True Driving Distance

[djp0709]

So my friend has recently been telling me that he has had some drives 320-330 yards. Now I've played with him before and there is no way the ball is going this far, he doesn't hit the ball that far. He is getting his numbers by subtracting scorecard distance from distance left after hitting his tee ball. What I am guessing is that he is cutting corners and what not so the ball is not actually going that far. How are holes measured distance wise is it right down the middle of the fairway or how do they do it. Any thoughts on this subject.

[jewofgolf]

It's normally to a reasonable point in the middle of the fairway leaving 150-200 into the green. I'm not sure about it any further, but others can add to that and we can get a reasonable idea.

[jewofgolf]

Also, don't forget about the tees not being where the scorecard says they are...I see this all the time where the tees are a box forward all the way through the round and people just have no clue.

[tfish]

just tell him he's full of crap. a 330 yard tee ball with no wind on flat ground is absolutely crushed. it just looks different....like it keeps going up but on a boring trajectory, club going at that speed sounds different, ball coming off the face sounds different than a typical 250 ball.

and yea, playing the tees when they're in the front of the mowed tee box area....and then cut the corner of a dogleg a little, get a little rollout....its easy for a 270 yard shot to become a 320 bomb when you subtract the remaining yardage from the scorecard yardage.

[raymo]

[quote name='tfish' timestamp='1312267568' post='3443326']
just tell him he's full of crap. a 330 yard tee ball with no wind on flat ground is absolutely crushed. it just looks different....like it keeps going up but on a boring trajectory, club going at that speed sounds different, ball coming off the face sounds different than a typical 250 ball.

and yea, playing the tees when they're in the front of the mowed tee box area....and then cut the corner of a dogleg a little, get a little rollout....its easy for a 270 yard shot to become a 320 bomb when you subtract the remaining yardage from the scorecard yardage.
[/quote]

+1

I play with a guy who's always around 275-280 with is "75%" swing. When he goes after it the sound and flight look totally different.

[bl3]

[quote name='raymo' timestamp='1312317226' post='3445584']
[quote name='tfish' timestamp='1312267568' post='3443326']
just tell him he's full of crap. a 330 yard tee ball with no wind on flat ground is absolutely crushed. it just looks different....like it keeps going up but on a boring trajectory, club going at that speed sounds different, ball coming off the face sounds different than a typical 250 ball.

and yea, playing the tees when they're in the front of the mowed tee box area....and then cut the corner of a dogleg a little, get a little rollout....its easy for a 270 yard shot to become a 320 bomb when you subtract the remaining yardage from the scorecard yardage.
[/quote]

+1

I play with a guy who's always around 275-280 with is "75%" swing. When he goes after it the sound and flight look totally different.
[/quote]



These guys are spot on... I average 280-290 with an 80% swing, but I am known to drive 330 yard Par 4's when I go after the ball. A sure sign of a deep ball is the sound, when I go after one it makes a sound like no other. And again ball trajectory is another big sign. I can give you a pretty good idea of exactly how far I can carry my driver and how much roll I can get on any given shot...

Here is my suggestion, get a 300' Tape Measure and go somewhere and test it out. I have a nearby practice facility that I am able to go to, and I've taken many of my friends there who claim to bomb it 300 plus only to find out they are'nt even rolling it out to 230.

[Bobbyf]

The easiest way to know how far anyone is driving the ball is to use a gps that has a shot distance feature. I use mine to ensure I am maintaining my yardages that I have for each club. Funny how often people think I easily drive the ball well over 300 when I average 285 or so. Yes I will catch one on the screws with an elevated tee, wind behind me, and a dog leg right (left handed draw player) that gets out over 310 but that is rare and still the average comes back in line when you count that flat tee box, into the wind, and dog leg left that forces me to hit a cut. Then I am 250 out with a driver rather often. Honestly most golfers have no idea how far they hit the clubs in their bag.

Bobby

[Pit_Man]

I enjoy when people write (on wrx forums) "I ave 260-265, but can get it out there 330 w/the wind and dry conditions, slightly downhill"
Particularly w/this audience, why write that?

[bigmoneyp]

Forget about the 300 yard drives. Most people think they hit it 280-290 but they really hit it about 240-250. At least that is what I have experienced when playing my rounds.

[MonteScheinblum]

[quote name='djp0709' timestamp='1312218458' post='3442298']
So my friend has recently been telling me that he has had some drives 320-330 yards. Now I've played with him before and there is no way the ball is going this far, he doesn't hit the ball that far. He is getting his numbers by subtracting scorecard distance from distance left after hitting his tee ball. What I am guessing is that he is cutting corners and what not so the ball is not actually going that far. How are holes measured distance wise is it right down the middle of the fairway or how do they do it. Any thoughts on this subject.
[/quote]

Things like this always remind me of this story. A few years ago I was going to play with a guy who fancied himself as a long hitter and not in a good natured way, in a "I'm the f-ing man" way.

On the first tee he says something like, "I hear you hit the ball pretty far. We'll see about that, as I am consistently over 300 off the tee."

He gets up there and hits one and stares me down walking away from the tee box. I chuckle to myself and go hit a decent solid drive and hit it about 30 yards past him. He hit his about 270 and I hit mine about 300.

He spent the next 5 holes giving himself a hernia trying to hit one hard. Grunting, gesticulating, basically doing everything he could to get one out there to make me look bad.

He finally got one and said, "That's all I got, see if you can catch that."

I really got on one and I remember his buddy stepping it off that I hit it 74 yards past him.

"Wow, if you hit the ball that far, the guys on the PGA Tour must really hit it far."

Apparently Tour players average close to 400 off the tee...LOL.

My point is not to brag, not to call out anyone who thinks they hit it over 300 yards (because with the new equipment, many do), or say that Tour players are anything but awesome.

Distances are relative and most people have no concept of the distance any club goes. Which is why all of the bunkers short of greens are a mess at the end of the day and the back bunkers are near pristine.

[aliikane]

[quote name='bigmoneyp' timestamp='1312322380' post='3445869']
Forget about the 300 yard drives. Most people think they hit it 280-290 but they really hit it about 240-250. At least that is what I have experienced when playing my rounds.
[/quote]

+1. There are so many guys that say that they hit 300 yards all the time is funny. I have yet to play with any who can carry the ball 300+. A few who can carry it 280 and get it out there 300+ with roll depending on turf conditions.

My carry is only around 230 but can hit up to 250 carry on rare occasions and that nowhere near the true 300+ guys and people think I can hit it pretty far. I am very short off tee.

[Biskit72]

im sorry to burst all of you long hitters bubbles but your longest drive and what you average are 2 very different distances. Everyone seems to forget about the ones that they dribbled off of the tee and so on. The tour uses 2 straight holes 1 with the wind and the other against the wind, my suggestion is if you really want to know your true distance is do the same every time you play for 10 rounds then we can talk. I only average about 230 to 240 off the tee and if i went against half of the 300 yard plus guys on this site i might be 10 to 20 yards behind you. By the way im an 8 hdcp and a very good student of the game. Again i want to say im sorry for hurting your egos. last point distances on the course are from the usga marker to the center of the dogleg (if the hole is not straight) then from that point to the center of the green.

[Pit_Man]

[quote name='Biskit72' timestamp='1312336192' post='3446511']
im sorry to burst all of you long hitters bubbles but your longest drive and what you average are 2 very different distances. Everyone seems to forget about the ones that they dribbled off of the tee and so on. The tour uses 2 straight holes 1 with the wind and the other against the wind, my suggestion is if you really want to know your true distance is do the same every time you play for 10 rounds then we can talk. I only average about 230 to 240 off the tee and if i went against half of the 300 yard plus guys on this site i might be 10 to 20 yards behind you. By the way im an 8 hdcp and a very good student of the game. Again i want to say im sorry for hurting your egos. last point distances on the course are from the usga marker to the center of the dogleg (if the hole is not straight) then from that point to the center of the green.
[/quote]

Fairly aggressive statement. I will preface this by saying that at an 8 hdcp, you would probably beat me 50% of the time as I typically shoot +2 or +12...trust me, I'm not bragging about my game these days. Having said that, I hit my 3 iron 230 swinging smoothly. Not sure the point of your "bubble bursting" comments, but I'm pretty sure there are quite a few legit 300+ hitters (for more than 10 whole rounds!!) on this forum who's egos are just fine...

[Biskit72]

Im just using the 10 rounds for statisical purposes. I would have to say that if every player on this site measured their drives on a straight fairly level hole downwind and against the wind per round (if there is no wind on that particular day that is fine also) for the entire season that no more than 10% would averare 300 yards or more. Also i do not believe that they even have to be fairways hit on the tour for actual driving distance.

[MtlJeff]

every recreational golfer thinks they can hit 300yds if they really catch one. Every [i]real[/i] golfer has a better idea of what their true distances are IMO. I've never met a 3 handicap who claimed to hit it 300 who really couldn't, they are usually more than happy to tell you they hit it 240 because they don't really care about impressing you with driving distance.

but every 3-rounds-a-year guy in my office thinks he can hit 300yds. It's not arrogance, they just don't know

[rbrb]

All these 300 yd drives---what are you guys using----the Hammer?

[BNich0622]

I have played with many different people over my 5 years I have been golfing, and I have rarely and I mean RARELY seen someone consistently seen someone hit it close to 300 yards every drive, on top of this, I still scored better than each one of them minus one guy that played in college. The remaining hand ful of long hitters that I have played against hit to 100 yards or less but still can't score well. Let's all remember where the money is won and lost. And I must say alot of guys on this forum are full of s***.

[tgin]

Honestly, why are you concerned about your friend's driving distance unless you actually see an improvement? If it's all talk, you should be more concerned about your game. If you are seeing a difference, I be wondering what's he has been working on (i.e. shoulder turn, ballstriking, etc.).

[verderraul]

The figure 300+ get thrown around on golfwrx like women in a brothel. I am a new golfer who drives around 260-270 and thinks he is pretty long. I have met only three people who drive longer than me....and all of them were on a driving range i go to.

If there are any "genuine" consistent 300+ yard drivers in North NJ reading this.....please let me pay for your round and let me enjoy your big hitting.

Raulito

[abc]

I love threads like this. It's true that there are many members here who overestimate their total driving distance.

On the other hand, I've been privileged to play a few rounds with strangers who really could drive the ball 290+ yds. It was amazing to behold. And yes, I was slightly jealous LOL.

[TheCityGame]

Sometimes on WRX, I feel like there's more people complaining about people who say they hit it 300 than people who actually SAY they hit it 300.

But, I think a big part of the "300 claim" is this: when I really catch a drive, those are the ones I pace off and remember to mark on my GPS. "Oh, wow, got over that hill and it's 280". But, that's how far I CAN hit one, not what I'd call my driving distance. I murdered one the other day, had 110 in on a 390 par 4. Next par 4, caught one on the heel, and hit it about 210. That's a 245 average.

Also, having hit a drive 300 yards does not mean you are a guy who hits it 300. I've got a 315 drive under my belt (going by the card, my GPS and google maps). But, it was downhill, hard pan, middle of the summer.

Also, some yardages are wrong on golf courses. GPS it or it doesn't count. At the very least, go [url="http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm"]here[/url] and click where your drive started and ended.

Anyone who consistently can hit it 300 probably has a proper swing, and can also keep it straight. . .and, this person is at worse a scratch golfer.

I just don't play with that many people who out-drive me, and I think I'm normally about a 250 hitter (240-260 depending on the day). And, I play with guys from scratch up to 36. There's one guy I play with who is 30 yards beyond me when we both catch one. I've seen him hit 300, but he has incredible club head speed and hang time. A lot of times, though, he doesn't know where it's going and a LOT of times, his drives really balloon -- he gets too much back spin. They come straight down and they carry more than mine, but I go rolling by. There's no way he averages 300 and he's longer than anyone I play with.

[acquadiice]

300 is easy... try hitting it 400!!

[MtlJeff]

[quote name='TheCityGame' timestamp='1312386151' post='3447813']
[b]Sometimes on WRX, I feel like there's more people complaining about people who say they hit it 300 than people who actually SAY they hit it 300. [/b]

But, I think a big part of the "300 claim" is this: when I really catch a drive, those are the ones I pace off and remember to mark on my GPS. "Oh, wow, got over that hill and it's 280". But, that's how far I CAN hit one, not what I'd call my driving distance. I murdered one the other day, had 110 in on a 390 par 4. Next par 4, caught one on the heel, and hit it about 210. That's a 245 average.

Also, having hit a drive 300 yards does not mean you are a guy who hits it 300. I've got a 315 drive under my belt (going by the card, my GPS and google maps). But, it was downhill, hard pan, middle of the summer.

Also, some yardages are wrong on golf courses. GPS it or it doesn't count. At the very least, go [url="http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm"]here[/url] and click where your drive started and ended.

Anyone who consistently can hit it 300 probably has a proper swing, and can also keep it straight. . .and, this person is at worse a scratch golfer.

I just don't play with that many people who out-drive me, and I think I'm normally about a 250 hitter (240-260 depending on the day). And, I play with guys from scratch up to 36. There's one guy I play with who is 30 yards beyond me when we both catch one. I've seen him hit 300, but he has incredible club head speed and hang time. A lot of times, though, he doesn't know where it's going and a LOT of times, his drives really balloon -- he gets too much back spin. They come straight down and they carry more than mine, but I go rolling by. There's no way he averages 300 and he's longer than anyone I play with.
[/quote]

+ 1 trillion

every "how far do you hit it" thread will start off with 20 people making reasonable claims, then 1 person will say they hit a 7 iron 200yds and the next 10 responses are "well since [i]everyone [/i]around here hits it so far...."

[Rockfish]

[quote name='MonteScheinblum' timestamp='1312326577' post='3446049']
[quote name='djp0709' timestamp='1312218458' post='3442298']
So my friend has recently been telling me that he has had some drives 320-330 yards. Now I've played with him before and there is no way the ball is going this far, he doesn't hit the ball that far. He is getting his numbers by subtracting scorecard distance from distance left after hitting his tee ball. What I am guessing is that he is cutting corners and what not so the ball is not actually going that far. How are holes measured distance wise is it right down the middle of the fairway or how do they do it. Any thoughts on this subject.
[/quote]

Things like this always remind me of this story. A few years ago I was going to play with a guy who fancied himself as a long hitter and not in a good natured way, in a "I'm the f-ing man" way.

On the first tee he says something like, "I hear you hit the ball pretty far. We'll see about that, as I am consistently over 300 off the tee."

He gets up there and hits one and stares me down walking away from the tee box. I chuckle to myself and go hit a decent solid drive and hit it about 30 yards past him. He hit his about 270 and I hit mine about 300.

He spent the next 5 holes giving himself a hernia trying to hit one hard. Grunting, gesticulating, basically doing everything he could to get one out there to make me look bad.

He finally got one and said, "That's all I got, see if you can catch that."

I really got on one and I remember his buddy stepping it off that I hit it 74 yards past him.

"Wow, if you hit the ball that far, the guys on the PGA Tour must really hit it far."

Apparently Tour players average close to 400 off the tee...LOL.

My point is not to brag,
[/quote]

Really ? Sure sounds like it.

[Rockfish]

[quote name='Biskit72' timestamp='1312336192' post='3446511']
im sorry to burst all of you long hitters bubbles but your longest drive and what you average are 2 very different distances.[/quote]

Who said ANYTHING different ???

[quote]Everyone seems to forget about the ones that they dribbled off of the tee and so on.[/quote]

"Dribbled off the tee" ??? Do you really think ANY of these guys who are hitting it 280+ EVER "dribble one off the tee" ?


[quote]Again i want to say im sorry for hurting your egos. last point distances on the course are from the usga marker to the center of the dogleg (if the hole is not straight) then from that point to the center of the green.
[/quote]

How can you hurt ANYBODY'S ego when you CAN'T possibly know they're lying ???

[rhh7]

Based on the most recent PGA statistical analysis I've read, the theoretical maximum carry with the driver is
twice your 9-iron carry.

I carry my 9-iron 120 yards, am quite thrilled when I carry my driver 240 yards.

I play on a municipal course, and usually have the longest drive in the fairway at least 5 or 6 times per round.

So I agree that most amateurs have a very inflated idea of their driver distance.

[larrybud]

I play with two guys on here regularly and have witnessed 300+ yard drives on a more than an occasional occurrence. Measured a few that were 320-340 as well (one of those "dang, that one really got out there, let's turn on the GPS to see how far that one went" kinda thing).

Mags300 hit the longest drive I've ever seen. Granted it was elevated tee and downwind, but still, never saw anyone even close to the spot that he was at on that course. Damn thing just kept going up.

That said, GolfWrxers are a bit more serious/better players than your "average" golfer who hits it about 190 with a big slice.

[Biskit72]

[quote name='larrybud' timestamp='1312423490' post='3449825']
I play with two guys on here regularly and have witnessed 300+ yard drives on a more than an occasional occurrence. Measured a few that were 320-340 as well (one of those "dang, that one really got out there, let's turn on the GPS to see how far that one went" kinda thing).

Mags300 hit the longest drive I've ever seen. Granted it was elevated tee and downwind, but still, never saw anyone even close to the spot that he was at on that course. Damn thing just kept going up.

That said, GolfWrxers are a bit more serious/better players than your "average" golfer who hits it about 190 with a big slice.
[/quote]


I would agree that Golfwrxers are not your average golfers but as i said earlier i would bet that no more that 10% would hit it 300 on average and to back my point up if you check the pga tour stats for driving only 20 out of 191 (the best players in the world) average 300 yds or more and they play on fairways that are much faster then the ones we play on. The point is most players do not hit it as far as they think that they do.

[mark m]

Here is how they measure a hole (including doglegs):

 

http://www.usga.org/...Manual/Rule-12/

 

 

Key paragraghs:

 

How To MeasureEach hole must be measured horizontally (air line) by an electronic measuring device (EMD), surveying instruments, or a global positioning system (GPS) from the permanent yardage marker for every teeing area on the golf course to the center of the green. Any trained individual may perform course measurement, subject to review by the authorized golf association that issues the USGA Course Rating to the golf club. Yardages on the scorecard should accurately reflect this measurement. Accurate hole measurements to the nearest yard are very important.

 

A hole with a dogleg must be measured on a straight line from the tee to the center of the fairway at the bend. If the pivot point is not easily discernible, select a pivot point that is approximately 250 (men) or 210 (women) yards from the set of tees played by the majority of golfers. The measurement must continue from that point on a straight line to the center of the green or to the next pivot point if applicable.

 

 

[DaveLeeNC]

Based on the most recent PGA statistical analysis I've read, the theoretical maximum carry with the driver is

twice your 9-iron carry.

 

I carry my 9-iron 120 yards, am quite thrilled when I carry my driver 240 yards.

 

I play on a municipal course, and usually have the longest drive in the fairway at least 5 or 6 times per round.

 

So I agree that most amateurs have a very inflated idea of their driver distance.

 

I see a bunch of golfers who truly can 'carry their 9i 165 yards'. They are carrying their 9i 165 yards because they hit a 7i from 165, came up 30 yards short (again), and are planning to hit their chip shot with a 9i

 

dave