Not trying to be a jerk but seasoned short hitters, what is keeping you from hitting it over 250 on your drives?

[Audaxi]

I hit my drives not extraordinarily long, but the real key here is consistency for me. My drives carry from 240-270 depending on the wind and the day, and roll depends on the hole and conditions. I could work on my swing with the sole purpose of hitting it further in mind, but why should I want to do this? What is the point of hitting it further? I play on a few local courses that are short (~6500-6700 yards) and I play on one course that is quite long (7200 yards). My drives have worked for both courses, even though my approach shots are different. If I hit it further, that I'd find it more enjoyable to play only the long course because I'd always be hitting 3/4 wedges on some holes on the short courses for my approach. If I work on ballstriking, however, I can get a bigger impact on my game while keeping the local courses enjoyable for me. I also know that if I was to try for only distance, I;d probably lose what consistency I have and my handicap would balloon. I don't see why hitting it longer is a big issue for people, because my length off the tee suits me perfectly for the courses that I play. I don't mind hitting longer irons for my approaches on one course, because it helps me sharpen that part of the game. If you never have to hit a 6 iron or higher, it's likely that your long irons will fall to the wayside slightly, and you'll be less prepared when you mishit a tee ball or you need to hit a long iron for some shot. Anyways, that was a slightly long rant, but the point of it is this:

I don't need to hit it further to lower my handicap, I need to hit it straighter.

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

How is it that you know what everyone else cares or does not care about?

Relax, I'm just sayin I did not understand the point you were trying to make. It's the internet - happens a lot.

Why didn't you just ask for clarification with words instead of posting that picture. I'm guessing you were waiting for an opportunity to post it and don't really care what I was saying. And whatever your motivation for posting it is what I'm saying people don't care about. I'd wager that my statement is fairly accurate.

end hijack /

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by Datsyuk

Why didn't you just ask for clarification with words instead of posting that picture. I'm guessing you were waiting for an opportunity to post it and don't really care what I was saying. And whatever your motivation for posting it is what I'm saying people don't care about. I'd wager that my statement is fairly accurate.

end hijack /

What's wrong with the bunny picture? No, I was not waiting for an opportunity, I just remembered I had it so I used it instead of using words - I had no idea it would provoke this much bile. My apologies. Furthermore, I read what you posted 3 times over, and still could not understand it. So......what is it you were trying to say?

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

What's wrong with the bunny picture? No, I was not waiting for an opportunity, I just remembered I had it so I used it instead of using words - I had no idea it would provoke this much bile. My apologies. Furthermore, I read what you posted 3 times over, and still could not understand it. So......what is it you were trying to say?

Sorry I shouldn't have taken the bait. We're speaking a different language I suppose and I'll leave it at that.

[x129]

Born that way or was it a result of training? The reality is that it is a mixture of the two. You definitely have a genetic limit but it requires a lot of training to hit that limit.

Personally i would have to say the reason most guys under 40 can't drive it 250 is not genetic. It is technique (missing the center and/or hitting down on the ball) and lack of physical training (i.e. are you hitting the gym 3x a week and doing flexibility work the other days). Or they are playing at some sea level course where the ball doesn't fly and they get zero roll. 250 carry is a heck of a lot harder than a 250 drive on a course where you get 20-30 yards of roll.

Quote:

My educated opinion is this:  It' mostly a technique problem.... but..... one who has good/very good technique and still only hits it 220-230.... his issue is simply this ---------- lack of fast twitch muscles.   Some people are just born to swing a golf club or baseball bat faster than others.  I knew and played with several softball players that were not big at all & killed the ball.  Then there were plenty of big dudes who were singles hitters.

I know a guy who is about 5' 10" & 195 pounds.  Averages 270-285 on his drives.  Granted... he is a very good player but just an average guy who plays once or twice a week.

Then I know another guy who is 6'2" & 235 pounds.  Hits it 230.  Yes his technique is not as the other dude but there has to be more than technique.

I say some are born with it...some not.

It's no different than baseball pitchers.  Why can one guy get it up there at 95mph and another one only 87mph?  Born that way....

[phan52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

Quote:

Are your expectations that they hit it in play? Because I know a lot of gorillas who are long and wrong and I take their money every week with my 230 or so average.

Not sure what you are talking about.

I think it's pretty simple. You're asking about why some people don't hit it long, even though they may be young and strong. I'm pretty sure that young and strong can translate into long and wrong pretty easily. Most people who play golf with self-improvement in mind are more concerned with keeping it in play.

[dak4n6]

Just my observation, but of the folks who are reasonably fit and able to get some leverage in their swing, but still hit <250, it is because they don't want to and are perfectly content with using a

60-70% swing and put it on the fariway, or they don't transfer the club's energy straight into the back of the ball - it's usually moving across the back of the ball in some way.

[Valleygolfer]

I've decided that it has to do with coordination. You can be strong and flexible but if you can not coordinate the actions to meet at the right times, you will not have the power that some others have. You can still be close but the effort will be more forced with someone with less coordination.

[k-troop]

Interesting question.  Simple answer:  golf is hard.  Complex answer:  golf is really, infuriatingly, frustratingly, effing hard.

I was pretty close to scratch when I went to college, but it was mostly built around wedge play.  I was not good with my driver, but I was fairly good with my irons and great around the greens.  I hit the ball extremely low (grew up in South Texas where it's pretty windy) and not very far.

Moved to NY for college, where the game is played much more in the air:  mounds, doglegs, elevation changes, trees, etc.  My first month on the team the coach wouldn't let me play golf--he made me sit at one end of the range and hammer 2-irons as hard as I could until I could put one over a tree that was about 215 out on the left side of the range.  Seriously, that's all I did for like a month.

I learned to hit the ball longer and much, much higher.  It took practice and some coaching, but I did it.  Basically it was all about ball position and putting myself into a strong position in the backswing from which I could swing hard.  Once I got into that position, I could swing as hard as I wanted through the ball, and off it would go.

So, I was hitting it much longer, and much higher, but my driving still sucked.  Alignment errors were magnified:  I went from someone who rarely hit a great drive but usually hit the fairway, to someone who could put the ball into orbit, but I would need NASA to help me find it.  It didn't make me play better golf (in fact I played the worst golf of my life in college).

My opinion, based on my experience:  you can learn to hit it longer, but I think you have to start from a place where you're already making consistently good swings, with good contact, and able to control the flight of your ball.  People who already drive the ball well (meaning under control) should be able to get longer and keep that control.  If you don't have the control, though, you won't be doing yourself any favors.

(Note:  thanks to advances in technology, I'm now a pretty decent driver of the ball.  Still not my "strength" per se, but by using gear to lower the spin, and the straighter flight of the modern ball, I don't get the bendies like I did back in the mid-90s.)

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

I've decided that it has to do with coordination. You can be strong and flexible but if you can not coordinate the actions to meet at the right times, you will not have the power that some others have. You can still be close but the effort will be more forced with someone with less coordination.

Yes. Timing of the kinetic chain and developing the power accumulators and all that stuff (I don't have the lingo down). My son swings at a bazillion mph, but he doesn't start slowly from the ground up and he gives all his energy away at the top, spins out, comes from the outside and slaps across the back of the ball, which produces a weak high slice that only goes 220. But when he can calm down and slow down, his swing has time to develop and stays on plane and the clubhead gets delivered straight into the back of the ball and it goes 280.

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

I've decided that it has to do with coordination. You can be strong and flexible but if you can not coordinate the actions to meet at the right times, you will not have the power that some others have. You can still be close but the effort will be more forced with someone with less coordination.

Coordination or doing things in the proper sequence? I know a guy who can juggle and bounce a ball off the face of his 62 degree wedge all day, but hits his driver where I hit my 3-iron. I can't juggle (never really practice it though) and am somewhat likely to hit myself in the face when I bounce a ball off a LW.

[Valleygolfer]

Originally Posted by Datsyuk

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valleygolfer

I've decided that it has to do with coordination. You can be strong and flexible but if you can not coordinate the actions to meet at the right times, you will not have the power that some others have. You can still be close but the effort will be more forced with someone with less coordination.

Coordination or doing things in the proper sequence? I know a guy who can juggle and bounce a ball off the face of his 62 degree wedge all day, but hits his driver where I hit my 3-iron. I can't juggle (never really practice it though) and am somewhat likely to hit myself in the face when I bounce a ball off a LW.

I don't know if it requires coordination and timing to juggle a golf ball but if he practiced correct ball striking sequence instead wasting time learning to juggle a golf ball on a wedge, he might be hitting it 250.

[Lihu]

After reading so many posts, am I correct to conclude three things. 1) 250 carry is a lot and a luxury that is not really need to play really well? 2) If you hit a relaxed swing under complete control, most people don't hit above 230 carry (just an example)? 3) Most seasoned golfers just don't care about getting more distance because they can probably make up for a slightly shorter drive with a good iron shot? I do not understand the necessity of hitting much farther. For me the average par 4 is 360 yards? I have a controlled carry only 220 to 240 on a drive for a total distance of maybe 240 to 260. That leaves me with a really easy 9 or a slightly harder PW, for a long par 4, I would use a longer iron or hybrid. A 500 plus yard par 5 occurs less than 2 times in a round would be something like driver, 3wood and 9 or PW. So, could someone tell me if it is a requirement to hit 250 carry to become a single digit player? If so, why is it required?

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by Lihu

After reading so many posts, am I correct to conclude three things.

1) 250 carry is a lot and a luxury that is not really need to play really well?

2) If you hit a relaxed swing under complete control, most people don't hit above 230 carry (just an example)?

3) Most seasoned golfers just don't care about getting more distance because they can probably make up for a slightly shorter drive with a good iron shot?

I do not understand the necessity of hitting much farther. For me the average par 4 is 360 yards? I have a controlled carry only 220 to 240 on a drive for a total distance of maybe 240 to 260. That leaves me with a really easy 9 or a slightly harder PW, for a long par 4, I would use a longer iron or hybrid. A 500 plus yard par 5 occurs less than 2 times in a round would be something like driver, 3wood and 9 or PW.

So, could someone tell me if it is a requirement to hit 250 carry to become a single digit player? If so, why is it required?

Why the obssession with carry distance. Carry and rollout to 250 is more realistic. Obviously it isn't required by everyone on every course but people who can maintain a single digit index hitting less than 250 are either playing short courses or they're exceptionally accurate and good putters relative to the average player. Just like the "average" player might hit 230 the "average" player does not hit irons, wedges, or putts well enough to play single digit golf.

[VegasRenegade]

You can hit the ball a ton with a poor swing. I know.  I have one of the worst swings you have ever seen and I am 59 years old.  I still hit at least two drives over 260/Round. The problem is for me to do it everything has to come together perfectly.  So the others drives are most of the time out of play or topped or even worse the dreaded S word. So I am trying now to get a real swing that I can hit in the Fair way at least 70% of the time. I hope to keep some distance btt 235 in the fair way is better than 280 in the woods.

[Righty to Lefty]

Genetics.....some people are faster than others and some can hit a golf ball far while others not so far. Technique doesn't explain it because watching LPGA women hit a golf ball with perfect technique but they simply don't generate enough speed to hit it any further than they do.

[colin007]

its all about hitting the center of the clubface.

[Lihu]

Genetics.....some people are faster than others and some can hit a golf ball far while others not so far. Technique doesn't explain it because watching LPGA women hit a golf ball with perfect technique but they simply don't generate enough speed to hit it any further than they do.

I looked at the top 100 of LPGA and top 100 of the PGA, and the difference ranges from 315 down to 275 for men and 275 down to 243 for the women. This does not sound like a huge difference, and I am sure the women players are not maxing out their swings either. They play shorter courses, so they might not need to hit that far. I did not think to compare the two before, but it seems like the women players don't hit that short either. On the course, I saw a petite retired lady in front of us hit 240 yards, and her lady friends hit pretty well, too.