Let's lose the distance obsession. It implies ignorance about the game.

[sean_miller]

I am talking about threads on this forum, not distance.

Dude, you have to make some assumption when you reply to a topic. For example, I don't know you, but I'd guess you're either not a very long hitter who feels vindicated after being "away" on every approach (when playing with high handicappers), because your skill with mid to long irons and around the green means you're also probably "away" on the next tee box . . .

or . . . you are sneaky long off the tee (and with every other club in the bag - hence the ironic nickname your buddies gave you - "shorty" my arse) and you've had more than a few experiences playing with people who claim to hit it long, but in reality they've hit maybe one long shot (total flukes) with each club and have based their average length on these one-in-a-million shots. If I had to wager, I'd say either way, the average golfer playing against you staight up (for money or pride) will have a very long day. Personally, I do hit the ball a long way. It's something always done - maybe it's from playing hockey, baseball, tennis, squash, or maybe it's because when I started playing golf, it was with hand-me-down crap that you had to hit with every ounce of strength/skill you had and it was against my older brother who could beat me at pretty much every sport but baseball. I never "brag" about how long I hit my 9 iron (recently adjusted to 46*) or my driver, because I gladly trade 20 yards of distance for a more pure putting stroke and better vision - for now, I go with my stength - long off the tee (I hit a lot of 2 and 3-irons off the tee on courses I don't know) and decent accuracy with my mid irons. The assumptions I made in the "what to hit from 200 yards" thread were based on what information was not included in the oririnal query. I assumed his ball was in the first cut of rough with possibly of a flyer lie, he had at least an average swing speed, was not playing to an elevated green, did not have a huge forced carry, was not playing in windy conditions, and had the ability to swing hard without falling down. From 200 yards in the rough, I'd personally hit anywhere from 7 to 4 iron. Anthing longer (i.e. greather than 4-iron) is too hard to hit and anything less than a 7 is essentially a lay-up. A typical high handicap player in the rough with 200 yards to the green should probably either lay up or have a good short game, but if they had a good short game, and this is another assumption, they're probably only a high handicapper because they're not very long off the tee or with their irons - hence distance is probably at least somewhat important. What was the question?

[Greg]

Distance is important, I wish i could hit it 50 yards further but i dont. It would make it much easier hitting say a driver and 9 iron on a 400 yard par 4(as a friend of mine usually does) instead of usually driver or 3 wood(as i have been using a lot lately due to hitting driver poorly) and 5 hybrid or 4 hybrid as I usually do but it forces me to get better with my hybrid clubs and I have learned to hit them pretty good. So when im faced with a long shot I feel more confident hitting them than someone who is used to using a short iron on approach shots because they bomb the ball so far and on par 5's when everyone has to use a hybrid or something similar on the 2nd shot. And im usually missing the green so ive gotten a lot of practice chipping and putting to get up and down and can manage to do that sometimes, thats how I get most of my pars, gir's are rare but always welcome. But its still fun sometimes to go to the range and try to hit it far, its funny how that rarely works when im actually on the course. I guess the driving range gives you so much room you dont realize how erratically you hit the ball sometimes. A drive that looks ok on the range is actually sliced so much that it turns out to be terrible on the course.

[zeg]

This thread is ironic because

You can't go ask "why do people start threads about distance" and then complain that people address why distance is important. It doesn't take a giant leap of logic to understand that the reason people might start threads like that is that distance is an important aspect of the game. Sure, it *might* be that they're "showing their ignorance," but if we're not "allowed" to discuss other reasons then what's the point of THIS thread?

[pxc]

You can't go ask "why do people start threads about distance" and then complain that people address why distance is important. It doesn't take a giant leap of logic to understand that the reason people might start threads like that is that distance is an important aspect of the game. Sure, it *might* be that they're "showing their ignorance," but if we're not "allowed" to discuss other reasons then what's the point of THIS thread?

Sure it makes sense why people are talking about it - the threat title looks like a discussion about distance off the tee and the widespread obsession with it. What's ironic/funny is that the OP has tried several times to explain that that isn't what he's talking about, and not only is no one listening, but they're doing the exact thing that the OP created this thread to complain about.

[Fat Slice]

Threads that try to tell other users what NOT to post about or think about don't work. Telling a golfer how he should enjoy the game or what's not worth talking about is really pointless. Yes, I realize by definition that this post is now pointless. Which is, of course, my point.

[Chas]

Nice one Fat Slice.

Of course distance is important, but like everything else you have to know your game and weigh the odds. Right now, for me, accuracy off the tee is more important than distance, if I'm ever going to markedly improve my GIR.

Interesting post about the thinner-cut fairways in tournaments, we all feel so much better now ..... Actually extra long roll can be a problem for the pros, especially when fairways are sloped, since frequently balls will land on the short stuff but end up in the first cut.

[hkphooey00]

The driver should be the only club to compare distances. Cuz once you get into the hybrids and irons, each club maker has a different degree loft for each club. The Taylormade Burners and Nickent 3dx irons have a 24* 5 iron. That's the loft on my 4 iron. All they do is basically move the number of the club one spot down.

[TN94z]

How long is a piece of string?

HAHA!!! I love this question! Anyway, I really agree. There are way too many factors to try and compare distances that really don't matter that much anyway. I blame much of this on the tournaments on tv and how they are always talking about the distance the guys are hitting it (without many of the factors that are actually allowing them to hit it that far). Also, on the club makers. Every commercial you see is "Hit it farther with this club, or this ball, or this training aid." Everything has gone to distance and it has really gotten into MANY people's mind as the biggest factor in scoring well.

[sean_miller]

The driver should be the only club to compare distances. Cuz once you get into the hybrids and irons, each club maker has a different degree loft for each club. The Taylormade Burners and Nickent 3dx irons have a 24* 5 iron. That's the loft on my 4 iron. All they do is basically move the number of the club one spot down.

So there's only one standard driver loft now? Is that the one we'll see in the Olympics? BTW - your 4 iron sounds a lot like my 3 iron (24*).

[Mitch C]

Interesting post about the thinner-cut fairways in tournaments, we all feel so much better now ..... Actually extra long roll can be a problem for the pros, especially when fairways are sloped, since frequently balls will land on the short stuff but end up in the first cut.

Sure all that extra roll is a problem. That is why if they would simply grow the rough an extra inch or two, they wouldn't need to make any groove changes or what not. The professionals would not be bombing the drivers off the tee nearly as much.

But the main point is that while Bubba is giving himself a hernia while trying to bomb it just like (insert name of favorite long hitting professional here), it is mainly an exercise in futility because not only can that professional get more carry than he can, the professional will get 50 to 75 yards of roll he won't get either.

[Clambake]

I think what is missing in these discussions is a deeper issue of the psychology of golf. I would bet that 9 of 10 golfers on this forum could increase their scoring by at least several shots a round by fundamentally playing different - not trying to bomb their drives, not firing at pins, laying up more, etc. But we (me included) don't. Why? We play the game for general enjoyment, not simply to have a slightly lower score.

For a serious tournament golfer this is very important, but for the rest of us we ultimately derive more enjoyment from trying the difficult and occasionally pulling it off. At the end of the day, it just FEELS better to have knocked a drive or two out there with tour-quality yardage. It feels better to go for that par 5 with a heroic 3 wood over the water than drop in the middle with a 7 iron. It feels better to fire at that tight pin in the upper left corner than to play safe for the fat of the green. Those are the stories we share with each other over a beer at the end of the round. "Wow, did you see that shot?!"

Only a miniscule number of us will ever get good enough that a few extra strokes actually matter. So instead we enjoy playing the game in a style that just basically makes us enjoy it more. Our enjoyment is a balance of our overall score and the journey to get there. It isn't ignorance about the game, and in fact it is just the opposite - it is a well tuned understanding of our OWN enjoyment of the game.

[allin]

well look at it this way. If we were playing a match together and let's say we're at a 380 yard par 4 and I drive 280 into the first cut rough and you drive 240-250, all I got left in is a full easy sw while you may need to hit a 6 iron. Doesn't that make a difference?

I will take my 8 iron form 140 from the fairway Vs 100 from the first cut almost every time. (especially when groove rules change) I will often have the better angle and I can just about guarantee I will miss any bunkers or water from that distance, and have a put or very easy chip. The first cut is probably a full SW for you, but you have less margin for error. Often the angle is not as good and if you are off a little you have a flyer or chunk it short you now can have a tough recovery shot. Your best will beat my best, but your worst may be worse. It is the abilty to reach par 5s in two and long par 3s and 4s where I have to hit a 3 hybrid from 190, and you have a 5 or 6 iron where you an advantage.

[mirv]

i agree with the people saying that distance is a bit overdone these days. i'm less than fond of the "bomb and gouge" method employed on tour these days. i miss watching the pros actually make shots, not just "i'm going to hit this ball inside out and then i'll recover it to the green from wherever the hell it happens to end up." i totally understand the advantage of being able to blast it 300+ yards and only facing a 60 yard lob wedge to the green, i guess i'm just not comfortable with that. i'd much rather play a safer, more boring route and try to keep myself in the short grass with a clear view at the green from the middle. i feel more confident standing there than i do in the tall stuff, even if i am an extra 50 or 60 yards out.

[Fourputt]

I agree with the OP's initial premise. Nobody is saying that distance isn't important, but the OP is saying that starting a thread asking "How far do you hit your 5I?" is ulitmately irrelevant. It's also a stupid question because any answer that you can give is meaningless to anyone but you. I don't care how far anyone else hits any club. The only thing that matters to ME is how I hit MY clubs.

In my opinion, most of those threads are only started so the thread starter can boast anyway. I've found that no matter how far you say you hit any club, there is always someone else on the forum who SAYS he can out hit you...

[wedge player]

I've found that no matter how far you say you hit any club, there is always someone else on the forum who SAYS he can out hit you...

thats true thats true i remember one guy boasing 400-425 yd drives and average like 350 or so.that was a little much even for a forum

[denver_nuggs_15]

I will take my 8 iron form 140 from the fairway Vs 100 from the first cut almost every time. (especially when groove rules change) I will often have the better angle and I can just about guarantee I will miss any bunkers or water from that distance, and have a put or very easy chip. The first cut is probably a full SW for you, but you have less margin for error. Often the angle is not as good and if you are off a little you have a flyer or chunk it short you now can have a tough recovery shot. Your best will beat my best, but your worst may be worse. It is the abilty to reach par 5s in two and long par 3s and 4s where I have to hit a 3 hybrid from 190, and you have a 5 or 6 iron where you an advantage.

When do the groove rules actually change for us? For right now, we can still have square grooves in our wedges. And for most (I'll say good, but I'm not sure if it's the right word) good golfers, chunking a wedge isn't really happening all that often. Having a flyer might be possible, but many players hit the ball high enough that the lack of spin that we'd get from a clean lie doesn't matter that much.

Distance matters. I think it's ignorant to be obsessed with any one facet of the game over the others. When the desire to hit it far is greater than the desire to score well, it's a problem. But, the same goes for obsessing over putting, chipping, mid-irons, etc.

[Chas]

Interesting post Clambake. I suppose I used to play more for the thrill of (very very rarely) watching a 3W off the deck clear a bunker or pond and roll up close to the hole. Like you say, a memory to relish. But if you're seriously trying to lower your handicap, golf becomes the controlled, target game that it really is.

[hkphooey00]

So there's only one standard driver loft now? Is that the one we'll see in the Olympics? BTW - your 4 iron sounds a lot like my 3 iron (24*).

No, but it's the one club where you're not trying to fill a specific distance gap. Each player can choose the loft that works best for them and gives them maximum distance and accuracy. So if you're going to compare distance on anything, it's the only club that makes sense. It's not the one we'll see in the Olympics, but it's the club we see in Long Drivers of America competitions. What kind of 3 iron do you have?