jones

How high would you say the ball flight is on the driver shots that go straight and 150. And, when you say the ball goes straight does it end up on the fairway or is the ball flight completely straight? For example, no slices or hooks.

Size really doesn't matter when it comes to driving distance. Here are some quick stats (using Yahoo! sports stats) of players from the top 20 in average driving distance for 2008: -Only 2 guys weigh over 200 lbs -- 210 and 235, neither are in the top 10 -7 are over 6' tall -3 are over 6'2" tall -none are 6'5" or taller (from your posts, you said you are 6'5") -3 weigh 160 or less -1 weighs 145 (Andres Romero) http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/sta...CE&season;=2008

So basically you are the only person you have played with that can hit it 300 yards. I find that hard to believe. I generally remember really good players that I play with and I do not play as often as you. Off the top of my I can think of 4 people that I played with that hit over 300 yards.

Just used someone's idea of google mapping the course. Great idea by the way! The distances are pretty spot on.

I mainly play on city courses and city courses don't have an "ego" where they will inflate the scorecard. They are packed full of all types of players all the time because the price is right in the middle of a busy area. At the tee box there are stone distances (which often differ from the scorecard), for example "481" yards, planted in the ground and are not moveable. They measure to the center of the green, I've asked before. The 200, 150, 100 yard posts are also planted in the ground and are inserted in concrete on the sides of the fairways. In between the posts are yard markers in the middle of the fairway that intersect the posts, and there are also 75, 125, and 175 yard markers in the fairway -- its a rather good system and it makes it rather easy to measure distance from the center of the green. Flagpost color marks where on the green the hole is (back, center, front). When it comes to doglegs, downward sloping holes, raised tee boxes, etc -- I take all this into account. City courses generally don't' have these advantages for distance. Many of the holes are dead straight, which makes it rather easy to measure your distance off the tee. Off the top of my head at one local course, in the first 9 holes the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 9th (elevated a bit) are all straight for over the first 300 yards. I play at some courses where you can't count on the fairway markers at all so I understand what you are getting at. At this type of course, it is pretty much impossible to measure distance and the messed up distance markers makes approach shots rather tedious. I have seen a consistency on these posts which many people seem to be taking lightly -- that people who have previously played other swinging sports, for me its baseball, already have the main parts of the swing down. It is easier for me to hit my driver 285 yards on the fairway or slightly off it than it is for me to hit it 40 feet from the hole from 150 out. With the driver, it never touches the ground so the shot does not need to be perfect, you just need a connection which is very similar to baseball. When hitting with irons, you must hit the ball in the ground at the precise time to get a clean hit or else you will hit it fat or thin. For me, it is easier to hit the driver cleanly than it is to hit my irons. The driver swing came first, now I am working on the irons. For those that have been playing baseball for a long time the golf swing comes naturally. I am not saying all baseball players will be hitting the ball 300 yards, but I am saying that hitting a driver will come easier than most.

I always check for the number markings on the course where to start counting, not the scorecard, and then I check distance with where I wind up using the 200, 175, 150, 125, 100 markers on the sides of the fairways. This is good enough for me. It seems like this thread is really over-valuing the 300 yard drive. It isn't that big of a deal with today's equipment. I've played with many guys that hit it 300 yards, although I doubt any of them were 20+ handicappers. However, a friend of mine is a tall and lanky individual that has no clue how to golf. When it is time to tee off, or hit a wood for that matter, he is all about hitting it as hard as he can and he has hit a 285 yard drive (rarely because he doesn't hit straight too often) while using a very old driver that is not even close to the 460cc drivers everyone is using (its smaller than my 3-wood). I am pretty sure if he got himself a 460cc he would be one of those very high handicappers (25-30 handicap) that can hit it 300 yards due to the added MOI, etc.

Tendonitis is a repititve motion thing. I have had it in my elbow and have had to do strengthening exercises for the surrounding muscles to keep it from coming back. Exercises that make you grip and squeeze should work. I forget what they are called, but the things shaped like a V that you squeeze in your hands should work pretty well.

My average distances look very similar, and my irons go very high in the air (and i hit them a little fat): D - 260-270 average (due to slices and hooks)...I hit 300 about once a round. I hit about half my drives relatively straight (on the fairway or not far from it) and when they do go straight they are at least 275. 3W - Rarely hit it off the tee...goes anywhere between 230-260 off the fairway 2H - 230-250 (very consistent club) 4H - 210-225 4I - 190 5I -180 - 185 6I- 170-175 7I - 160-165 8I - 148-153 9I - 130- 140 PW - 110-125 GW (50) - 95-105 SW (54) - 75- 85 It seems like my irons don't go far enough -- I tend to hit them fat quite often. The distances listed here with the irons are for the shots that are hit fat. My divots generally start behind the ball an inch or so at the very least. I have begun putting my hands in front of the ball at setup so the shaft is at an angle instead of perpendicular with the ground and this seems to have helped somewhat but I am still hitting behind the ball. How do i stop the fat shots?

I have an issue with hitting the ball too high in the air. I tend to hit the ball with my irons too high, my balls generally go higher than anyone in my foursome, and I also hit the ball fat pretty much every time...sometimes fatter than others. Is the ball going really high in the air because I am hitting it fat? The issue with the high ball flight comes in when I am playing in the wind...the wind kills any chance I have to play well much of the time.

1. Stop hitting my irons fat and get more conistent with them. 2. when within 15-50 yards of the green, get within 30 feet of the hole. 3. when within 15 yards of the green get within 20 feet of the hole.

I was a 20+ handicapper that "hit" 300 yard drives. I am not saying I averaged 300, but I hit it once every round or two. I have played baseball all my life so picking up the golf swing was an easier task (at least with the driver). Saying I averaged 300 would be absolutely nuts. Most of my drives would be on other fairways and because of the time I spent in the trees and in other fairways I am really good at making trick shots now...but back on topic. I am about a 15 handicap now, and I average about 260-270 off the tee including slices, duck hooks, etc. My main issue I have is my incosistent iron play. I am the type of player that on a 450 yard par 4 (with about a 15-20 yard elevated tee box...I am thinking of a hole at the local course I go to) can hit it 300. From 150 yards out, I pull out the 8-iron and then hit it fat to about the 70 -50 yard range. Then I pull out the sand wedge or gap wedge (whichever one I am feeling) and hit it fat again or just don't hit it cleanly because I am trying to be too perfect to not over hit it! Next up comes the chip and I 2-putt it in so I get a 6 instead of a 4 or 5. This has happened to me countless times. My iron play is pretty bad and the reason for this is due to the driving ranges I have in my local area and the fact that I have never had a golf lesson. The driving ranges around me have the mats (where you can't tell if you're hitting fat) and there is one with grass. The one with grass is so beat up, because they don't rotate enough, that you're hitting off dirt most of the time. Either way, lately I've been hitting a little better with my irons because I am leaning the iron shafts forward at address and playing the ball in the middle. With my irons I was setting up at address with the irons perfectly perpendicular to the ground, which would make the iron go under the ball I due to the shape of the club (I think?)