Why when you see a 250-260yd drive, it's a bomb!

[Scottydoint]

I really don't play with anyone who think they hit it a lot further than they actually do. I do like to see how far I hit shots while on the range and on the course, but only do so on straight holes and take into account the wind. I usually carry my driver about 270 -275 yards. I hit a 6 iron 195 and a 9 iron 155-160 yards. I am sure there will be doubters, but I have scoped out the distances on the range with a friends range finder. I was on the 455 par 4, 9th hole the other day and hit a fade that landed right next to a sprinkler head and hopped back a couple inches in a really wet spot. The sprinkler head was 177 out, so that is a 278 yard carry. The tee boxes are small and usually only about 5-8 yards long from the tips. Of course I have off days where I may only carry it 260 and I may have an very on day like last week were I hit several drives in the 300-315 range. It really doesn't matter how far you hit as long as you keep it in play and give yourself a shot to hit the green.

[AmenCorner]

Interesting how we never see threads about distances of putts holed. "This guy made a 6 footer and said it was 20 feet. What a jerk."

[DavidFehertysBike]

250-260 is a great drive. And for most ametuers, its all we need because we're not playing 7000+ yd courses all of the time.

[shankapotamus]

its very possible. Last weekend I took my 3 hybrid 260 yards and thought it was a bit lofty, i checked it with my GPS and double check with a buddies skycaddy. I typically hit it 225-250 so it didn't seem too crazy. Of course once i go up to the driver my slice wont let it go even close to that distance.

You have that much distance and your a 28 handicap?

[Speedly]

To the topic at hand:

I didn't know the yardages were inaccurate at courses. I know, obviously, they change if the teeboxes are moved, but the teeboxes around here have color-coded yardage markers, so you can roughly figure out how long the hole is playing that day.

I, being a beginner and having read other threads on here, have put my driver on time-out and now tee with my 3W. A few months ago, when trying to nail down my distances, I spent time out on the range writing down the distance on each clean hit I got with each club. My 3W, back then, was around 195, on average. Now, my distance is slowly improving with my clubs as I'm learning to hit them better and better, little by little. I would hazard a guess as to my 3W average being around 200 now.

Playing with my girlfriend yesterday at a local semi-short course, I teed up on a 265-yard marked par 4, and put my tee shot just in front of the green. It was like a 240-yard shot! Awesome! But is that my average? Heck, no. I might tee with my 5 on some of the holes that were shorter that I used to tee my 3 on (simply because I don't want to blast it past the green), but those people saying that they average 300 yards a drive is like me saying I average 240 on my 3W - it's simply not true.

[jonnythan]

Not to get into this, but iacas is the one member whose posts I always stop to read. I have found him to be perhaps the most knowledgeable poster on the forum, and his posts are invariably spot on, insightful, and accurate. I can't fault him for being just a little curmudgeony sometimes - battling ignorance and idiocy on the internet is tough, thankless work ;)

Now back to your regularly scheduled rants :D

[RandomRaiderTTU]

Every launch monitor I've ever been on indicates that I get between 245-265 carry distance based on how good my smash factor was (thus increasing ball speed). That is in line with about my average drives. Between 270-290. The only real significant variable is how much roll I'm getting on that hole. I've hit many 300 yard drives when you take wind, landing on a downslope, and hard fairways into account.

Out here in West Texas, I can get 20 yards or roll...and I can go to the next hole and get 35 yards of roll.

We went to Kansas one time and played a course that was PLUSH. They had gotten a ton of rain recently and you literally got maybe 3-5 yards of roll. I was typically about 255-265 ( on straight fairways) which is about right, but a huge eye-opener.

One other thing I think that gets a lot of people is that on a slight dogleg hole, they cut the corner and think of that as straight line yardage. Cut the corner on a 410 yard Par 4 and left with 70 yards and they think they drove it 340.

[muellator]

Interesting how we never see threads about distances of putts holed. "This guy made a 6 footer and said it was 20 feet. What a jerk."

No one is that bad at gauging smaller distances, you only see drives from behind, it's harder to estimate, and people usually over-estimate for their ego.

[skagen]

I think these "some people say the driver further than they do" comments and threads are getting just as ridiculous in numbers as the people who claim ridiculous yardage.

Why prove them wrong? In the end, isn't it about the score? Part of me thinks that deflating someones ego is used just to inflate your own, just in a different realm, in this case, proving you're right or more "knowledgeable" which in essence, makes you seem like the guy who claims 300+ yd drives.


I'd rather be Corey Pavin over Jack Hamm anyday.

POWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

[wannabe]

^yeppers.

For me, it's more a matter of where my ball is in relation to those who I'm playing against. I'm typically shorter than everyone, so when I'm even or ahead of their ball, I let them know it. :D

As far as actual yardage, I know I'm short, and I definitely favor anything in the short grass over distance.

[msd3075]

Do you have firends that think they hit really far? Get a Sky Caddie and use the "MARK" ball feature and watch the look of dissapointment when you get to their balls.

For me, the SkyCaddie proved the opposite to be true.

I started doing this a while back just to see what my average distance really is. I always thought I averaged 285-290 yards off the tee simply I know I hit it significantly further than most people I play with and because of the type of explanation you stated as to where I didn't think I could possibly be averaging 300+ yards. After marking all my drives, I was really averaging 300-305 yards with my driver.

[shankapotamus]

For me, the SkyCaddie proved the opposite to be true.

*Starts slow clap*

[RocketSauce]

[Brakkus]

I'm playing a brand new game,which is called swing consistency.In fact I haven't hit my driver this year in play or practice.
I have played 85% of my practice time with wedges and mid irons and the rest with my hybrids which have 20" 18" and 16" lofts.
Best thing I ever did,and I also stopped trying to swing out of my shoes and shortened my backswing.
Solid,solid ,solid and I don't give two hoots how far I hit the ball.My scoring average has dropped another 5 strokes from the start of the year.

So many threads about distance at our level of golf probably leaving out the low cappers on the forum distance does not matter.At pro level 25 yards can make a huge difference,but for high and mid cappers much less so.

[jonnythan]

Ain't that the truth.

I'd much, much rather hit it off the tee 220 into the middle of the fairway using my hybrid than 300 into the trees with my driver.

[jcard71]

For me, the SkyCaddie proved the opposite to be true.

Sorry dude, you ARE NOT AVERAGING 300-305YD drives, Tour Pros dont average that...You MADE MY POINT!

[jcard71]

I think these "some people say the driver further than they do" comments and threads are getting just as ridiculous in numbers as the people who claim ridiculous yardage.

First of all, my message had two points besides the long drives...

1) Rocco mentioning how he would like to average 280yds which led me to think about inflated amatuer claims... 2) Using the "MARK" option on Sky Caddies to really see how far people actually hit it...

[cirem22]

You have that much distance and your a 28 handicap?

ya, i have only been playing for 3-4 months now (and im hooked) and just within the last month developed a decent swing, so handicap went from 36 to 28 very fast with a huge change in scores. I hope to drop it much more soon. I can hit the ball a ton but consistancy and accuracy I still need a ton of work with, 3 putts dont help either