300 yards - fact or fiction: Post your experience

[SpoiledRotten]

I average under 300, of course. But to think that ams don't ever hits 300+ drives is silly. I'm 6'4", in decent shape and can generate a lot of clubhead speed. So on occasion I can really poke one out there. People are really hung up on this distance stuff. lol

I'll have to agree with you on that last statement. I'd much rather hit is consistently down the middle of the FW. I usually hit 300 yds, give or take a yard here and there.

[Shanks A Million]

I'll have to agree with you on that last statement. I'd much rather hit is consistently down the middle of the FW. I usually hit 300 yds, give or take a yard here and there.

But it's after that 300 yards, the 3rd shot... that's the one that counts.

[cody west]

Alot of people don't understand what a golf swing is capable of if you know enough about it. All the pros are hitting it 300 on their conservative swings. If they let lose like 90% of us do in a casual round (no betting or tournaments) with our friends we would see 340 yard drives all the time but they are hitting it 300 and still hitting the fairway. I don't believe anyone here who tells me they don't swing a little harder trying to show off or hit the long ball when it's just for fun because who cares if you lose a ball in a normal round. My Point here is that pros are hitting it 300 on their easy accurate swings so why is it so impossible for SOME of us to hit it 300 on our agressive swings. It's prettty safe to say that no one here has as much riding on every tee shot as they do so why wouldn't we muscle up a little more often. Just saying it's plausible

[Shanks A Million]

Alot of people don't understand what a golf swing is capable of if you know enough about it. All the pros are hitting it 300 on their conservative swings. If they let lose like 90% of us do in a casual round (no betting or tournaments) with our friends we would see 340 yard drives all the time but they are hitting it 300 and still hitting the fairway. I don't believe anyone here who tells me they don't swing a little harder trying to show off or hit the long ball when it's just for fun because who cares if you lose a ball in a normal round. My Point here is that pros are hitting it 300 on their easy accurate swings so why is it so impossible for SOME of us to hit it 300 on our agressive swings. It's prettty safe to say that no one here has as much riding on every tee shot as they do so why wouldn't we muscle up a little more often. Just saying it's plausible

So, your saying the laws of physics change because of a player's intent? Because the clubhead speeds of PGA tour players are recorded, and they're very high. Clubhead speed + smash factor + launch angle + spin, that is all. The slowest swinger on the PGA tour is Craig Bowden, who averages 102.62 mph of clubhead speed. Bubba Watson averages 122.67. Their average smash factors are 1.478 and 1.480. Their average ballspeeds are 151.70 and 181.57.

Just to include some more numbers, what about their slowest club and ball speeds, and worst smash factors? Craig: 98.43 146.17 1.439 Bubba: 112.39 166.90 1.445 So, Bubba Watson's slowest ballspeed recorded is about as fast as a good player with a 112 mph swing speed can hit it. That's pretty damn impressive. Bubba regularly hits drives well over 350 yards, but his average is still only 297.5. People here say that it's silly to include average, not stock. But the driver is the only club in the bag that has no maximum distance. All other clubs are meant to hit it a certain distance, or gap a certain distance, but the driver's only function is to hit it as far as possible. Therefore, average is the number we use. To average 300 yards, therefore, with a PGA tour level smash factor, requires a clubhead speed of 121. With this swing speed, you would not be able to control an off the rack driver, and it would balloon on you. You'd need a tour X flex shaft, and a low spin head. I've seen pros try to hit off the rack "stiff" flex drivers. They don't go very far at all, maybe 250. They just go sky high and land and nearly spin back. But I digress, this argument is useless. If you want to believe you hit it 300 yards, but are a 15 handicap, go right ahead. You're in the top 1% of 1% for players of any handicap, congratulations. I'm sure you also believe that you could easily shoot par if you just had that right set of clubs too.

[sean_miller]

But it's after that 300 yards, the 3rd shot... that's the one that counts.

HAHA - I had to read that twice.

[mikefitz]

Hit two 300 yarders today at this course

16th hole is 308 yard par 4, my ball landed about three yards shy of the pin, in the rough on the left side of the green.
18th hole is a 501 yard par 5, my tee shot landed two yards past the 200 yard marker. Used my 3 iron for my second shot and was on the green in two!

This is my first summer golfing and while 300 is nowhere near my average, it's great to see what I'm capable of especially after struggling so much with my tee shots my first few months. My co-worker couldn't believe the progress I made since we last played in June.

[Shanks A Million]

16th hole is 308 yard par 4, my ball landed about three yards shy of the pin, in the rough on the left side of the green.

Not trying to detract from your accomplishments, but people need to quit associating course markers with driving distance. Course markers are measured to the center of the hole from points around the center of the fairway, and the hole itself is measured on a curve, and often from points not equal to where you are hitting from. A 300 yard drive by the course markers is usually around 270 or so.

For example, there's a par 5 near here that says 529 on the card. Assuming I had 200 yards left to the green, I would have hit my drive 329, right? Wrong. A quick check of the GPS reveals that the drive was just 278 yards. That's 51 yards short. That's not at all uncommon. Another fairly straight hole reveals another one. A 430 yard par 4. If I have 150 yards left after my drive, I've clearly hit it 280, right? Wrong. A quick check reveals that I've actually hit it 271 yards. But what about a hole that's dead straight? A hole I measured is 378 on the card. If I have 100 yards left, I assume I hit my drive 278. In fact, the drive was just 271 if the tees are all the way back. This is a hole that is measured perfectly straight, which are fairly rare. Even they show that the markers are never to be trusted. Course markers are not made to measure drives, they are for gauging your distance to the center of the green.

[ghalfaire]

But it's after that 300 yards, the 3rd shot... that's the one that counts.

I thought that they all counted. No wonder I can't get my handicap lower. I counted all the missed putts and poor chip shots.

[Fourputt]

Not trying to detract from your accomplishments, but people need to quit associating course markers with driving distance. Course markers are measured to the center of the hole from points around the center of the fairway, and the hole itself is measured on a curve, and often from points not equal to where you are hitting from. A 300 yard drive by the course markers is usually around 270 or so.

Some people will never be convinced, Shanks. Just like believing everything they read on the internet, they believe the that the scorecard minus the course marking is a scientifically significant measurement.

As one who once lived under that delusion, I had my eyes opened when I first started measuring my drives with a GPS. I have certainly hit an occasional, element assisted drive over 300 yards, but my average is FAR below that. Even my typical good drive is only around 250, and when I really power one on the screws it might make 265. Anything beyond that is element or elevation assisted... and rare even then.

[McGeeno]

This thread is very enlightening.

Good stuff in here.

I'm new here, but an avid golfer, consider myself a good player.

I hit it long (Very long for an amateur) and I don't hit it 300 yards except for the odd blast every round or so. Even in tournament golf not many guys hit it past me.

My home course has a 322 yard hole, straight and tree lined. I've seen 1-2 guys hit it on the green before in thousands of rounds, and I've poked it close a few times myself.

Anyways, to the point: I GPS measured it for the first time this year, and it checked in at 306 from the tips, when it is 'listed' as 312 from the middle tees...

Long story short: Don't ever trust yardage markers on the course.