What is your average Driver yardage?

[Dyna]

I hit one today where I felt like I crushed it, even a couple folks I didnt know who were waiting told me it was a hell of a drive. 235 yds & dead center down the fairway is where it ended up at.

I realize for a pro or a scratch player that's nothing, but for a high handicapper I am more than happy with it. I have no reasons to bs anyone on a website regarding my drive lengths.

[Diggitydog]

OMG, such fascination with driving distance. I can relate to the feeling, but straight hitting is SO much more useful. How about Fairways hit or GIR's or putts per round, sand saves etc.

I was watching high end amatuers play last week and the long hitters have to be so accurate off the tee it's insane. These guys were regularly popping drives out 320 or 340 yards. One dude hit a couple 380 yards. He hit it straight but would still catch rough whether it was running through the fairway or would move a few yards too far one direction or the other. There should be a test like driver's license exams. Before you are allowed to swing hard enough to make the ball go over 250 yards you must demonstrate that you can hit it straight to that distance. Obviously this is a joke, but honestly we should all get over the distance thing a little bit and focus on accuracy. I know I have and it's helped my game a lot.

[AndrewM]

I carry it about 280 yards, I know this as its been a wet summer and my ball has ended up about 2 yards in front of or behind its pitch mark

Not to pick on you but just to make a point.

As relayed to me by the Trackman Rep on the PGA Tour. (trackman is a launch monitor that actually measures the flight of the ball by radar, not by an algorithm of the spin within the first few inches of flight.) A pure 7 iron carry distance of 170 yards equates to a driver carry of approximately 265 yards. A carry of 265 yards puts you squarely in the middle of the PGA Tour driving distance stats (top 60 or so). For those that are considering their roll out yardage, that number is meaningless. the ONLY thing that matters is carry. Roll is transient based on the course conditions, ball flight, shot shape etc, but carry is something you can rely on. Oh and as an aside... the carry number of 265 I mentioned, into a 10mph or so head wind, was approx 235 yards of carry with a driver. To anyone that REALLY wants to know how far they hit it, take a buddy and a laser range finder... put your buddy in the center of a BIG fairway 250 yards out... and see how many balls you carry to him, I would have to guess for nearly every person on this board that number would be very close to zero even for those that think they hit the ball 300 yards.

[King Cobra II]

OMG, such fascination with driving distance. I can relate to the feeling, but straight hitting is SO much more useful. How about Fairways hit or GIR's or putts per round, sand saves etc.

I agree 100%. Although My average driver distance is around 235-245, I haven't been using a driver much the past 5 times out. I can hit a 3 hybrid 210-220 consistantly and I hit it dead straight, so its alot easier to be 25 yards back in the fairway then hitting outa the ruff

[itzzzberny]

diggity dog - yea, sounds like a great idea. well if no one puts one up by thurs day night i'll make one.

just came back from playing at brookside in pasadena (right next to the rose bowl). learned to correct some mistakes from before and was a lot more accurate w/ my driver.i hit a great 300 yard shot(carry w/ the roll), left me w/ a easy 50 yard chip and putt. what a great day....

[mikelz]

I'm very new to golf (buying my first set of clubs tomorrow). How do I find this out? Do you just knock a few around at the driving range and see where you land? Sorry for the lame question.

I go for the method recommended by Toski. Learn from the hole back to the tee. Putting is more important than any other shot in the game.

Start off making 2 foot putts, then 3 feet. Once your making 95% of the three footers, start developing touch by stroking 20-30 footers. Once you have some touch, start chipping (you can use your putting grip) from off the green working from 20-50 feet. Once you can get it up and in from 30 feet with regularity move on to pitching the ball. You get the idea. Do these things first and you'll be able to hold your own on the golf course right off. Nearly all beginners hack it with the full swing no matter what they do. Well, I enjoyed writing this but you will probably go out and buy a thousand dollar set with X shafts, go to the range and get 200 balls, then hit all 200 with your 8 degree driver. Oh, take lessons.

[waynem80]

A poll on this same topic

LOl, this is great, and very true at the same time

you've gotta talk one's game up sometimes.

[jcrew]

diggity dog - yea, sounds like a great idea. well if no one puts one up by thurs day night i'll make one.

DUDE! crazy ..haha sorry... my dad just bought a condo in pasadena less than 5 minutes from there (RIGHT next to colorado blvd with all those shops) and when i went to visit him a couple weeks ago i played brookside everyday ...like at least 7 times.. it's a pretty cool course.. def different from my home course here in northern va. (right outside of dc)

[getinthehole]

About 225-235 yards but only around 80% of the time straight.

[need_lessons]

On the range I'm about 230 (in the air) and straight 65-70 percent of the time. Once I'm on the course however, I probably lose 15-20 yards and only 50% of the shots are straight.

[M-benzw203]

I carry my drive on a consistant bases of 270 to 275 and i get about 15 to 20 yards of roll:)

[AndrewM]

On the range I'm about 230 (in the air) and straight 65-70 percent of the time. Once I'm on the course however, I probably lose 15-20 yards and only 50% of the shots are straight.

That is interesting... Most everyone I know hits the ball farther on the course than on the range. Even at the decent places here in Orlando, most of the range balls are consistently 5-10 yards short on an average iron shot and that or a bit more on a driver.

I use the range to practice technique and direction, never for distance control. Nothing replaces using the same balls in the same conditions you will face on the course to determine your actual distances with each club. Doing with with Top Flite Range balls doesnt cut the mustard

[lamebums]

That is interesting... Most everyone I know hits the ball farther on the course than on the range. Even at the decent places here in Orlando, most of the range balls are consistently 5-10 yards short on an average iron shot and that or a bit more on a driver.

Oh, I certainly hit the ball better on the range than on the course. I don't get as much distance with crappy range balls, but I certainly make better contact. Something to do with range shots versus shots on the golf course. Basically on the range, if you miss, hit another ball. Big deal. On the golf course, miss and you're probably going to pay for it.

[Billy_Baroo]

I posted 261-285 and am usually in that range. I've taken a couple of lessons recently and learned that I was trying to "muscle" the ball and swing pretty much arms only while simply lifting and turning my front foot towards the target which aimed my hips that way. Essentially fooling myself into thinking I was turning my hips. I was a bodybuilder and do have a lot of upper body and torso strength so even though I was swinging improperly, I was getting the 261-285 distance. Long story short, my instructor now has me using my torso to build resistance and "crack the whip" as they say, and I have recently hit a few in the 300-320 range.

IMHO, 250 is just as good as 300 on most holes. It is your 2nd shot and short game that will give you a good score as long as you keep it in play off the box. My hdcp is a prime example of distance not helping a scorecard much.

Side note - if you live in a higher altitude area like Colorado Springs for example, you should be getting more distance. My brother lives there and every club was 20-30 yards longer for me when we played at Fort Carson.

[Dyna]

For the Barclays, Mickelson averaged 280 yds, Stricker the winner averaged 276. Yet we continue to have people delusional enough to believe they are driving the ball better than these guys?

[Mr.Buckethead]

And you don't know how driver distance is calculated on the PGA Tour.

[Dyna]

According to the PGA website, it's simply the total yardage divided by number of times a player used a driver. There are no 2 iron shots or other stuff included. I believe those numbers also include roll, nowhere have I seen a stat for PGA drive "carry".

So the folks here who claim to carry it further than the PGA guys get even with roll are...........

[Mr.Buckethead]

Are you sure you read the website?

From the website:

The average number of yards per measured drive. These drives are measured on two holes per round. Care is taken to select two holes which face in opposite directions to counteract the effect of wind. Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not. (101)



Link: http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/2007/101.html Scroll to the bottom.



Phil Mickelson would be hitting ridiculous bombs at any local municipal course.