Why do the pros hit it so far? Here's my take

[billchao]

30 minutes ago, iacas said:

Here is my expert opinion.

They hit it further because they swing faster and make solid contact.

Even I could have told him that, but I'm no expert so it means nothing.

[nevets88]

Why does it seem that so many casual golfers ask this, but not say casual musicians how does that guy play so fast, or students how does that guy get a perfect score on the LSAT?

[Lihu]

25 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

Why does it seem that so many casual golfers ask this, but not say casual musicians how does that guy play so fast, or students how does that guy get a perfect score on the LSAT?

Yeah, makes no sense. I can only guess that people asking this type of question haven't seen the pros in action and somehow think that a pros playing abilities are not that different from the person asking the question. I'd also guess that they've never seen even a scratch player on a regulation course either?

41 minutes ago, billchao said:

Even I could have told him that, but I'm no expert so it means nothing.

Yeah, but I'd say you're an "above average joe".

 

[mvmac]

It's the magic pixie dust that goes into all the tour clubs...duh

[Hacker James]

3 minutes ago, mvmac said:

It's the magic pixie dust that goes into all the tour clubs...duh

Actually its a combination of lead and silicon powder.

[nevets88]

MAGNETS!

or pay me $XX,XXX and I'll tell you

 

[DaveP043]

This one goes to 11 

[Vinsk]

On 2/27/2014 at 7:08 AM, tefunk said:

Also... Strength does not make one hit the ball farther.

I get your point, but have you seen the long drive championship guys? I don't think it's just coincidence they're all beasts. 

[iacas]

58 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I get your point, but have you seen the long drive championship guys? I don't think it's just coincidence they're all beasts. 

Jamie Sadlowski is something like 150 pounds soaking wet.

[dennyjones]

Jamie Sadlowski isn't a beast.  

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

Jamie Sadlowski is something like 150 pounds soaking wet.

You beat me by a few...

[Pretzel]

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

I get your point, but have you seen the long drive championship guys? I don't think it's just coincidence they're all beasts. 

Rory McIlroy is 5'9" and 161

Brandon Hagy (currently #4 on the distance list with 310.8) is 170

Smylie Kaufman is 170 (307.6)

Justin Thomas (at T11 and 306.5) weighs only 145

I weigh about 165 and currently, according to GAME GOLF, average 307 on the shaggy fairways of municipal courses (hitting with a launch monitor a week ago had me at between 290 and 297 carry from swing to swing).

I think the reason there is a general trend for long drive guys to be big/heavy is because height (I'm guessing that specifically it's arm length) is a pretty big advantage when it comes to hitting it long. Too much bulk, though, and you get in your own way when swinging.

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

This one goes to 11 

It's 1 louder.

[Bucki1968]

I have a friend who used to play on the tour (no on the senior tour) and when he moved up from the (then) Nike tour, he told me that the fairways on the PGA tour were much drier and faster than on the Nike tour thus he added distance to his driving. That being said, he could still carry the ball 270-280 but with the fast fairways, he would get the ball out there 300-310. I used to play golf with him quite a bit and he would occasionally smash one 300 but that was the exceptional drive. New equipment, better course conditions and higher swing speed matched with the right driver are all reasons they hit it as far as they do. Heck, I even carry the ball further now than I used to but don't get as much roll. I have spent the past couple years trying to find that driver that will still give the carry plus a little bit more roll. Maybe it's the ball I'm using?

[uitar9]

When I see a glimmer of light, I have started to read page one of a post that has potential for, well failure, and then go to the last page. Always entertaining.

And this one didn't disappoint. Awesome  

Pixie dust, Unicorns. which by the way I firmly believe in. Successful writers, (which I don't) The whole nine yards. Thanks folks, a great way to start a workday.

I was chatting about the original topic with a fellow at work. He's happy to  play and break 100. I'm happy to play and break 90. I've been working hard (with the time I'm willing to devote) on golf the past couple of years just to get my HCP near 20.

I can't imagine the overall work effort the pros have to invest in their job to first get and then maintain their card. Travel, family, sponsor and other financial obligations, the business of maintaining the support network (coach, medical, agent, caddie), and then maintain the core of their business , the actual game.

I know I don't maintain driver stats. I only want to remember the downhill, down wind, hard fairway rollout that might have gone 235, as my average drive. My average is probably 190, maybe. When I see PGA stats that have avg drives approaching or exceeding 300 yards, even for the weeks event, that boggles the mind.

[mcanadiens]

8 minutes ago, uitar9 said:

I know I don't maintain driver stats. I only want to remember the downhill, down wind, hard fairway rollout that might have gone 235, as my average drive. My average is probably 190, maybe. When I see PGA stats that have avg drives approaching or exceeding 300 yards, even for the weeks event, that boggles the mind.

I've always figured I'm happier not knowing those kind of things. 

You see the lads with their Game Golf stuff. It would probably be a hell of an ego-blow to see just how many of my efforts don't even make 200.

[JonMA1]

18 hours ago, billchao said:

Even I could have told him that, but I'm no expert so it means nothing.

... and more importantly, you would have further disappointed @mtcmolloy, who expected more out of this site. 

Stupid utter conjecture.

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Rory McIlroy is 5'9" and 161

Brandon Hagy (currently #4 on the distance list with 310.8) is 170

Smylie Kaufman is 170 (307.6)

Justin Thomas (at T11 and 306.5) weighs only 145

I weigh about 165 and currently, according to GAME GOLF, average 307 on the shaggy fairways of municipal courses (hitting with a launch monitor a week ago had me at between 290 and 297 carry from swing to swing).

I think the reason there is a general trend for long drive guys to be big/heavy is because height (I'm guessing that specifically it's arm length) is a pretty big advantage when it comes to hitting it long. Too much bulk, though, and you get in your own way when swinging.

The general trend is that the longest hitters are bigger guys. However, larger arms inhibits fast swing speeds, unless the core muscles are proportionally big. So, I'm guessing that's why many long drive hitters are so massive.

I'd guess that the real factor is the amount of fast twitch muscles to slow muscles you have? I've seen a skinny 5'9" 135 pound kid swing 120mph and a bulky 6'4" (or taller, IDK) and have only a 90mph swing. My son's teams longest hitters (110mph to 120mph) happen to be pretty skinny average height kids. All three of them are 5'9" and about 125 to 140 pounds at most.

[Pretzel]

5 hours ago, Lihu said:

The general trend is that the longest hitters are bigger guys. However, larger arms inhibits fast swing speeds, unless the core muscles are proportionally big. So, I'm guessing that's why many long drive hitters are so massive.

I'd guess that the real factor is the amount of fast twitch muscles to slow muscles you have? I've seen a skinny 5'9" 135 pound kid swing 120mph and a bulky 6'4" (or taller, IDK) and have only a 90mph swing. My son's teams longest hitters (110mph to 120mph) happen to be pretty skinny average height kids. All three of them are 5'9" and about 125 to 140 pounds at most.

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what it is. I just made an assumption based on a longer lever arm with the same angular velocity, but it could be wrong. I know Rory gets a lot of his distance from the ridiculous speed his hips are rotating (immediately after he hits the ball they rotate backwards faster than most people ever rotate them forwards so his body can finish catching up), but I don't know if he has long, short, or average arms. 

I absolutely agree that the longest hitters are big guys, sorry if my post came across as the opposite. I just wanted to help illustrate how being big isn't a hard and fast requirement, and it isn't a guarantee (Jim Furyk is dead last at 267.9 yards, 6'2", and 185) of long drives. Not sure what exactly about bigger players gives them an advantage, whether it be arms or a big enough frame to carry more muscle without bulk, but it seems to be a trend. There could also be a small self-selection bias where smaller people might not be as encouraged or motivated to enter long drive competitions or work to play at the professional level since they feel like they can't compete with the bigger players and, as a result, there are less of them to use as data points. I'm certain that isn't a large part of the picture, but I'd be interested in knowing if it is a small contributing factor.