A *Serious* Loss of Distance!

[Buckeyebowman]

The last time I played, we (me, my buddy, and his BIL) scrambled against my buddy's Sis and her two friends. We give them strokes and it's all for fun. On the 18th I hit what my buddy termed by best drive of the day. Beautiful trajectory with a baby draw. True we weren't getting a lot of roll due to 3/4" of rain the day before. The hole is 408 par 4 from the senior tees. When we get to my ball I see we have over 200 in. 215 according to my buddy's Garmin. Simple math will tell you that I smashed that drive a mighty 193 yards!

What the hell?! Okay, I'm 66, and surely don't expect to have anywhere near the length I once did, but this is distressing! I can't carry a well hit driver 2 hundy? I'm not sure what I need to do, but I need to do something. Get lessons, start working out?

Suggestions welcome.

[Valleygolfer]

I play with quite a few guys that hit 2 bills or under. You probably just never noticed how short some of your drives are hit. Not saying all are but ones that are not struck well will be shorter. 

[NJpatbee]

I am 66 also and I have come to accept that 210 is a long drive for me.  I played today for the first time in a month and most of my drives were playable but less than 200.  Thank goodness for hybrids as I was able to get within 20 yards of the green on holes over 400 and scored fairly well for me, but I do need my short game to be on.  It's a different game as we age but we can still score.

[easyjay39402]

I’m 74 and hitting my driver around 220, with a max of around 240.  As far as equipment, you might consider a ball with lower compression (commonly marketed as a “soft feel” ball). As for technique, as I aged I failed to notice that my driver swing had gradually become shorter, with less shoulder turn.  Yoga and video helped me with this. At 66, in the absence of a physical limitation, I think you can do better. Check in with a teaching pro and tell him/her that you want more distance with the driver. 😎

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

What the hell?! Okay, I'm 66, and surely don't expect to have anywhere near the length I once did, but this is distressing! I can't carry a well hit driver 2 hundy?

I can't speak to how far you think you hit the ball but if you don't regularly measure or keep track of it, you probably don't know how far you really hit it, either.

I've seen people with a decent golf game that drive the ball 200 or less. If you're happy with your game, I wouldn't worry about it.

[dennyjones]

13 minutes ago, billchao said:

I can't speak to how far you think you hit the ball but if you don't regularly measure or keep track of it, you probably don't know how far you really hit it, either.

I've seen people with a decent golf game that drive the ball 200 or less. If you're happy with your game, I wouldn't worry about it.

I thought I hit the ball farther than I did before I got Game Golf.   A typical drive for me is about 220 with a running joke in our group saying "Poor f*cker can't even hit it 240".

 

 

[Vinsk]

I suppose it's possible that was your distance. But I see plenty of room for error in the yardage. 408 from the Senior tees? Was their a plaque, marker, what? How accurate is that 408? Was it uphill at all? 

[Patch]

I think a lot distance loss for older golfers can sometimes be attributed to the +/- roll after the carry yardage. Course conditions dictate the roll after the carry. Course conditions to a smaller extent can also dictate the carry. 

I am in my late 60s, and some days I hit the ball farther than other days. On different courses I hit different yardages. Even on the same course, I can hit different yardages on different holes. It matters little what club I am full swinging, although the longer the club, the larger the +/- difference. 

We all tend to remember that well struck drive (240 for me), but put aside that 210 drive which is probably closer to average. 

Course conditions can help us, or hurt us. Uphill, downhill fairways. Soft or firm farways. Fresh cut, or 3 day old faiways. They all have a +/- effect on our shots. 

[LeftyWhiff]

Interesting post, which relates to an issue I've had. How accurate are GPS distance measures? The point to point from shot to landing point measure has to be calculated from the reference point on the green that the GPS uses. So if it's 400 from hitting point to green, and you hit 220 yards, but hit left or right of the point on the green and are 210 to the center of the green, won't your measure show as 190? Of course, the relevant number distance to green on 2nd shot is 190.

The reason I've started questioning my GPS is that I once got a 160 something reading on a dogleg. I didn't hit my best shot, but it was longer than that. I have gotten a 230+ reading a few times (I used to think I hit my best shots about 240), and then I was pretty much center of the fairway on the shot. These were also quite exceptional shots for me, 200-220 readings are my typical ones, sometimes lower. I also don't want to think I'm hittng the distances the GPS says I am, and have quit looking.

All of the above could be wrong, a rationalization from an old man resisting what he is, or is fastly becoming--older and weaker.  

[cutchemist42]

Im 32 so different age we are talking about. However, I've learned from both playing hockey and golf that even if I dont feel hurt but something suddenly changes in my performance, that something is wrong.

This season I had a slice appear out of nowhere which was not my normal swing fault. It didnt hurt mid round but I was hurting for a week after. Resting fir a week got my normal shot back.

[billchao]

16 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I thought I hit the ball farther than I did before I got Game Golf.   A typical drive for me is about 220 with a running joke in our group saying "Poor f*cker can't even hit it 240".

I've played with people that tell me they hit it 240 but never outdrive my 4i all day. I don't get it, why lie (to themselves or others) about how far they hit the ball?

3 hours ago, LeftyWhiff said:

Interesting post, which relates to an issue I've had. How accurate are GPS distance measures? The point to point from shot to landing point measure has to be calculated from the reference point on the green that the GPS uses. So if it's 400 from hitting point to green, and you hit 220 yards, but hit left or right of the point on the green and are 210 to the center of the green, won't your measure show as 190? Of course, the relevant number distance to green on 2nd shot is 190.

The reason I've started questioning my GPS is that I once got a 160 something reading on a dogleg. I didn't hit my best shot, but it was longer than that. I have gotten a 230+ reading a few times (I used to think I hit my best shots about 240), and then I was pretty much center of the fairway on the shot. These were also quite exceptional shots for me, 200-220 readings are my typical ones, sometimes lower. I also don't want to think I'm hittng the distances the GPS says I am, and have quit looking.

All of the above could be wrong, a rationalization from an old man resisting what he is, or is fastly becoming--older and weaker.  

I don't know how your GPS functions, but using a point of reference on the green seems like an odd way to measure the length of a tee shot.

With Game Golf, you would tag the origin point of your shot then tag your second shot and it measures the distance between tags. With my GPS I can click on a point on the hole to get a yardage to it so I can get my tee shot distance by clicking on the tee box.

[MarvChamp]

Age 72 = Less flexibility = Less distance. Recently I have been taking a couple of loose athletic practice swings with leg drive; then stepping up and hitting with that swing. I discovered better strikes and distance. Also discovered muscles in legs, hips and middle back I had not been using. So it's flexibility exercises 3 times a day. But still recovering from rotator cuff impediments and RA in wrists. So I'll never hit over 200 yards consistently. I accept 185-1`90 plus roll, and practice my 5 and 7 FW and hybrids. Good topic. Best, -Marv 

[easyjay39402]

8 hours ago, billchao said:

I've played with people that tell me they hit it 240 but never outdrive my 4i all day. I don't get it, why lie (to themselves or others) about how far they hit the ball?

I don't know how your GPS functions, but using a point of reference on the green seems like an odd way to measure the length of a tee shot.

With Game Golf, you would tag the origin point of your shot then tag your second shot and it measures the distance between tags. With my GPS I can click on a point on the hole to get a yardage to it so I can get my tee shot distance by clicking on the tee box.

18Birdies has a similar GPS function. It also saves the measurements that you make by club, so you can see the various distances that you have recorded for a particular club. 

[RWC]

Using the "shot" function on my Bushnell Ghost, I've been tracking my tee shots this season. My longest for the season 206 - my average is 187.  This covers into / down wind as well as dry and damp conditions. On any given round I have recorded as much as 30 yard differences between long/short tee shots for the round. 

Despite my short length off the tee, my index has dropped for 16 to 13 this year - putting emphasis on better use of hybrids, short game and putting 

[Brad W]

On 9/30/2018 at 1:09 PM, billchao said:

I've played with people that tell me they hit it 240 but never outdrive my 4i all day. I don't get it, why lie (to themselves or others) about how far they hit the ball?

when the planets align, i can hit 250 with little effort.  If I get a good bounce on a dry down slope, my best shot is 270.  No lies.  

However, usually the planets done align properly for me, so more normal is 220'ish.

I think people tend to just not verbalized the exceptions to their statements

on topic - as a new player at 53, I'm finding stretching and flexibility are going to be the thing that keeps my distance where it is over time.

[Lihu]

On 9/29/2018 at 3:41 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

The last time I played, we (me, my buddy, and his BIL) scrambled against my buddy's Sis and her two friends. We give them strokes and it's all for fun. On the 18th I hit what my buddy termed by best drive of the day. Beautiful trajectory with a baby draw. True we weren't getting a lot of roll due to 3/4" of rain the day before. The hole is 408 par 4 from the senior tees. When we get to my ball I see we have over 200 in. 215 according to my buddy's Garmin. Simple math will tell you that I smashed that drive a mighty 193 yards!

What the hell?! Okay, I'm 66, and surely don't expect to have anywhere near the length I once did, but this is distressing! I can't carry a well hit driver 2 hundy? I'm not sure what I need to do, but I need to do something. Get lessons, start working out?

Suggestions welcome.

If I can score reasonably with only a 7i then I’d guess you’d have a HUGE advantage hitting 193 yards 😊

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/29/2018 at 9:51 PM, Vinsk said:

I suppose it's possible that was your distance. But I see plenty of room for error in the yardage. 408 from the Senior tees? Was their a plaque, marker, what? How accurate is that 408? Was it uphill at all? 

Oh, it's a beast of a closing hole! In fact, the whole back nine is a beast! Wooded, tight, and long! The tee shot is relatively level, and it's slightly down hill from there to the green. Like I said, we weren't getting much roll due to the damp conditions, but balls weren't plugging or backing up! I figure I carried it about 190 at best!

Here's the thing. I know we're not supposed to worry about how far the "other guy" hits it, but when you play with that other guy, comparisons will come to mind. Back in August I played in a local tourney with a guy 4 years my senior, and he could bomb it! He was a little shorter than me, kind of stocky, and not all that flexible. Yet, he could hit it 250 easy!

In fact, he won the senior division of the long drive contest with a drive of 267! Both he, and the other guy I was paired with could bomb it well past me!

The same happened on the second day playing with two other guys in the senior division on a different course. I could totally understand the one guy hitting it past me. He looked like Mr. Universe's Dad! Obviously a fitness and workout freak for his whole life. The other guy didn't look like all that much, but he could launch it out there with Mr. Fitness!

So, my question became, "What the Hell is wrong with me?" And what do I need to do to fix this?

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

So, my question became, "What the Hell is wrong with me?" And what do I need to do to fix this?

Let's see your swing. You may be losing power based on a flaw in your mechanics. You may simply be at your max, wrong shaft, hell any of those.