Importance of Strike on Distance

[mvmac]

22 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

What else is there other than club speed,  angle of attack and purity of strike? Maybe a little bit of how the club was designed or the ball?

@iacas describes it here.

14 hours ago, iacas said:

• I think we all agree that distance (relative to the club being swung) is a combination of squareness of strike (which includes path, AoA, dynamic loft, strike location, etc.), speed, etc.
• I think that the average amateur can and should focus on all three of the major things I just noted:
  • Speed, either by working on speed directly, or improving the technique.
  • Centeredness of strike. This is sometimes just awareness, but more often is a matter of improving technique as well.
  • Spin loft stuff - AoA, path, club face angle, etc. Again, often just a technique thing.

 

22 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

MVMAC you are a 3.6 handicap and I just find it hard to believe that you don't think that you can hit 20 solid shots and that someone from a distance watching you hit shots on the range would pick you out as a "hacker" within 20 shots on the range.  Come on Man !!

I'm a +3, former D1 college player and I have nowhere near the ball-striking ability of a PGA tour player. Tour players are the best ball-strikers in the world, it would be ridiculous to consider myself in that elite company. I'm saying this after shooting 67 and 66 my last two rounds, so I'm feeling pretty good about my game right now 😀

[Righty to Lefty]

5 hours ago, mvmac said:

@iacas describes it here.

 

I'm a +3, former D1 college player and I have nowhere near the ball-striking ability of a PGA tour player. Tour players are the best ball-strikers in the world, it would be ridiculous to consider myself in that elite company. I'm saying this after shooting 67 and 66 my last two rounds, so I'm feeling pretty good about my game right now 😀

Whoops I didn't see the "+"  in there!! I actually think I was looking at someone else's profile to get your handicap !! What about the guy in the tournament that shot 85?  Is he a better ball striker on his worst day than you are on your best day?  If you say yes to that then I got nothing mvmac !! I know that when you are on you could keep up with a Tour Pro that isn't playing his best, and on certain days you would win because your score ranges would overlap because you are a +3 handicap. Sure tour players are the best ball strikers in the world...but they aren't always striking it their best.  I played 50 rounds with one and even he said that he was playing with his "A game" for only a couple months of the season and that the rest of the year he was trying to get the ball around and scrape together an under par round to try and keep pace.  

I remember when I walked around with Ross Fisher some years ago in Doha at the Qatar Masters and he was in a really bad slump....he didn't even look like a tour player with some of the shots that he hit that day ( I think he shot 87). He has regained his game as of late but I saw that they look very average when they are playing bad...but they look like superheros when they are hitting it well.  You could/would have beaten him without much effort during that time when he was just playing bad golf mvmac.  Tour players are good..really good...but they are not Gods!! 

 

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

What about the guy in the tournament that shot 85?

Could you be more specific? Actually, don't, because it's irrelevant, and not even on topic.

If you're talking about a PGA Tour player who shot 85… then @mvmac will undoubtedly say "yes, he's still a better ballstriker than me." Hell, Tiger shot 85 at The Memorial one year. Mike is not a better ball striker than Tiger Woods.

You're really out in right (or left) field on this one, @Righty to Lefty.

Please get back to the topic now.

[Lihu]

6 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

I remember when I walked around with Ross Fisher some years ago in Doha at the Qatar Masters and he was in a really bad slump....he didn't even look like a tour player with some of the shots that he hit that day ( I think he shot 87). He has regained his game as of late but I saw that they look very average when they are playing bad...but they look like superheros when they are hitting it well. 

I don’t think anyone is idolizing the pros abilities to strike the ball, that’s quite simply the main difference between them and us lesser golfers.

It’s like any pro athlete’s separator from the rest of us normal folk. They’re really good at what they do. You might be the same physical size and weight as an NFL running back, but he’d destroy you in a scrimmage.

Just like football players have a naturally strong body, pro golfers hit the ball really well.

 

4 hours ago, iacas said:

Please get back to the topic now.

What was the topic again? 😂

Kidding, yes swing speed is the main key to a better game, right? 😁

[mvmac]

17 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

What about the guy in the tournament that shot 85?  Is he a better ball striker on his worst day than you are on your best day? 

Yes he is. If we went to the range (even after his 85) you would still be able to tell who was the pro and who was the +3.

I don't know what player or what tournament you're referring to but his ball-striking is what got him to a level of playing golf for a living and good enough to be featured on TV (I'm assuming). I have no chance of ever doing that.

17 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

Sure tour players are the best ball strikers in the world...but they aren't always striking it their best. 

Correct on both accounts. They are the best in the world and not every shot they hit is their best. They might hit one or two good shots a round but those "misses" are still better strikes than the vast majority of golfers in the world. 

I've seen tour players hit horrible shots that I would be pissed or embarrassed at, but it's very rare. Most of the time it's pretty darn solid, otherwise they couldn't play for a living. A tour pro's "scrape it around" looks very differently than my scrape it around.

It's also a reason they hit the ball as far as they do (trying to get it back on topic).

17 hours ago, Righty to Lefty said:

I remember when I walked around with Ross Fisher some years ago in Doha at the Qatar Masters and he was in a really bad slump....he didn't even look like a tour player with some of the shots that he hit that day ( I think he shot 87). He has regained his game as of late but I saw that they look very average when they are playing bad...but they look like superheros when they are hitting it well.  You could/would have beaten him without much effort during that time when he was just playing bad golf mvmac.  Tour players are good..really good...but they are not Gods!! 

I agree they aren't gods, for the most part they are just regular guys who are very skilled at hitting a white ball. 

2015 was Fisher's worst scoring year in the PGA Tour (I just went back to '10) and he averaged 72.121. You have to hit the ball very well to do that.