limoric

I can see the next big TV show. "So You Think You Can Drive The Ball 300 Yards" The 10+ Handicap amateur that can hit 5 fairways and roll the ball past 300 yards (at an altitude of no more than 2,000 ft) wins a PGA Pro-Am exemption. I can see this show lasting many many seasons without a winner.

Mike Weir will win multiple tourneys this year. He will contend at Augusta

Nothing is worse than watching 50% Tiger coverage when he's not even in contention. I once watched a tourney where Weir was in contention...Tiger wasn't even close, but he was all that was covered. How embarrassing for that particular network. Things have changed since the Golf Chanel has started broadcasting the first 2 rounds.

But they are not pulling the distance out of their ass on average... They are not averaging 130+MPR clubhead speed... The average golfer according to Golf Digest cannot carry 200 yards. 4% of those golfers are represented here.

I think if you just brought the club back instead of straight up, you would flatten your swing out a bit. I had this problem a few years ago, but worse. The pros at my club would just laugh and say, thank good you have a short game. To bring your club back instead of up, bend your right elbow more at address, this will bring your elbow closer to the ground and inside. Imagine pushing a golf ball back. The only other thing is you're clearing your hips too late. Imagine your belt buckle pointing to your target on follow through. I also had a problem with this as well...I think they are related. If you work on those two things, I think the rest will figure itself out.

This thread should have been called best carry ever Golf Digest: 1 inch off center hit will result in 9% less distance. So you high handicappers who carry 280 but rarely make fairways would actually carry 305 if you could hit the ball straight, suggesting 127+MPR clubhead spead Golf Digests study does not account for poor swing (over the top, etc). So taking proper form into account 315-320 (133+MPR) carry would be achievable. Suggesting that you could poke a few drives on center and with good form, 335-350 yards is reasonable when you don't mess up, at least the math would support my theory. If you accomplished this 4 times per round, you would be chipping on for 2 or 3 (par 5)...chip and a 2 put at worst. As for the rest of the holes 1/2 boggie, up and 2 putts 1/2 double boggie, pitch, chip, 2 puts (or pitch 3 putts, chip 3 putts) Birdies equal out triples. But since you're a mid handicap as I'll suggest bellow, you would never enter a triple into the computer. You would literally be chipping on for 2 on 1/3rd of the par 4's in North America; playing from the whites which is your designated tee. You'd also reach a minimum of 50% of the par 5's in 2 You would never shoot worse than a 93, Suggesting an average of about 88 and a handicap (a measure of your best rounds) of around 12. My conclusion...280 yards carry could never equal a 20 handicap. No one on average is that good with a driver and that bad with a wedge. There are exceptions of course, but this poll suggests that the majority are the exception Of course I could just be Jealous

Big floppy divots...especially with the wedges.

Soft hands...most high handicappers use the death grip which will prevent any lag in your downswing.

I think you really need to hit a launch monitor. I did this a few month back, comparing what I play now (DG R300) with DG S300, Black gold S, Project X 5.0 & Project X 6.0. My average swing was 80 MPR with all the shaft but the Project X 5.0 which was 75??? The irons I hit were Callaway X-forged and X-20 6 irons. The longest shaft with the best trajectory was the Project X 5.0 flighted. I hit it on average 20 yards longer than any of the other which really blew me away...it was such a dramatic difference. I ordered them right away. I'm guessing that the flighted shaft will cure my low trajectory with long irons. Your shaft could be totally different

Hmmmm....you have to give me how many strokes per side... I just may try my odds What's your home course?

The rules are simply not promoted enough. We golfers have to police our courses... my course does not allow t-shirts, but I see them all the time. If the rules were enforced...more people would follow them and respect the game.

I just bought the Hibore XL Tour (1* open). The closest thing to a draw for me is a pull now. My normal shot is a fade, but I could pull off a slight draw with my old Rapture. I also went from a 10.5* to a 9.5* so that make a difference too. I will say the my fades no longer kick right after hitting the fairway...so it's more of a power fade now with significant less spin. I'm happy.

I had a proto stiff in my Rapture. I had to switch to a regular...the proto plays slightly stiffer than the NV, from what I've experienced and have heard. I recently tried the G10 with V2 stiff in a launch monitor and it performed quite a bit better than any other ping option I tried. I think if you go with the Proto, expect to swing at least 105 MPH+ consistently. I'm 100 MPH so the Proto is just a bit too stiff. That said I just bought a Cleveland Hibore XL Tour with Fuji Fit-on Red Stiff. The G10 with V2 Stiff was my second choice.

My in-laws are moving near Duncan wanting to be relatively close to us. As well I have a friend there; I also have a friend that just moved to Nanaimo. I'm sure I'll play 5-10 rounds on the Island each year. You guys get quite a bit less rain in the winter.

Hello everyone. I've been lurking for a long time, actually a lot of my google searches take me here. I'm starting my 7th year of golf. I actually started when I was 25 and played till age 27. I started again 3 years ago (30)...in my return year I played more rounds than in the previous 3 years and it's been that way ever since. Broke 90 in in 2005, 80 in 2006 and my best round in 2007 was a 76, averaging 81 in my last 20 rounds. 2007 was a big learning year for me, but did not translate into significant better scores as I was changing something every few weeks, learning new shots. I'm really looking forward to 2008 and moving to Vancouver where I'll be able to play year round. I've been lucky enough to keep my game in somewhat good shape playing most months in the winter (Dominican Rep., Hawaii, Vancouver, LA) Any other AB, BC guys on the board. I'll be looking to join a mens league in Vancouver. Any suggestions??? I will live somewhere on the north shore. Port Moody or west of Port Moody, perhaps North or West Van...depends on what school I can get my kids into.

I would agree with your sentiment, but would suggest the average registered handicap is 15 or between 10 & 20. This is Golf Magazines opinion and would be consistent with my men's league

The average golfer does not keep a handicap. If you've tracked your average round to 26 over, this is not your handicap. It's likely closer to 20 as your handicap is a measure of your best rounds. Perhaps your spreadsheet takes this into account I would say that if you play at least 2 times per week and have done so for several years, shooting low 90's should be fairly simple. Not easy, but simple. When I wanted to break 100 for the first time. I committed to reaching each green in a minimum of 3 shots with a maximum of 2 puts. It wasn't long before I never saw 100's again. I've read that the average man who carries a handicap has a registered handicap of 15...Golf Magazine. Of course the average golfer does not carry a handicap nor does he/she know how to calculate one.

They always will...but they will never win in the end. They have to live with themselves.

Adams A2 Hybrid, 16*, 20*, 23* with Aldila NV85. I used to play TM Dual 22* and 19*. I fluked out on ebay with the Adams 1 iron hybrid last summer($60)...just for curiosity. It fits my eye sooooo well. Long hossle...it just looks like a golf club and I can really smoke it. Just ordered the 3 and 4 irons. I can't wait to put them in the bag. I used to miss hit the TM quite a bit. The Adams inspires so much confidence...especially off the tee. The 16* is 220 for me (200 carry). I hit my driver 250-260 average.

If he's hitting 260+ he is likely carrying the ball 240-250 depending on course condition. That is reasonable if his club-head speed is 100-105 MPH. I've hit many drive 280, but there was 35+ yards of roll involved. But to carry the ball 280 consistently suggests total yardage of 300+ yards. and that's quite a lot different. Most 20+ handicaps would never do this on a regular basis; most of their approach shots would be with a wedge and would be missed, they'd also have to 3 putt almost every hole to maintain their handicap. I'm sure there are exceptions, I'm just lost in the exceptional math.

Join your men's club or tournament committee. My men's club sanctions all 7 of our major tournaments a few of which are big deals. We tabled a policy last year that if a guest of member had no registered handicap with the RCGA or USGA they had to play as scratch. You only have to enter 5 rounds to register a handicap. Every player received plenty of notice to get their rounds in. If a player shot the lights out on day 1, they were moved up a flight on day 2. Our sandbagger problems went away.

There are some fantastic courses in Vancouver. I'm there for business every other week and will make Vancouver my home this summer. Northview in Surrey, home of what used to be the Air Canada Open. They have 2 courses, the Canal and the Ridge. This is likely the nicest maintained course in Vancouver and is in an area that receives the least amount of rain in the lower mainland. Drainage is amazing and the greens are very well maintained. You could also try Redwoods in Langley...very picturesque course also with well maintained greens.

The Pro at my club showed me a 10 finger grip that had been shown to him by another pro at a tourney he was struggling in. He shot 66 the next day. Slight separation between hands with extended left index finger. My wrist doesn't break anymore. It has saved my at least 4 strokes per round.

This has been the most amusing thread I've read in a long time. I've read about the first 1/2 of all posts in this thread and here is what I've found. 1. On average the mid-high handicapper's drive the ball further than the low handicapper's. 2. The very high handicapper's have been humbly honest. 3. The single digit handicapper's have exaggerated significantly less than the mid-high. This is of course MHO. I absolutely believe that there are mid-high handicapper's here that can drive the ball 300+ yards, but for the vast majority...it is simply a major exaggeration that you are averaging the distance of a PGA touring pro. Why I've found this thread so amusing is that in reading these posts I've imagined myself averaging 280 carry and what it would mean for my game; here are my statistics. Playing the game for 7 years, I'm 34 (index 9.2) I play the tips or 1 back from tourney Average carry - 235 (245-260 with role) swing speed 100 MPH fairways - 60% GIR inside 150 - 70% GIR outside 150 - 25% (425+ par 4, 190+ par 3) GIR over all - 45% Sand save - 30% Up and down from just off green 50% If I were to average 40 yards more carry (swing speed would have to be 120+ MPR and would only happen in my dreams), I would be inside 150 yards 90% of the time on par 4's and my GIR would go up to about 75% from 45% regardless of fairways hit.(my current inside 150 GIR would go up, I'd also be using mid irons into long par 3's).This would translate into 5.4 strokes saved per round as it relates to GIR with an additional 2 trokes picked up on par 5's (conservative) for a total of 7.4 strokes saved. I would play to about a 2 index. Since I'm still learning the game...I could become a touring pro in no time (yeah right). My course is 6,400 yards. This has been very fun to dream about...thanks to you mid-high handicap long hitters for brightening up my day! Of course if you are carrying 280 yards at an elevation of 5,000 plus feet...well that ought to be disclosed, don't you think. I don't mean to sound condescending at all to any of you who really are long hitters caring a high handicap. I personally have played with guys you can reach all the par 5's at my course in 2 and they still manage to biggie almost every time (2 chips from 10 yards off the green and lots of puts). I just don't see how the average guy can reach Tiger Woods swing speeds, he plays almost every day and works out like a body builder. What's more is he hits his driver fairly square. A 15-20 handicapper would have to generate 140+ MPR swing speed on off center hits to reach Tiger Woods distance??? I'm pretty sure I've stayed on topic, sorry if I've strayed a bit. I've enjoyed all your posts