30 yard drive distance increase overnight? Did this ever happened to you?

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

It rained.

Even so, it accounts for only maybe 10 yards at most.

In CA, the rain dries up in a couple hours because of the soil conditions, unless he is playing in the rain.

[SavvySwede]

1 minute ago, Lihu said:

Even so, it accounts for only 10 yards at most.

In CA, the rain dries up in a couple hours because of the soil conditions, unless he is playing in the rain.

 He said the ground was very soft so I'm going to assume it played that way. Depending on his angle of descent ground firmness can account for a lot more than 10 yards.

[Lihu]

8 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

 He said the ground was very soft so I'm going to assume it played that way. Depending on his angle of descent ground firmness can account for a lot more than 10 yards.

The soil in CA is not like the soil in NJ. It dries up fast, and soaked might mean a totally different thing here and back east. Most people roll only 20 yards at most, anyway. If you hit low flying bullets, I can see rolling a lot more, but I don't think that's the case of the OP as he has been taking lessons and working on his drives and is properly fitted.

So, under all these conditions I don't understand how ground conditions can account for 30 yards of difference?

Wind is not a factor because it doesn't blow both ways, and he is talking about an average.

This is why I don't understand?

[SavvySwede]

2 minutes ago, Lihu said:

The soil in CA is not like the soil in NJ. It dries up fast, and soaked might mean a totally different thing here and back east. Most people roll only 20 yards at most, anyway. If you hit low flying bullets, I can see rolling a lot more, but I don't think that's the case of the OP as he has been taking lessons and working on his drives and is properly fitted.

So, under all these conditions I don't understand how ground conditions can account for 30 yards of difference?

Wind is not a factor because it doesn't blow both ways, and he is talking about an average.

This is why I don't understand?

In the OP said his "solid" drives were going 255, and two shots crept out further. Not exactly a true average.

[Dave2512]

13 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

92 with 250+ drive average, and 99 the day after.    I have been averaging 90 - 94 of late, with occasional low (80s) and high (near 100) scores.  

 

One thing to add ...  I think my drive distance is increasing bit by bit.  Although I don't average 250+ yards, I've been hitting drives that goes 250+ yards time to time.   In today's round, I hit one 260 yards, and averaged 235 on solid drives.    In retrospect, for someone who averages 235 yard drives, it is possible to average 250+ yards on a windy, dry fairway condition.  Perhaps, it wasn't such a fluke.

So what did you enjoy more longer drives or lower score? Did you track stats to compare how being closer to the hole affected GIR. Lastly 7 strokes is huge and I assume the result of hitting shorter approach shots, knowing that would you consider playing up a set of tees to improve your scoring.

[ppine]

I have been a long hitter since the age of about 13. Lifting weights for a couple of months over the winter, will cause an increase in distance. So will increased flexibility. Uncoiling the built up energy in the body is the biggest contributor to distance. Being tall helps. I am about 6'2" and 225 now. My swing is more compact but still launches it out there.  In old days I used persimmon woods and could hit the ball to the fence at most driving ranges. Now I have much better equipment.

[Lihu]

On 2/19/2016 at 9:35 PM, rkim291968 said:

Ok, I played again today and my "solid" drives averaged 232 yards, a far cry from 250+ yards I averaged yesterday.   Wind was not a factor but the ground was "rain soaked" soft.   I believe the 250+ yard drive average was attributed to favorable wind (10+ yards), and roll (10+ yards).   No sudden awakening, nothing to see here.   But thanks to those who posted their experience.   I appreciate it.  

 

3 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

In the OP said his "solid" drives were going 255, and two shots crept out further. Not exactly a true average.

He actually stated that his solid drives were 232 that day and his average drive was 250+ the previous day. So, I was wrong, he probably hit more like 35 more yards on average. There is no way that ground conditions can account for that.

I will admit that I lost 40 yards on the driving range this morning, but the difference was we had a headwind and very cold and wet range balls with 48F dry conditions.

 

1 hour ago, Dave2512 said:

So what did you enjoy more longer drives or lower score? Did you track stats to compare how being closer to the hole affected GIR. Lastly 7 strokes is huge and I assume the result of hitting shorter approach shots, knowing that would you consider playing up a set of tees to improve your scoring.

Unless, the metal aspects of suddenly driving 30 yards less made his short game worse.

Playing up is a great idea.

[SavvySwede]

18 minutes ago, Lihu said:

 

He actually stated that his solid drives were 232 that day and his average drive was 250+ the previous day. So, I was wrong, he probably hit more like 35 more yards on average. There is no way that ground conditions can account for that.

I will admit that I lost 40 yards on the driving range this morning, but the difference was we had a headwind and very cold and wet range balls with 48F dry conditions.

 

Unless, the metal aspects of suddenly driving 30 yards less made his short game worse.

Playing up is a great idea.

I said in the original post he said the "solid drives" were 255. He changed the story to average in the later post you quoted.

The original post.

On 2/18/2016 at 11:41 PM, rkim291968 said:

In your golf career, did you "get" something in your swing right (something clicked) and started to hit 30 yards longer the next round?   If so, how did that happen?  What held you back until then?   Did you keep the new distance?

 

( I bring this topic up b/c in today's round, my drive average went up by 30 yards.   Usually, my "solid" drives average 225 - 230 yards.   Today, my solid drives went about 255 yards.   One drive went 295 (downwind), and another went 275 (flat).   I was floored.  I thought it was a new ball I was using, Wilson Duo.  So, I tried another ball, Srixon Soft Feel, and it went even further.   It wasn't the ball.  My other suspicions were that all those hip turn drills, golf workouts, losing tension on grip, ideal swing impact all came together for today.   I just hope I can repeat it going forward.   But knowing golf and its god, I believe it is just a fluke.   Tomorrow, I will likely go back to hitting 230 yard drives.  )

I don't understand why you think ground conditions aren't a huge factor. I've played on days were my drives roll out to 330-350 and they were only going 275-285 in the air with mid-high trajectories.

[Dave2512]

Ground conditions make a big difference. I've hit 560+ par 5's in two hitting driver 4i in the winter when the course is dead and rock hard.

[Lihu]

28 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

I don't understand why you think ground conditions aren't a huge factor. I've played on days were my drives roll out to 330-350 and they were only going 275-285 in the air with mid-high trajectories.

They are a factor, but proportionally so. Take a ratio of your 340/280 yards and multiply by his 220 carry to get about 267. His reported 295 yards is about 28 yards more than I expect based upon your numbers.

[Dave2512]

He also mentioned wind. But more than anything it's just the woes of being a mid-high handicap golfer. I play the same way. I can hit it 320 or 120 and have no idea when either will happen.

[SavvySwede]

3 minutes ago, Lihu said:

They are a factor, but proportionally so. Take a ratio of your 340/280 yards and multiply by his 220 carry to get about 267. His reported 295 yards is about 28 yards more than I expect based upon your numbers.

I don't think that's how it works. Balls falling at the end of their trajectories are relatively closer in speed than they are at the early part of the balls flight, so the roll isn't going to be proportional to the carry. There is also the effect of wind which can flatten out the angle of descent and increase roll.

[SavvySwede]

Here's the proof @Lihu. Two shots with the same launch conditions except one has a lot more ballspeed, yet they both roll about the same. (the shorter hit actually has slightly more roll.)

[iacas]

3 hours ago, ppine said:

I have been a long hitter since the age of about 13. Lifting weights for a couple of months over the winter, will cause an increase in distance. So will increased flexibility. Uncoiling the built up energy in the body is the biggest contributor to distance.

FWIW…

• About 70% of the speed and distance in the golf swing comes from moving your arms across your chest. Just pure arm speed.
• About 20-25% comes from horizontal spinning - turning your shoulders and hips in the horizontal plane.
• The remaining 5-10% come from vertical GRF (ground reaction forces) - or spinning counter-clockwise (a righty viewed face-on).

There's virtually no energy stored up by "coiling." You can coil all you want at the top of the backswing and then, unlike a spring or a rubber band, you're not just going to "snap" or "uncoil" into the golf ball. You're going to fire your muscles and do things that make it happen.

Not directed at you in particular @ppine because feels aren't real, but I wanted to get it out there for anyone else.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Dave2512 said:

He also mentioned wind. But more than anything it's just the woes of being a mid-high handicap golfer. I play the same way. I can hit it 320 or 120 and have no idea when either will happen.

Exactly. This is part of the reason I was willing to believe the "I got it that day" type of thing.

 

1 hour ago, SavvySwede said:

I don't think that's how it works. Balls falling at the end of their trajectories are relatively closer in speed than they are at the early part of the balls flight, so the roll isn't going to be proportional to the carry. There is also the effect of wind which can flatten out the angle of descent and increase roll.

Yeah, plus his ball striking is probably not as good as yours so there could be even more variation in the distance.

 

1 hour ago, SavvySwede said:

Here's the proof @Lihu. Two shots with the same launch conditions except one has a lot more ballspeed, yet they both roll about the same. (the shorter hit actually has slightly more roll.)

Yeah, okay. I won't argue with physics. . .

[ppine]

All I know is hitting the ball a ton is not the answer to being a good golfer. Otherwise I would not still be struggling to break 90 most of the time.

Golf has always been a technical sport. Now it is overwhelming to me just reading this thread. I like to just step up to the ball, relax and hit it.

[rkim291968]

Ground condition at my home course is such that I'd get about 1 - 10 yards roll.   Drought and all, they keep their fairway fairly soft.   On the day I hit 250+ driver average, I noticed that the balls were rolling 10 to 25 yards.  Wind was a factor, too, about one club length and I hit more drives with wind on my back than against.  

I really enjoyed hitting long vs scoring well on that day.  Even it was a bad scoring day, I would have been happy.  Case in point ... on a short (275 yards), well protected par 4 hole where 95% of golfers lay up, I hit a drive which carried about 265 yards, landed just short of green and went past the hole for a 290+ yard drive.  I chipped and putted for a birdie.  A chip in eagle chance was a first for me on that hole and I was in heaven.   On a 410 uphill par 4 hole, I hit a 270+ yard drive and only had a mid iron shot left which I GIR'd.   That was another heavenly moment.   Golf is easy when your drive goes long and ends up in fairway.   

I wish I could say that I had a much better ball striking day that day.  I figured something out even though it only lasted one day.  But that wasn't the case.   I believe it was more of the external factors than me.   

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, rkim291968 said:

Ground condition at my home course is such that I'd get about 1 - 10 yards roll.   Drought and all, they keep their fairway fairly soft.   On the day I hit 250+ driver average, I noticed that the balls were rolling 10 to 25 yards.  Wind was a factor, too, about one club length and I hit more drives with wind on my back than against.  

I really enjoyed hitting long vs scoring well on that day.  Even it was a bad scoring day, I would have been happy.  Case in point ... on a short (275 yards), well protected par 4 hole where 95% of golfers lay up, I hit a drive which carried about 265 yards, landed just short of green and went past the hole for a 290+ yard drive.  I chipped and putted for a birdie.  A chip in eagle chance was a first for me on that hole and I was in heaven.   On a 410 uphill par 4 hole, I hit a 270+ yard drive and only had a mid iron shot left which I GIR'd.   That was another heavenly moment.   Golf is easy when your drive goes long and ends up in fairway.   

I wish I could say that I had a much better ball striking day that day.  I figured something out even though it only lasted one day.  But that wasn't the case.   I believe it was more of the external factors than me.   

This is one reason people like to play shorter tees.

What's great about shorter tees is if I mess up a tee shot big time it doesn't always cost me a stroke. For instance, I hit an effectively 80 yard drive, took out my hybrid and got a near green 220 yards away green high anyway. Got an up and down for a par. It's much less penal when (not if) you mess up a shot.