How far do you hit your clubs?

[Penny Pulz]

Stretching, crunches, arm hand and wrist exercise and an ego that won't let me get to far out of shape. Plus I have always appreciated the art of balance in swinging a golf club. I was a little kid on tour and I loved to bust the ball down the fairway. Fortunately 6 years of ballet before I took up golf knocked the ego out of how to attain power. It's all in the whip for little statued folks like me and a fantastic core.....

Later

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stewie007

Quote:

Originally Posted by wadesworld

Am I too cynical?

Anyone can swing a golf club extremely fast . . .

No, that is not true. Colour me cynical now.

Originally Posted by Stewie007

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

No, that is not true. Colour me cynical now.

You missed the point Sean.... You are assuming that I said anyone can swing really fast as if that is to say they're good....

I was saying that they can swing like a mad man in any direction they want, but it doesn't equate to good results. It wasn't a serious proposition to say they're swinging like a pro.

You took it too literally.... But then, that's what happens when you single out a SINGLE line.

Says the guy who quotes out of context, but seriously my mistake is taking your words literally. No, not everyone "can swing a golf club really fast" (i.e. generating a lot of club head speed). That is a fact.

[Lihu]

I never put much weight in the results of those "machines." They seem to be geared to tell you that you're hitting it a lot farther than you really are. I remember hitting an obvious duff at GolfGalaxy yet the machine said I hit it 250. I know what would have REALLY happened. I also remember the guy who tried out a driver before me nailing it over 300 yards each time with the sales person saying "It would go 10 yards further in reality, outside." Seems to me the store's machines embellish a bit to make you want to buy a club.... hehehe Make you feel like it goes soooo much farther than your 2 year old club. hehehe

I saw two people hitting at golfsmith yesterday afternoon. Both of them hit okay, but not 105mph as indicated by the monitors. The monitors told both of them that they were carrying 250 yards and rolling 25 more. The optimal club for one of the hitters was 10.5 degrees regular shaft. This means he is probably closer to 90mph, and it sounded like about 90mph. When the ball hit the net it gently fell to the ground. The sound of a 105 drive is really sharp and loud. When it hits either of these nets the ball would bounce back hard and rock the entire cage. On the advanced hitting setup, the ball will bounce back out of the cage into the ladies club display. The cages are not designed for anyone actually hitting above 105, they are probably pretty confident that most people getting fitted at golfsmith are not going to hit above 100. However, the monitors serve their purposes very well. They give the user the best distance at they can get with a well fitted club. They also make them feel good about their hitting and fitting.

[poser]

I'm sure guys are coming in there hitting over 105.  100 mph isn't some supersonic speed it's still pretty slow compared to most actual golfers and not 3 times a year hackers.  That said I never trust any of the big box store simulators I always use a trackman or flightscope for my numbers.  I've seen the opposite to where people who hit it 290 were registering like 250 and 140 ballspeed on a crappy simulator.  Never seen anyone that could judge the ballspeed off hearing it hit the net maybe they can put you out on tour and save the money they spend on the trackman.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by poser

I'm sure guys are coming in there hitting over 105.  100 mph isn't some supersonic speed it's still pretty slow compared to most actual golfers and not 3 times a year hackers.  That said I never trust any of the big box store simulators I always use a trackman or flightscope for my numbers.  I've seen the opposite to where people who hit it 290 were registering like 250 and 140 ballspeed on a crappy simulator.  Never seen anyone that could judge the ballspeed off hearing it hit the net maybe they can put you out on tour and save the money they spend on the trackman.

Does the speed a ball was travelling into a net dictate how strongly gravity pulls it to the ground?

I questioned why people had such strange monitor experiences until I had a couple myself. I've had clubs tweaked using launch monitor data I trusted and been quite satisfied with the results. I've also hit clubs using another launch monitor and found myself doubting every number.

[TimG3394]

My Distances

Driver: 240-250

2H: 200

4H:185

5i-175

6i- 165

7i-155

8i-145

9i130

Pw-115-125

Gw- 90-100

Sw- 75

Lw- 60

Putter- Usually a couple feet short or long

Currently looking for a 3 wood since getting mad at mine

[Stretch]

I was wandering around the golf portion of the Internet last night and came across a guy who claimed to hit a knuckling little 330 yard 3 iron on most par 5s. The bar keeps getting raised!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Stretch

I was wandering around the golf portion of the Internet last night and came across a guy who claimed to hit a knuckling little 330 yard 3 iron on most par 5s. The bar keeps getting raised!

330 feet would be almost right on 100m. Maybe he's doing the conversion incorrectly.

[onthehunt526]

I could be a smart aleck and say as far as I need to but what the hell I might as well...

Driver (9.5 degree)  265 (Average) I can hit one 300 If I lean into it but it hurts too (bad car wreck a couple years ago)

3-wood(15)     240

3-iron (21)      215

4-iron (24)      202

5-iron (27)      188

6-iron (31)      174

7-iron (35)      162

8-iron (39)      152

9-iron (43)      140

PW   (47)       128

52 degree       112

58 degree        98

60 degree        80

I'm fine with having both 58 and 60 degree sand wedges (my definition of a sand wedge is a wedge with at least 56 degrees of loft and 8 degrees of bounce)

Just a note I'm 6'6" and 205 lbs... I used to hit it farther... I have super long arms and have to play standard length clubs...

[Pablo68]

Guess some of these guys feel the need to inflate things to make themselves feel better. Probably the same guys who at the bar, use the head, grab it like a firehose getting ready to spout and urinate on the last 3 fingers of their hand.

[Lihu]

I'm sure guys are coming in there hitting over 105.  100 mph isn't some supersonic speed it's still pretty slow compared to most actual golfers and not 3 times a year hackers.  That said I never trust any of the big box store simulators I always use a trackman or flightscope for my numbers.  I've seen the opposite to where people who hit it 290 were registering like 250 and 140 ballspeed on a crappy simulator.  Never seen anyone that could judge the ballspeed off hearing it hit the net maybe they can put you out on tour and save the money they spend on the trackman.

I'm no expert in judging anything, really. I agree with you that 100mph is not supersonic, and that there are lots of people hitting 280+ yards. I see it every time I go to the range. There's at least one person striping the balls down the middle of the range past the 250 yard flag, as far as I can see anyway. However, these two people hitting in the cage did not have that typical sound at impact when a fast ball striker hits it. Yet, the monitors registered 105 mph. That and the fact that the optimal fitting was for a regular shaft 10.5 degree loft, and I don't think the average player hitting a ball at 105 could comfortably use a regular shaft. I've seen pros do it at my local courses, but they are really smooth. So, while I agree that there are many people capable of hitting these distances, the stores clearly want to optimally fit you for a club and make you feel good even if you don't really hit that far. I don't see a problem with that :-)

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by Lihu

I'm no expert in judging anything, really.

I agree with you that 100mph is not supersonic, and that there are lots of people hitting 280+ yards. I see it every time I go to the range. There's at least one person striping the balls down the middle of the range past the 250 yard flag, as far as I can see anyway.

However, these two people hitting in the cage did not have that typical sound at impact when a fast ball striker hits it. Yet, the monitors registered 105 mph. That and the fact that the optimal fitting was for a regular shaft 10.5 degree loft, and I don't think the average player hitting a ball at 105 could comfortably use a regular shaft. I've seen pros do it at my local courses, but they are really smooth.

So, while I agree that there are many people capable of hitting these distances, the stores clearly want to optimally fit you for a club and make you feel good even if you don't really hit that far.

I don't see a problem with that

I tend to agree with the sound of someone making contact @ 100+ mph. When I'm at the range, I can tell just by listening when someone is flushing the ball with really good clubhead speed. To me it's like someone pulling out a shotgun at the shooting range compared with all the 9 mms.  It just sounds impressive.

Don't trust someone operating a machine to tell you what you're hitting a club. Ask to check it out at your local range before agreeing to buy. If they say no (assuming you have a CC for them to use as collateral), then you know something's up.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

I tend to agree with the sound of someone making contact @ 100+ mph. When I'm at the range, I can tell just by listening when someone is flushing the ball with really good clubhead speed. To me it's like someone pulling out a shotgun at the shooting range compared with all the 9 mms.  It just sounds impressive.

I don't find there to be much difference in sound at impact created by better players (the different sounds are usually from the different clubs) ... where I notice the difference between hacker and really good player is the sounds the ball makes after it leaves the clubface.  That is the most telling to me ... that whistle/hum that a well struck ball makes as it whizzes off into the sky.  Love that sound!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablo68

I tend to agree with the sound of someone making contact @ 100+ mph. When I'm at the range, I can tell just by listening when someone is flushing the ball with really good clubhead speed. To me it's like someone pulling out a shotgun at the shooting range compared with all the 9 mms.  It just sounds impressive.

I don't find there to be much difference in sound at impact created by better players (the different sounds are usually from the different clubs) ... where I notice the difference between hacker and really good player is the sounds the ball makes after it leaves the clubface.  That is the most telling to me ... that whistle/hum that a well struck ball makes as it whizzes off into the sky.  Love that sound!

Gotta disagree with that somewhat unless you're talking about a shot from an iron or players fairway wood/hybrid.  Drivers are so loud (even the quiet ones) that when a bomber hits one it takes a moment for me to get my bearings. By then the ball is long gone. With an iron that generates more spin and is quieter at impact, then I can hear the hum - sort of - it's rare.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Gotta disagree with that somewhat unless you're talking about a shot from an iron or players fairway wood/hybrid.  Drivers are so loud (even the quiet ones) that when a bomber hits one it takes a moment for me to get my bearings. By then the ball is long gone. With an iron that generates more spin and is quieter at impact, then I can hear the hum - sort of - it's rare.

Fair enough.  And I guess if we're talking about hearing a sound ANYWHERE on the range and then thinking, "where did that come from" then yeah, the sound I'm talking about doesn't qualify.  The guy has to be right next to you, basically, but it is still quite impressive.

I used to have a MacGregor V-Foil driver (won in a raffle - didn't care for that much) that made the loudest sound ever when I hit it good.  I was actually embarrassed by it on the range sometimes because of the volume of the ping.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Fair enough.  And I guess if we're talking about hearing a sound ANYWHERE on the range and then thinking, "where did that come from" then yeah, the sound I'm talking about doesn't qualify.  The guy has to be right next to you, basically, but it is still quite impressive.

I used to have a MacGregor V-Foil driver (won in a raffle - didn't care for that much) that made the loudest sound ever when I hit it good.  I was actually embarrassed by it on the range sometimes because of the volume of the ping.

Ugliest sound I've EVER heard was several weeks ago was a Nike Sasquatch driver. Sounded like an aluminum softball bat hitting a block of wood. I told the guy I'd return that thing.

[Lihu]

Fair enough.  And I guess if we're talking about hearing a sound ANYWHERE on the range and then thinking, "where did that come from" then yeah, the sound I'm talking about doesn't qualify.  The guy has to be right next to you, basically, but it is still quite impressive. I used to have a MacGregor V-Foil driver (won in a raffle - didn't care for that much) that made the loudest sound ever when I hit it good.  I was actually embarrassed by it on the range sometimes because of the volume of the ping.

When I hear a good player hit, it's like a poof/whizz with an iron and whoosh/crack with a driver. Then a pow/thud if the ball hits someone :-) The difference between hitting 20% faster is not the only factor. It seems like if the contact is good and the ball velocity is higher for a given club speed the sound will have a powerful feel behind it. When an object hits a target or net it will have energy that is a square of the velocity. So, 20% more velocity is approximately 44% more energy. If the smash factor is 1.5 instead of 1.3 that also adds energy. So, there could be up to 80% almost double the energy going into the target. Hard for me to understand why it is so hard to tell that there is roughly twice the energy hitting something.

[dozu]

there is a lot of bullsh1t in this thread