Are Kids Really Hitting It 330 Or Are They Just Bragging?

[RX Phoenix]

I'd be interested to know what the forum members take on this is.

I used to believe that they were bragging when they would write these absurd distances in equipment reviews, "300yd carry and i'm only 14."

But I saw a kid today, maybe only 12 almost drive a par 4, past where my best drive has ever been . . . so maybe it's possible.

Come to think of it, if i would of as a kid, had the driver and ball i now use i would be hitting it over 300.

I had a drive of over 300 with a persimmon head and the ball they used 30 yrs ago, so just update that with a R7 and ProV1x and maybe it goes 350.

It's scary to think but maybe the kids are bombing it 330 at age 14, ahh to be young again!

Of course some of them may be exaggerating a bit, you think?

[Lbob]

Well last Sunday I played with a colleage kid (who is majoring in Golf Management!). He cracked 3 drives over 300 yards. Course he also hit one that went 200 yards straight and then made a sharp right turn and went another 100. But hey yesterday I played with a guy who was a mechanic and was well north of 50. He played from the blacks and I played the forward blue tees. He was putting his tee shots 50 to 75 yards past mine. In 18 holes I think he hit at least 3 drives over 300. So do I think the kids can hit it 300? Yep.

[EatDrinkSleepGolf]

With today's technology and the right swing, I believe it.

[Steven McFarlane]

Well im 13 and i can hit the ball on average about ( 220-260 ) Depending on the weather in scotland.

[Guest]

I've always hit the ball long. What I am noticing is that I hit the ball no further now than I did when I was 14-15 even though I'm a lot taller and fully developed - well at least I hope so at 34!!

Could it be that my new driver/ball combo (see below) is giving me the extra yards that my increased(ing) fear of not hitting fairways is taking away?

As a kid I had no fear, I'd go at the ball as hard as I could everytime.

So maybe new Tech + relatively new person = + 300

If I had today's technology as a kid perhaps I could hit my wedges better

[cmarkmyers]

Well certainly there are some that can, but those numbers are few and far between. Working part time at a range I get to see lots of people hit of varying skill level. It is staggaring how many can't even hit a range ball 200, and this includes somwehat skilled people that claim they average a 260 or even 285 carry. There are maybe 2 or 3 regular customers that I would say can consistently carry the ball 280+ straight.

Adults definitly overestimate their driver skill and certainly some embellish. Many of them count that 1 in 100 perfect shot and not their average. Kids are probably even worse with some flat out lying in order to sound impressive.

[1puttit]

I used to believe that they were bragging when they would write these absurd distances in equipment reviews, "300yd carry and i'm only 14."

With a swing speed of 110mph and a 10* launch angle you will carry the ball approximately 257 yards at sea level. So unless these kids are playing at 8000 feet elevation or have 125mph swing speeds, I think they are exaggerating just a bit.

Now carry + roll, it might be possible for someone 13+ to get it out there 300 with a really good roll. FWIW, I've attended several regional Drive, Chip & Putt competitions and the best I've ever seen was about 260.

[WilsonWedgeMan]

the only thing that'll go 300 yds for me.....is my deer rifle
I wish I'd started 35 years ago when I was 15(or earlier), but hardly anyone around here played... our school didn't have a golf team(we graduated 75 kids)... so I admire anyone who can hit the ball that far... but I'm MUCH more impressed by how accurate someone can be with their irons !!! .......not me, I said "someone"... i couldn't hit the bull in the keester with a bass fiddle....

[BigAl5150]

Twenty guys on the PGA Tour averaged over 300 yards and they have the best equipment and fittings in the world. I'm not saying it isn't possible to crush one now and again but I think there may some embellishment taking place.

[aquacooled]

Twenty guys on the

Im with you on this one.. I have a swing speed of 115 mph, I can hit it 300 but its far and few between..

[golfer53]

Since i am currently 15 years old i can honestly say that YES! teenagers can hit a ball over 300 yards. I recieved a new R7 taylormade model driver about 3 months ago took me a while to get it to go straight but now i can carry the ball to about 285 or 295 on a great hit which ends up about 310 to 320 after roll. last week i played a 5 wood to a green about 300 yards away and only came up 30 yards short. i can hit my 3 would 300 on a good day so to answere the question yes some are lying but i know few of ppl, just at my school than can hit it further than i can.

[RX Phoenix]

Since i am currently 15 years old i can honestly say that YES! teenagers can hit a ball over 300 yards. I recieved a new R7 taylormade model driver about 3 months ago took me a while to get it to go straight but now i can carry the ball to about 285 or 295 on a great hit which ends up about 310 to 320 after roll. last week i played a 5 wood to a green about 300 yards away and only came up 30 yards short. i can hit my 3 would 300 on a good day so to answere the question yes some are lying but i know few of ppl, just at my school than can hit it further than i can.

Thanx golfer 53, that's very helpful to hear first hand from a high schooler. That's what i wanted to know from my question, because i hear that high school players are hitting it over 300 and even a few 8th graders and i wondered if this might be common now. I have a suspicion that it is becoming more common. What ball do you and your friends use?

Do you know what your swing speed is? Thanx again for the testimony!

[Clubswinger21]

It all depends, there are factors to take into consideration.. like weather, wind, launch angle and generous kicks off down slopes.. im 5'10, 160, i dont know my swing speed but i'll swing 95% on every shot.. when the air is thin in the summer i can carry it up to 260. With my 905t with the speeder shaft, 9.5 stiff.. I seemed to have a perfect launch angle with a medium ball flight and low spin, i would on average carry 250. But the ball seemed to roll out forever, and i probably hit 20-25 drives around or over 300 yards this summer. Some were probably down wind, some probably got generous kicks, and the fairways were rolling because it hadnt rained in a month.

I saw a special on golf academy live about this topic.. people over exagerating or simply not knowing realistic distances for themselves. Typically it said people over exagerate distances by 30%. They proved this by having people give their average distances and then hit balls on the range. Another factor they considered was that distances on courses are incorrect or inaccurate. Of course its possible for 13 yearolds in the right conditions, but do i think it happens often, no chance unless the kid is a freakish 6 foot + 170 lbs.

I was having a conversation with a player at my local course he told me his swing speed was 125mph.. I was thinking to myself this guy doesnt know what he's talking about (maybe he means ball speed) I then played 9 holes with him a week or so later. What drives he did make contact with went maybe 210 yards, i was outdriving him by 50-60 yards.

[The Turlock Kid]

No, the pre-college kids aren't hitting it 330. Some can of course, but my friends and I agree, kids aren't hitting it that far consistently. It's kind of like when guys apply for sports scholarships to college, they always add 2" to their height.

Maybe if they were shooting the ball out of a cannon dowhill it might go 330, but consistently? No.

[golfer53]

Thanx golfer 53, that's very helpful to hear first hand from a high schooler. That's what i wanted to know from my question, because i hear that high school players are hitting it over 300 and even a few 8th graders and i wondered if this might be common now. I have a suspicion that it is becoming more common. What ball do you and your friends use?

Well i usually use a topflight 3000long distance. i think my swing speed is around 115 to 120 but it hasnt been measured in a while so it could be as slow ass 105....but i think alot of it has to do with the driver i have the new R7 stiff shaft 9.5 head and i can hit it around 10 to 15 yards further tahn the series 200 driver from two or three years before it. But what it comes down to is even if you have the best equipment and fastest swing speeed you still have to be able to hit it accuratly and until recently i have about 50% of the time but now im up to about 80% of the time hitting the fair ways.

[rembrandt]

I will say "they can"! What percentage out there is doing it, I don't know but I work at a pro shop and country club and the high school team here are in the 15 to 18 range and they hit it consistantly over 300 yds. My drives go about 240 to 260 when the wind is at my back and they are so far in front of me that I have to hit twice to catch up with them. My son, who is 43 now hits it over 300 and averages around 290 something. I think they can do it with the new equipment and the hot balls we have now.

[Naruto]

i carry the old 9.5* 905t with a swing speed of 110+....i only carry it about 260 - 265 with roll 280-285.....my bombs might go 290-295.....but that's it....if there is wind behind me maybe i'll break the magic 300 number....this is at sea level...

i learned to play at 4300+ feet and my longest drive there was 350 yards....and john, golf buddy, hit a 385 bomb.....on the same hole but down here he rarely hits it more than 290....

and if you consider that the long drivers on tour aren't averaging 330 and the long drive champs are only a little beyond that it makes it hard to believe that 14 year olds are doing it....JMO...

[RX Phoenix]

Twenty guys on the

Keep in mind that this average includes all drives . . . many holes they will use a 3 wood or even an iron, some holes are uphill and/or into the wind, doglegs, etc. so the 300 yd average might be misleading. In ideal conditions they can hit it 330+, even the seniors i've seen can do this as well. We have a generation of kids now who grew up with the hi-tech balls and equipment, and launch moniters, as well as watching Tiger et. al. play, so these kids are totally adapted to the idea of hitting it long and how to do this. I believe that many of them have had excellent coaching and constant swing analysis on launch moniters and video analysis, as well as custom club fitting, so really they are totally maxing out their potential just as much as the pros are. They know what they are doing, right launch angle, right spin rate, right shaft and clubhead for their swing, then just add the speed, coordination, and flexibility of youth and there is no reason why their drives won't go over 300.