20+ handicappers hitting 300 yards (mild rant)

[ElTigre]

Honestly, I disagree.

If your 6'5 295 and very muscular and you don hit 300. You obviously use waayyyy to much arms in your swing. Or you swing like a baby. I'm 5'9 135 and in good shape. Im 15 and I hit it 270 average. You sholud beast it past me by 30 yards at least. If you swing don't flex your muscles, you'll just move slower.

[grantc79]

If your 6'5 295 and very muscular and you don hit 300. You obviously use waayyyy to much arms in your swing. Or you swing like a baby. I'm 5'9 135 and in good shape. Im 15 and I hit it 270 average. You sholud beast it past me by 30 yards at least. If you swing don't flex your muscles, you'll just move slower.

Not really.

Look at the long drivers on tour, there is no rhyme or reason to their swings. Some of them are big strong guys some of them are small flexible guys and some of them are right in the middle. At the end of the day its 90% technique which is why no 20 handicapper will ever average 300 because of you have the technique to hit it that far you wouldn't be a 20 handicapper.

[Fat Slice]

At the end of the day its 90% technique which is why no 20 handicapper will ever average 300 because of you have the technique to hit it that far you wouldn't be a 20 handicapper.

This time you say "average", but last time...

If you have a swing that is so erratic that you hit a 50 yard duff then there is no freakin' way that you have the swing speed, swing mechanics, much less the lag pressure required to hit a 300 yard drive with no wind and flat ground. There is simply no way, I'm sorry but until I meet a 20 handicapper that can hit the ball that far I will assume they are all full of shit.

So which is it? Do you claim that it's impossible for a 20 handicapper to EVER hit a 300 yard drive with no wind and flat ground?

[grantc79]

This time you say "average", but last time...

With a standard off the shelf driver I would have to see it to believe it.

With a 49" or non-conforming driver on really hard ground it might be possible. with a big enough draw. Are we talking about a more or less straight shot or are we talking dog left left for a rightie with a huge draw?

[Petden]

Perhaps I am wrong.

I used to play quarterback for football, and I was only ever out thrown by one player, when i was 13. I played on my school flag football team, and I was able to throw the whole field (flag football field=67 yards?). I always launched bombs from one end of the field to the other.

A 100 mph fastball, tell me 2 seconds in advance and I can set a bunt up . Dunk a basketball net. Why not, give me a trampoline and I'll do backflis before I dunk it. But in all seriousness a 300 yard drive is hard to hit. Who knows maybe everyone here can hit 300 yards, until you have played with everyone it is impossible to know. (This was directed to everyone)

[Fat Slice]

With a standard off the shelf driver I would have to see it to believe it.

Nope, just straight away. FWIW, in Asia, since golf is so expensive, there are a lot of people for whom golf means the driving range. There are private golf clubs that are just big driving ranges! Some of these folks just bang the driver over and over. Put them on a course and they'd probably shoot 120 or more, but they might crank out a 300 yard drive every now and then.

I don't know why you find it so incredulous. Someone might be terrible with irons, or putting, or might chunk chips, thin wedges, etc. You've never seen a 20+ golfer go 300 yards? Never, ever? And why do you think it would take special equipment? Some people can swing a golf club faster than others and with a lucky weight transfer and contact angle they are going to send it 300.

[oreodawg1]

Wow. You're a pretty big guy haha. I'm only 5' 4" and about 125 pounds. I average about 275 yards and anyone that knows me will back me up on that. If i'm playing from the tips(i normally do) and there is a 600 yard par 5 I'll put a little more into it, and I can hit 300 yards. There is a 320 yard par 4 at my course not downhill but flat, and 4 out 5 times I can drive that hole. Size has nothing to do with it at all. I used to have a crazy looking swing that was way to far back and ;lajo;a;nv i don't know it was ugly, but i could hit the ball 300 every time. I couldn't hit my irons or putt cause all i did was hit my driver at the range all the time. Its not that hard to hit the ball far and still come in around 95 or 100.

[Stacey_E]

Maybe the reason so many are stuck at a 20 handicap is because they THINK they can hit a driver 300 and and PW 150. Something to think about.

Sorry but I had to repost my rant from page 4. I can't believe this thread has went on this long. Great thread.

[Fat Slice]

While I know people can be in denial about their driving length, most people know how far they hit their irons, especially on the approach shot!

[907golfer12]

While I know people can be in denial about their driving length, most people know how far they hit their irons, especially on the approach shot!

I disagree. What if you are down wind. The pin is in front. The green is below where you are hitting from. You are cutting a corner on the hole. Most people refuse to think about these factors because of their egos.

At my home course the 3rd hole from the tips is a 170 yard par 3. My friend, who averages 260 off the tee with a 105 mph swing speed can hit an 8 iron into this green. No mind you the hole plays one club shorter because of elevation change. But like I said, he refuses to take this into account, so later in the round he will have 180 into a pin and he pulls an 8 iron and is 1 club short. He always wonders why it's short, he hit an 8 into #3, so I tell him that #3 plays one club shorter because of elevation, and he just disregards what I say.

[grantc79]

I don't know why you find it so incredulous. Someone might be terrible with irons, or putting, or might chunk chips, thin wedges, etc. You've never seen a 20+ golfer go 300 yards? Never, ever? And why do you think it would take special equipment? Some people can swing a golf club faster than others and with a lucky weight transfer and contact angle they are going to send it 300.

There's no real reasoning behind that though.

The swing they use to hit their driver is the same swing they would use to hit irons and even though shorter it is also the same swing used to hit chips. Hell 90% of the golf swing can be learned from chipping, its the same motion. The driver is by nature the hardest club to swing in your bag which is why Phil and other PGA golfers will often struggle with the driver. It is a long ass club which makes a long ass swing which leaves a lot of time and places for things to go wrong. But the swing itself is no different between a driver and a PW so to argue that they can do one better than 99% of the golfers in the world but can't do the other well at all is completely silly. Its like saying "I can shoot 3's, but I can't shoot free throws at all." Or "I can hit home runs, but I can't hit grounders either the ball goes over the fence or I miss it." Or "I know how to wash dishes in the dishwasher but those cups fool me everytime." I truly do not think a lot of you guys do not realize how far 300 yards is. I spent all last week in Hot Springs Village and all 3 of the guys playing with me were swearing I was hitting the ball 300 but I knew better and I actually showed them that 300 I was hitting was really more like 275 to 280 on a good one.

[grantc79]

I'll reiterate what I posted earlier.......

4 Par 5's: They would have to average 6-7 on.

9 Par 4's: They would have to average 5-6 on.

5 Par 3's: They would have to average 4-5 on.


Basically what you are telling me is that they can drive the ball 300 yards but they average a bogey to a double bogey on every single hole.

They have managed to learn to do what very, very few people in the world can do........ But they can't ever 2 putt.

They can make a 110 MPH plus swing on plane with a driver with good mechanics......... But they can't chip a ball onto the green, not close just ON.

They can smash the hell out of the ball off the tee box swinging out of their shoes........ But they can't put a ball on the green using that same swing from 100 yards out or less EVER.



The only way I could see that being remotely possible is if they played where I played (or somewhere similar) all last week which is the courses at Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.

Its set in the mountains so lots of straight up hill and straight down hill approach shots into greens that are US Open fast with 4 and 5 foot breaks.

There were times that I 3 putted and felt like I actually did a pretty good job on the greens. It is retardedly hard to play there but beautiful and lots of fun as well.


But even then I'd be hard pressed to believe someone could hit a ball 300 and not be able to break 92.

[Pat007]

Wow. You're a pretty big guy haha. I'm only 5' 4" and about 125 pounds. I average about 275 yards and anyone that knows me will back me up on that. If i'm playing from the tips(i normally do) and there is a 600 yard par 5 I'll put a little more into it, and I can hit 300 yards. There is a 320 yard par 4 at my course not downhill but flat, and 4 out 5 times I can drive that hole. Size has nothing to do with it at all. I used to have a crazy looking swing that was way to far back and ;lajo;a;nv i don't know it was ugly, but i could hit the ball 300 every time. I couldn't hit my irons or putt cause all i did was hit my driver at the range all the time. Its not that hard to hit the ball far and still come in around 95 or 100.

Here are the top 10 in PGA Tour in driving distance. So, Oreodawg, when are you getting your tour card??? Stop being an ass and thinking everyone on this forum is naive, its getting really annoying. 4 out of 5 times driving a 320 yard par 4. Gimme a fu$#%ng break!

1 1 Bubba Watson 315.2 2 2 Robert Garrigus 311.4 3 3 J.B. Holmes 310.3 4 4 Dustin Johnson 309.9 5 5 Steve Allan 303.2 6 7 Nick Watney 303.1 7 6 Tag Ridings 303.0 8 8 Adam Scott 302.1 9 9 Davis Love III 301.9 10 10 Charles Warren 301.5

[Fat Slice]

I disagree. What if you are down wind. The pin is in front. The green is below where you are hitting from. You are cutting a corner on the hole. Most people refuse to think about these factors because of their egos.

Are there people who lie to themselves (and others) about how far they hit a club *on average*? YES

Are there people who lie to themselves (and others) about the longest distance they have hit a club? YES Are there 20+ handicappers that have, on occasion, hit a 300+ yard drive with standard equipment, zero slope, and no wind? I say yes, you say no. It's not a question of golf skills, it's a question of physics. Did you see Joe Blanton hit that home run in the World Series?

[oreodawg1]

Here are the top 10 in PGA Tour in driving distance. So, Oreodawg, when are you getting your tour card??? Stop being an ass and thinking everyone on this forum is naive, its getting really annoying. 4 out of 5 times driving a 320 yard par 4. Gimme a fu$#%ng break!

okay here is your break...i don't mean i'm on the green 4 out of 5 times i mean i am around that green mean it rolls to that distance, meaning i've only been on the green maybe twice. And as far as my card ha, well...yah i wish. Long drivers hit the ball a mile and that doesn't mean they play like the pros. Those top 10 you listed are good all around golfer's and thats why they have their pga card. If I hit the ball far every once in a while that doesn't mean I can putt or chip or even hit my irons for that matter it just means i hit my driver so calm down.

[Chief Broom]

With a standard off the shelf driver I would have to see it to believe it.

As long as you go with averaging 300yds I'll give you that it's pretty much impossible for a 20 capper to do it. Heck averaging 300yds is just about impossible for any capper much less a 20 something. But if you change the parameter from average drive distance to ever or even occassionaly hit a 300yd drive then I've got to say it's easily possible. A playing partner of mine has a higher handicap than me and he can easily hit a 300yd drive. It doesn't always stay in the fairway (or in play), but he can step on it and put one out there that will carry almost 300yd. He normally doesn't try to do it because the outcome is so unpredictable, but he can pretty much do it at will and feel secure in the knowledge that the ball will go that far. This is a big guy (6' 2" 260ish) and he can swing the club fast. Lots of big guys can do that, but as is normally the case they really don't know where the ball will go, so that negates having the ability to swing the club that fast.

A lot of guys can hit the ball a long ways but par isn't counted in yards but in strokes and therein lies the difference...

[SubPar]

When I was 10 years younger and a 12-14 handicapper I thought I was hitting the occasional 280 yard drive and assumed I "averaged" 255-265... then I got a range finder and actually started checking the distances.

I have been playing the same 4-5 courses for 12 years and I play as a single most of the time. So I play with golfers with a wide range of skill levels, 2-3 rounds a week. I can think of a number of par 4s that are about 340-360 yards where I have almost never seen anyone drive the ball inside the 100 yard markers. There are only two players I can recall that could regularly hit fairways (50%+) that drove the ball 280-320 yards. One is a +3 handicap and the other is a professional long drive competitor.

Golf is a sport full of dreamers disconnected from reality. The USGA rates courses with the assumption that a scratch golfer drives the ball 250. Over half the top 200 tour pros average under 290, yet there is no shortage of causal golfers that boast about averaging 280-290.

Dream on you crazy dreamers!

SubPar

[Fat Slice]

Golf is a sport full of dreamers disconnected from reality.

That works both ways.

Lone tree, 12th hole, blue tees, 294 to center. This was when I was a 33 index. I took a picture because I put it on the green. I didn't take a picture when I drove PAST the green. I have taken about 30 tee shots on that hole and twice hit some real big drives. The last time I went out I got it pin high (pin the in the center of the green, not the back as in the pic) and just off to the right. That time, though, I hit a sprinkler head and ran down the cart path and then back to just off the green. The other two times I hit it straight and long with great carry and natural roll. I am so inconsistent, though, that I stopped swiniging hard to try and hit more fairways. It has worked, and I play better golf now, although I average about 220. To say that someone cannot randomly hit a ball 300 yards if they have generate the clubhead speed, though...that's dreaming! The laws of physics dictate that should happen once in x times (like a perfect storm) and, sure enough, it does. You don't have to believe it. I am probably the youngest guy in my golf club and I have one of the worst indexes. 70 and 80 year old guys work their way around the course with 12-20 handicaps. I outdrive those old guys even now, tapping the ball off the tee. but my index is much higher. You know, the first thing I said was "Why do you care?" I think I am going to tell myself now, "Why do I care that you care?" With that...