"net" drive?

[Dyna]

Is it true that the internet adds 30-40 yds to drives? Plenty of big hitters here putting up avg drive numbers of 285-300-320 yds, yet why is that the vast majority of folks I see playing are in the 190-220 range without roll?

[Sherpat]

  None said:

Is it true that the internet adds 30-40 yds to drives? Plenty of big hitters here putting up avg drive numbers of 285-300-320 yds, yet why is that the vast majority of folks I see playing are in the 190-220 range without roll?

Lol...you noticed that too, huh?

This was from a Golf Digest article of 2003 ( http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...4/ai_101967369 ) "According to tests by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the double-digit-handicapper added less than one yard to his average drive from 1996 to 2001. During the same period, tour pros added an average of 12 yards. Although definitive research is scarce, Golf Digest surveys show that the average golfer's driving distance increased from 193 to 205 yards in the last decade. In the same period, PGA Tour distances increased almost 30 yards. Even these numbers for average golfers may be generous because a test of Golf Digest Schools students in March still showed only a 195-yard average. "It doesn't seem like the average guy has caught on to how to hit it farther yet," says Joe DeBock, head professional at recently lengthened Torrey Pines. "Every good player I know is longer than he used to be, but it's not true for the masses. When I play a nassau against a 10-handicapper, it's tough for me to win giving him five a side from the white tees, but usually easy if I take him back to the blues, even if it means giving him seven a side. Distance remains the thing the average golfer can't handle." While the typical amateur is still struggling with the 200-yard standard (even if he thinks and says he hits it 250), the PGA Tour driving-distance average has jumped from 260.4 in 1993 to 279.8 in 2002 to 287.8 this year. Ask a veteran tour player and he'll say that in the last three years he's picked up yardage that previously wouldn't be gained in a decade."

[Dyna]

  Sherpat said:

Lol...you noticed that too, huh?

I have only seen 1 legitimate 300 yd drive from a non pro on the courses I play & that guy usually ends up slicing the hell out of his shot. The drive he put up was a fluke & he admitted there was probably no way he could duplicate it.

I have no issues at all stating my drives are usually in the 200-220 range....I may get a 250 with a nice downhill roll & some wind. I prefer to keep them straight & in the fairway over possibly getting a good number but having 0% consistency. If someone is truly hitting avg drives in the 285-300 range without a roll, they should work on their short game & go on tour.

[lhshurdl3r]

i had a drive earlier today on a par 5 and stop at the 150yd mark, the hole was 490 from the tees we played at. 490-150 = 340. not sure what it carried though.

[Sherpat]

Just curious: was this unusual for you, or do you normally bang it 300+ ?

[lhshurdl3r]

  Sherpat said:

Just curious: was this unusual for you, or do you normally bang it 300+ ?

i've never hit one that far... i've hit multiple ones that roll to 300-310. i usually average around 270-280 though.

[lamebums]

  Dyna said:

Is it true that the internet adds 30-40 yds to drives? Plenty of big hitters here putting up avg drive numbers of 285-300-320 yds, yet why is that the vast majority of folks I see playing are in the 190-220 range without roll?

I think that's because most people who care enough about the game to join a forum are better than average. I personally don't claim an average drive of 300, though. My longest this week (in the fairway) was 285 something. The last time I hit one over 300, it was in the trees...

[Sherpat]

  lhshurdl3r said:

i usually average around 270-280 though.

Cool. Good for you!

[P3R3]

I'm about 260 average and everyone I play with thinks I am a big hitter. Goes to show you how inflated people make their drives.

[Dyna]

  lamebums said:

I think that's because most people who care enough about the game to join a forum are better than average.

HUH? There are lots & lots of posters here who lay claim to shooting 100+ for 18 holes, is that better than average? Exactly what is average..serious question. I have good days & bad days....my bad are when I shoot 53-54 for 9 & my good days I squeak out a 44-45....I sure as hell dont consider myself better than average. Drive yardage on a net forum is really no different than the people who hang out in chat rooms where every guy is 6'4" & built & every women looks like Angelina Jolie, it's all hyped up, inflated, ego driven, etc. For those who lay claim to 285+ avg carry drives, good for you. The rest of us short hitters will have to do with simply hitting the fairway.

[Undr Par]

I'm not in the least bit ashamed to admit I only hit em about 190-210 on avg, the last time I played on Thursday there is a Par4 347yds, I hit a bomb of a shot and with some roll, and on my 2nd shot I was about 8-10yds short of the 100yd mark, so that's roughly 235-237yds for me....I was happy.....I realize that on Par5's I won't be there in 2, not a problem for me, lay up baby.......and I'm a Bogey Golfer basically, this yr's best was a 87, this yr's worse was a 96.......

[Gregormendel]

so based on your "net" drives... then I avg. about 340 or so. It also depends on where you play because I played in Denver and All of my distances were 30 yards off or more on every club.

So, based on your "net" drives and if i played again in Denver, then I avg. about 380 off the tee.

[Dyna]

  Undr Par said:

I'm not in the least bit ashamed to admit I only hit em about 190-210 on avg, the last time I played on Thursday there is a Par4 347yds, I hit a bomb of a shot and with some roll, and on my 2nd shot I was about 8-10yds short of the 100yd mark, so that's roughly 235-237yds for me....I was happy.....I realize that on Par5's I won't be there in 2, not a problem for me, lay up baby.......and I'm a Bogey Golfer basically, this yr's best was a 87, this yr's worse was a 96.......

Thank you for the honest posting. I realize there are folks out there that can bomb out a drive 300+ yds, but on any number of golf related websites it seems like a large percentage of the posters are claiming to do just that...or at least real close to it. That flies in the face of testing done by magazines as well as what any number of us witness on a daily basis. 200 yd drivers unite & be proud of your status.

[Gregormendel]

I agree with the last post. But what can anyone do except let them say what they want. I will give most the benefit of the doubt, until I have a reason to say otherwise.

Another thing to watch out for is the younger golfer... Most of the guys I play with can all hit the ball 300 and even most highschool kids I know bomb it that far. Needless to say most are also playing military golf.

[Dyna]

  Gregormendel said:

I agree with the last post. But what can anyone do except let them say what they want. I will give most the benefit of the doubt, until I have a reason to say otherwise.

I try to give folks the benefit of doubt but when you read posting after posting from people all who claim to be these long ball hitters, yet then go on & admit they shot a 100+...well exactly where are those long balls landing? 3 fairways over? Then you have the people who admit to hitting 2-3 in the water, lose a couple in the woods, etc & still pull a mid 40 out of thin air?? Now I am no golf purist by any stretch & certainly don't play by 100% PGA rules, but I do try & follow the majority of them. But then I also don't try & claim some ridiculously low score either, all you end up doing is cheating yourself. I'm done preaching. If folks want to believe they can outdrive the avg PGA tour pro, well they can have their fantasy. I still have my fantasy of Angelina

[lamebums]

  Dyna said:

HUH? There are lots & lots of posters here who lay claim to shooting 100+ for 18 holes, is that better than average? Exactly what is average..serious question. I have good days & bad days....my bad are when I shoot 53-54 for 9 & my good days I squeak out a 44-45....I sure as hell dont consider myself better than average.

Like I said...

most . Average, I heard is 97 for men, and 120 for women, totalling out to about 105. Heard that from my driving range pro, the club pro, and a couple places in magazines and books, give or take a few strokes. Average men's drive is from 193-205, more or less, as well. Low handicappers probably make up one out of a thousand golfers, if that. But there's a lot more than one out of a thousand low-cappers here. As to people who brag about driving distance - just look at simple trigonometry. It's harder to hit the fairway with a 300 yard drive than with a 200 - almost twice as hard, in fact. If you can do it, kudos.

[Billbill13]

I'm consitently 280+ yards off the tee with my drive but the problem is it comes back around another 80+ yards to the right and either in the next fairway, two fairways over or best yet OB.

I average 250+ off the tee with my 3-wood and the last three rounds of golf I have played I have used driver twice and that was because the first one went OB.

[twomey7]

My drives don't rely on carry, mine roll forever as I hit them low line drives