So How Far Do Average Golfers Really Hit the Ball?

[dap]

Just to play devils advocate, I suggest that unless the long hitter is a high caliber player, it takes no longer for a short hitter to play from the same tees. The long hitter when he misses is going to be substantial and more time will be spent looking for balls. Short knockers generally keep balls in play.

 

Three on and two putts will see a short hitter score better than bogey and would not be a liability time wise.

[jaymayor]

400 yard baby draws all day!

 

okay okay.... 300 yard high fades

 

fineeee... 250 yard pure down the middle.

 

ughhh.... 200 yard butter slices. I swear thats it.

[Shilgy]

<p>

In the era of persimmon/balata as a scratch golfer in my 20's in excellent physical condition, the average golfer was 30-40 yards behind me on a consistent basis. Never, ever did they even come close on their best Drives of the day As far as one man making a judgement(me), it's hard to say because now at age 51, still scratch and still in above average physical condition for my age group, I can still hang(just barely) with college players on man sized(+7000yd) courses, but on occasion a 5-20 handicap 20-something can accidentally catch one or two solid a round and be near or just ahead of me by a yard or two. Considering this basically "never" happened in the old days, I would say technology is the main source for the average golfer "thinking" they hit it further. But, reality is they only "occasionally" hit it further when the stars align just right. The simple truth is back in the day the stars "never" aligned for them because the harder they swung at it the worst contact and greater dispersion they got leading to short, wild garbage!!! I would have to conclude that if I could turn back the clock and have today's technology in my former 25 year old body I would likely gain back much of that 30-40 yard advantage over the average golfer. For god's sake, Nicklaus could hit it +300 with 1960's technology. Are there people out there so dense that they don't recognize he would easily hit it in the 330-340 range with today's equipment, lol!!!!!!!!

tour pros are different than handicap players. they do benefit from technology, top 100 players are 290 yards due to that. However what they dont know is they should be at 350 yards. guy I coach can hit a 2i the same distance sadlowski does it 280-290 yards without being trained for long driving. amateurs however have a correlation between handicap and ball striking and distance. 80% will be bad at distance in spite of new technology. they sit at 18-36 handicap and no help from technology to hit longer as their mechanics are hugely flawed. new ball and whatever technology helped tour pros hit longer. not the average handicap player as they hit the same distances which would be a 220 yard driver on average or shorter. adding a 10 to 20mph speed increase wont work with current swing flaws. for me it just shows how weak the modern golf theory is with pga trainers.

You probably trained uncle Rico how to hit a golf ball over a mountain as well..... If we only had your secrets can I throw lots of money at you and you can tell me? Whats your paypal address.

Yeah I really wanted to as well but didn't have the $300k. :cheesy:

[chippa13]

I hit it the same distance as anybody, just some hit it less times than I do and some hit it more times.

[duffer987]

I don't buy into the "driver distance times 26" because it always tells me to play a shorter course than I enjoy.

 

FWIW, all of the golfers I play with tend to be <5 handicaps, and believe me these guys know their max, typical, and uh-oh distances for each club in their bag.

 

This X 1000!

 

It's all a lot of nonsense. If you are a golfer (however we want to define it) you don't pick tees based on a "You must be this tall to get on the rollercoaster" basis.

You pick based on fun, challenge, or whatever it is that gives the best opportunity to enjoy your round for you and your playing partners. Not to satiate some nanny-stater who cares how far golfers hit their teeshots.

 

Went out in the afternoon yesterday on a largely empty course. Played from the blues and walked. Caught a twosome playing from the whites in a cart in front of me on the 6th. They refused to let me through until I was pretty much standing in their cart on the 9th tee. Completed my round 2.5 holes ahead of them.

How far I hit it. How far they hit it. What tees we played from. None of those things mattered a jot. Knowing how to get around the course, basic understanding of the rules/etiquette, and actually how to play golf matters

[DavePelz4]

I don't buy into the "driver distance times 26" because it always tells me to play a shorter course than I enjoy.

 

FWIW, all of the golfers I play with tend to be <5 handicaps, and believe me these guys know their max, typical, and uh-oh distances for each club in their bag.

 

This X 1000!

 

It's all a lot of nonsense. If you are a golfer (however we want to define it) you don't pick tees based on a "You must be this tall to get on the rollercoaster" basis.

You pick based on fun, challenge, and the best opportunity to enjoy your round for you and your playing partners. Not to satiate some nanny-stater who cares how far golfers hit their teeshots.

 

Went out in the afternoon yesterday on a largely empty course. Played from the blues and walked. Caught a twosome playing from the whites in a cart in front of me on the 6th. They refused to let me through until I was pretty much standing in their cart on the 9th tee. Completed my round 2.5 holes ahead of them.

How far I hit it. How far they hit it. What tees we played from. None of those things mattered a jot. Knowing how to get around the course, basic understanding of the rules/etiquette, and actually how to play golf matters

 

Amen Sir. Enjoying a round is an AWESOME concept and it doesn't mean you need to play from tees that are 6,000 yards. One of my all time favorite rounds was at Medinah #3 right before they closed it for the PGA. We played it from about 7,700 yards (behind the netting) and the rough was 4-6 inches. Shot 98 that day which was a huge accomplishment.

[rawdog]

I don't buy into the "driver distance times 26" because it always tells me to play a shorter course than I enjoy.

 

FWIW, all of the golfers I play with tend to be <5 handicaps, and believe me these guys know their max, typical, and uh-oh distances for each club in their bag.

 

This X 1000!

 

It's all a lot of nonsense. If you are a golfer (however we want to define it) you don't pick tees based on a "You must be this tall to get on the rollercoaster" basis.

You pick based on fun, challenge, and the best opportunity to enjoy your round for you and your playing partners. Not to satiate some nanny-stater who cares how far golfers hit their teeshots.

 

Went out in the afternoon yesterday on a largely empty course. Played from the blues and walked. Caught a twosome playing from the whites in a cart in front of me on the 6th. They refused to let me through until I was pretty much standing in their cart on the 9th tee. Completed my round 2.5 holes ahead of them.

How far I hit it. How far they hit it. What tees we played from. None of those things mattered a jot. Knowing how to get around the course, basic understanding of the rules/etiquette, and actually how to play golf matters

 

Amen Sir. Enjoying a round is a AWESOME concept and it doesn't mean you need to play from tees that are 6,000 yards. One of my all time favorite rounds was at Medinah #3 right before they closed it for the PGA. We played it from about 7,700 yards (behind the netting) and the rough was 4-6 inches. Shot 98 that day which was a huge accomplishment.

 

I'm not familiar with this "yards" unit of measure you used there. How many 5-irons is that?

[Pepperturbo]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

[DavePelz4]

I don't buy into the "driver distance times 26" because it always tells me to play a shorter course than I enjoy.

 

FWIW, all of the golfers I play with tend to be <5 handicaps, and believe me these guys know their max, typical, and uh-oh distances for each club in their bag.

 

This X 1000!

 

It's all a lot of nonsense. If you are a golfer (however we want to define it) you don't pick tees based on a "You must be this tall to get on the rollercoaster" basis.

You pick based on fun, challenge, and the best opportunity to enjoy your round for you and your playing partners. Not to satiate some nanny-stater who cares how far golfers hit their teeshots.

 

Went out in the afternoon yesterday on a largely empty course. Played from the blues and walked. Caught a twosome playing from the whites in a cart in front of me on the 6th. They refused to let me through until I was pretty much standing in their cart on the 9th tee. Completed my round 2.5 holes ahead of them.

How far I hit it. How far they hit it. What tees we played from. None of those things mattered a jot. Knowing how to get around the course, basic understanding of the rules/etiquette, and actually how to play golf matters

 

Amen Sir. Enjoying a round is a AWESOME concept and it doesn't mean you need to play from tees that are 6,000 yards. One of my all time favorite rounds was at Medinah #3 right before they closed it for the PGA. We played it from about 7,700 yards (behind the netting) and the rough was 4-6 inches. Shot 98 that day which was a huge accomplishment.

 

I'm not familiar with this "yards" unit of measure you used there. How many 5-irons is that?

 

40.5263

[chippa13]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Translation: Hooray for me.

[Ghost of Snead]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

[North Texas]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Reminds me of a guy in our regular group. If he's looking for his ball, he usually looks 25 yards past where he should be looking. But if he's looking for someone else's ball, he usually looks 25 yards short of where he should be looking. Like clockwork.

[North Texas]

I don't buy into the "driver distance times 26" because it always tells me to play a shorter course than I enjoy.

 

FWIW, all of the golfers I play with tend to be <5 handicaps, and believe me these guys know their max, typical, and uh-oh distances for each club in their bag.

 

This X 1000!

 

It's all a lot of nonsense. If you are a golfer (however we want to define it) you don't pick tees based on a "You must be this tall to get on the rollercoaster" basis.

You pick based on fun, challenge, or whatever it is that gives the best opportunity to enjoy your round for you and your playing partners. Not to satiate some nanny-stater who cares how far golfers hit their teeshots.

 

Went out in the afternoon yesterday on a largely empty course. Played from the blues and walked. Caught a twosome playing from the whites in a cart in front of me on the 6th. They refused to let me through until I was pretty much standing in their cart on the 9th tee. Completed my round 2.5 holes ahead of them.

How far I hit it. How far they hit it. What tees we played from. None of those things mattered a jot. Knowing how to get around the course, basic understanding of the rules/etiquette, and actually how to play golf matters

 

Pretty much sums it up. Different people have different reasons for playing the particular tees they play.

[Pepperturbo]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

[Ghost of Snead]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

 

There are 9-10 60+ guys at my club playing at 5 or less. I'm one of them.

 

And what are the single digit assigned tees ?

[Pepperturbo]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

 

There are 9-10 60+ guys at my club playing at 5 or less. I'm one of them.

 

And what are the single digit assigned tees ?

 

OK. Is your club private or a men's club? Fifteen to twenty single digit players are common at pvt tournament oriented clubs, but if I recall less than 4 were 60+. I was on the BOD of both clubs reason I pay attention to numbers. Tee's at my last two clubs depended on who we played and what they were use to. Ours were 6600+. I still play out to 6700, but nearing 70, so this is probably the last year. I lost about 10yds over the last year. Depending on my joints and fairway conditions, driver carry's 240+ with a few 250+

[DLiver]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

 

There are 9-10 60+ guys at my club playing at 5 or less. I'm one of them.

 

And what are the single digit assigned tees ?

 

I'm on the same page as you. At my club, we have 36 guys with indexes of 5.0 or less. 23 of them are 60+. In my group, most guys play from our 6,000 yard tees, and I'll tell you many of these guys can really play. It is not unusual for guys to shoot their ages. Last week, we had a guy beat his age by 15 stokes (that's got to be some kind of record, right?). Saying that older guys don't play well (except for pepperturbo of course) is just ridiculous.

[Ghost of Snead]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

 

There are 9-10 60+ guys at my club playing at 5 or less. I'm one of them.

 

And what are the single digit assigned tees ?

 

I'm on the same page as you. At my club, we have 36 guys with indexes of 5.0 or less. 23 of them are 60+. In my group, most guys play from our 6,000 yard tees, and I'll tell you many of these guys can really play. It is not unusual for guys to shoot their ages. Last week, we had a guy beat his age by 15 stokes (that's got to be some kind of record, right?). Saying that older guys don't play well (except for pepperturbo of course) is just ridiculous.

 

The 9-10 mentioned at my club are the ones I know - there could be more. And ridiculous to think these guys can't play ... most of them are retired or semi-retired, empty nesters, and all they do is play.

[Blade Junkie]

As a short knocker, relatively speaking (230 average), I'd KILL for another 20 yards. I have no doubt I'd be a + handicap if I retained my current accuracy (about 80% fairways hit).

 

These "does distance matter" threads always devolve into the short hitters trying to justify their lack of distance. And I'm saying this as a short hitter. Yes, I've beaten guys who were much longer than me and I've been beaten by guys who were shorter than me, but ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL longer is better. And I emphasize all things being equal. Sure a guy who hits it a ton but can't find a fw to save his life and can't putt will lose to a short hitting low capper but is that really a fair comparison? Take your own game, if you were suddenly two clubs longer with the same accuracy wouldn't you be much better?

 

i don't understand people who can't see that for 99% of golfers distance is the most important aspect to better golf...

 

distance is the biggest advantage b/c it is the only thing that can reduce the par of the course for certain players. most low ams and pros aren't playing par 72's, they're playing par 68's. it also helps when you can hit a 6 iron into a 200 yard par 3 instead of a hybrid or wood and drop down to a iron off the tee on a long tight par 4 and still have a scoring iron for your approach.

 

if you don't care about your score and are just in the game for fun and social stuff then by all means ignore this

 

A pro friend of mine hears this sort of thing all the time when he's out playing with the members. His response is to kick their ball forwards another 20 yards and tell them to play it from there. Most times it makes absolutely no difference to their score on the hole ... a killer short game and good putting is more useful then distance, and for me, is what differentiates a low handicapper (<5) vs a medium or high handicap.

 

We had a club event for the Comic Relief "Red Nose Day" charity fund raising last month ... everyone had to wear red and play from the red tees (i.e. the ladies tees). Everyone scored pretty much the same as they always do ... :)

[Pepperturbo]

Not sure who conducted that research or how much their bias influenced calculations. I am in mid-60's, low-mid single digit and still carry 2i, 215yds+. When playing in tournaments, I mostly play against young low cap or plus guys, hitting their driver a lot further than I hit mine. Not many guys near my age playing good golf. I have always preferred strong long irons and short game = good scores as opposed to big distance. Notwithstanding that sliver segment of really good amateurs, only on various tours does distance provide more scoring options.

 

Most average golfers don't hit their driver as far as I hit 2i. They miss the sweet spot a lot, weak mechanics, loose focus and most are not in good shape or strong. Yet, they're always looking for their ball 50+yrds past where it actually landed. :lol: :beach:

 

Maybe not where you live ...

 

Really? ... lol only on Golfwrx.... I played inter club team golf for many years. We hosted visiting teams and traveled to other clubs, all over the region. Not many old guys playing to low single digit nor playing the single digit assigned tees.

 

There are 9-10 60+ guys at my club playing at 5 or less. I'm one of them.

 

And what are the single digit assigned tees ?

 

I'm on the same page as you. At my club, we have 36 guys with indexes of 5.0 or less. 23 of them are 60+. In my group, most guys play from our 6,000 yard tees, and I'll tell you many of these guys can really play. It is not unusual for guys to shoot their ages. Last week, we had a guy beat his age by 15 stokes (that's got to be some kind of record, right?). Saying that older guys don't play well (except for pepperturbo of course) is just ridiculous.

 

I never said that... STOP putting words in my mouth, then arguing as if I said them. What you experience at your club is NOT national. I said NOT many... when you read, read all the words. All you need to do is absorb single digit golfer percentage among ALL handicap golfers and do the dam math regarding age ranges.

[Pepperturbo]

The 9-10 mentioned at my club are the ones I know - there could be more. And ridiculous to think these guys can't play ... most of them are retired or semi-retired, empty nesters, and all they do is play.

 

You're making a blanket statement as if I said that when I did not... re-read the words. I know guys in the 60's that play good golf... But they are NOT anywhere near large in numbers or percentage, or common, when compared to all single digit or better golfer total. Read the chart, and its doesn't deal with age categories. http://bit.ly/2pIleo9

[Ghost of Snead]

The 9-10 mentioned at my club are the ones I know - there could be more. And ridiculous to think these guys can't play ... most of them are retired or semi-retired, empty nesters, and all they do is play.

 

You're making a blanket statement as if I said that when I did not... re-read the words. I know guys in the 60's that play good golf... But they are NOT anywhere near large in numbers or percentage, or common, when compared to all single digit or better golfer total. Read the chart, and its doesn't deal with age categories. http://bit.ly/2pIleo9

 

Was I quoting you or someone else ? No one said that low handicap seniors were in the majority. The chart says anywhere from 13% - 17% less than around 6 cap.

 

My club has 400 members meaning that around 50-60 would be under 6. And let's say that seniors are 40% of the membership. 40% of 50-60 is around 20-24.

 

And it depends on the course ... I can guarantee there's more low caps at a course like Oakmont than your typical CC.

[glk]

Numbers I saw was that of the 29m golfers 37% were over 60 (add another 24% for over 50). Not many out of 11 million not playing good golf?

 

http://www.statisticbrain.com/golf-player-demographic-statistics/

[iteachgolf]

I don't know anyone who suggested golfers should be hitting short irons/wedges into every green. Be kinda boring.

 

Anyone playing a course that's 6400 yards and hitting less than 8 iron into every green must be playing on a really poorly designed course.

 

Or they are just long and better golfers. I know a good number of golfers who from 6400 yards wouldnt hit more than an 8 iron all day for a second shot including par 5s. And that's on a golf course that host USGA qualifiers and PGA Tour Q school. 6400 is quite short for guys swinging 105mph let alone guys swinging 120+

[compton1977]

In the era of persimmon/balata as a scratch golfer in my 20's in excellent physical condition, the average golfer was 30-40 yards behind me on a consistent basis. Never, ever did they even come close on their best Drives of the day

 

As far as one man making a judgement(me), it's hard to say because now at age 51, still scratch and still in above average physical condition for my age group, I can still hang(just barely) with college players on man sized(+7000yd) courses, but on occasion a 5-20 handicap 20-something can accidentally catch one or two solid a round and be near or just ahead of me by a yard or two.

Considering this basically "never" happened in the old days, I would say technology is the main source for the average golfer "thinking" they hit it further. But, reality is they only "occasionally" hit it further when the stars align just right. The simple truth is back in the day the stars "never" aligned for them because the harder they swung at it the worst contact and greater dispersion they got leading to short, wild garbage!!!

 

I would have to conclude that if I could turn back the clock and have today's technology in my former 25 year old body I would likely gain back much of that 30-40 yard advantage over the average golfer. For god's sake, Nicklaus could hit it +300 with 1960's technology. Are there people out there so dense that they don't recognize he would easily hit it in the 330-340 range with today's equipment, lol!!!!!!!!

 

tour pros are different than handicap players.

they do benefit from technology, top 100 players are 290 yards due to that.

However what they dont know is they should be at 350 yards.

guy I coach can hit a 2i the same distance sadlowski does it 280-290 yards without being trained for long driving.

 

amateurs however have a correlation between handicap and ball striking and distance.

80% will be bad at distance in spite of new technology.

they sit at 18-36 handicap and no help from technology to hit longer as their mechanics are hugely flawed.

 

new ball and whatever technology helped tour pros hit longer.

not the average handicap player as they hit the same distances which would be a 220 yard driver on average or shorter.

adding a 10 to 20mph speed increase wont work with current swing flaws.

 

for me it just shows how weak the modern golf theory is with pga trainers.

 

Is this you ?

 

 

That's a whole lot of effort to go to to discredit someone! I hope that RBI is happy with his work.

[cmatthews77]

I'm a sub 5 handicap (3), 39 years old and as much as I HATE it lack the distance and power to be a very good player among other things missing.

 

I'm capable of hitting one out there 250+ but it's not the norm. I avg 230-240 carry on a TrackMan and 250 total or so.

 

I hit my 8 iron 145 and PW 125.

 

I do play with some guys regularly who I give up 20 yards to on the tee. But I can still beat them regularly.

[DavePelz4]

I'm a sub 5 handicap (3), 39 years old and as much as I HATE it lack the distance and power to be a very good player among other things missing.

 

I'm capable of hitting one out there 250+ but it's not the norm. I avg 230-240 carry on a TrackMan and 250 total or so.

 

I hit my 8 iron 145 and PW 125.

 

I do play with some guys regularly who I give up 20 yards to on the tee. But I can still beat them regularly.

 

What's the strength in your game that has you regularly beating them?

 

ROLL TIDE!

[fireman949]

I'm 3 years into the game, 36 and meh.. mildly athletic. For my age group and location, I'm probably more fit than the average (6' 165#, ~15%fat) and exercise / cycle 3-5x's a week. USGA Handicap Index is 10.5.

 

I have Arccos on my clubs. 6 months ago, my 3w went further than my driver at about 225yds. After seeing what I was doing wrong on Trackman, I worked on making changes. My driver is now finding more fairways and according to Arccos, the smart distance is 258yds with the smart range being 242-272. My 3w has also increased to 235yd smart distance.

 

I feel like I can play almost any reasonable course from the mid set of tees and still have scoring opportunities. I'd like to improve, but the improvement for me is going to come from short game and approach according to Arccos stats. I may gain a bit more distance on my driver as my technique improves, but ~260 is more than enough distance to make me smile and help me enjoy the game.

 

I like hitting it long and it does feel good to smash one (without actually working hard) and hear the guys say "wow - you really hit that well", but none of that matters on the scorecard. It's more satisfying to drop a bunch of 8-15' putts.

 

cmatthews77 - we're in the same age range and relative distance based on your driver, 8i, and pw - what do you think your strongest part of the game is? That's what I need to focus on to get from a 10.5 to sub 5.

[Argonne69]

I'm a sub 5 handicap (3), 39 years old and as much as I HATE it lack the distance and power to be a very good player among other things missing.

 

I'm capable of hitting one out there 250+ but it's not the norm. I avg 230-240 carry on a TrackMan and 250 total or so.

 

I hit my 8 iron 145 and PW 125.

 

I do play with some guys regularly who I give up 20 yards to on the tee. But I can still beat them regularly.

 

What's the strength in your game that has you regularly beating them?

 

ROLL TIDE!

 

I'm guessing a) good ballstriking, averaging 10 fairways, and 11-12 greens per round, b) very good short game, averaging 30 to 40% up and downs, c) good putting, averaging ~30 putts with few 3 putts, and d) good course management, avoiding doubles or worse.

[Switter]

Yea if a fellow golfer wants to feel inferior about his golfing abilities, course management & swing he only needs to visit a golf formum. These special places where ritual majick is the norm, where the avg. 78 yr old hit 1 & 2 irons 275 yrds & play scratch golf. Where everyone under 40 yoa smash drivers & 3w launches pellet 300+ yrds from the tips & hits their PW 160 yrds. on approach for constant eagles & birds. Mostly a buncha bull****! Reminds me of fishing stories, a 3# bass is transformed into Moby Dick. Sheesh!

 

I play with a 68 yoa player, his drives on avg. are about 180-190, he uses a 7w for everything between 130 - 150, he rarely misses a fairway or an approach shot. He is a bogey player. I really enjoy playing with him, he doesnt care what club I have used & never asks. We just play and play our own strengths and have a lot of fun doing it. We're not hunting misses all day either. I also play with another group that is wholey competitive, they're always asking what club are using & comparing distances rather than the quality & accuracy of shots. I've outgrown this childish crap.

 

Enjoy the game & mind your own business is my motto.