What would you DO?

[TheNatural]

I know Im probably gonna hear @##$ for this one but....

I have finally begun to hone in my driver, after my pro fitting to a xshaft..and 48" length.

In the past, longest I have hit 350-60 yds on my long balls (they have to carry and land in the frway for this distance) they were 20 ft. high to flat tees in relation to carry and stop ....wind was nil.

The last round was promising..carried 250 on most and 3 were 290 yds combined....none landed in frway, but the long ones carried 280+....

Should I try to drive short par 4's ? as long as there is no trouble or hazard ...frequently doing this eliminates the hazard...

Also, I dont slice , sometimes a hook, but its happening less and less.
Drives are straight, but low...swing speed is 115 ..i have cranked ss up to 125.

enemy is the launch angle.the lower launch the shorter the drive.

My worst result will be a worm burner of 220 or rarely a 100 yd top.

[TomDonS]

I know Im probably gonna hear @##$ for this one but....

If you can swing like that and produce the distance you are, Why are you a 25 hcp. Maybe you need to spend some tiime on the Putting and Chipping Green rather than building new Drivers "HAPPY" Find your Happy place.

[elementz]

Holy carp, how the heck are you a 25 handicap and hit the ball 360 yards. I am a high handicapper and I think my max with roll is 230ish lol.

[Jared]

In the past, longest I have hit 350-60 yds on my long balls

I think the distance on top is a typo.

[David in FL]

At the risk of sounding like an a$$, you do realize that the object of the game is to get the little white ball into the hole , right?

As to what I'd do......I'd find a driver that allowed me to put the ball in the fairway more often than not and spend my time learning to hit my irons, working on my short game, and my putting. At least until I was playing consistently in the 80's.

[DKunks]

if your hitting it 300 yards and are playing to a 25, chances are your spraying it and have a brutal short game.

if your in the fairway as you say you are, than your short iron game must be non existant.

short game, short game, short game.

i believe they say "drive for show"....

[Lefty22]

(Assuming the top number is a typo) If you are only hitting 250 with a 48 INCH X-Stiff SHAFT then I'd say your shaft is too stiff and you are not making contact in the center of the face. I'm 5' 9" 125lbs and carry about 220-230 with a cut down 44" shaft. With that much leverage difference the potential is there for more distance but it's all for nothing if you don't hit it in the center, if you are making contact in the center then I'd say the flex is wrong because once again with that much whip you should make quite a crack...

Going from a 45.5" to 48" shaft is what someone who hits it 310 does when they want to get to 350, not something a 25 does to get to 250 (my opinion).

[TheNatural]

No not typo, at least a few I have pumped that dist.

I played Sunn and had a 46 on a 73 139 course front nine,,,then blew up back nine,,,see rant on slow play...AND i had 35 putts.

biggest demon is iron tee shots...had a 7,4,5,4 on par 3's. took a drop for a lost ball on another hole..tried to drive a hazard yesterday DIDNT. got a 6 tho! on a par4.

the HC is really a 22.7 or so. it will be coming down now that driver is playing better.

[DJYoshi]

i play with a guy who's like you. my advice.. if your ss is of that speed..which is tour caliber speed..above avg if you say 125...how are you measuring that? i mean phil and tiger normally swing around 117 controlled.
short par 4's like in the 320 range have a risk/reward factor in driving the green.

normally well protected....a push in either direction can result in a bogey instead of an eagle.
assess the hole and the reward of eagle.

I'm not a short hitter, but i'm not super long off the tee or my clubs in general... but I play to what I'm given.

The kid who I play with that's just like you will beast a drive 320, top his 2nd shot. push his 3rd. f*** up his chip, and then 2 or 3 putt.

but everyone has their own goals...if you can't get into much trouble...go ahead and try to drive it.... a 125 mph clubhead speed should yield a 312 carry on perfect launch conditions. if you're not getting enough launch angle in your drive.. move the ball further forward in your stance...that should do it.

[Dub]

No doubt about it.....it's fun as heck to hit bombs on tee shots............................at least that's what I hear from guys who can nail them.


DavidinFL is so true....it's about doing what you've got to do to get the ball in the hole.



Your question was if you should drive short par 4's. I guess it depends on the risk & reward factor.

If you've pumped 350+ out there then imagine what you could do with your irons struck at only 80%.....you'd own the approach shots and the par3s.

I'd save that massive bomb for the par 5's and only when safe to do so....let it ride on a big drive. Even if you skull it 200 yards....then hit a proper lay-up second shot to your perfect wedge distance.

Good luck....find a reliable swing that harnesses your power and you'll be unreal.

[cocky_watchman]

I find this VERY hard to believe. First a 25 handicap with 120 ss, unlikely? Second 300 yard plus drives, highly unlikely? Third, how can you have such problems with irons if you are hitting such amazing distances-on the courses most people play you would only need to use and 8 iron and wedges with your huge distance? Are you 4 putting or something?

All sounds a bit dodgy to me. But as everyone else says if you are that long practice your putting and chipping.

I am a 18 handicap (not 14 as stated I must change it). I am playing badly at the moment but scoring better than for a while purely because I bought a fitted putter and practiced chipping and putting so much over winter-it has knocked lots of my game. Well saving me from my poor play really. i had 28 putts during my round on Sunday-I have before now had 40 plus putts!

So forget the big drives and concentrate on the putts. I love HAPPY GILMOUR-one of my top ten films ever!

[ZaPPPa]

What I would do is:

A) Get a new driver with a normal length shaft
B) Work on my short game a LOT. If you hit relatively straight 300+ yards tee shots on an average par-4 and still manage to hit double bogey almost every time (even from the rough).. Something's seriously wrong.
C) Stop posting about the couple of times I hit 350y, because it tends to derail threads.

[Lefty22]

What I would do is:

Agreed, if you vary from 350 to 250 then the 350 isn't worth mentioning and the 250 is what to focus on. Once again with a regular length shaft you should have no problem getting out to 290+ with your claimed swing speed, the extra length on the shaft is extraneous and detrimental to the overall goal of the drive which is to leave you in good position for your second shot; not "me hit ball: ball go far". 280-290 would be a dream for me as I think you're looking at a wedge in most of the time, I'd be stoked and try to make sure that wedge isn't from the trees.

If you really swing 120mph I think you would be dangerous with an X-Stiff 44" in something with a whiteboard profile but I just know what I read here .

[TomDonS]

Agreed, if you vary from 350 to 250 then the 350 isn't worth mentioning and the 250 is what to focus on. Once again with a regular length shaft you should have no problem getting out to 290+ with your claimed swing speed, the extra length on the shaft is extraneous and detrimental to the overall goal of the drive which is to leave you in good position for your second shot; not "me hit ball: ball go far". 280-290 would be a dream for me as I think you're looking at a wedge in most of the time, I'd be stoked and try to make sure that wedge isn't from the trees.

Perfect advice for the Future LDA Hall of Famer Mr. 25

[Lefty22]

Perfect advice for the Future LDA Hall of Famer Mr. 25

Thank you.

[TomDonS]

Totally Literal.

I was more sarcastic to his supposed SS and distance.

Your advice was Spot on. I had a kid I coached. Tall lanky and LONG. Couldnt keep his driver on the course. I reshafted his driver with a 43.5" 95gram X stiff and he POUNDED it. I learned alot from that experience.

[Lefty22]

Totally Literal.

Sweet, post fixed - one of those that could go either way and wanted to make sure I covered the bases

[TheNatural]

The 250's are when I launch low first of all and dont land in frway...or land in sand, rough or worse. The ss was 118 at golfsmith 2 mnths ago. since then SS is only increasing, but i try not to overswing, but sunday , i tried to hammer a few and could get the 275+ but due to low launch only cleared 300 a fewX.

I could give a shot by shot or condense it....One of the longer drives settld mid fairway and I chicken winged a *60 with a skull pull...so I get on in 3 with a 290 drive on a 380 par 4. then I 2 putt. ***my best play was a 6iron 180yds uphill from a wormburn drive to 5 feet of cup,,2 putt PAR... I also pushed a 280yd drive into the rough on a 570 par 5 and got on in collar in 2, then 2putt for Birdie (1st birdie in 4 months or more)

Would you doubters believe this more if my front nine 46 was duplicated on the back nine..for a 92? I added 8 strokes on 4 par 3's. I went into sand lost 3 strokes, hazards 4 strokes...my score is always a 99,100, 101