200+ yards with a 7 iron?

[SkeletorsUncle]

Let me start off by saying that I am a high handicap golfer (I don't have an official handicap, but if I did, it would be high). I slice my drives. A lot. But I usually don't slice my iron shots. So I went to the range today to try out a few new things I had read, and shot only with my 7 iron (which is an old Ping eye 2 blue dot). After getting used to the new mechanics I noticed I was hitting pretty far, about as far as I can hit when i get a good drive. Which is around 200 yards. I double checked the distance with google maps, and I had probably 10-15 shots that went in the 190 to 220 range. How is that possible? From looking around online, that is just not a distance that can be achieved with a 7 iron. I'm so confused.

[Patch]

Back when I was younger and still bullet proof playing at a 6hc, my 7i was averaging 165 carry yards. With an occassional good roll, on a hard fairway I was in the 180-190 range. Now days, 40 years later, I hit my 7i about 140 carry.

Last heard the pga guys were getting 175 yards of carry with 7i, so with a decent roll out, 200 yards is possible. I remember Tiger hit a 7i. 200+ yards once, and the announcers couldn't say enough about it. They embarass themselves when they drool on camera. 

[collapse]

This is a range you have been to before?Almost certainly a distance measuring error involved....but would like to know what the new mechanics are.

[chspeed]

OK, I'll take the bait.

If you're hitting your 7-iron 220 yds. - here are the possibilities (along with unscientific odds)

1. You are measuring incorrectly (80%)

2. You are an immature troll (10%)

3. Somehow misidentified your 3-iron for a 7-iron (7%)

4. Had a 70 MPH wind behind you and didn't notice because you were drunk (2%)

5. Found a driving range in the Himalayas (0.99%)

6. Are Bubba Watson (.01%)

Any other ideas anyone?

Edited December 16, 2015 by chspeed

[jbishop15]

33 minutes ago, SkeletorsUncle said:

Let me start off by saying that I am a high handicap golfer (I don't have an official handicap, but if I did, it would be high). I slice my drives. A lot. But I usually don't slice my iron shots. So I went to the range today to try out a few new things I had read, and shot only with my 7 iron (which is an old Ping eye 2 blue dot). After getting used to the new mechanics I noticed I was hitting pretty far, about as far as I can hit when i get a good drive. Which is around 200 yards. I double checked the distance with google maps, and I had probably 10-15 shots that went in the 190 to 220 range. How is that possible? From looking around online, that is just not a distance that can be achieved with a 7 iron. I'm so confused.

It's possible. Some of the longer professionals hit their 7i close to 200 yards. I can get mine to 190-195 from the fairway. It's very much possible. 

[Lihu]

14 minutes ago, collapse said:

This is a range you have been to before?Almost certainly a distance measuring error involved....but would like to know what the new mechanics are.

I'm sort of leaning towards this explanation. 7i with a 200 carry corresponds to a driver swing speed of 130mph. Even if it's 200 carry + roll, his driver swing speed would be something like 120mph.

It would take such a severe mishit to also get only 200 yards from a driver with those kinds of swing speeds?

I do however, see lots of people who get their 7i and drivers about the same 150 yard distances with roll.

 

6 minutes ago, chspeed said:

OK, I'll take the bait.

If you're hitting your 7-iron over 200 yds - here are the possibilities (along with unscientific odds)

1. You are measuring incorrectly (80%)

2. You are an immature troll (10%)

3. Somehow misidentified your 3-iron for a 7-iron (7%)

4. Had a 70 MPH wind behind you and didn't notice because you were drunk (2%)

5. Found a driving range in the Himalayas (0.99%)

6. Are Bubba Watson (.01%)

Any other ideas anyone?

I don't think he's a troll. He sounded somewhat serious?

[saevel25]

3 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I'm sort of leaning towards this explanation. 7i with a 200 carry corresponds to a driver swing speed of 130mph. Even if it's 200 carry + roll, his driver swing speed would be something like 120mph.

The swing speed is a tad off there. You are probably looking at 295 yards carry with the driver. That can be achieved with 115 mph clubhead speed with the driver. 

If I try I could crank out a 7 iron near 200 yards, yet I don't come close to 130 mph driver swing speed. 

To the OP, what was your original average distance with your 7 iron?

[Lihu]

4 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

The swing speed is a tad off there. You are probably looking at 295 yards carry with the driver. That can be achieved with 115 mph clubhead speed with the driver. 

If I try I could crank out a 7 iron near 200 yards, yet I don't come close to 130 mph driver swing speed. 

To the OP, what was your original average distance with your 7 iron?

I'll take your word for it, but I was just going by the chart below (which could be outdated?)

At least in this chart, 7i carry of 200 corresponds to the 130mph SS column.

[SkeletorsUncle]

It must be a distance measuring error then. So that must mean that my drives are only going like 150 yards which is worse than I thought.

For anyone wondering, I measured the distance using daftlogic.com (http://tinyurl.com/qa34klh)

I have used this range before, they don't have any distance markers so I measured using the above tool and tested the accuracy against known distances on that course (a few short par 3's). It seems accurate, but must not be.

Oh, also, when I swing with my driver (and my fairway woods) I have to slow my swing down to about 1/2 speed or I slice uncontrollably. Which would explain why my drives are so crazy short.

[Lihu]

5 minutes ago, SkeletorsUncle said:

It must be a distance measuring error then. So that must mean that my drives are only going like 150 yards which is worse than I thought.

For anyone wondering, I measured the distance using daftlogic.com (http://tinyurl.com/qa34klh)

I have used this range before, they don't have any distance markers so I measured using the above tool and tested the accuracy against known distances on that course (a few short par 3's). It seems accurate, but must not be.

Oh, also, when I swing with my driver (and my fairway woods) I have to slow my swing down to about 1/2 speed or I slice uncontrollably. Which would explain why my drives are so crazy short.

Google earth has a measurement tool that is pretty accurate. Try that.

150 yards for a beginner is not unrealistic. Lots of people only carry a drive that far. . .

Guessing that since you can hit 7i somewhere at or above 150 yards you should be able to get 250+ with driver once you learn your optimal swing mechanics.

[SkeletorsUncle]

11 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

The swing speed is a tad off there. You are probably looking at 295 yards carry with the driver. That can be achieved with 115 mph clubhead speed with the driver. 

If I try I could crank out a 7 iron near 200 yards, yet I don't come close to 130 mph driver swing speed. 

To the OP, what was your original average distance with your 7 iron?

I only really go to this range so I don't know how accurate this is, but my old average would be probably about 160~170 yards or so. That's tossing out all the shots that I hit that don't go anywhere (which is a lot). That is according to the same distance measuring tool though, so not sure if that's accurate either.

[Lihu]

I just used the tool on a football field, and it appears to be high by 7%. That's still 187 yards with 7i. Not bad. You just need to fix your driver swing. . .

EDIT: just looked at the perpendicular direction. It's high by 26%???

 

[collapse]

Is this the range...if so...I get about 212 yds to the treeline

[SavvySwede]

18 minutes ago, SkeletorsUncle said:

It must be a distance measuring error then. So that must mean that my drives are only going like 150 yards which is worse than I thought.

For anyone wondering, I measured the distance using daftlogic.com (http://tinyurl.com/qa34klh)

I have used this range before, they don't have any distance markers so I measured using the above tool and tested the accuracy against known distances on that course (a few short par 3's). It seems accurate, but must not be.

Oh, also, when I swing with my driver (and my fairway woods) I have to slow my swing down to about 1/2 speed or I slice uncontrollably. Which would explain why my drives are so crazy short.

If the range has no yardage markers or points of reference, how do you know where to place the points on the map for measurement?

[SkeletorsUncle]

That is the range. From that picture, I was standing at the top right corner of the tee area (whatever it's called there). They move the hitting area from the front to the back on a rotating basis to let the grass heal, and today it was all the way back right up against the parking area just north of the range. I was hitting my shots to the bottom right corner of the field. Maybe 2 or so hit under the trees, the rest were just short of the tree line. Of the shots that I made contact with. A good number of others just went nowhere.

[Lihu]

24 minutes ago, collapse said:

Is this the range...if so...I get about 212 yds to the treeline

Google earth confirms this number. If it's the one in 1730 Tom Austin Hwy, Greenbrier, TN

They might also be using flight limited balls because any ball going 270 will end up going into the brook behind the fairway. Much less pose a hazard to golfers on that fairway?

[SkeletorsUncle]

10 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I just used the tool on a football field, and it appears to be high by 7%. That's still 187 yards with 7i. Not bad. You just need to fix your driver swing. . .

EDIT: just looked at the perpendicular direction. It's high by 26%???

 

Good idea. Here is a link with that tool measuring end zone to end zone at the Titans' stadium. Says 100 yards almost on the dot. http://tinyurl.com/jdes3tr

[Lihu]

12 minutes ago, SkeletorsUncle said:

That is the range. From that picture, I was standing at the top right corner of the tee area (whatever it's called there). They move the hitting area from the front to the back on a rotating basis to let the grass heal, and today it was all the way back right up against the parking area just north of the range. I was hitting my shots to the bottom right corner of the field. Maybe 2 or so hit under the trees, the rest were just short of the tree line. Of the shots that I made contact with. A good number of others just went nowhere.

I think I must have interpreted your description incorrectly?

You can use Google Earth to show where you actually were standing and hit to. . .