A *Serious* Loss of Distance!

[Valleygolfer]

11 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

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

Some people just aren't that athletic, you might be one of them. I watch people I play with swing all the time, and they look like they hit the ball well but it doesn't go anywhere. The swing seems fast but the impact is all wrong. There is no power. It's like their swing dies at impact. Basically a flip driver swing. I would think the best efforts to achieve more or get back distance would be to work on turn and club lag. Snapping your wrists at impact just peters out the power. I swear I see it all the time. 

[Lihu]

12 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

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!

Distance is pretty much timing and sequencing up to something like 220 yards carry or so?

I have plenty of short and stocky playing partners who hit pretty far (even relative to my height. I’m about 5’10.5” barefoot). In fact, all of my regular playing partners hit about 250 give or take a bit. 

Athleticism and body build doesn’t really come into play until you’re past where the ball and clubs are limited to by design and regulation. To hit past these distances takes a huge increases in strength for smaller and smaller gains. For instance, one of my partners carries over 350, but was a long drive competitor at 6’5” 245 pounds with long arms and very athletic. Pitched minor league baseball for years.

However, 250 yards total is no where near these limits. So, timing and sequencing could possibly help you a lot?

Edited October 2, 2018 by Lihu
Font size changes with cut and pasted stuff :-P

[NM Golf]

Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative. 

I hear it from the older guys I play with all the time. They just can't hit the ball very far anymore. But as several people have said the main problem is most people never hit it all that far in the first place. People have memories of grandeur from their youth of hitting the ball 300+ yards, but the truth was even at their best their average drive was 230 yards. As the years role by that number gets smaller and smaller.

The good thing is that there are shorter sets of tees you can play, and good golf can still be had even if you don't hit the ball a country mile. Just have fun!

 

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative. 

I hear it from the older guys I play with all the time. They just can't hit the ball very far anymore. But as several people have said the main problem is most people never hit it all that far in the first place.

“The older you get, the farther you used to hit.” Quipped one of my older playing partners. 😂

[Jeremie Boop]

3 minutes ago, Lihu said:

“The older you get, the farther you used to hit.” Quipped one of my older playing partners. 😂

I hit the ball further now than I did when I was younger, but I can see that trend will probably start reversing over the next 10 or 15 years. Once I get the the point where a 180 yard par 3 requires more than an iron/hybrid I'll probably look at hanging it up. I know that's not even really that short, but that would be 4 or 5 clubs loss of distance, and it makes golf very not fun sounding.

My point of view may change when the time comes, but probably not.

[mcanadiens]

Distance with the driver is a hell of a funny thing when you suck.

There's the yardage you'd average if you count all the serious mishits.

There's the yardage you average when you make "decent" contact. 

Then there's the 1% shot. The only ones worth remembering. 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/2/2018 at 9:32 AM, Valleygolfer said:

Some people just aren't that athletic, you might be one of them. I watch people I play with swing all the time, and they look like they hit the ball well but it doesn't go anywhere. The swing seems fast but the impact is all wrong. There is no power. It's like their swing dies at impact. Basically a flip driver swing. I would think the best efforts to achieve more or get back distance would be to work on turn and club lag. Snapping your wrists at impact just peters out the power. I swear I see it all the time. 

Well, I was very athletic! Played every sport that was known to us, and was pretty good at them all.

On 10/2/2018 at 11:02 AM, NM Golf said:

Getting old sucks, but it beats the alternative. 

I hear it from the older guys I play with all the time. They just can't hit the ball very far anymore. But as several people have said the main problem is most people never hit it all that far in the first place. People have memories of grandeur from their youth of hitting the ball 300+ yards, but the truth was even at their best their average drive was 230 yards. As the years role by that number gets smaller and smaller.

The good thing is that there are shorter sets of tees you can play, and good golf can still be had even if you don't hit the ball a country mile. Just have fun!

 

I hear ya! But the thing is, I used to be good! I guess that's what makes this even more galling! I used to be close to scratch in my early 20's, but things tapered off after that as life intruded.  But, this loss in distance has occurred only in the last couple of years!

I guess it's the suddenness of it that it so jarring to me! It seems I've hit a wall, Plus, when I see guys my age and older bomb it past me, it makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong!

[JonMA1]

 @Buckeyebowman, at least you knew what it was like to play at that level. And even though you've lost some yardage, a 13 index is still a pretty high level from my perspective. 

I've never known what it's like to hit long, but even in the last couple of years I've seen the average come down as I try to keep the ball in play and develop a swing that will yield consistent results. And I haven't even hit 60 yet.

So be grateful for the game you have. Just play it as well as you can based what you have as far as physical abilities.

[Buckeyebowman]

I appreciate your point @JonMA1. We're getting close to wrapping up the season here. Since it doesn't look like the local golf dome will be rebuilt, I won't have a chance to work on things over the Winter. I'll miss that.

I doubt that I would ever give up the game entirely, I still enjoy it too much. Heck, it's the only thing remotely athletic that I still do! However, my Medicare supplemental policy comes with a Silver Sneakers membership that allows me to use the local YMCA for free. So maybe I can work on general fitness and see what happens next year.

[JonMA1]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

So maybe I can work on general fitness and see what happens next year.

I think working out is a great idea. Maybe weight training and some sort of stretching regimen. Almost any physical activity is better than just sitting around waiting for spring to arrive.

Trying to live healthier is about the only control we have over the aging process. Keep active, try to eat a bit healthier.... and keep working on our game.

Edited October 9, 2018 by JonMA1
typo

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I appreciate your point @JonMA1. We're getting close to wrapping up the season here. Since it doesn't look like the local golf dome will be rebuilt, I won't have a chance to work on things over the Winter. I'll miss that.

I doubt that I would ever give up the game entirely, I still enjoy it too much. Heck, it's the only thing remotely athletic that I still do! However, my Medicare supplemental policy comes with a Silver Sneakers membership that allows me to use the local YMCA for free. So maybe I can work on general fitness and see what happens next year.

 

20 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I think working out is a great idea. Maybe weight training and some sort of stretching regimen. Almost any physical activity is better than just sitting around waiting for spring to arrive.

Trying to live healthier is about the only control we have over the aging process. Keep active, try to eat a bit healthier.... and keep working on our game.

 

Super Speed...

Drive 400

[easyjay39402]

12 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

I appreciate your point @JonMA1. We're getting close to wrapping up the season here. Since it doesn't look like the local golf dome will be rebuilt, I won't have a chance to work on things over the Winter. I'll miss that.

I doubt that I would ever give up the game entirely, I still enjoy it too much. Heck, it's the only thing remotely athletic that I still do! However, my Medicare supplemental policy comes with a Silver Sneakers membership that allows me to use the local YMCA for free. So maybe I can work on general fitness and see what happens next year.

Just got back from our annual fall guys golf trip, which marks the end of the season for me. We can play year round, but I dislike cold weather golf. So, like you, I have switched my focus from playing to fitness. I bike and circuit train on alternate days, six days per week. Yoga every day. As for golf, I plan to use this time to work on all aspects of the short game. I’m also going to take advantage of the mirrored walls in the Fitness Center to fiddle with my impact position.

[Fourputt]

On 10/7/2018 at 6:15 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Well, I was very athletic! Played every sport that was known to us, and was pretty good at them all.

I hear ya! But the thing is, I used to be good! I guess that's what makes this even more galling! I used to be close to scratch in my early 20's, but things tapered off after that as life intruded.  But, this loss in distance has occurred only in the last couple of years!

I guess it's the suddenness of it that it so jarring to me! It seems I've hit a wall, Plus, when I see guys my age and older bomb it past me, it makes me wonder what I'm doing wrong!

I'm the opposite.  I was never especially athletic - far more a nerdy type.  I took up golf in a semi-serious way when I was in my 30's, although I'd payed a bit prior to that.  I reached 10 handicap in 1990, when I was 43, and that without really doing much work for it, just playing on weekends, and a couple of half hour lessons during the 6 years prior.  I remained at that point until I was in my 60's, my handicap moving back and forth between 10 and 12.  I was a decent driver of the ball, but generally one club shorter with my irons than most of the guys I played with.  

I never knew how far I actually hit any shot until I got my first GPS, and I'm not really sure when that was, but I had to be near 60 or just over.  At that time my typical drive was 240-250, but I hit several GPS measured drives over 300 yards between age 60 and 65, the longest at 323.  Then we moved to an island in the Bahamas for 2½ years, and I played exactly 8 rounds over that entire period and the year after we moved back to Colorado.  My game has never recovered fully from that nearly 4 year layoff.  For me, that was a critical time in my golf game and when I got back to the game in 2015 at age 68, my swing sucked and my distance was off by 50 yards from what it had been in 2011. 

I've resolved myself to being shorter off the tee, and I'm gradually making sense of the disaster that my swing had become, but at age 72 (in 2 months), my game is what it is.  I'll still play, still enjoy it, and I still play tournaments with  my old men's club, even though I live 2+ hours away from Denver now (our last tournament for the year is this Saturday, 2 man better ball).  I know that I will never be long off the tee any more, so I focus on getting better with my fairway woods.  I now carry driver, 3½ wood, 5 wood, 7 wood, and they get more play than any irons except my wedges.  I hit the 3W almost as far as my driver, because I can keep it straighter, so I play it quite often from the tee.  For my game, accuracy still trumps length.

Edited October 9, 2018 by Fourputt

[Archie Bunker]

Getting old adds mystery to the game. I'm 67, yet when looking at a video of my swing, it looks pretty much the same as when I was in my 20's. I find it hard to accept that my drives just aren't going as far these days. With the amount of rain we've been getting lately, roll is non-existant and it gets frustrating. I hate to move up to forward tees to compensate, but that's probably what lies in my future. One suggestion I could give you is to look into a tricked-up driver. I demoed the XXIO Gold driver (Cleveland/Srixon) some time ago and was quite impressed. Pricey, but designed for seniors. Lightweight, with a whippy low-kickpoint shaft. You might miss a few more fairways with something like this, but you will hit it farther.

[rehmwa]

That happens in the latter part of the year.  If it's just a bit cold and you're on a dog leg (even slight), little things can greatly affect the approach distance on a medium par 4.  Just a bit off and that 9i in is suddenly looking like a hard hybrid approach.

1 - does the hole have a bit of bend in it? - we had a scrambles thursday, I hit over the corner, my teammate hit dead center.  the approach was 210 for his shot vs 155 for mine......HUGE difference

2 - was it cold? - just this weekend I was amazed at my lack of distance, especially on the irons.  Around the 12th hole, I resorted my bag and started using balls with "SOFT" printed on them.  I got back probably 80% of the distance I was losing in the initial holes....it was in the 40's and lower 50's.  So frustrating, especially when just a couple weeks earlier than that, I was hitting everything a club longer in the heat.  that was like a 3 club swing within a month.

Edited October 9, 2018 by rehmwa

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/9/2018 at 9:38 AM, easyjay39402 said:

Just got back from our annual fall guys golf trip, which marks the end of the season for me. We can play year round, but I dislike cold weather golf. So, like you, I have switched my focus from playing to fitness. I bike and circuit train on alternate days, six days per week. Yoga every day. As for golf, I plan to use this time to work on all aspects of the short game. I’m also going to take advantage of the mirrored walls in the Fitness Center to fiddle with my impact position.

I've become curious about Yoga, also Tai Chi. I couldn't keep that schedule until way late in the Winter since I do hunt. I'll have to get down there and see what is offered.

What cracks me up is my buddy's Sis who constantly touts the benefits of organic foods, yet asks us if we have any regrets about the wild critters we have killed and eaten. Animals who have live and thrived in the wild without antibiotics, growth hormones, and the like.

Isn't that kind of the very definition of "organic" food?

[DrvFrShow]

On 10/1/2018 at 6:43 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

 

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

It's something no one can diagnose without seeing it. Exercise and stretching is always good. If you decide to work with a trainer find one who works with seniors - yes, that's what we are like it or not. One thing I noticed while watching some guys at the driving range whom I know swing faster than I do, but who don't hit driver as far is their angle of attack (mine isn't the greatest either). It looked like they had a downward angle of attack and with a driver that will kill distance. I don't know... just a thought. You're a 13 HC so you're better than I am. 

[Buckeyebowman]

Here's something I found out today. I stopped at a local Marc's store for some sinus pills. They have a generic store brand that works very well for me. In the lobby, on the way in or out, they have a big scale to weigh yourself, and it's a good one. No springs, all levers.

Well, the scale pronounced me to be 156 lbs fully clothed. So I figure 150 soaking wet. I haven't been that weight since high school. I started out at 185 which is too heavy, but now I think I'm too light! And I think the reason is that I've lost too much lean muscle mass.

A couple of years ago I helped a buddy move in an emergency situation. We were lugging furniture, and since he had dogs, we were digging post holes, stringing fence, and building kennels in a roasting hot Summer!

Yes, I lost some weight, but not that much. The fat weight I lost was somewhat replaced by the muscle mass I gained. At the end of that Summer I was as strong as I've been for a while! And I could swat the ball a long way.

I haven't enjoyed that condition in a while. This is why I think a.program of overall fitness and toning could benefit me.