Driving Distance

[out_in_30]

I know a guy who plays off 8.

yea thats all fun and games when u blast it 300 down the middle.. but what about when you dont? ppl that hit it that far have to contend with the consequences when their clubface is slightly open or shut at impact.. causing a much more drastic outcome than someone who doesnt hit it as hard. there are always tradeoffs.

[jamo]

Somehow, though, you manage to violate the laws of physics and hit it 280, eh?

Once again people, making up laws of physics gets your argument no where. But Vance, there really is no way you can hit it that far ON AVERAGE with a 100 MPH swing speed.

[James_Black]

shanks could you please post how you got those numbers for 245 yards?
and custom fitting only equates to another 2 yards?

[Acropo]

That equates to a 375 yard drive....come on man...

As I said - the fairway slopes precipitately (i.e., it is very steep) from about 200 yards out. Mine wasn't even the longest drive of our group - an opponent's went 20-odd yards further.

All I had to do was carry the top of the slope - which I did, with the help of the wind - and gravity did the rest. So - thanks, Isaac Newton! (If I ever achieve anything similar again I shall let you know. My average drive, btw, is about 230-240. Excluding duffs.)

[Fourputt]

Just a comment to Shanks.... 20 years ago I averaged over 250 yards using an 8.5° TaylorMade Tour Driver with a 43" R300 DG steel shaft and a 100 comp Titleist Tour Balata ball. With a SS between 95 and 100. You believe what you want, but it CAN be done. And no, I had no way to measure back then, but I'm still playing the same course today and now I do have the ability to measure my drives, and I was consistently 20-30 yards longer then (in my mid 40's) than I am now at 63.

[iacas]

Just a comment to Shanks.... 20 years ago I averaged over 250 yards using an 8.5° TaylorMade Tour Driver with a 43" R300 DG steel shaft and a 100 comp Titleist Tour Balata ball. With a SS between 95 and 100. You believe what you want, but it CAN be done. And no, I had no way to measure back then, but I'm still playing the same course today and now I do have the ability to measure my drives, and I was consistently 20-30 yards longer then (in my mid 40's) than I am now at 63.

Were you were living in Colorado then as well?

[Fourputt]

Were you were living in Colorado then as well?

Yep. It definitely helps the average. My point was that I drove longer then with the low tech gear of the day than I do now with all of this titanium club and super ball technology.

Just because a player uses an R Flex shaft, that doesn't make it impossible for him to be longer than Shanks gives him credit for. A player with a long smooth swing can get more out of an "R" shaft than he can from an "S".

[sean_miller]

Yep. It definitely helps the average. My point was that I drove longer then with the low tech gear of the day than I do now with all of this titanium club and super ball technology.

What's an "R" shaft anyway? I have some really old irons with R shafts that are stiffer than my DGS300s. I have some vintage persimmon woods with R shafts that feel stiffer than some S rated graphite shafts I've tried recently. Got a Nickent with a "95+" shaft - it's like a noodle - maybe it's the suggest age of the player?

Anyway, like James says, distance is nice to have in reserve. If player A and player B swing comfortably and player A is 40 yards farther off the tee, he can use the same easy swing into the green. Player B might have to swing harder on his approach. Little by little, over 18 holes, it can add up - if the player A is smart enough to play within himself.

[Vance87]

the screen that you hit into was off?

Wow, this is getting stupid. So now the computer that tracked my swing is way the f off as well?

If you read, I never tested my current driver with the launch monitor. I said I tested a Cobra S2 9.5 degree w/ a stiff shaft, and the 5-wood that I bought. OK, I just talked to the guy on the phone who was tracking my swings yesterday, and he told me that my smash factor was right around 1.49. There were a couple swings I took that were lower, 1.45, and one I hit got up to 1.50. My ballspeed was about 5MPH slower than optimum, however I was hitting crappy practice balls; my carry distance and total distance were better than optimum. Unfortunately the system didn't save the stats, and the place is an hour and a half away from me. Also, it wasn't a screen, it was a little mounted device next to me. You can call him and ask, just tell him you're calling about Ryan. Chet Dye (806) 796-6906 Golf USA Lubbock, TX I'm out son.

[James_Black]

actually a lot of those machines are off it's a fact.

I'll see you on tour soon then? seems like you've got the perfect swing!

[sean_miller]

actually a lot of those machines are off

Other than anecdotes, what facts do we have that a lot of them are off? There was one guy from Quebec who was hellbent on trashing Golf Town (ex-employee?), and there's Shanks' uncle, but where are those facts? Is there a link?

[Vance87]

You know, I could probably travel around the country to different courses and golf stores, and you'd still say they were all wrong.

PS - thanks for the swing compliment :)

[Shanks A Million]

Wow, this is getting stupid. So now the computer that tracked my swing is way the f off as well?

Gee, you mean they might tweak the numbers to try to sell you a driver? Who would have thunk it?

OK, I just talked to the guy on the phone who was tracking my swings yesterday, and he told me that my smash factor was right around 1.49. There were a couple swings I took that were lower, 1.45, and one I hit got up to 1.50. My ballspeed was about 5MPH slower than optimum, however I was hitting crappy practice balls; my carry distance and total distance were better than optimum. Unfortunately the system didn't save the stats, and the place is an hour and a half away from me. Also, it wasn't a screen, it was a little mounted device next to me.

Now you're really, really,

really showing you're lying. A 1.5 smash factor? Sorry pal, you just wrote your own death warrant. A 1.5 smash factor is considered theoretically perfect, and it's well above the very best smash factor recorded on the PGA tour this year (1.485, not counting erroneously recorded numbers). What you're now telling us, is that you have a better smash factor on average, than the very best smash factor recorded on the PGA tour all year? I got a bridge to sell you pal. Look, I know you really want to believe this stuff, but we're handicap golfers, not tour pros, and not long drivers. It's fun to hit the long ball, but we should at least give some credit to the people who do hit it 300 yards, they worked for many years, for many hours a day, to get there.

[Vance87]

Are you too scared to call the guy?

Oh, I guess they were trying to skewer the numbers for the old man that hit right before me with a swing speed of 65 MPH. And also the 6'4 guy who swung after me who was only swinging 80 MPH. Yeah, they must have brought in a special technician when I wasn't looking to crank up the numbers, then lower them back down again right as I stepped away.

You fail.

[James_Black]

Are you too scared to call the guy?

I can't call the guy since I'm in ireland (not wasting my money)

it's not the SS but the actual distance on the screen. a lot of people have complained about the screens before.

[Vance87]

Are you capable of reading? I'm pretty sure I already said it wasn't a screen. Oh wait, yes, I did.

[Shanks A Million]

Are you too scared to call the guy?

I fail because I'm not about to take the word of some guy at a golf store in the middle of the damn desert in New Mexico? Gee whiz! I guess them PGA tour folks should ask to borrow his equipment, eh?

What's funniest to me, is that these fools actually think their local pro or store can measure more accurately than the PGA tour.

[Vance87]

Does your college class teach you to blatantly disregard evidence, even if it's presented right in front of you? Some college.