Amazed at pro athletes (not golfers) distances

[trackster]

Today i watched a little bit of the American championship thingy (thinking it was the brittish open:P) Anyways hole 17 was a par 3 172 yards and 90% of the pro athletes were hitting 8 iron . And half of them were hitting it over.

Now i'm not saying they could hold a candle to some of the big guns on the sand trap but that is pretty darn impressive

[CG031]

Well you need to realize...

Where were they playing? A place like Colorado the golf balls travels further there.

What was the shot? If it's an elevation change, and downwind, I could get an 8 iron there too depending on the wind and elevation change

Those few things can make a big difference - and some of that stuff you're not going to see on T.V.

[trackster]

Well you need to realize...

Like i said they cant hold a candle to some of the big guns on the sand trap

[JGulkCG]

your a 22.1 hdcp....exactly.

[Smw]

I hit my 8 iron from 160 in the fairaway. 172 off a tee isn't hard to believe...

[Aetsh]

I'd hit a 7 and get it prolly 20 yards out for a chip on

[fredloves2golf]

It's in California at Lake Tahoe in a fair bit of elevation.

One of the broadcasts also mentioned the general rule of the shot playing about 10% shorter. So that 172-yard par 3 was playing like 155 and that might have even been from an elevated tee... it's hard to tell from television sometimes.

So, I don't think that's an unreasonable distance to hit an 8 or a 9 (I saw Elway hit 9 deep to the back of the green) for an athlete (current or former) that is flexible and strong.

Personally, if it's level elevation from tee to green, I'd hit a 7 to the middle.

[goblue107501]

If anyone has a good swing (which most of these guys do), and a little bit of strength (which most of these guys do), the ball will travel a long way. I don't think that how strong someone is makes a difference in how far they hit, if they don't have a good swing. I know plenty of people that could out lift me in a weight room, by a lot, but they can't come close to me hitting a golf club.

Adding to that, the mountain elevation, downhill shots, etc., it is not that far fetched to think they hit a ball a long way.

[2bGood]

I used to hit my 8 iron 155 with no wind etc. So that doesnn't sound like a big deal. After some swing changes and droping 50lbs that same shot is now a 6 iron for me, but i hit the green allot more now.

[trackster]

And you guys can all reach 546 yard holes in 2?

[Smw]

And you guys can all reach 546 yard holes in 2?

Hitting a driver 300+ is vastly different than hitting an 8 iron 160.

[timwalsh300]

And you guys can all reach 546 yard holes in 2?

Yes, most people who take golf seriously and have been playing for a long time probably

can (i.e. they've done it before when playing around under the right conditions). It is just a matter of (1) carrying your driver maybe 260 yards and then getting a real good bounce off a hard, dry fairway to roll out to 300, and then (2) striking your 3-wood 220 yards and rolling the last 15 yards onto the green. It doesn't mean that you can do it every time. It certainly doesn't mean that that is how you would play every 546 yard par-5. It just means that you can . Look, I had a really bad swing for a long time and this just seemed impossible to me. No matter how hard I tried to hit the ball I couldn't even come close to doing this. I wanted to call b.s. on other people too. But I kept working at it, and over the last few months I built a pretty solid swing, in my opinion (take a look down below at my signature if you want). Suddenly I started hitting everything 20% farther. Now I can and do hit these shots during the course of a round. You don't have to be a professional athlete to do it. And being able to do this won't make you a professional athlete. I still play bogey-golf on my best days. The first time you hit a 300-yard drive you'll say "Oh, so that's how it feels, cool... but now I still have to hit the green and avoid 3-putting, easier said than done." Tim

[TheNatural]

Hitting a driver 300+ is vastly different than hitting an 8 iron 160.

VERY TRUE

A 300 yard drive takes the alignment of so many variables, wind, fairway roll, sweet spot etc. A 8iron can be bladed and delofted, most athletes will deloft more so than a golfer with a proper swing IMO

[denver_nuggs_15]

your a 22.1 hdcp....exactly.

What does that mean? I've understood everything said through this thread except this.

The guys are playing in really nice weather in Lake Tahoe I believe. The ball is going to go farther than somewhere more humid or cold. There probably was an elevation change as well. Does anyone know what clubs they are playing? Some of the newer GI/SGI clubs are so jacked up. The new Burner XD (IIRC) 6 iron has about the same loft as my friend's Mizzy MP32s (IIRC). He was nuking the 6 iron and it could be a similar situation for some of those guys. Plus, they're all strong and big. More leverage=more distance.

[David in FL]

Most of them are low handicap pro athletes, all in great physical shape, and they're playing at over 6200 feet altitude.

[Andy_Mac]

watching the long drive comp right now freaking alfonso ribeiro knocked one 303.

[superotto80]

your a 22.1 hdcp....exactly.

Wow, can we say arrogant?

[TheNatural]

Wow, can we say arrogant?

The kind of crap I love when I play and drive past them. Me and my 21HI.

A HI that is steadily dropping. I must ask this of the snobbish low cappers is your drive distance steadily increasing? Because, mine still is and only one player Ive paired with outdrives me. hE'S A 5 BUT HE NO #$@#