Long drive guys on the PGA tour

[Subaroo]

Why is it that the guys that we see competing in long drive competitions aren't playing on tour?  And why aren't tour players long enough to be in those competitions?

Does a fundamentally sound swing from a tour player have a limit to how far he can hit it?  I was watching some clips of Tiger from the early 2000s killing the ball with a swing that looked like it was in fast-forward, but it was still only going like 340 right?

Those long drive guys must have horrible short and mid game, or is there something about their swing that is different only when they use a driver?  I'm sure they are decent golfers otherwise.  If they can turn on a long drive and turn it off to hit decent regular shots, why doesn't everyone?  Why don't tour players?

...and if this has a really simple answer that everyone should know, forgive me.  I don't know a lot about golf, or the PGA, or PGA players.

[JetFan1983]

1. There's more to golf than hitting the ball far

2. Long Drive Competitions are about maximum distance and swinging as hard as you can. They get multiple chances to hit their shot within the grid. In actual golf, you don't get any mulligans and keeping the ball in play is obviously key.

3. PGA Tour pros like Bubba Watson could compete in Long Drive contests, but they don't want to for a number of reasons. A) There's far less money there than the PGA Tour and B) They would have to alter their swings quite a bit in order to compete. Rhythm, backswing length, equipment... all those things change when you go from regular golf to long drive contests.

Long drivers tend to only practice the driver, so the rest of their game suffers as a result. A lot of those guys are only scratch golfers. A PGA Tour pro is generally 7 or 8 strokes better than a scratch golfer (give or take).

There are some PGA Tour Pros that could compete in long drive competitions if they really wanted to -- like Bubba, Quiros, JB Holmes -- but many can't. Hitting a ball 400+ yards is a special talent (that takes hard work to improve, but you gotta be blessed to even have a shot at it to begin with). The same thing more or less goes for a PGA pro. Getting to that point takes a special talent, but hard work is what refines that and got them to where they are (most of the time).

Now, if the average long drive pro practiced the other aspects of golf, they could probably only max out in ability somewhere in the low + range. They aren't good enough to play golf at the highest level because -- like being to hit 400 yard drives in competition -- having touch on and around the greens, a sound mind, a great iron game, and a powerful but controlled long game all are tenants of a special player.

Golf at the highest level is having a strong mental game when times are tough, hitting fairways and greens, controlling curve and contact, getting up and down when you miss, and sinking your fair share of putts. It's having a high GIR% and a good proximity to the hole. It's not having that loose swing off the tee every round that costs you two shots. It's turning a round that for most pros would be a 77 into a 71, and turning a 72 into a 66. It's creativity. It's so many things beyond hitting it as far as you can (though hitting far and where you are aiming is certainly an advantage, just as having a great putter or short game is also an advantage -- the more advantages you have, the better you are than the next guy).

Having insane power in this game will certainly elevate a player quickly into the higher ranks of amateur golf as long as he has a decent short game and putter. But at the Tour Pro level, the rabbit hole runs much, much deeper. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome what a long drive guy can do, and I'm in awe when I watch those competitions, but Long Drive shows are not golf.

And this wasn't a stupid question at all. When I first started golfing, I had no idea you were supposed to hit the ball before you hit the ground because when I watched other players hit, I would see dirt fly into the air when they made swings. So I understand coming into this game and having so many questions about what its all about.

[jamo]

What JetFan said. But also, Jack Hamm would have dominated the PGA Tour if he just could have three-putted every time.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by jamo

What JetFan said. But also, Jack Hamm would have dominated the PGA Tour if he just could have three-putted every time.

Yeah, I hear the 50 yard hook is great for holding greens... But he'd have no mountains to hit his drives over; how would he aim?

[KrazyTrain18]

Exactly what Jeff fan said.