Why do people lie so much about their distance?

[Hammer 4]

  Lihu said:

As long as it goes beyond your vision, I think you're good. Just hit it straight.

Haha...during the daytime, with a white ball, I'd be Lucky to see past 150 yds..lol  Reminds me...gotta make an appointment with my eye doctor.

Off to the range, for more practice, but mostly drills..

[JP golf]

I think some people lie..  I think many overestimate..  I think some tell the truth and some assume they are lying. I understand it, but on the opposite side - There really are a lot of golfers that hit the ball long - Think about it, if you play regularly and in a group of 20 or so, there are probably a couple guys in that group who hit the ball long...

It frustrates me that people assume I'm lying when I say my yardages or say my swing speed etc...  Don't be the guy that is complaining about someone waiting for a group to get off the green on a par 5 when they are 220 or even 240 out...  Do you want someone hitting up on you?  (yes I'm guilty too....  if you have been shanking the ball around the course and you're waiting to hit from 220 when I haven't seen you hit that off the tee box all day- but then I remind myself, If you catch that ball clean and hit someone in the head...  Yea, it's worth the wait)

[drew17777]

i think mostly its an ego thing. people think there a real man when they can smack a ball 300 yards. also people will hit to the 150 marker on a 450 yard hole and assume it was a 300 yard drive, when really they dont take into effect that the hole was a bit of a dog leg and the cut across most of the fairway.. so really it was prob a 270 yard drive

[Lihu]

  JP golf said:

I think some people lie..  I think many overestimate..  I think some tell the truth and some assume they are lying.  I understand it, but on the opposite side - There really are a lot of golfers that hit the ball long - Think about it, if you play regularly and in a group of 20 or so, there are probably a couple guys in that group who hit the ball long...

It frustrates me that people assume I'm lying when I say my yardages or say my swing speed etc...  Don't be the guy that is complaining about someone waiting for a group to get off the green on a par 5 when they are 220 or even 240 out...  Do you want someone hitting up on you?  (yes I'm guilty too....  if you have been shanking the ball around the course and you're waiting to hit from 220 when I haven't seen you hit that off the tee box all day- but then I remind myself, If you catch that ball clean and hit someone in the head...  Yea, it's worth the wait)

Yeah, I guess the fear is only about making the party behind us wait and slowing pace of play. Yes, you're right, stupid.

[JP golf]

  Lihu said:

Yeah, I guess the fear is only about making the party behind us wait and slowing pace of play. Yes, you're right, stupid.

Yes, and I've been that guy on every side of that situation.  I've been on the green, I've been the one that hit up on the group, and I've been behind the group waiting to hit...  I've also seen a guy air lifted to a hospital from a golf course because a golf ball hit him in the head.  My friend (who hit the shot) quit playing golf for more than a year after it happened and he was about a 5 handicap...

I've also had a group come up to the tee box and tell me to hit because "I had an iron in my hand and the group was at least 220 off the tee box" - yea, I could carry my 3 iron 220, especially with the wind behind me and off a tee...   I just think sometimes we all push to fast and assume people can't hit certain shots..  (and no it's not an ego thing-  I know my yardages)

The true issue with pace of play, is be ready when it's your turn to hit- don't put your club back in your bag after every shot (wait to you go to pull a club out and put the other club back), line up your putt while others are looking at theirs, don't leave your wedges on the opposite side of the green as your cart after you chip etc...   There are so many ways to speed up play without hitting up on people.

I guess this is really a "button pusher" for me - Sometimes it gets frustrating playing with a group that says "oh you're 245 out, you can hit"---- No I can't if I'm going for the green or "oh, you can tee off they're on green" - yea the green is marked 300 but it only plays 280 to the front...   This is a two sided situation, Why do some people lie about their yardages & Why do some people assume that people can't hit those yardages?

We are all to quick to assume sometimes (I'm guilty too)

[MS256]

  JP golf said:

Yes, and I've been that guy on every side of that situation.  I've been on the green, I've been the one that hit up on the group, and I've been behind the group waiting to hit...  I've also seen a guy air lifted to a hospital from a golf course because a golf ball hit him in the head.  My friend (who hit the shot) quit playing golf for more than a year after it happened and he was about a 5 handicap...

I've also had a group come up to the tee box and tell me to hit because "I had an iron in my hand and the group was at least 220 off the tee box" - yea, I could carry my 3 iron 220, especially with the wind behind me and off a tee...   I just think sometimes we all push to fast and assume people can't hit certain shots..  (and no it's not an ego thing-  I know my yardages)

The true issue with pace of play, is be ready when it's your turn to hit- don't put your club back in your bag after every shot (wait to you go to pull a club out and put the other club back), line up your putt while others are looking at theirs, don't leave your wedges on the opposite side of the green as your cart after you chip etc...   There are so many ways to speed up play without hitting up on people.

I guess this is really a "button pusher" for me - Sometimes it gets frustrating playing with a group that says "oh you're 245 out, you can hit"---- No I can't if I'm going for the green or "oh, you can tee off they're on green" - yea the green is marked 300 but it only plays 280 to the front...   This is a two sided situation, Why do some people lie about their yardages & Why do some people assume that people can't hit those yardages?

We are all to quick to assume sometimes (I'm guilty too)

I hit a fairly poor drive one day and was waiting for the green to clear so I could hit my next shot (which was going to be a longer shot than my drive had traveled). A course marshal drove up as I was waiting and told me to go ahead and hit my shot.

I told him I was waiting for the green to clear and he said I couldn't hit it that far and that it was farther than I hit my tee shot. I'm thinking who in the Hell does this guy think he is?

I ignored him and waited for the green to clear and (just to rub it in his face and because I was pissed) I blasted it well over the green.

Then the course marshal said "They put me up to it" and pointed back to the tee box where some of my friends were waiting to hit.

He had been joking the whole time and my friends all got a big kick out of it. I had to laugh about it myself after the round but I told my friends that was a good way to get a marshal hurt.

[COBRAboy]

  drew17777 said:

i think mostly its an ego thing. people think there a real man when they can smack a ball 300 yards. also people will hit to the 150 marker on a 450 yard hole and assume it was a 300 yard drive, when really they dont take into effect that the hole was a bit of a dog leg and the cut across most of the fairway.. so really it was prob a 270 yard drive

I'm guilty of this

[rkim291968]

  JP golf said:

I've also had a group come up to the tee box and tell me to hit because "I had an iron in my hand and the group was at least 220 off the tee box" - yea, I could carry my 3 iron 220, especially with the wind behind me and off a tee...   I just think sometimes we all push to fast and assume people can't hit certain shots..  (and no it's not an ego thing-  I know my yardages)

This reminds me.  A marshal was standing near a green about 190 yards from me.  There were people still putting on the green and the marshal waive me to hit my 2nd shot (I had 3w on my hand).   Huh?   I refused and he kept waving me in.  This went on a few times but I waited until the group left the green.  Sure enough, my 3w reached left of the green.  Had the guys been still putting, they'd be pissed.   When I reached the green, the marshal was embarrassed and thanked me for not listening to him.   My point?   For some, distance sometimes looks farther than it really is.   The marshal thought I was about 240 yards out (and can't reach the green) when it was only 190 yards.   For those who are distance challenged and don't mean to lie about their shot length, get a range finder.

[Shorty]

I don't really think that that many people lie. A lot of guys just have no idea.

I mean...a few years back someone on this site went on Google earth to scout out a course he was playing a week later. He noticed a dogleg and posed the question "Should I go for the green?"

This was for a course he'd never seen. Didn't know the elevations, nor the height of the trees. Didn't know what the weather would be doing. But comes onto a website and asks complete strangers if he should "go for it". Clueless.

Many players really don't realise how far 250 yards is, let alone 300.

In the thread about Sunday scores at Augusta, there were people saying how they would struggle hitting long irons into par 4s. As if they expect to hit all long par 4s in regulation. As if everyone is supposed to. The reality is that a lot of these players would be 50 yards short of the green with a 3 wood for their second shot on a lot of championship par 4s in no wind which would be a good result.At courses I play (we don't have a choice of tees here), I'd say that the majority of players would have 4 or 5 par 4s they could NEVER hit in 2.  That's just the way it is. And these aren't all long courses. With unfavourable prevailing winds and soft conditions you just don't get run at all on lots of courses unless it's a drought.

Your 300 yards downhill  on hard fairways with heaps of run may equate to a 220-250  yard drive in soft conditions.

I am frequently amazed at how a lot of younger guys hit it a mile  - certainly in the 260-300 range on occasion, but.......here's a test:

Go to a flat par 5 and with a laser go to a point where you are 300 yards from the flag and see how far that actually looks. Then imagine driving the ball that far.

Of course some can do it, but it does make you realise that 250 is a very long drive when you've got soft fairways.

But...I've written it before, I've NEVER met a good player who boasts about how far he hits it. Never.

[saevel25]

I think that is mostly the point. I don't think most people lie as much I think most people are misinformed on all that goes into the end length of a golf shot. This means as well knowing that the length of the hole can vary from the score card, and yardages can be off. I know a few guys who gain about 50 yards in the summer because they hit the ball low, and gain roll.

Really I have never once met a person who bragged about how far they can hit it. Most golfers I know, know their distances and what they can do. I hardly ever see anyone try to take a shot they can't hit when it comes to distance. Heck, this one guy I play with takes driver out on an up hill 160 yard par 3. It plays about 185. He tees the ball up really high and swings really easy and hits this high soft shot with the driver. He can't reach the green otherwise. He doesn't care the fact he has to hit driver on a par 3, he just wants to score well, and that is what it takes. He hits the green a good amount of the time. Its a controlled shot for him.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Let me tell you about the fish I caught last week. What a whopper! It was so big, etc.

[fonebone]

I marshal at a very popular southern California golf course and I can attest that most weekend golfers are so unable to estimate distances they can hit their clubs or how far they are from their target. The vast majority never hit a par three green in four tries,always short. On par fours and fives the group ahead has left the green before anyone in the trailing group has teed off, like they waited for the green to clear before unleashing that mighty 215 blast into the right tree line. Then walk fifty yards past it looking for it. If you recognize these types please help them to change for the better with kind words and wisdom (self analysis can be too damaging to fragile egos) and remind them why they play with waiting list groups mostly or always. Just use subtle peer pressure and say "let's go".

[Lihu]

  fonebone said:

I marshal at a very popular southern California golf course and I can attest that most weekend golfers are so unable to estimate distances they can hit their clubs or how far they are from their target. The vast majority never hit a par three green in four tries,always short. On par fours and fives the group ahead has left the green before anyone in the trailing group has teed off, like they waited for the green to clear before unleashing that mighty 215 blast into the right tree line. Then walk fifty yards past it looking for it. If you recognize these types please help them to change for the better with kind words and wisdom (self analysis can be too damaging to fragile egos) and remind them why they play with waiting list groups mostly or always. Just use subtle peer pressure and say "let's go".

Which course?

[Vinsk]

I'd give up 50yds of my driving game to be able to hit consistent irons. I'm an 8 handicap but suffer horribly with inconsistent iron play..unfortunately shanks. However, off the tee is my best area. I just about always hit 300+ yd drives. I think I just get everything right with my driver swing. Probably helps that I'm 6'3 and 245 linebacker build. Ego? Hardly. Nothing more embarrassing to hit a 324 yd drive on a 387 yd par 4 only to make 5 because I shanked my approach. If I play in a new 4some....our first hole is only 334 yd par 4. I'm in Washington state so often have a strong tail wind. I drive the green and often end up with birdie....so the guys start making "ringer" "flat belly" comments. Sure feels great ....but the minute a long hole arrives...#3, here comes that 9i or PW...shank. Then they figure first two holes were just a fluke. So yeah ....I hit long off the tee.....but I'd give it up immediately for the iron play some of you guys have on this forum. Sucks.