20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[grantc79]

While there are some exceptions to the rules, I believe that you have hit this one on the button.

Thank you.

[flopdarock]

that still doesnt account for the fact that some ppl can generate high swing speeds... but be terrible at golf

[ctmurrray]

I have a lower hcp than many people who out drive me (most golfers I play with can out drive me). I am straight for the most part. I don't have some of their flaws. So I have tried to optimize my game based upon this lack of distance. But I think if I could drive further, my other strengths would combine with this length to make me much better. So I am jealous of long drivers. Of course I could gain length and find more trouble and have the same handicap - but I would like to have the opportunity to try.

[grantc79]

that still doesnt account for the fact that some ppl can generate high swing speeds... but be terrible at golf

High swing speeds and fundamentally sound high swing speeds AT IPMACT are two vastly different things.

Virtually anyone can swing the club as hard as they like and generate 120+ mph swing speeds. The only issue is that they generate that with their arms and reach their peak club head speed long before they hit the ball so they are wind up actually decelerating by the time they hit the ball. This leads to a bent left wrist, a chicken wing follow through, and improper wrist action, all of which also rob distance. The whole point is if you can't generate swing speeds with the proper fundamentals you won't hit the ball very far. Hell I can get 135+ mph swing speeds all day long, just don't ask me to do it with proper fundamentals and if your fundamentals aren't there then the ball isn't going to go anywhere anyways. The whole point of this debate isn't club head speed because there is no secret to generating club head speed. Every baseball or hockey player in the world can generate tons of club head speed despite the fact that they may have never played a day of golf in their lives. The point is that for you to develop high club head speed, in the right way, at the right time, to hit the ball consistently straight and far requires good fundamentals and if a 20 handicapper had those fundamentals then they wouldn't be a 20 handicapper.

[flopdarock]

High swing speeds and fundamentally sound high swing speeds AT IPMACT are two vastly different things.

you have to agree that its possible for a high handicapper to hit it 300 yards... it doesnt necessarily mean they are hitting every fairway they aim at... hell not even pro's with "sound fundamentals" hit every fairway they aim at... come to my home course range... there is a guy that comes almost everyday just bombing balls on the range... absolutely none of his shots ends up remotely in the same spot... he sprays them everywhere but they go far... play a round with him and never pull any woods... i guarantee you'll still beat him... he hasnt broken a hundred yet... he definately doesnt have "sound fundamentals" but he can get them out there

[grantc79]

you have to agree that its possible for a high handicapper to hit it 300 yards... it doesnt necessarily mean they are hitting every fairway they aim at... hell not even pro's with "sound fundamentals" hit every fairway they aim at... come to my home course range... there is a guy that comes almost everyday just bombing balls on the range... absolutely none of his shots ends up remotely in the same spot... he sprays them everywhere but they go far... play a round with him and never pull any woods... i guarantee you'll still beat him... he hasnt broken a hundred yet... he definately doesnt have "sound fundamentals" but he can get them out there

I'm sorry but I don't.

I have yet to see a high handicapper hit a 300 yard drive. Maybe with rock hard fairways, downhill runs, or high winds at your back. But on flat land, no wind, and no help I would have to see it to believe it.

[jones]

I was a 20+ handicapper that "hit" 300 yard drives. I am not saying I averaged 300, but I hit it once every round or two. I have played baseball all my life so picking up the golf swing was an easier task (at least with the driver). Saying I averaged 300 would be absolutely nuts.

Most of my drives would be on other fairways and because of the time I spent in the trees and in other fairways I am really good at making trick shots now...but back on topic.

I am about a 15 handicap now, and I average about 260-270 off the tee including slices, duck hooks, etc. My main issue I have is my incosistent iron play.

I am the type of player that on a 450 yard par 4 (with about a 15-20 yard elevated tee box...I am thinking of a hole at the local course I go to) can hit it 300. From 150 yards out, I pull out the 8-iron and then hit it fat to about the 70 -50 yard range. Then I pull out the sand wedge or gap wedge (whichever one I am feeling) and hit it fat again or just don't hit it cleanly because I am trying to be too perfect to not over hit it! Next up comes the chip and I 2-putt it in so I get a 6 instead of a 4 or 5.

This has happened to me countless times. My iron play is pretty bad and the reason for this is due to the driving ranges I have in my local area and the fact that I have never had a golf lesson.

The driving ranges around me have the mats (where you can't tell if you're hitting fat) and there is one with grass. The one with grass is so beat up, because they don't rotate enough, that you're hitting off dirt most of the time.

Either way, lately I've been hitting a little better with my irons because I am leaning the iron shafts forward at address and playing the ball in the middle. With my irons I was setting up at address with the irons perfectly perpendicular to the ground, which would make the iron go under the ball I due to the shape of the club (I think?)

[Kevintensity]

I'm a high handicapper, just started playing about a month ago after playing a little when I was 10 or 12. At the range, I usually carry 225 to 240. I don't claim to hit anywhere close to 300.

[HSip]

Curious that when I'm playing with one of the 300 yarders they're usually hitting the same club for their second shot as I am and we're not chipping back to the green after flying it. I think most people just don't have a clue how far they hit it.

[gills]

Curious that when I'm playing with one of the 300 yarders they're usually hitting the same club for their second shot as I am and we're not chipping back to the green after flying it.

This is the damn truth. All you people who can't stand this should buy a GPS unit just for the sake of showing people how far they really hit. I think 95% of the time they will stick their foot in their mouth

[grantc79]

This is the damn truth. All you people who can't stand this should buy a GPS unit just for the sake of showing people how far they really hit. I think 95% of the time they will stick their foot in their mouth

GPS units aren't really accurate I have found for counting drives.

Get a laser. I think there are a ton of people out there who come up to a hole that is marked 450 on their scorecard (which is probably also highly inaccurate), cut the corner, and hit a wedge to the green and assume they hit a 300 yard drive. Until you actually laser one on a straight line and realize just how far that is you won't realize just how preposterous your claims are.

[Pinseeker81]

Until you actually laser one on a straight line and realize just how far that is you won't realize just how preposterous your claims are.

My laser said 319

[jones]

GPS units aren't really accurate I have found for counting drives.

I always check for the number markings on the course where to start counting, not the scorecard, and then I check distance with where I wind up using the 200, 175, 150, 125, 100 markers on the sides of the fairways. This is good enough for me.

It seems like this thread is really over-valuing the 300 yard drive. It isn't that big of a deal with today's equipment. I've played with many guys that hit it 300 yards, although I doubt any of them were 20+ handicappers. However, a friend of mine is a tall and lanky individual that has no clue how to golf. When it is time to tee off, or hit a wood for that matter, he is all about hitting it as hard as he can and he has hit a 285 yard drive (rarely because he doesn't hit straight too often) while using a very old driver that is not even close to the 460cc drivers everyone is using (its smaller than my 3-wood). I am pretty sure if he got himself a 460cc he would be one of those very high handicappers (25-30 handicap) that can hit it 300 yards due to the added MOI, etc.

[Neco]

Just happened to play a round today.

I usually play a 30 ish handicap and I say usually as in the last 4-5 months.

I just started playing last July so I have not had the nec. time to make my swing second nature yet and I am still working on what exactly I want to do with my swing.

That means inconsistency and that is something I have.

I am 6'1'' and weigh about 225. I hit the ball over 300 yards two times today with a couple 20-25 yards back.

I also shanked a couple of drives too.

[grantc79]

Just happened to play a round today.

Did you actually measure the drive or did you just eyeball it?

Golfers are like fishermen in that that 250 yard drive quickly turns into a 300 yarder when you are actually measuring it. I hit the ball a long, long ways and very rarely hit a 300 yard drive and that is in the south in very warm weather. I don't think many of you realize how far off your claims really are. My normal playing group has a couple of scratch golfers, a couple of plus handicappers, and no one over single digits. Very few of them hit the ball 300 yards. Then again, maybe there is a large group of people on this board that all hit the ball like PGA tour pros they just can't seem to shoot under 95. Yeah.......... that makes sense. http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/02/04/...008/index.html http://www.kansascity.com/sports/gol...y/1099797.html

[Pinseeker81]

I hit the ball a long, long ways and very rarely hit a 300 yard drive...

What are you calling a long, long ways?

Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't. I understand your argument about being able to hit long drives correlating into being able to hit all your clubs well, but it just doesn't hold up. I spent the day at the range knocking range balls to 275-280, and chunking mid irons 100 yards. I also sculled a chip over the practice green and couldn't get it back on (green was 6' in the air) for 4 more chips. I also made no putts outside 6'. This is why I'm a long hitter that hasn't broken 100 yet. Even on the 320ish yard drive I spoke of earlier, I overshot the green with my sand wedge for 2, pitched from behind the green to about 20' away, and 3 putted for bogey.

[Neco]

Did you actually measure the drive or did you just eyeball it?

Hey bud, I'm sorry to rain on your parade but a 300 yard shot and a 454 yard chip are extremely different shots. Short game and putting are crucial to the game.

I am relatively bad at putting and not the greatest at the short game. Hell, I don't even strike the ball very consistently at the moment but I will tell you that I have developed a swing that is fundamentally sound with correct hip turn and my hands are in front of the ball. That added with the right driver and a 3 1/4 inch tee can result in a long drive from time to time. Yes I hit it over 300 today. It was a 360 yard par 4 on my ball was slightly off the green. You don't have to have a well developed game in order to swing the club fundamentally sound and hit it long from time to time.

[lhshurdl3r]

Did you actually measure the drive or did you just eyeball it?

your handicap isn't directly correlated with how far you can hit or drive a ball. i was paired up with a couple single digit hc'ers last week who could only drive the ball 200yds MAX. they were also in their 70s and could get up and down on nearly every hole. there are also younger golfers who can do this as well. just because your new DYMO driver can't get you to 300yds doesn't mean that somebody who plays to a handicap doubled yours can't do it.