Being tall an advantage?

[Pretzel]

One thing to think about is that, even though taller golfers with larger wingspans have a longer lever arm to generate speed with, taller golfers have to be stronger (to swing the longer and heavier lever arm) and more accurate (any flaws are amplified with the increased length) for the same reasons that you can't swing an 80 inch diver as fast or accurately as you can a 45 inch diver (extreme example, but you get the idea).

[nick1998bunker]

Why do you think being tall would help with any of those?

a) by better plane I mean one that is what yall would consider normal and what I would consider upright, it looks better and is a better balance between aoa control and path control. The reason being that I beleive correctly fitted clubs are much more extreme than they sell them. For me to have a 9 iron on the same plane that would get me on the same spine angle as you my clubs would have to be like 4 inches short and vice versa for extremely tall people. In order not to lose 20 yards I would have to cut my clubs an inch as recommended but my spine angle is too upright and the plane is much flatter than what I want. B) easy power just from longer wider arc and they are generally stronger people C) easy trajectory control because moving the ball slightly foreward or back affects the aoa significantly and, keeping shaft angle the same, affects the trajectory. It's the opposite for flatter planes where moving ball position affects swing path more dramatically ... I think Edit: when I say tall I mean people taller than me so for plane im talking about normal people. Realy tall people will suffer equally as me on the other end of the spectrum

[colin007]

a) by better plane I mean one that is what yall would consider normal and what I would consider upright, it looks better and is a better balance between aoa control and path control. The reason being that I beleive correctly fitted clubs are much more extreme than they sell them. For me to have a 9 iron on the same plane that would get me on the same spine angle as you my clubs would have to be like 4 inches short and vice versa for extremely tall people. In order not to lose 20 yards I would have to cut my clubs an inch as recommended but my spine angle is too upright and the plane is much flatter than what I want.

B) easy power just from longer wider arc and they are generally stronger people

C) easy trajectory control because moving the ball slightly foreward or back affects the aoa significantly and, keeping shaft angle the same, affects the trajectory. It's the opposite for flatter planes where moving ball position affects swing path more dramatically

... I think

Edit: when I say tall I mean people taller than me so for plane im talking about normal people. Realy tall people will suffer equally as me on the other end of the spectrum

i'm sorry, but "plane" has nothing to do with how tall you are or your "spine angle".  you can be very tall and have a very low plane, with the hands barely getting to shoulder height.

[Pretzel]

i'm sorry, but "plane" has nothing to do with how tall you are or your "spine angle".  you can be very tall and have a very low plane, with the hands barely getting to shoulder height.

Isn't Kuchar like 6'4"? His swing is about as flat as they come.

[nick1998bunker]

i'm sorry, but "plane" has nothing to do with how tall you are or your "spine angle".  you can be very tall and have a very low plane, with the hands barely getting to shoulder height.

The taller you are they more you have to bend and increase your spine angle. Und the plane I am referring to is the plane between the club and your hands or the shaft line or sometimes perpendicular to your spine. Not the one you swing on but they one you generally want to swing on. Kuchar would be flat on the swing plane, nicklaus upright and tiger and Scott about on plane [quote name="Pretzel" url="/t/75159/being-tall-an-advantage/100_100#post_1062863"] Isn't Kuchar like 6'4"? His swing is about as flat as they come.[/quote]

[Lihu]

a) by better plane I mean one that is what yall would consider normal and what I would consider upright, it looks better and is a better balance between aoa control and path control. The reason being that I beleive correctly fitted clubs are much more extreme than they sell them. For me to have a 9 iron on the same plane that would get me on the same spine angle as you my clubs would have to be like 4 inches short and vice versa for extremely tall people. In order not to lose 20 yards I would have to cut my clubs an inch as recommended but my spine angle is too upright and the plane is much flatter than what I want. B) easy power just from longer wider arc and they are generally stronger people C) easy trajectory control because moving the ball slightly foreward or back affects the aoa significantly and, keeping shaft angle the same, affects the trajectory. It's the opposite for flatter planes where moving ball position affects swing path more dramatically ... I think Edit: when I say tall I mean people taller than me so for plane im talking about normal people. Realy tall people will suffer equally as me on the other end of the spectrum

I would still put you in the normal category for height.

[Pretzel]

The taller you are they more you have to bend and increase your spine angle. Und the plane I am referring to is the plane between the club and your hands or the shaft line or sometimes perpendicular to your spine. Not the one you swing on but they one you generally want to swing on. Kuchar would be flat on the swing plane, nicklaus upright and tiger and Scott about on plane

I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing how being tall is still such an advantage. You just named multiple golfers with different swing planes who all excelled (or are currently excelling) at the sport. This appears to make your argument of taller golfers having a better swing plane somewhat moot when you consider that all different swing planes can produce good results.

[Hardballs]

Okay, I get the entire point of this thread. 4/5 of the golfers in the group @Hardballs plays is over 6'. He is the only one under 6'. He wants 3 strokes from everyone over 6'. Hmm, a little bit of "too late to sandbag", I think.  The real question is how many pounds per stroke in the end? :-$

Ha, I'm busted! Your right Lihu! But I still the the shorter guy has to work harder to compete with the taller guys! We have to learn better technique to match the length of the taller guys long shots! Which is exactly why Rory has a lovely swing!

[Lihu]

Ha, I'm busted! Your right Lihu! But I still the the shorter guy has to work harder to compete with the taller guys! We have to learn better technique to match the length of the taller guys long shots! Which is exactly why Rory has a lovely swing!

So, I just played a golfer a good 5" shorter than me, and he had no issues with distance. He was hoping for a 300 yard drive this morning. One of the first tee instructors is about 5'5" (listed as 5'7"), +4 handicap. Looks smooth as silk when he swings. The ball makes this cracking hissing sound through the air with a 5i. Was also in the CPGA for a few years. If anything it's his short game that holds him back. Golfers seem to range in all shapes and sizes.

[nick1998bunker]

I'm sorry, but I'm not seeing how being tall is still such an advantage. You just named multiple golfers with different swing planes who all excelled (or are currently excelling) at the sport. This appears to make your argument of taller golfers having a better swing plane somewhat moot when you consider that all different swing planes can produce good results.

I said it was easier to get on the right swing plane. And generally are. I only named 2 last time I checked 2 was not the majority. And did you notice none of them are short. I can't even think of any short pro golfers, atleast who are sucessful. If a short person(my height) had a good swing plane, their clubs would be very short.

[brice]

is 5'9" a shorter golfer? I've never had trouble with distance. I think getting taller would just make me less accurate

[Hardballs]

is 5'9" a shorter golfer? I've never had trouble with distance. I think getting taller would just make me less accurate

Distance is all relevant to who your playing with, I'm only a half inch shorter than you, but I've really had to work hard to match the distance of my taller counterparts who make distance look easy with there lanky swings! I guess there's no right or wrong answer, statistics can be found to support most arguments! It's just opinion based, and my opinion is, for the average golfer, that taller people, in majority of cases, have a slight advantage when it comes to distance!

[Pretzel]

is 5'9" a shorter golfer? I've never had trouble with distance. I think getting taller would just make me less accurate

5'9" is actually the average American male if I remember correctly. Either that or 5'10". I would imagine myself that wingspan is a bigger factor in golf than height.

[brice]

5'9" is actually the average American male if I remember correctly. Either that or 5'10". I would imagine myself that wingspan is a bigger factor in golf than height.

nice. I think I have a 5'10" wing span. I think flexibility's a pretty big factor too. I've just never met anyone who hits it longer than me, so its hard for me to think that height's that huge of an advantage.

[Lihu]

nice. I think I have a 5'10" wing span. I think flexibility's a pretty big factor too. I've just never met anyone who hits it longer than me, so its hard for me to think that height's that huge of an advantage.

IIRC, you swing 120mph, so finding someone that hits farther than you is going to be difficult anyway.

But they exist, and the longest hitters I've played on the course range from 5'4" to 6'4" and hit about 300 yards give or take. The longest hitter (non-pro) I've seen hit one drive 370 yards and almost carried a 300+ yard lake and was probably 6'4".

Then there's Mike Dobbyn who was carrying 360 yards into the wind.  He's 6'8" and built really strong. For reference, I'm about 5'10.5. Admittedly, I'm not standing perfectly straight in this photo (for dramatic effect). No matter how you dice it, the man is huge.

[brice]

IIRC, you swing 120mph, so finding someone that hits farther than you is going to be difficult anyway.

But they exist, and the longest hitters I've played on the course range from 5'4" to 6'4" and hit about 300 yards give or take. The longest hitter (non-pro) I've seen hit one drive 370 yards and almost carried a 300+ yard lake and was probably 6'4".

Then there's Mike Dobbin who was carrying 360 yards into the wind.  He's 6'8" and built really strong. For reference, I'm about 5'10.5. Admittedly, I'm not standing perfectly straight in this photo.

w8 how can he hit one 370 but not carry it 300 lol. I'm not insinuating height makes no difference though, I'm just wondering if its the biggest difference. Loose backs and fast hips create a lot of power too

but 360y carry is pretty damn huge

[Pretzel]

w8 how can he hit one 370 but not carry it 300 lol. I'm not insinuating height makes no difference though, I'm just wondering if its the biggest difference. Loose backs and fast hips create a lot of power too

Different winds, different elevation changes, different swings, different quality of strike etc.

[Lihu]

w8 how can he hit one 370 but not carry it 300 lol. I'm not insinuating height makes no difference though, I'm just wondering if its the biggest difference. Loose backs and fast hips create a lot of power too

but 360y carry is pretty damn huge

He drove 370 downhill and slight downwind on the one hole we were on. Two holes later he drew the ball into the wind too much and it went into the lake on the far end. I've never seen anyone hit that far on that hole before He said he usually only hits 290 to 310. 290 on a "soft" day for him.

Yeah, Mike Dobbyn is impressive. Just watching him drive 6 balls for us was really impressive.

Different winds, different elevation changes, different swings, different quality of strike etc.

Yeah.