20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[CaseyD]

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

That person would likely not be a 20 handicap player and thus not the topic of this thread. I'm sure there are exceptions, but generally a 20 is not hitting 60% good or great drives.

Really?  I would definitely disagree with that. 6 good drives that don’t all have to be 300 yards to average 300 yards does not translate to a low or even mid handicap. 

[NM Golf]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

Having the natural ability to swing fast and being able to control the clubface to make the game playable are two different skills. I struggled (and still do) to hit the driver with any real consistent results and being able to hit the ball far didn't really translate to any semblance of a decent golf game for a very long time.

We will agree to disagree. I believe if you have the ability to return the club to the ball in a manner that can produce 300 yard drives on a consistent basis then you have enough natural ability to become a good player in a shorter amount of time. What people don't seem to understand is to hit the ball 300 yards on a regular basis you need much more than just swing speed. To hit a ball 300 yards you must be able to hit it on the face, your swing path must be decent, your face awareness must be pretty good. 300 yard drives are hard to produce because you have to have a lot going right in your swing in order to produce them. I mean it's the exact reason there are not many 20 handicappers who can hit the ball 300 yards consistently. 

8 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

Really?  I would definitely disagree with that. 6 good drives that don’t all have to be 300 yards to average 300 yards does not translate to a low or even mid handicap. 

I have to agree with @billchaoon this. Sometimes I don't hit 6 "good" drives in a round. If more than half your drives are good you are more than likely better than a 20.

Edited February 6, 2019 by NM Golf

[billchao]

16 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

Really?  I would definitely disagree with that. 6 good drives that don’t all have to be 300 yards to average 300 yards does not translate to a low or even mid handicap. 

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, a 20 is not hitting 60% of their shots as 8s or better.

13 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

We will agree to disagree. I believe if you have the ability to return the club to the ball in a manner that can produce 300 yard drives on a consistent basis then you have enough natural ability to become a good player in a shorter amount of time. What people don't seem to understand is to hit the ball 300 yards on a regular basis you need much more than just swing speed. To hit a ball 300 yards you must be able to hit it on the face, your swing path must be decent, your face awareness must be pretty good. 300 yard drives are hard to produce because you have to have a lot going right in your swing in order to produce them. I mean it's the exact reason there are not many 20 handicappers who can hit the ball 300 yards consistently. 

We're kind of talking about two different things. You mention consistently, I'm talking about occasionally. I don't believe for a second that someone can consistently produce 300 yard drives and stay a 20 for very long, but all it takes is some luck for a guy who swings fast to crank one once in a while.

[NM Golf]

Just now, billchao said:

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, a 20 is not hitting 60% of their shots as 8s or better.

We're kind of talking about two different things. You mention consistently, I'm talking about occasionally. I don't believe for a second that someone can consistently produce 300 yard drives and stay a 20 for very long, but all it takes is some luck for a guy who swings fast to crank one once in a while.

So you are speaking of the blind squirrel scenario? I can agree with that as that is the player with only swing speed and none of the other skills necessary to be a good golfer. That being said, there are very few of those people.

[CaseyD]

So now we are adding another condition. Now it’s he won’t be a 20 for very long. 🤔

Consistently and averaging, two different things. Again, you could have a 40-50 yard difference between drives and “average” 300 yards. 

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

Again, you could have a 40-50 yard difference between drives and “average” 300 yards. 

To average 300 yards you'd have to hit either a good percentage of them over 300 yards, or you'd have to have still a good number WELL over 300 yards¹.

We know how averages work, man.

If someone can average 300 yards (regardless of whether they're consistently near 300 or they hit 30% 350), the odds slim that the guy's a 20.

 

¹ If you hit 30% 350, you've still gotta average 279 for the other 70%.

[billchao]

38 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

So you are speaking of the blind squirrel scenario? I can agree with that as that is the player with only swing speed and none of the other skills necessary to be a good golfer. That being said, there are very few of those people.

Only because I'm never going to dismiss someone who is a 20 saying they can hit it 300. Like I said that's a product of raw speed and luck. There are people who will dismiss the possibility of someone who has the ability to hit the ball a long way simply based on their handicap.

[CaseyD]

7 minutes ago, iacas said:

To average 300 yards you'd have to hit either a good percentage of them over 300 yards, or you'd have to have still a good number WELL over 300 yards¹.

We know how averages work, man.

If someone can average 300 yards (regardless of whether they're consistently near 300 or they hit 30% 350), the odds slim that the guy's a 20.

 

¹ If you hit 30% 350, you've still gotta average 279 for the other 70%.

I’m not arguing that. But 300 isn’t the mystical number it once was.  I think it’s far less believable for some one to say they throw darts from 100 yards but I’m a 20.  

Never said anyone on here didn’t know how averages work but thanks for letting me know.

im just saying because a person is a 20 doesn’t mean they can’t hit driver.

 

 

Too many variables for some one to make this blanket statement and want to discuss. 

[Xunzi]

I played a tournament in the fall. I won the long drive competition with a drive of 295 yards. Two other drives of mine were measured with GPS - one was 328 yards and the other was 316 yards. I am a 25 handicap and didn't manage to lower it this season, although I do feel I'll have a breakthrough around the corner. I used to spray my drives all over the place but I started to get that under control this year; however, my approach game is a disaster and will be my next focus of improvement. Not sure I average 300 yards but I definitely fit into the category of being a shit player with long drives.

[iacas]

15 minutes ago, CaseyD said:

I’m not arguing that. But 300 isn’t the mystical number it once was.

It's still really far, and averaging 300 is still really unlikely for a 20.

That's all anyone's saying.

And… I couldn't care less if someone hits it far. Good for them. No jealousy, etc. here. It's just golf.

[Vinsk]

On 10/13/2008 at 3:09 PM, extremeld said:

 

just wondering if the 20 handicappers that AVERAGE 300yards i read about on golf forums

 

@Lihu clear as day. First sentence in OP.

3 hours ago, billchao said:

That person would likely not be a 20 handicap player and thus not the topic of this thread. I'm sure there are exceptions, but generally a 20 is not hitting 60% good or great drives.

It's an old topic that started with someone venting. They tend to evolve over time.

Quite true.

[Lihu]

4 hours ago, Vinsk said:

@Lihu clear as day. First sentence in OP.

Quite true.

No one reads the OP, it’s like reading instructions for a computer or whatever 🤪😂🤪

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

It's still really far, and averaging 300 is still really unlikely for a 20.

That's all anyone's saying.

And… I couldn't care less if someone hits it far. Good for them. No jealousy, etc. here. It's just golf.

Very rare for sure....

[Cantankerish]

On 2/6/2019 at 1:18 AM, NM Golf said:

I was a 20 handicap for about a week. I was a 15 handicap for about a month. I was a single digit handicap within a few years of picking up the game.

I am still fairly new, but damn.  15 handicap so quickly sounds pretty amazing to someone like me who hits the ball hard and all over the place.  I can not even imagine being a 15 handicap after seven months.  It cuts both ways apparently.

[freshmanUTA]

A 20 hitting it 300 yards average is unlikely, but it’s definitely easier to hit a ball off the tee than off the ground. It’s possible the person only practices driving and thus has a hard time hitting off the ground. I wouldn’t say that it’s impossible and unheard of to be a 20 and hit it that far. Some people don’t practice they just try to swing as fast as possible every single time.

[phillyk]

When I went to high school, all I cared about was distance. I could hit it over 300yds but shoot in the 90's to 100's.  I'd have my fair share of straight ones, but it's the misses that stacked those strokes up. Once I started to care more on consistency, I retained my distance but started getting the rest of my game nailed down.  Took about 3 years in high school to figure it out as I was in the low 70s by senior year.

Now, I've had rounds where I averaged 320+yds, with the longer drives out at 390yds.  I can also go out and average 280yds with the long ones around 295yds.  The difference? Location.  In the Western part of WA, I won't average very long because the ground is usually really soft, as in less than 5yds of roll and the air is heavy.  But go into Eastern WA and you hit the desert; dry air, dry rolling fairways where the ball will carry a long ways and roll a long ways.  The point here? Someone saying they hit the ball 300yds doesn't mean much to me without context. Clubhead speed is a good start, sure. But the "where" also carries some weight.

[bstade12477]

Just for information sake.

I am: male, 23 Years Old, ~175Lbs, 6'0" on a good day with an average handicap of about 17 (Lefty). I do average a 290 carry distance going into 2020. If I really want to smack the ball, I can get it around 300-310, but don' think it's always going straight. I will take advantages of dog legs going left in these cases b.c. I do tend to slice the ball when hitting swing speeds of 115-125mph. I only took golf seriously in the last 1-2 years when entering/exiting college.

 

I focused on just driver swing mechanics for possibly 2 years after buying my first "real" set of clubs in college (Ap1's And a Titilest 915D Driver @ 9.5 loft.) & just now thinking I perfected where I want to be with the club. 

 

I will say I am focused on being a long hitter. 250 carry with a 3 iron, 150 carry pw. I will say taking some off the swing is hard for me, getting that "touch" is a challenge but will come with practice when I'm done with my long drive fix. 

 

Tl;dr, 17 handicap, avrg 290 carry, horrific short game.