20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[Slice of Life]

No prob. Then I guess we're not that far off. I have no doubt those guys are bombers, and that lots of bombers exist. It'll take a lot for me to believe that high schoolers can match pro stats. Maybe the PGA stats are flawed? I don't know, but they are published by the PGA, so I'll believe them.

My thing is, if PGA pros played with the mentality of the average weekend golfer (they wouldn't be pros), they would be crushing drives 330-360 yards into the woods.

[Lihu]

No prob. Then I guess we're not that far off. I have no doubt those guys are bombers, and that lots of bombers exist. It'll take a lot for me to believe that high schoolers can match pro stats. Maybe the PGA stats are flawed? I don't know, but they are published by the PGA, so I'll believe them.

Like every other sport, we have lower expectations for high school students than pros. At least I do. :-) :-) :-)

[RandallT]

Like every other sport, we have lower expectations for high school students than pros. At least I do. :-) :-) :-)

Ditto. Except when I returned to my high school after I graduated to see Grant Hill play for my beloved team. He was amazing and nobody believed me when I told them how good he was! Lol

[Lihu]

Ditto. Except when I returned to my high school after I graduated to see Grant Hill play for my beloved team. He was amazing and nobody believed me when I told them how good he was! Lol

Hey, I believe you. :-)

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandallT

No prob. Then I guess we're not that far off. I have no doubt those guys are bombers, and that lots of bombers exist. It'll take a lot for me to believe that high schoolers can match pro stats. Maybe the PGA stats are flawed? I don't know, but they are published by the PGA, so I'll believe them.

My thing is, if PGA pros played with the mentality of the average weekend golfer (they wouldn't be pros), they would be crushing drives 330-360 yards into the woods.

You mean like Tiger?

[Slice of Life]

You mean like Tiger?

Haha.

[Lihu]

You mean like Tiger?  :roll:

And the 20 year old playing with him at Bridgestone? I'm still convinced they use less than 80% effort, snd still hit that far. :-)

[Slice of Life]

And the 20 year old playing with him at Bridgestone?

I'm still convinced they use less than 80% effort, snd still hit that far.

I think it was more a joke about Tiger's erratic drives.

[nick1998bunker]

Ok, I don't know what a lie hdcper is...but if you slice or hook a ball, it's not going 260 yards at 5'2" and like 110 lbs. If at that size, your bad drive is 260 yards, your short game must be horrendous.

I meant low handicapper. And I'm 140. But I don't include horrendous shots so any bad- great shot for a low handicapper isn't that far apart. Maybe 20 yards. and I don't know if you care but these are the kids on my team. My coach is about 5'6. I was 5 foot at the time and victors putter was as tall as me. He also has bigger shoulders this picture makes them look skinny

[AntiTankNinja]

I don't care how far someone can hit the ball off the tee if they can't keep it in the fairway. Mix that with some duffed wedge shots, and horrible putting...there is your 20+ hcap. Even though a 300+ yard drive is great, it can't automatically put the ball in the hole for par. And lets stop comparing apples(amateur golfers) and oranges(PGA players)! Driver distance off the tee box is hardly the only thing that separates us from them.

[leftygolferman]

This is an absolute blast reading everyone's great comments, I love it.  I've sure seen a lot of swings in 33 years of teaching the game, both good and bad. The 300-yard drive is really something for sure but not finding the fairway sort of negates it.  Hard to hit the green and make a par if you drive into trouble.  Amazing how the game has changed too.  I was lucky enough to work for Ken Venturi for 4 years back in the early '90's and he told us all about his win at the Open in '64.  His average drive then was about 255, that's all.  Shows how important the short game is and of course he was the master at that.  Keep the good posts coming!

Steve

[Lihu]

Thanks for the info, Steve. We will welcome any information from you.

[nick1998bunker]

I also think its a little unfair how y'all talk about how long hitters can't hit it in the fairway. The faster your swing speed the more spin imparted and fractions off and your OB. What y'all don't realize is if you hit a drive 220 and its faded to te right side of te fairway, for us that is almost OB.

[inthehole]

A guy I occasionally play with is one of these.  He's built like dustin Johnson - hits it a legit 300 yds (I've gps'd it).    But he swings so totally out of control, hits maybe 2 out of 10 fairways.    Swings all his clubs that hard - it's hard to watch actually.    With my ho-hum 240 yd drive & playing from the fairways instead of the woods, I always beat him by at least 20 strokes (even with my pitiful putting), but he doesn't care - he's totally all about "the long ball".      I keep thinking he'll eventually realize seeing the way I play from the short grass most of the time &  how much more enjoyable it is rather than always scrambling & change his game somewhat, but never happens - maybe he sees my game as boring.

Does Not Compute ...

[AntiTankNinja]

I also think its a little unfair how y'all talk about how long hitters can't hit it in the fairway. The faster your swing speed the more spin imparted and fractions off and your OB. What y'all don't realize is if you hit a drive 220 and its faded to te right side of te fairway, for us that is almost OB.

Let's be realistic. If a 20+ hcap is hitting 300+ yard drives...I seriously doubt the majority of them are finding the fairway. We all know the stereotype. Of course there are exceptions, but it's rare.

[Pretzel]

I also think its a little unfair how y'all talk about how long hitters can't hit it in the fairway. The faster your swing speed the more spin imparted and fractions off and your OB. What y'all don't realize is if you hit a drive 220 and its faded to te right side of te fairway, for us that is almost OB.

On the flip side of this, why shouldn't you expect those who hit it 300 yards to have a better swing to compensate? I'm not saying that you absolutely will have a better swing just because you can hit it further, but it helps you hit it further if you can make square contact.

I've played golf with my uncle a few times, who used to go around on the long drive circuits a while ago, and it's pretty scary to watch. He'll go out and try to hit it as far as he can on the first shot, then just not care about the rest. He'll skull or thin any full swing shot that's not teed up because of a positive AoA and doesn't keep score. He just writes down how far his drive went on each hole, then hacks his way to the next teebox.

Funny story about him though, I once watched him snap 3 driver shafts in a row on the driving range. He used to be sponsored and so he has a bunch of the interchangeable shafts that he carries in his cart bag, so he kept replacing them after each one broke. He would take a massive swing and hit the rock-hard turf behind the ball (it was in January before it thawed completely out) and it would just snap. He'd grab his shaft tool from his bag to switch it out, then promptly break the next one the same way. After the third one though he finally stopped hitting the ground, though my grandpa and I were laughing very hard by that point.

[Lihu]

Let's be realistic. If a 20+ hcap is hitting 300+ yard drives...I seriously doubt the majority of them are finding the fairway. We all know the stereotype. Of course there are exceptions, but it's rare.

If two of my friends hit fsirways with their 300 yad drives, they would be low or scratch. They're usually two fairways over, if they're lucky.

[WhySoSerious]

I hit a drive 300 yards while smoking joints with a bunch of high school kids. We were pulling our push-carts, pushing our pull-carts, it was wild. Heck, we didn't even bring our own tees, we were just picking up ones we found , it was so crazy.