250 yards is a respectable carry distance

[double_j]

hey, if they work, why not use them to there best.

I totally agree. My 'sissy' statement was a bit tongue in cheek. With the advances in hybrid and fairway wood technology, there's absolutely no reason for most people to worry about the good old 1 or 2 iron (even 3 & 4 irons are obsolete for many).

[ITgolfHack]

Cool thread, a lot of good info here.

I'm 5' 9" about 155 pounds, I'd be thrilled with 250 carry distance! As it is, even with roll I'm averaging about 215.

I play with a friend who is obsessed with hitting the long ball, he's a tall lanky fellow. He swings 100% every time he swings a club as long as he's not pitching/chipping. When he gets ahold of it he can smack it well over 250, but he also loses balls on the course by the dozen. He putts and chips a lot better than I do, if he would just back off on his swing by 20%, he would probably be shooting in the mid to low 80's.

[Cussin hacker]

I used to hit an MP-14 2 iron when I was younger. It was pretty reliable for a 220 or so off the tee but I only hit it off the turf when I wanted to lose a ball. It was really more of a novelty club for me and my friends than anything else. We would bet certain holes where everyone had to use the 2 iron off the tee.

When I was younger, 18 to about 23, I hit a #1 driving iron. I couldn't hit those persimmon woods fer chit. I hit it pretty good from the tee. About 220-230 yards. Fairway...forget about it. I was right with my buddies who were hitting Hogan drivers. Boy has this game changed since I first started playing!!

[deronsizemore]

So, what it shows to me is, we all want to hit the long ball. Sure, it's fun, but it's a fantasy for most. To this day, I've never met an amateur golfer who could get a consistent 300, and I've met a lot of golfers, young and old. The longest driver I ever met hit the ball about 270-280 on an average good swing.

Pretty much my experience. I've been playing this game for 23 years or so and I've only played with three people that I can remember who could hit the ball farther than me consistently (even in tournaments I've played in where I'm playing with very good golfers) and like I've said before, I carry the ball around 260, give or take a couple.

I have a 98-102 swing speed. Had it checked last year with a radar gun. Most of my drives are from 240 to 270. Depending on wear I hit the sweet spot. I did hit 2 300 yard drives last year. Guess my swing was right on and I hit the sweet spot dead center.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with a 98-102 swing speed, there's no way you got anywhere near 270 yards, let alone 300. To even consider that your ball traveled around 300 yards, you need a swing speed close to 120mph and solid contact on top of that which isn't exactly easy to do at that speed. If your ball got 50 yards or so of roll, then maybe you got it close to 300...

[motteler621]

Pretty much my experience. I've been playing this game for 23 years or so and I've only played with three people that I can remember who could hit the ball farther than me consistently (even in tournaments I've played in where I'm playing with very good golfers) and like I've said before, I carry the ball around 260, give or take a couple.

98-102 mph swing is about right with a drive being 240-270 with roll though. It will fly about 235-240. Thats what the Launch monitor was saying about my drives with an average swing speed of 98mph with 5 drives

[nuck81]

I'll take my 220 fairway all day long.

[mcfc_nick]

250 carry is without a doubt respectable, i hit it just over that with roll when i hit it perfectly and i dont do that a lot of the time hence the handicap (even though its coming down quite quickly), its hard to shoot awesome scores playing from the rough but i try

[soup]

I was at the range today getting back into golf shape for the spring, and took some googleearth measurements prior to heading out. The back fence was at 260 and I think, though can't confirm empirically, that it was playing uphill a bit, though I don't think it would make it play more than 265. I sat there and watched a whole bunch of people for a couple of hours and not one of them even came anywhere near the back fence. It's crazy how short people actually hit the ball in reality. If you can really (not on the internet) carry 250+ (don't post and tell me, I don't care), that's pretty damn respectable. Distance is obviously not holding you back. What's really funny is that I heard a group behind me talking about how they were hitting a flag at 165 (actually 125) with a 5-iron when one guy said you should be using a 9-iron from 165. My buddy told me that on the Ray Romano version of the Haney project, Ray was hitting his driver about 220 and Hank Haney said he's got the distance to shoot in the 70s. I tend to think he was right.

I'm 230-240 off the tee. Shot 82 on Bethpage Blue yesterday. Probably should have been a 77.

[brgolf]

I'll take my 220 fairway all day long.

I do understand why from your perspective you would want that trade off of distance for accuracy however I'm just looking at the scorecard here for a relatively short 5400 yard course and assuming your drives were 220 that would leave you with 6 holes where your approach shot would require greater than 150 yards and in one case (par 4) 208. Taking a course 6500 yards would bump that up to 9 and a 7000 yard course 10, not to mention how shorter hitters would have difficulties on extremely long par 3s.

So 220 everytime would be a great starting point but as someone who has often achieved that I would suggest that once achieved the player inevitably needs 240-250 including roll in order to progress because being 150+ yards from greens is not a good scoring position.

[anthonykim3]

I do understand why from your perspective you would want that trade off of distance for accuracy however I'm just looking at the scorecard here for a relatively short 5400 yard course and assuming your drives were 220 that would leave you with 6 holes where your approach shot would require greater than 150 yards and in one case (par 4) 208. Taking a course 6500 yards would bump that up to 9 and a 7000 yard course 10, not to mention how shorter hitters would have difficulties on extremely long par 3s.

if your a decent golfer you should be dissapointed with a missed green in reg from 180> 150+ yards away isn't a big deal

[scottg]

I would like 278 down the tube please. I hit it further but sometimes she'll wander a bit.....lol!!!!!!!!!!!

[brgolf]

if your a decent golfer you should be dissapointed with a missed green in reg from 180> 150+ yards away isn't a big deal

The person I replied to is an 18.9 and I am a 7.9 so that is the standard of play be it decent or otherwise. In my experience 140 yards and in is the yardage at which I often make the green with my approach shots and when I miss am most liable to chastise myself. Just today I have purchased a rangefinder so in the coming weeks I'll start to look to 150/160.

I'll be honest though, with respect to a 19hc who drives the ball 220 yards, I would not wager much on them hitting greens at 170/180 which any degree of regularity. Yet as I explained that would comprise 1/3 of their round on a short course and usually 1/2 their round on long courses. In order to improve my game I've had to go from short/accurate 220 yard drives to 240+ to get in good scoring positions.

[Rugger]

I still don't understand why so many people have a hard time believing that others can hit 250-300+, especially those with higher handicaps. Maybe it's just the people I play with and I'm not used to the 'regular' golfer? I can hit 280 with a nice easy swing and have regularly gone 300+ when I really try and rip it. Of course accuracy suffers.

Today I played with a group of friends and one kid hit one 320 according to the yardage books provided by the course, and I KNOW for a fact that it was all carry because he was about a foot long of a 30yrd long bunker. I never ever ever would have believed him had he simply told me but I saw it with my own eyes.

Of our group there was a 2, 3, 13 handicap and me at around 25. I hit just as far as the 2 and 3 and out drive the 13 every time. Now I am not very consistent with the driver, but when I catch a good one I am right around the 280-290 mark and over 300 when it's wide and I just let loose. My other clubs average 3i 250, 4i 235, 5i 210, 6i 200-210, 7 195-200, 8i 185, 9i 175, pw 160, 52 140-150, 60 135.

If anyone has a good idea on how to prove to the internets that a high handicapper can hit it long I am all ears!

Also, who ever dismisses long drive claims from high handicappers are simply mistaken. You do realize that most shots in golf are from close range and that some people have no problem ripping it, yet don't have touch and fall apart when they have to place a ball? Then there's putting. You're dismissing the athletic ability of a lot of people based on a number that isn't relevant to driving yardage, as evidenced by low handicappers with short driving averages. That would be like saying baseball players with sub 200 batting averages can't hit homeruns.

[nuck81]

I'll be honest though, with respect to a 19hc who drives the ball 220 yards, I would not wager much on them hitting greens at 170/180 which any degree of regularity. Yet as I explained that would comprise 1/3 of their round on a short course and usually 1/2 their round on long courses.

I could probably add 10-15 yards to my drive, but I'd have no idea where it would go. I swing about 80% so I can control it. I'd rather have 180 to the green, then 150 yards to the green, but have to punch out of the woods 20 yards just to even have a chance of getting there. It's only taken me 4 months to break 90, I'm sure I'll keep improving...

Also, who ever dismisses long drive claims from high handicappers are morons. You do realize that most shots in golf are from close range and that some people have no problem ripping it, yet don't have touch and fall apart when they have to place a ball? Then there's putting. You're dismissing the athletic ability of a lot of people based on a number that isn't relevant to driving yardage, as evidenced by low handicappers with short driving averages.

Unfortunately you're doing yourself a large disservice. A good week of short game practice can drop five or six strokes easy. What good does it do to reach the green in two shots, only to take three to get it in the cup? Short game is the most important aspect of golf, period...

[Rugger]

I could probably add 10-15 yards to my drive, but I'd have no idea where it would go. I swing about 80% so I can control it. I'd rather have 180 to the green, then 150 yards to the green, but have to punch out of the woods 20 yards just to even have a chance of getting there. It's only taken me 4 months to break 90, I'm sure I'll keep improving...

I didn't mean to say it wasn't. I was merely saying that judging someones ability to drive 280+ solely on handicap isn't smart.

[max power]

I didn't mean to say it wasn't. I was merely saying that judging someones ability to drive 280+ solely on handicap isn't smart.

It's the ability to

average 280 that people question based on handicap. If someone hits the driver well enough to average 280, and puts it somewhere in/near the fairway (or just not ob), they aren't going to be a 20 or 25 capper. No one has a driver swing that consistent, grooved, and powerful-but is unable to hit a GW or PW somewhere near the green on their next shot. I know there are plenty of guys who can absolutely rip one from time to time, I've played with a guy who has trouble breaking a 100 that I've seen hit a SW 150 yds, a 7 iron 210 yds, and a driver about 330 yds through the fairway, over the ob fence, and into the street. I still average better than he does with every single club, because my shots don't include those 15 yd chunk shots and 120 yd wormburners that come along with a swing that big and unfocused.

[Paradox]

all this driver distance talk reminds me of the softball world. "I can't hit the ball 380 so if that guys doing it, he must be using a cheater bat!"

Some people just have a knack for hitting things far. It doesn't equate to anything other than they can hit a golf ball far. Too many golfers worry about what someone else is doing instead of worryin about their own game. WHO CARES how far someone can hit? You're playing your own game and whatever distance they hit has no relevance to your next shot.

[VMAN]

I play with a lot of people...from a 2 to a 19 and no one... no one hits it 280 regular....carry 250 yes, occasionally a little more or less, but no one in our regular group gets out 300. I'm talking carry.