Questions for former and current World Long Drive Pursuers/Competitors

[clevited]

I am a bit of a analytical golf nerd and I really enjoy the long drive aspect of the sport, so with that, I have several questions I would love to ask those who compete or used to.

 

1) What is the best carry (when needing to go for max carry, soft and flat grid conditions) for a given ball speed you can realistically hope to achieve? Let us assume roughly sea level, temp in the 70s F, 50-60% or so humidity, and no appreciable helping or hurting wind.

 

2) How much faster can you swing a 48 inch club vs say, a 45 inch club?

 

3) What swing weight do you prefer in your long drive club?

 

4) Is there an ideal head weight for you that gives you the best smash factor and spin without sacrificing too much club head speed?

 

5) If given the chance to hit your own ball on the grid rather than what is provided, what would be your go to ball for maximizing distance (for instance prov1, distance ball, high compression, low compression, etc)?

 

6) Have you ever used the lower cost launch monitors like Skytrak, Swing Caddie, Mevo, Swing Speed Radar when practicing long drive on the range and if so, are they actually capable of accurately reading the club and ball speeds you can produce?

 

7) Have you ever come close to or achieved a hole in one on a par 4 (or perhaps a par 5) before?

 

8) How much less ball speed and overall distance if any, do you typically notice when hitting range balls?

 

9) What driver do you use when you play a round of golf and how often if at all do you break one?

 

10) Have you ever hit a ball so far or far and offline during competition or on the course that it has hit a house or vehicle or other property?

 

 

[alexnorris]

Hi, I just competed at worlds after qualifying in Rochester and would love to answer your questions.

1. For carry in neutral conditions at my normal ball speed of 212-215 I can hope to get around 375-385 if launch and spin are ideal around 10-12 launch and 1600-2000 spin. Downwind a little more spin will carry further and into the wind a little less spin will carry further.

2. I can swing a 45 in driver around 137-138 when I'm maxing out, and a 48in 145 when maxing out.

3. I prefer a club that feels head heavy so I use a light grip to get my ld driver around a d7 without adding weight to the head.

4. I like 192g for my xr16 ld 450cc heads and 194g for the 460cc epic flash ld head. My shafts weigh relatively the same even in different flexes.

5. I like hitting a competition ball because it takes all the wonder out if I picked the right ball or not, but if I had to choose a different ball id probable choose the srixon z star xv because its low spin and mid trajectory and a higher compression for a normal playing golf ball.

6. Lower quality launch monitors like you mentioned are all camera based where something like trackman and flightscope are all radar based. I can get pretty accurate ball and club numbers on the lower budget monitors, but at our speeds they dont give good accuracy on spin.

7. I have driven some par fours but the closest to a hole in one was a kick in eagle I had once. Never driven a par 5.

8. Range balls are a weird variable. A good range ball I'm noticing about 5-8% less bass speed and more spin. Limited flight range balls just aren't worth hitting.

9. I use the epic flash sub zero on a triple x ust mamiya attas prototype shaft thats tipped a couple inches. I don't break many playing drivers because I usually hit in the middle of the face and use a softer golf ball than competition balls. I also don't hit driver too ofter because most courses aren't set up for that sort of distance off the tee.

10. I have hit a few houses yes haha.

[clevited]

> @alexnorris said:

> Hi, I just competed at worlds after qualifying in Rochester and would love to answer your questions.

> 1. For carry in neutral conditions at my normal ball speed of 212-215 I can hope to get around 375-385 if launch and spin are ideal around 10-12 launch and 1600-2000 spin. Downwind a little more spin will carry further and into the wind a little less spin will carry further.

> 2. I can swing a 45 in driver around 137-138 when I'm maxing out, and a 48in 145 when maxing out.

> 3. I prefer a club that feels head heavy so I use a light grip to get my ld driver around a d7 without adding weight to the head.

> 4. I like 192g for my xr16 ld 450cc heads and 194g for the 460cc epic flash ld head. My shafts weigh relatively the same even in different flexes.

> 5. I like hitting a competition ball because it takes all the wonder out if I picked the right ball or not, but if I had to choose a different ball id probable choose the srixon z star xv because its low spin and mid trajectory and a higher compression for a normal playing golf ball.

> 6. Lower quality launch monitors like you mentioned are all camera based where something like trackman and flightscope are all radar based. I can get pretty accurate ball and club numbers on the lower budget monitors, but at our speeds they dont give good accuracy on spin.

> 7. I have driven some par fours but the closest to a hole in one was a kick in eagle I had once. Never driven a par 5.

> 8. Range balls are a weird variable. A good range ball I'm noticing about 5-8% less bass speed and more spin. Limited flight range balls just aren't worth hitting.

> 9. I use the epic flash sub zero on a triple x ust mamiya attas prototype shaft thats tipped a couple inches. I don't break many playing drivers because I usually hit in the middle of the face and use a softer golf ball than competition balls. I also don't hit driver too ofter because most courses aren't set up for that sort of distance off the tee.

> 10. I have hit a few houses yes haha.

 

Thank you so much for the reply. So much good insight to learn from. I was beginning to think that no long drivers frequented this forum anymore!