How far can you heave a golf club?

[Awsi Dooger]

I never throw clubs, but do the drop on follow-through. I'm trying to kick that habit though, since it's rude. At first I thought it helped me "forget" bad shots, but I've decided that no, it's just rude and unproductive...

I got into that habit about a year ago. Not while playing with friends or strangers, but when I was in Miami playing with my parents I started letting go of the club after an obviously poor contact. The club would generally linger in the air for 5 or 6 feet then drop behind me, slightly to the right.

I stopped doing it when I hit a second shot in front of a high fence and the darn iron ended up behind the fence, not a mid size one but in the basketball hoop-range, about 10 feet. I'm not exactly a spry teenager anymore but there was no way I wasn't going after the club. Getting over the top wasn't bad, even though I had to avoid prongs on top. The worst part was standing on top, about to vault back over after retrieving the club. The group behind us was watching, and beyond that I was dreading an awkward landing that could compromise a foot or ankle. Luckily I landed fine, basically shooting me forward in running mode. Otherwise, I used to be a thrower, but again, not when playing with others, at least once I realized how juvenile it looked. That was compliments of an incident when I was about 14. Two guys playing with us left without a word, moving briskly ahead of my dad and I with their pull carts. I didn't understand why, until I realized I had slid my driver along the early morning dew after a poor tee shot while trying to cut the dogleg on a par 5. I was thinking, "What's the big deal? I barely threw that one." I distinctly remember letting it go like a baseball swing, a knee high pitch, and letting the driver slide on the ground about 20 yards, barely beyond the tee box. It wouldn't have made my Top 25. Once I let a 6 iron go too late, throwing it after a pathetic tee shot on a par 3, and it whirlybirded straight left, over the fence and into a pool. That was mid afternoon. I didn't see anyone on the property. I risked potential pot shots from an overly protective South Floridian to scale the fence and wade into the pool. The 6 iron was sitting there rather calmly, clubface touching the bottom of the pool, center of the pool but toward the shallow end. In terms of distance and altitude, my standard has to be a heave with a TaylorMade Burner Bubble 8.5 Tour Driver about 9 years ago in Windsor. I was topping one drive after another while attempting grip changes. Finally on an isolated part of the course I decided that club could go. I launched it high and left, easily clearing a 50+ foot row of trees. It was an image I won't forget, a slow whirlybird, rather majestic, at least 30 yards forward and 25+ yards into the bushes. There were three distinct tree lines it cleared but none of them were dense. I reluctantly gathered my senses and traipsed in after it. I found it after a couple of minutes, further forward than I originally was looking. The club featured a few minor nicks on the shaft near the clubface. Otherwise fine. We forgave each other and I played it for a couple more years. In fact, it's still in my closet.

[Chief Broom]

I never throw clubs, but do the drop on follow-through. I'm trying to kick that habit though, since it's rude. At first I thought it helped me "forget" bad shots, but I've decided that no, it's just rude and unproductive...

Plus it looks really stupid.

I can understand and sympathize with Tommy Bolt hurling his driver into the drink after blowing a major championship. I don't condone his behavior but I do understand it. Regular people (guys who aren't making a living playing golf, or who don't have a lot riding on that particuar game) who make a display of their bad shot are attempting to obscure how bad they are at this game. Good golfers who make such displays still look silly, but at least they've got a valid excuse for being angry.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I dont really throw clubs very often. I have slammed them on the turf and snapped them in half many times....

When i blow up or get frustrated to that point something has to break before it seems i can move on. Ill hold onto it for days if i dont get it out somehow and then the blow up is much much worse. (like punching out your car window.... ) Break the club, get it re-shafted and move on.

[TheNatural]

Havent thrown a club YET.....

[Grndslmhttr3]

Before I got my driver regripped, the grip was really slippery, and when I took a swing at the ball, I let go of my driver halfway through my follow through. It got hung up in a pine tree :S

[Petden]

I've head shafts break and the head go flying, but not really thrown them. When I get mad I take a vicious swing at the air (just a super sped up golf swing, not making contact with anything).

[GaijinGolfer]

I guess I must be a lot more zen than you guys, because Ive never gotten mad enough to consider throwing a club.

[Andyonfire]

I had one friend throw his 5-wood on the highway!
he duffed his shot, and meant to throw the club up the fairway. Instead, he released to late and it landed dead smack on a busy highway. Thing was in peices lol

Another buddy threw his wedge in the air afte a bad chip. Got stuck in a tree, so he takes hsi shoe off to knock it off, then his shoe gets stuck in the tree!
good times

[kingofcars08]

Haha great topic.
One of my first times on the course a couple years ago, I hit my dad's old callway big bertha, and upon impact, the head seperated from the shaft and flew about 75 yards right down the middle, and check this out, landed about 10 feet from where the ball had rolled to. I felt like an idiot standing there holding just a shaft. It was a par 5 too =(

I used to be an angry golfer when I was just starting, Case of "I thought I was better than reality" and I used to hit trees and fences. Until one time after hitting a terrible 8-iron shot into a lake, I turned and hit my golf bag with it, shattering both my diver and 3 wood shafts. Luckily, they were both made by nickent, but that was the last time i hit anything or threw anything. Now...I just adjust my hat or belt, take a sip of water (or beer) and walk to my ball, thinking about making a great shot to make up for the last crappy one.

[Rob]

I don`t throw them any more.But,one time I got a old wedge out of the cart barn,and when I hit my approach about 10 feet left of the flag while playing our Sunday game, ,I put my club in the bag,took out the old one,told my partners" You know,I just paid $110 for this club,and if it won`t work better than that,I don`t need it"I threw it in the middle of the lake. You could hear nothing but silence,and the boy`s talked about it for weeks in the 19th hole.Never told them any diffrent!

[MiniMoe]

We have a group that plays twice a week. There is one guy that does all sorts of stuff when he gets hacked. I have seen him hit a ball from a bunker and throw the wedge from the green into a creek that is 100yrd away in fluid motion. I've seen him dump every ball out of his bag and hit them into the water as fast as he could. I seen him throw his clubs on the ground and drive over them with his truck. I have seen him throw over $100 on the table and say while walking off..."take out what I owe and keep the rest". That was a good day. The best one of all was the time he took his clubs home, threw them on the lawn and ran over them with his riding lawnmower, blades going full out. Any more we just bet on when he is going to blow up. I will say this... he is really nice for being so angry with his clubs. We even egg him on and give him a really hard time, but he never yells or gets mad at us for calling him out. Makes me laugh so hard I cry

[PEZGolf]

We have a group that plays twice a week. There is one guy that does all sorts of stuff when he gets hacked. I have seen him hit a ball from a bunker and throw the wedge from the green into a creek that is 100yrd away in fluid motion. I've seen him dump every ball out of his bag and hit them into the water as fast as he could. I seen him throw his clubs on the ground and drive over them with his truck. I have seen him throw over $100 on the table and say while walking off..."take out what I owe and keep the rest". That was a good day. The best one of all was the time he took his clubs home, threw them on the lawn and ran over them with his riding lawnmower, blades going full out. Any more we just bet on when he is going to blow up. I will say this... he is really nice for being so angry with his clubs. We even egg him on and give him a really hard time, but he never yells or gets mad at us for calling him out. Makes me laugh so hard I cry

Your post is humorous since I do not play in your group. If I did, I think that I would start to find his behavior too "out of line", and if he could not learn anger management, I would leave the group. Or---learn to duck if an airborne club came in my direction!

[1dayIllBaPro]

OMG, I have nothing to say..........these are unbelievable ...... good story tho lol

I never throw my club away. I love my clubs, because I use them to do what I love to do. I used to have bad temper when I was young, but golf calms me down.

[MI Rob]

I have never heaved any of my clubs. I dont have that much of a bad temper.

[zeg]

Another buddy threw his wedge in the air afte a bad chip. Got stuck in a tree, so he takes hsi shoe off to knock it off, then his shoe gets stuck in the tree!

The first rule of knocking things out of a tree: only toss items that mean *less* to you than the item ALREADY stuck in the tree. So easy to state, so hard to obey...

Haha great topic.

I've had this come up a couple times in the last few months... once on the course (5 iron) and once on the range (3 iron). The range was embarrassing because I had to stop everyone to go pick up the head. Only for a trophy -- it actually fractured the club head at the hosel.

And, just to clarify what I said about dropping on the follow-through above... I don't actually ever do any more than drop it right at my feet. Most of the time I actually catch it behind my back before it hits the ground. Still childish and rude, but there's no actual throwing or airtime involved.

[jb1982]

I got in the habit of just dropping the club in my follow through after a bad shot a few years ago. It turned into a really hard habit to break! I never thought it was a big deal until I got a case of the shanks for a couple weeks last summer. On one such swing, I knew the shot was terrible as soon as I made contact and let go of the club while it was still moving pretty fast. It went straight past my wife and cracked the windshield on my brand new golf cart.

Needless to say, I've broken the habit now! I hold onto my club after bad shots now!

[st0wgolf08]

Maybe 10 feet, as that would be the most I would ever throw a club, just tossing it out of a bunker so that I can rake it. I think club throwing and braking are the dumbest things you can do on a golf course. I also feel they are the most disrespectful and stupid.

[Fourputt]

We have a group that plays twice a week. There is one guy that does all sorts of stuff when he gets hacked. I have seen him hit a ball from a bunker and throw the wedge from the green into a creek that is 100yrd away in fluid motion. I've seen him dump every ball out of his bag and hit them into the water as fast as he could. I seen him throw his clubs on the ground and drive over them with his truck. I have seen him throw over $100 on the table and say while walking off..."take out what I owe and keep the rest". That was a good day. The best one of all was the time he took his clubs home, threw them on the lawn and ran over them with his riding lawnmower, blades going full out. Any more we just bet on when he is going to blow up. I will say this... he is really nice for being so angry with his clubs. We even egg him on and give him a really hard time, but he never yells or gets mad at us for calling him out. Makes me laugh so hard I cry

Sorry but I don't see anything funny about this. This a person who doesn't belong anywhere near a golf course... in fact he shouldn't be let out in public. Most of us get past that tantrum stage at about 6 years old. It's one thing to be angry about a poor shot or a poor round... quite another to completely lose control.

That is a dangerous person, and someday his anger is going to be directed at something more than just his golf clubs. And encouraging him doesn't help. I can guarantee you that he would have trouble finding anybody to play with at all among my group. No way anybody I play with would put up with that sort of childish behavior.