How far do you really hit it?

[Ri_Redneck]

I'd be curious as to how responders calculate carry distance. I don't have trackman numbers since I was fitted 3 years ago (and certainly don't recall what they were), but I have a bunker on a dogleg left that typically needs a 240 yard carry to clear. If I hit it well with no wind assist, my ball hits the lip of that bunker and rolls back to the flat. How's that for scientific?

 

Here in NE, we calculate it by adding the distance from the tee to the hole it's plugged in. Anywhere else, it's usually a guess unless I'm hitting over a hazard.

 

BT

[Nard_S]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

[BogeyBrian]

275 average total according to game golf live

[QuigleyDU]

further than most, shorter than some.

[MtlJeff]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

Depends where you live and what time you play. I play in the soggy northeast and early in the morning. Carry is far more important to me. I get minimal roll due to conditions

 

I mean my launch has 2000rpm and 14-15 degrees launch and I still might back balls up

[Nard_S]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

Depends where you live and what time you play. I play in the soggy northeast and early in the morning. Carry is far more important to me. I get minimal roll due to conditions

 

I mean my launch has 2000rpm and 14-15 degrees launch and I still might back balls up

 

i understand, I live outside NYC, if it's soggy I tee higher and go for carry but normal or dry, I'm going for medium trajectory with release. The better the release the better the swing was. Modern drivers appear to go higher in general compared to what I'm using (R510) so that might be factor, don't know. What's notable about tour hitters is how much release they get, it's just not the course prep, it's their attack angle that facilitates it.

[hybrid25]

Distance is one thing but dispersion is another, if someone can hit it to 75 to 300 yards somewhat consistently in the Fairway that's a great thing. Although if you smash it 300 yards and only make 2 of 10 Fairways you're probably going to have some problems. One of my better drives this week was 245 yards uphill right to dead center of the Fairway which is long for me.

[Coy M]

Haven't play golf much due to back pain in the past few years but my distances I've always played by are:

Driver Carry: 275-285

4 Wood(longer than any 3 wood I've hit) Carry: 250-260

5 Wood(don't hit much at all) Carry: 235

4: 210

5: 200

6:190

7:180

8:170

9:160

P:145-150

52: 130

56:115

60:100

 

Chiropractor has really helped the back (went 19 times total over a 6 week span). But due to left shoulder injury my shoulder kept sublaxating aka trying to dislocate so I had labrum repair Sept. 6th. I really want to find a hybrid when I start back that's more of a 220 carry, don't really ever need anything over that for par 5s around me.

[endurancechiro]

This was a driver fitting at the beginning of the year, I've dropped 50+ lbs since then and gained a bunch of muscle. Swinging about 5mph faster now, but haven't had a chance to get on Trackman since then. My optimal launch is around 12* and I tend to let it get a little too high and lose distance.

 

[jmvargas]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

carry distance can be consistently measured...roll cannot...

 

i will always refer to my carry distance in all my clubs when determining what club to use and adjust for roll depending on course conditions..

[Sean2]

If I play the correct tees, I hit it far enough...if not, not so much. :-)

[sleezyt]

Play at roughly sea level here on vancouver island. Traditional lofted irons 2 handicapp.

Driver 280 ish. Stars align 300. Carry

3 wood. 260 off tee. 240 off deck

3 driving iron. Tee only 230 carry rolls long ways.

4 hybrid 215 carry

5 200

6 184

7 172

8 160

9 148

Pw 137

52 125

60 95

These are averages over 5 shots on a sim.

[Nard_S]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

carry distance can be consistently measured...roll cannot...

 

i will always refer to my carry distance in all my clubs when determining what club to use and adjust for roll depending on course conditions..

 

It's not the best objective to have max carry in driver, the ideal is most carry and with most release & roll.

[Chad13]

Play at roughly sea level here on vancouver island. Traditional lofted irons 2 handicapp.

Driver 280 ish. Stars align 300. Carry

3 wood. 260 off tee. 240 off deck

3 driving iron. Tee only 230 carry rolls long ways.

4 hybrid 215 carry

5 200

6 184

7 172

8 160

9 148

Pw 137

52 125

60 95

These are averages over 5 shots on a sim.

 

I have almost identical distances but I am not nearly as good.

[jmvargas]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

carry distance can be consistently measured...roll cannot...

 

i will always refer to my carry distance in all my clubs when determining what club to use and adjust for roll depending on course conditions..

 

It's not the best objective to have max carry in driver, the ideal is most carry and with most release & roll.

 

 

that only works when there are no hazards or water in the way...

 

.....and i always refer to my average carry distance...

[nsxguy]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

carry distance can be consistently measured...roll cannot...

 

i will always refer to my carry distance in all my clubs when determining what club to use and adjust for roll depending on course conditions..

 

It's not the best objective to have max carry in driver, the ideal is most carry and with most release & roll.

 

While overall distance may be the ideal, carry is far more important than roll.

 

How far does your ball carry ?

 

Now how far does it roll ?

 

Makes sense to maximize carry.

 

Also, different places/courses simply offer almost zero roll out. Soggy courses and, definitely in South Florida, sand based courses have little to no rollout. Even as I have reduced my spin to the low 2,000's, measured by a LM, my typical drive launches high, hits, and barely rolls out - 5 yards would be a lot. Frankly I would love to get back up to NY to play my old course (average to a little firmer than) to see if my drives are actually going farther than before.

 

Now some of the older guys I play with, who barely get their drives more than 30 feet or so in the air, they get some decent rollout. But players who can "launch it", not very much.

 

Rollout is nice if you can get it but carry is far more important.

[Nard_S]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

carry distance can be consistently measured...roll cannot...

 

i will always refer to my carry distance in all my clubs when determining what club to use and adjust for roll depending on course conditions..

 

It's not the best objective to have max carry in driver, the ideal is most carry and with most release & roll.

 

While overall distance may be the ideal, carry is far more important than roll.

 

How far does your ball carry ?

 

Now how far does it roll ?

 

Makes sense to maximize carry.

 

Also, different places/courses simply offer almost zero roll out. Soggy courses and, definitely in South Florida, sand based courses have little to no rollout. Even as I have reduced my spin to the low 2,000's, measured by a LM, my typical drive launches high, hits, and barely rolls out - 5 yards would be a lot. Frankly I would love to get back up to NY to play my old course (average to a little firmer than) to see if my drives are actually going farther than before.

 

Now some of the older guys I play with, who barely get their drives more than 30 feet or so in the air, they get some decent rollout. But players who can "launch it", not very much.

 

Rollout is nice if you can get it but carry is far more important.

 

Low spin Drivers are designed to offer a ton of kick and release on landing. Great pass with one is when the ball does so in noticeable fashion. If it lands like a long iron, in benign conditions, something is amiss.........like maybe trying too hard to hit it high with lots of carry for instance.

[MakAttack]

I fly it 285 ish. 115-118 mph with a normal driver.

[Ri_Redneck]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

IMHO, knowing your carry is vital for club choice when hazards abound. When I play dry courses, rollout is typically 30yds +/- dependent on the cut of the fairway.

 

BT

[gripandrip]

53yo, driver SS is ~ 104mph, ballspeed is 155ish, carry is 240-255 with 0-20 yards of rollout depending on fairway conditions.

 

I''ll see if I can find a Trackman photo from earlier this year.

 

Edit: found a track man photo from march

 

 

Pretty much describes me as well.

 

56 YO

Swing Speed: 105-107

Carry around 250 ish

Average yardage (total) Per game golf stats is about 275.

Picked up a few yards this year with a new driver shaft combo that drops spin about 100 rpm.

[getitdaily]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

IMHO, knowing your carry is vital for club choice when hazards abound. When I play dry courses, rollout is typically 30yds +/- dependent on the cut of the fairway.

 

BT

 

Agree completely. Optimal distance is the key and for that, optimal carry is what I quote. Why? I know what hazards I can carry or need to avoid. How far the ball rolls out is so dependent on course conditions but carry is basically wind and how I'm swinging.

 

Play golf in Florida in the summer and then Texas in the winter or spring and you'll understand. I'll carry the same distance in both conditions but have a 3 fewer club distance in Texas because the ball will run forever. I won't change driver settings to optimize carry in softer conditions though. Consistency of what a club does at a given setup is much more important than another 6 yards of carry because my launch angle went up 1.5 degrees.

 

Take a look at the numbers, if your spin and launch are near optimal them the biggest factor for more distance is ball speed. Because of that, if I need a little more I'll just give it a little more throttle.

[adogg18]

My average driver carry is 235 yards at sea level with a SS of 100mph. My spin rate and launch angle are pretty optimal, but if I can learn how to improve my smash factor by hitting in the middle of the club face, I'm sure I could add 10 yards to that. My average 7 iron carry is 157 yards.

[MrJones]

Low spin Drivers are designed to offer a ton of kick and release on landing. Great pass with one is when the ball does so in noticeable fashion. If it lands like a long iron, in benign conditions, something is amiss.........like maybe trying too hard to hit it high with lots of carry for instance.

 

Low spin design is nice and all but actual ball spin, angle of decent, and course conditions are what dictate roll out. There's no driver out there that can assure you will get roll out otherwise I'd have bought 2 of them by now.

 

We have really soft fairways and I also play many courses with a forced carry where roll offered no advantage. Whether or not I can carry certain bunkers has dictated my intended (with much emphasis on "intended") line off the tee.

[MtlJeff]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

Depends where you live and what time you play. I play in the soggy northeast and early in the morning. Carry is far more important to me. I get minimal roll due to conditions

 

I mean my launch has 2000rpm and 14-15 degrees launch and I still might back balls up

 

i understand, I live outside NYC, if it's soggy I tee higher and go for carry but normal or dry, I'm going for medium trajectory with release. The better the release the better the swing was. Modern drivers appear to go higher in general compared to what I'm using (R510) so that might be factor, don't know. What's notable about tour hitters is how much release they get, it's just not the course prep, it's their attack angle that facilitates it.

 

I actually have 2 drivers, I have a G LS Tec which i launch like Bubba (probably 16-18 degrees but i haven't been properly measured lately) and spin at like 2200 or so, it's great for optimal carry but comes down like a sack of potatoes in our weather.

 

My Epic SZ has at least a prayer of bouncing in a forward manner on soggy days

 

When it's hot and we haven't had rain in a while though the Epic is a cannon. I played a few weeks back when we had un-seasonable 40C weather and a dry course, and i hit some balls to places i didn't know were places. I actually ran through a fairway that i did not think was possible to run through (must've been 290 carry or so with about 40yds of roll).

 

Agree with you on modern drivers though, they definitely go higher. Even to get the Epic to 14-15 degrees i am playing at 8 degrees. I swing fast (110 ~) but not THAT fast

[PorscheFan]

41. Recently getting back into golf

 

Driver is 240-250

3 wood unknown (just changed clubs, but old one was about 225)

Hybrid (23*) is a mysteriously long 220

7 iron 150 (a loss of about 10 yards from my last spell of playing golf a few years ago)

Putter typically goes 3ft short of the hole on every lag putt, regardless of distance

 

I've lost distance since my last phase of playing golf a few years ago, however coaching has my driver going much straighter with (for me) great consistency. It has really improved my scores, but it doesn't stop me wishing for a little more distance.

 

Sometimes I wish I could get my ego surgically removed...

[PorscheFan]

 

Rollout is nice if you can get it but carry is far more important.

 

I can't disagree with the logic but selfishly, I need every yard of roll that I get right now with driver. Without the decent roll I usually get with my weak ball flight I'd probably be sunk. I'm not trying to hit target with driver so total is everything to me.

 

OT: Imola / Orange = gorgeous!

[L8 NVR]

51 yrs old 5'10" 150 lbs

hdcp 9

 

driver normal carry 225

5 iron 185

8 iron 150

pw 125

56 deg sand wedge 95

 

Those are average carry distances with normal swing (probably 85 %).

Don't know what it equates to in mph.

[buckeyefl]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

The emphasis should always be on carry for the reason you mentioned. (Conditions) Carry is all I want to know when I ask someone (which I only do when I am helping someone around a new course) If you tell me what your carry+roll out+downwind+super hard fairways+ego+ Wheaties distance is then I can't properly club you. Also you are only fooling yourself. For instance I played the other day and had two drives over 320 and one of 345. The deciding factor was conditions because I didn't suddenly start hitting it 50 yards farther than normal. My carry distance was completely in the normal range but if I based my club selection on the last round then I would be screwed if I played a course with forced carry or punishing hazards.

[PureSlice]

Im 28 and started this year and got a garmin watch with shot tracking a couple months ago to start really getting an idea for how far I hit on the course. I have a lot of work to do and really need to update my swing thread and take a lesson soon.

 

Driver Average: 218 (low of 164 and a high of 277)

7 Iron Average: 156 (low of 143 and high of 163)

 

I really need to become more consistent. I feel like my driver distance has gone down significantly in an attempt to get more balls on the fairway but it doesn't seem to be working that well anyways.

[Nard_S]

I'm surprised by emphasis on carry distance here w/ driver. Really good drive has both plenty of carry and plenty of release and roll (conditions allowing) Unless intended, a drive that rolls 10 yard is not an optimal strike, if it kicks 10 yards then releases, much better.

 

The emphasis should always be on carry for the reason you mentioned. (Conditions) Carry is all I want to know when I ask someone (which I only do when I am helping someone around a new course) If you tell me what your carry+roll out+downwind+super hard fairways+ego+ Wheaties distance is then I can't properly club you. Also you are only fooling yourself. For instance I played the other day and had two drives over 320 and one of 345. The deciding factor was conditions because I didn't suddenly start hitting it 50 yards farther than normal. My carry distance was completely in the normal range but if I based my club selection on the last round then I would be screwed if I played a course with forced carry or punishing hazards.

 

I was fooling myself for many years gunning for long carry. When I paid attention to the tea leaves of kick & roll, my actual carry and over all distance increased quite a bit. My ability to take advantage or negate wind conditions improved too. Kick & roll speaks volumes about quality of strike. Focus of carry alone can too easily ingrain poor swing habits.