouch. Good call though.

[extremeld]

crikey fund your whole golf career?

[HytrewQasdfg]

No doubt the accuracy issue is true.

That's because pros focus on accuracy. I beleive plenty could hit it much longer, but not with consistent accuracy.

Golf is a game of repeatable. Winners attempt shots they know they can consistently repeat. Losers consistiently "go for it", hoping they can make a "great" shot. Which brings us back to this discussion. You driving distance is your "repeatable" distance, not your "wow, that was a great shot" distance. The distance you drive 8 out of 10 drives is your driving distance. PS If I drove the ball 300 yards 8/10 times, but missed the fairway most of those times I'd be pretty embarassed to call myself a "300 yard driver".

[Zeph]

Even when focusing on accuracy, the pros also miss the fairway about 30-50% of the time. They still get tremendous length. I think I read somewhere that they value distance over accuracy, that the rough is so well cut and the can hit it so well out if it, risking a shot from the rough over some extra yardage is something they do. I don't know, anyone else know something about this? The tour courses are pretty long, without a solid drive they need a long iron or wood to reach a par 4 in two. The closer they come from the tee, the shorter iron they can use and the easier it is to hit it from the rough. I know for my part that I hit a 7 iron from the rough better than a 3 iron from the fairway.

When I'm trying to control the accuracy, I release the wrists earlier and just let them hold through the ball. It cost me lots of distance, so I'm better off using a wood anyways. I can't hit the driver softly, it's just impossible. Something with that club makes me hit it as hard as I can. What I think is more important is to work on getting a fade or draw. It's something that can do really good, especially with the driver. No club hit the ball further, but no club is harder to hit accurately, in my opinion.

Then you got guys like Fred Couples that looks like he's hitting a wedge when he's driving and pound it 320 yards. Golf is a strange sport.

[1Greatgolfguy]

I am going to stick up for some of the high handicappers with high swing speeds. I started golfing at 23, and I already had an athletic foundation, so from the start I had a 130mph swing. Also, I golf quite a bit with other similair handicapped friends who keep up to my driving. It's a lack of accuracy that keeps us amateur bombers from significantly lowering our handicap. This is why when anyone asks 'power or accuracy' I stress power. Staight is not hard to learn, but power is a lifelong journey that some of the older people I golf with stuggle to achieve every day.

[ZaPPPa]

What do you think these 20 hcps do. they go up to the tee and smack the ball as hard as they can possibly hit it without worrying about accuracy.

So true. Many times I have seen someone set up in the box next to me on the range, whip out their driver and start swinging as hard as they can and every single time their swing mechanics were horrible and their flight path was all over the place. It never fails.

I am more impressed by the guy who has a simple, effortless swing and puts the ball out there 250y in the fairway. Two days ago I played with a 5'6" guy who swung his driver almost like a pitch shot. No follow through to speak of, low ball flight, lots of roll. Several times he outdrove me simply because his swing was efficient, great into the wind and his accuracy allowed him to cut off doglegs with ease. I was that dude that only cared about distance for a while, until I discovered that the 'softer' I swung, the straighter and longer the ball would go. So, let people swing for the fences, that's probably one of the reasons WHY they are 20hc.

[Petden]

Look at charles Barkley. In one episode you were able to see his ss and distances. I think is average was like 297 or something like that. I would also give him a little more than a 20 hdcp right now.