Stargaze

Well I don't have much golf experience so I won't have any great stories but the last time I was out I shot a ball out of one bunker and into another. I wanted to choke something.

I think I understand the confusion now. I know for myself, when I'm talking about driving distances I'm including the roll. My God I wouldn't bother dreaming of driving 300 yards in just the carry.

Here's a guy that can really smash the ball. Take a look at his swing, it's unreal.

LOL!! Outstanding post.

I personally don't have a hard time believing someone drives the ball 300+. One of the long drive champions, Jamie Sadlowski, can hit over 400 and he's a tiny guy. I was watching this other kid, only 16 years old hitting over 400. I think if you have a solid swing and some athletic ability you can get that ball out there. For me I'm not a powerful guy, I don't have a solid swing so 200+ yards is what I have to be happy with. I'm not going to hit 300 unless there is a hurricane helping me.

LOL! That's what I thought too but it's what I heard from a few people. I figured, hell, my 6th year better be better than my 3rd!

I've heard a few times that when you hit your 3rd year of playing golf you are entering the peak of your ability. Is this true? 2 and a half years from now am I going to be the best I'll ever be?

Do you have a smartphone? If so you can get apps like skydroid that will help you get an idea how far you hit it. I use it fairly often when I play to determine how many yards to the pin but you can also determine how far you drove.

Just as a reminder or even a clarification. I'm not and wasn't concerned about hitting a 300 yard drive...I saw a guy hit 250 - 270 and he did it without killing it. I knew it wasn't just raw power with his arms causing this. To me, a 240 or 250 yard drive is my goal. What I'm trying to do though is make my club do the work and not my body if at all possible.

LOL!! Post of the day.

I'm not at the skill level to do any intentional spin yet but I thought you really needed the grooves in the club to produce spin. I'm surprised that, with you being in the bunker you were able to get good spin with the sand in the way. Nice job! Question, what do you do different to get the ball to land on the green and not travel?

I'm personally cheering for Myrtle Beach. If we go there my wife is gonna wanna go too lol.

That's cool, I wasn't trying to pee in your cornflakes. I myself look forward to charity events, I'm not real competitive.

Right, but when you were hitting 120+ shots a round were you making plans for a competitive tournament? I can understand you doing it now...but 3 years ago it would be putting the cart before the horse IMO.

I'm not trying to be snide trust me, but if your handicap is way up there like mine....does it make sense to even talk about competing in tournaments?

Saw this video this AM, I'm going to practice out at the range in a little bit. What he's saying here really makes sense to me and I think my swing plane is probably off as my drives are not very consistent. I hit the ball every time but not on the sweet spot every time. Notice he doesn't jump out of his shoes lol.

I don't want to derail the thread but I can't help myself here. I have a buddy that just won't listen to reason. He needs to work on the fundamentals from A - Z and he won't. He can't drive very well and I tell him to get lessons and start from the very beginning...approaching the ball. Then work up from there til you're getting to your swing and so forth. "Nah I'm happy with my irons I just need to get my driver swing better". It's like really is that why you hit a 5 iron from 120 yards out? It pisses me off to no end.

Can you break this down for me a little? I think I understand "good tempo", meaning not a rushed swing but consistent and fluid? What do you mean by width and lag exactly?

Well to be honest I wasn't so worried about hitting super far it was more how fascinated I was at watching this guy hit it far and it seemed like he was doing a nice casual swing. If I see the guy again I'm going to see if he minds showing me his swing. I don't know if that's creepy or not but it was such a fluid swing and the result was fantastic.

Thanks for the input. When I am able to manage a 250 yard drive I am "coming out of my shoes". So I'm going to work [have a lesson this Saturday] on having a fluid, sound, proper swing and just be happy with whatever I'm able to manage. What I've learned this year is that a 280 yard drive means f*** all when you can't putt. So my focus the next couple of months is going to be with my sandwedge and my putter. This is where I'm going to be able to lower my handicap.

So these large [huge even] driver heads are great for being forgiving but they take away some distance correct?

Yeah I didn't word my opening post well. I should have just left it at 280+ yards, 330 is rediculous. I'm happy with a 260 yard drive and not having to he-man it there...just solid technique that allows my club to do the work. I also wanted to add that this guy had a taylor made r11s or something like it, so he was working with nice gear.

For those of you that can hit 280 - 330 yard drives, what do you think contributes most to your ability? Is it the swing technique? Is it the raw power you inject into your swing? The reason I ask is because I was at the range the other day. As I was walking along the range I saw this guy drive a couple balls. It was so wild because it was like his swing was so "soft" yet the ball just took off like it was a rocket nice and straight. His swing also seemed a little unothrodox, it was like during his back swing he allowed his head to move back to his right shoulder and then give this nice sweeping drive. I want to learn how to have a nice solid drive but not have to "crush" the ball to do it.

Well me personally I try NOT to play the same golf course that I played earlier in the week or week before. I try to hit the 6 or 7 golf courses within an hour drive of my house.