Driving Distance

[sean_miller]

No. How much do they run?

It varies. Mine (Bushnell Tour V2) was $298 CDN, they're probably somewhat less in the US. I'm not suggesting this so you can compile a body of driving yardage evidence for your case. Whether you confirm or refute simulator data, it's just simply a really good tool to gauge how far you hit all your clubs - not just the big dog.

Imagine knowing with virtually 100% certainty, the distance to clear the bunker, to the front edge of the green, to the pin and to the back of the green - real data in the real world - a launch monitor can help you choose the right sticks, but if you really want to get the most out of them, you really need to know your yardages. Most yardage markers are bang on accurate - but the thing is you don't always know what they used as a reference - I've seen courses that always use 1/2 way from front to back (most common) and other courses that use the centre of the widest part of the green. You really need to know how far you drive the ball though. If it's shorter than you think, a smooth swing might leave you in a hazards. If it's farther than you think, a smooth swing could be through the fairway and into the creek.

[Vance87]

I'm pretty sure he was using sarcasm....

Yes, but I turned it into a positive

[jldavis73]

Best example of smash factor: gentleman in my group takes a hellacious rip and...ta da! drives the ball 3 inches STRAIGHT DOWN into the muddy tee box! While he scans the horizon for the ball he just crushed, my pancreas falls out of my mouth because I am laughing so hard! I have seen a driver face cave in (cold weather+failing weld=really cool!) too.

99% of ALL golfers hit it much shorter than they think. And the 1% that hit it longer are old ladies (no offense).

I believe that Jack Hamm, Terry Nugent, and Jerry Foltz are the same person.

[Vance87]

Alright, so I know this is in the middle of my apartment, and it's a foam ball, and it's a PW, but it's all I have at the moment. This was just recorded.



Be as critical as you want. I don't care.

[Shanks A Million]

I did make an argument earlier in this thread a few weeks ago that my brother, a 15+ h'capper could drive the ball 300.

This happens EVERY TIME someone gets a range finder or GPS. And your driver numbers are really fantastic. 113-118 swing speed, 265 or so average, great stuff. That's enough to play any course, even maybe a major!

[Fairway_CY]

This happens EVERY TIME someone gets a range finder or GPS.

Agreed. When I first began using my GPS... I would 'estimate' my yardages based on visual data only (yardage markers and things of that sort). At the same time... I'd actually measure the yardage and I'd overestimate between 10 and 30 yards EVERY time. A few years ago, I believed I hit the ball about 220 on average off the tee with a driver. Then, I began hitting the ball a lot better and I thought I'd bumped my average to about 250 with the odd 280 yard shot. I now know that when I hit a GOOD ball right on the button... it goes about 255. My AVERAGE with my driver is more in the 225 to 230 range. Even now, on shots I've mishit a little but I feel like I've KILLED... when I measure them, often times I have barely cleared 210. It's shocking to know the real distances sometimes.

CY

[Shanks A Million]

Alright, so I know this is in the middle of my apartment, and it's a foam ball, and it's a PW, but it's all I have at the moment. This was just recorded.

We really need to see one of a real ball, but the fact is, even this effort, in which you're obviously swinging about as hard as you can, reveals a lot.

First, the right knee locks, the right foot has to then slide way out from under you just to allow a turn. Club comes down far too steep, and you fall toward the ball. Spine angle at address and impact are drastically different, because you've fallen forward, you have to stand up more to meet the ball. Your margin of error is fairly small with this swing, so being accurate or consistent will be hard. You can hit a ball quite far this way, but you have to time it just right. After I hurt my leg, I started a similar path, in which my downswing plane got way too steep, and I had to flip it to hit the ball. I could still hit it well on some days, but the consistency was not there. After seeing the pro, I changed my posture, got back into the proper plane, and the difference was night and day (I will post videos of my newer swing when I get my camera fixed).

[saevel25]

Umm... 265 might be enough on a 7400 golf course, but when your playing 470-500 yard par 4's, whoo, that still a long haul there man. The length of the pro-tour is sick. I love playing a 7200 every once in a while, just to see how much a difference it is not playing a short iron into greens, fun little challenge. Would probably be similar of playing a 5 wood on the 6200 course i play each week.

Go to google and type in Golf Ball .xls,

Download this excel file, its a 4th-Order Runge-Kutta Numerical Integration on ball flight that calculates distance of a ball traveled. Interesting thing to mess around with, i would say it gets with in 5-10 yards. It doesn't take into account side spin, so its a bit off, but it will give you the farthest you can probably hit taking into account backspin, wind, ball speed, launch angle, ect...

This file gives you carry distance only..

250 yards of carry, 2800 spin rate, 12 degrees of launch (i have heard this number is optimal, referenced in a couple of articles), no wind, standard ball pressure, standard weight, ball needs to be launched at 152 mph.

Typical smash factor done at a test lab was 1.35-1.40, so 1.375 a good average. Maximum theoretically is 1.50, longest pro's get 1.48.

So, to hit it 250 on carry, you need 110 mph swing speed roughly...

To hit it 280 on the fly, 167 mph ball speed, at 12 degrees of launch with 2500 spin rate. 2500 is optimal, i did a rough guess, going high low till i found a max. At average smash factor you need a swing speed of 121 mph club head speed.

[Vance87]

We really need to see one of a real ball, but the fact is, even this effort, in which you're obviously swinging about as hard as you can, reveals a lot.

I never said my swing was perfect. Who's is? Surely not yours...and nobody else's is either. Everyone's got something.

PS I didn't even think about how fast I was swinging, so I wasn't just blatantly showing my machoness. That's how fast I swing. Deal with it. Can't wait to see your videos.

[Shankapotomus]

I never said my swing was perfect. Who's is? Surely not yours...and nobody else's is either. Everyone's got something.

Dude, what the hell? Get over yourself already and quick picking fights with Shanks. You are the one who wanted criticism back from folks:

Be as critical as you want. I don't care.

You said you don't care. If you truly don't care, stuff it and accept whatever criticism you get back. Quit picking nits with Shanks and others already.

[Vance87]

You're right.

Edit: Honest question, I thought the whole straightening-the-right-leg-on-backswing thing was ok?

[Fairway_CY]

I never said my swing was perfect. Who's is? Surely not yours...and nobody else's is either. Everyone's got something.

Damn... you said to be as critical as he wanted, then you got defensive. Calm the hell down. Fact is... he's right. You're swinging out of your shoes with a pitching wedge. It's impossible to be accurate more often than not with a swing like that. He didn't say ANYTHING about his swing being perfect before he posted his critique.

CY

[mtsalmela80]

Even if a 25 capper could drive 325 yards straight every time, they would most likely skull or duff the next shot into the green more often than not resulting in a bogey or worse. Thats what makes them high cappers.

I ve hit some beauties, left with a soft pitch into the green, and done exactly that, so many times. Driving distance is pretty meaningless unless you are playing a 500 yard par 4.

[Vance87]

Damn... you said to be as critical as he wanted, then you got defensive. Calm the hell down. Fact is... he's right. You're swinging out of your shoes with a pitching wedge. It's impossible to be accurate more often than not with a swing like that. He didn't say ANYTHING about his swing being perfect before he posted his critique.

Believe it or not, I used to swing faster (or at least it seems like I did). And I used to be steeper, which caused a slice. I just brought my hands on an inward path during the backswing, as well as putting the ball more forward in my stance. I don't feel like I'm swinging very hard, honestly. It just feels like my body naturally unwinding from the top of my backswing. In other words, it doesn't feel like I'm doing

too much. I've tried to swing slower, but I think my tempo over a period of time has been kind of engrained.

[golfro]

I'll give it to you. thats a big swing but I don't believe that you do it on course.
The fact that you got THAT swing + R flex shaft calls for some BS in my opinion.

When my clubs got stolen last year, I was playing with my dad's driver with a R shaft. At my swing speed, I couldn't get any consistency with that shaft. At your swing speed, a stiff or even X-stiff shaft would maybe get you at the distances you claim.
At any rate, sorry, I just don't believe it.

[Vance87]

My irons are are stiff shaft (see sig)

But my driver is inconsistent, and my 3-wood as well. My new 5-wood performed better, but that didn't mean I didn't hit a bad shot with it today.

[Shanks A Million]

You're right.

Straighten

ing , not locking. Lock the back leg, and you're coming down too steep. I know, because it's a problem I have a lot. When the angle between my trail forearm and the club becomes great, the ability to strike the ball squarely is greatly diminished. Even a small mishit becomes magnified. As a result, I have to hit the ball squarely, or it doesn't go anywhere. That's why it's hard to repeat.

Even if a 25 capper could drive 325 yards straight every time, they would most likely skull or duff the next shot into the green more often than not resulting in a bogey or worse. Thats what makes them high cappers.

There are two things you need to drive the ball long. You need to be able to get the center of the face to hit the ball, and you need to hold the lag to generate power. There are two things a 25 handicap doesn't do. They don't hit the center of the face, and they don't hold the lag.

Do you see why it's hard to believe some of these claims?

[Vance87]

Straighten

When you say, it doesn't go anywhere, what do you mean exactly? I don't have much trouble hitting it squarely. I've hit good enough shots to know when it feels right, after I hit it. I still get mishits of course but I know it instantly.