Average Drive Carry Distance

[supercow]

You're a 1-Handicapper and you have a problem carrying 250+?

Develop a fantastic short game

I remember going to the state amateur championships last year and it was hilarious watching people hitting it EVERYWHERE and then saving par. By the way, if you think the course was setup easy, it wasn't. It was set up with US Open style rough, rolled fairways, and fast greens. Course length was about 6378m and most of the people that I saw could only carry about 230-250m. All handicaps were 4 and below.

[Naruto]

I carry the ball about 260-265.... but not 275-290....not sure where you got that i have problems carrying the ball 250+ but whatever. I am a 1 handicap because i can hit greens with a 4 iron from 210. Also because i dont hit balls out of bounds or into water...

[Big Don]

Course length was about 6378m and most of the people that I saw could only carry about 230-250m. All handicaps were 4 and below.

That's my experience watching good amateurs too. 250-275 yards is about the driving distance for accomplished single digit handicappers. I'm afraid all these guys that claim they regularly average 300+ yards are either waiting to be discovered or are talking out of their hats. The latter is mostly likely.

[Philfest]

I carry the ball about 260-265.... but not 275-290....not sure where you got that i have problems carrying the ball 250+ but whatever. I am a 1 handicap because i can hit greens with a 4 iron from 210. Also because i dont hit balls out of bounds or into water...

O.K. so 275.... I just wanted to know how someone that wasn't very ong, like myself, could get down to as low of a handicap as a 1+.

My short game is pretty strong and my scrambling saves what lit'l face I have as a 12 handi, but I haven't developed a 200+ yrd green approach yet. Now that could sure come in handy.... Hell hitting it with a 5 wood, anyting regularly, would knock off at least 2-3 strokes.

[Naruto]

how do you get down to a 1 without hitting it long.... how do you hit greens from 200 yards out...... simple i average a round of golf every 1.8 days....i've only been in maryland for a year...and i am returning to charleston, sc this summer... so pretty much the way you get down to a 1 is play/practice almost every day.

[jorruss]

I am fortunate to be able to maintain a zero handicap while only playing once a week. While you certainly need to have some talent, the most important thing for me is quality practice and prioritizing that practice time. I'll share my practice habits as I think it may help some people.

6 or 7 years ago I worked in the golf industry and played or practiced golf 6 days a week. I played some tournament golf as well and got down to a +2 at one point. My practice time consisted mainly of pounding 3 or 4 hundred balls a day on the back of the range, and hitting a few chips and putts before I went out to play. I was a good ballstriker and my short game was ok, but suffered with a streaky putter. I had rounds where I would hit 16 greens and shoot 74 because I didn't make any putts.

When I left the golf course job to get a "real" job, I became a weekend golfer. In order to maintain my handicap, I had to prioritize my practice time to work on the parts of my game that made the most difference in my score. Since it has been proven that up to 65% of your score is shots inside of 125 yards, (See Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible) I decided I would spend 70% of my practice time on the shortgame and putting.

The difference has been dramatic. I now practice every Friday afternoon for a few hours and play every Saturday. That is about all the time I have. I spend 30 minutes or so hitting a small bucket of balls. I'll hit mostly wedges and short irons, a few 7 irons, a few 3 or 4 irons and the last few balls with the driver. It is important to go through your routine on every shot to get the most out of it. I'm a long hitter and hit most approach shots with short irons, so I spend the most time on those. I'll spend about an hour chipping and pitching balls around the practice green. I only use 6 or fewer balls and take my time preparing for each chip. Sometimes I'll play a game I used to play in college. Take 3 balls and chip to a hole until you make one, then take that ball out of play and chip to another hole with the 2 remaining balls until you make one again. Then take the last ball and chip to yet another hole until you make the last one. Only then can you walk away. I'll spend the last half hour or so putting. I'll start with some long putts for speed control and always finish by making 20 three footers.

While my long game has not improved over when I used to hit 300 balls a day, it has not declined too much from that level. A small bucket the day before playing and the morning of seems to be enough to maintain a reasonable full swing. I am able to maintain a zero handicap because I have a solid short game and I have turned my biggest weakness into a strength. I now feel confident on the greens and that also helps the rest of my game. I know I don't have to hit the ball great because I will be able to get up and down for pars and make some loger putts also.

I hope this may help some of you maintain a decent game despite not being able to play or practice as much...

[golfchief]

O.K. so 275.... I just wanted to know how someone that wasn't very ong, like myself, could get down to as low of a handicap as a 1+.

You should have very few second shots over 200yds when your drive is 300+ and most will be the par 5's. your avg second shots would be around 130 and closer on par fours and many will be inside a 100yds. You should be a birdie machine, maybe your not hitting it as far as you think. post a score card from your course and maybe we can help find the problem thats keeping you a 12handicap.

[jorruss]

How many greens do you hit in a round, and how many putts per round average? Those stats in relation to each other are a good measure of your short game.

[NCGolfer]

The difference has been dramatic. I now practice every Friday afternoon for a few hours and play every Saturday. That is about all the time I have. I spend 30 minutes or so hitting a small bucket of balls. I'll hit mostly wedges and short irons, a few 7 irons, a few 3 or 4 irons and the last few balls with the driver. It is important to go through your routine on every shot to get the most out of it. I'm a long hitter and hit most approach shots with short irons, so I spend the most time on those. I'll spend about an hour chipping and pitching balls around the practice green. I only use 6 or fewer balls and take my time preparing for each chip. Sometimes I'll play a game I used to play in college. Take 3 balls and chip to a hole until you make one, then take that ball out of play and chip to another hole with the 2 remaining balls until you make one again. Then take the last ball and chip to yet another hole until you make the last one. Only then can you walk away. I'll spend the last half hour or so putting. I'll start with some long putts for speed control and always finish by making 20 three footers.

This is some great advice for the time-challenged worker. I often have to fight the urge to pull out the driver or 3-wood early in a practice session. I know the topic is "Average Drive Carry Distance", but good advice like this is always welcome.

[Fourputt]

How many greens do you hit in a round, and how many putts per round average? Those stats in relation to each other are a good measure of your short game.

My greens in regulation are pretty low, but my putts are currently at 31 per 18 holes. As it gets closer to the tournament season, my short game is showing good improvement... polishing off the winter rust. In 9 holes today I had five 2 putts, three 1 putts, and one 0 putt (chip in from 70 feet). Only one GIR

.... my short game saved a 4 over par 40. I hit 3 fairways, and all of my misses were still in play. Average carry about 260 yards.

[jorruss]

My greens in regulation are pretty low, but my putts are currently at 31 per 18 holes. As it gets closer to the tournament season, my short game is showing good improvement... polishing off the winter rust. In 9 holes today I had five 2 putts, three 1 putts, and one 0 putt (chip in from 70 feet). Only one GIR

If you are a 15 handicap I assume you play the "white" tees or the men's regular tees. If your drives are carrying 260, playing from the white tees, you should have pretty much a short iron into every hole. Why do you misss so many greens? What is the average club you hit into a green? If you hit 1 green and got up and down only 4 times that means that you need to work on the short game! That is only a 50% conversion rate. Try my 3 ball drill, it will really improve your chipping!

[lamebums]

On a good day, I'll carry about 240-250 yards, plus or minus with some roll. A "good" drive for me is 270, when it's all considered. I'll knock one up by 300 every so often, but I think I need to spend more time at the gym before that happens more often.

My killer, however, is I spray my tee shots, for one reason or another. Last month, I struggled with a push-slice. Now, it's a duck-hook. I hit almost no fairways, but usually have good iron play to get me out of bad lies and the deep rough. I still miss a lot of greens (maybe, 6 GIR's in a round), but it usually means my chipping's on fire and I probably have 10 up's and downs.

My golf games fall into two categories: 1) A day where I just can't get my shit together - meaning at least one part of my game is dead but I'm bailed out by another being on fire - or 2) A day where my entire game's fallen apart. In the latter, I'll make mistakes that even a 36 doesn't normally make, or at least not as often as I do. Toppers, especially. On a bad day I might hit 20 toppers, on a good day, zero.

[Parker0065]

I carry it about 265 on average. A poor drive carries about 250, and a solid drive will carry 285 and roll out around 300.


I'm 42 years old and at the end of last year I was starting to lose a little yardage and was only hitting a 300 yarder about once every 3 or 4 rounds. So over the winter I started jogging and dropped some weight and it has really helped bring back some driving distance and regained some flexibility. This year I'm hitting at least one 300 yard drive per round.

[mstuk]

It looks to me as though average total driving distance on the PGA tour is around 285 yds so all you guys that think you carry the ball that far get off your pc's , get practising your short game and get to Q school.

[erniebanks]

Sorry, but the only way I (and 99.9% of those who claim) can carry a ball 300 yards is to put it in my pocket.
300 with roll is not attainable for those mentioned above

[mike_pinto]

There are allot of factors involved here. For the Nay-sayers of the 275+carry, you might not want to snap to a judgment so fast. I visited my folks in Southern Oregon and played a little golf. I thought the course was mis marked after I hit my 3rd in a row 340+ drive. It didn't occur to me until after someone mentioned that we were at 4900 ft elevation, 0% humidity. Played in Colorado Springs (6100 ft) this year and they really fly up there. I played in Texas this year and couldn't get 300 with a roll. Oklahoma is about in the middle. I play with a guy who consistently carries his driver 275+ as well as I am about 90% on that yardage. But driving long is only a small part of this game..

[lamebums]

If you're a long hitter, your monster drives are probably only matched by the monstrosities that we call bad lies.

Every so often I'll crank one about 300 yards (Northern Kentucky is only about 500 feet above sealevel), but odds are only about one in ten it's in the fairway. Usually it's in the wrong fairway, or worse, in a lake on the wrong hole.

[laconic517]

people need to stop judging how far they carry it by how far they have into a hole, theres doglegs, angles etc, very few people carry the ball over 275 let alone 250 (on average) and i find it hard to believe there are 10-20 handicaps who h it the ball 300. BUt I mean if thats what it is thats what It Is I guess, good that you hit it long.

I can hit drives about 280 if i hit them good (not carry) but i probably carry the ball 240 on average and hit my drives about 255-265 on average.