Sorry but just HOW far did you say you hit your driver ? (Merged)

[SkiHound]

I think a lot of the people on this site would be humbled if they carried a GPS device that measured shot distance.

 

That being said, decent drives by me average 260, if I nut one maybe 275.

 

I'd agree and I think it's difficult to accurately guess driver distance without GPS or Laser. Yardages from tee markers may be quite different than those marked on the cards. Then you try to factor in doglegs, uphill, downhill, and wind and even if you're being totally honest, it's a pretty rough estimate. For example, the other day I hit one real well with a little tail wind and fairly firm fairways. The card said 397 but my GPS said 376 to the middle. Had 95 to the middle based on GPS. Guy I was playing with was talking about my 300 yard drive. It simply wasn't. Additionally, I generally can't pin point just where my ball lands to estimate actual carry. My driver swing speed is typically in the 105-109 range and I'd say carry distance is typically in the 230-250 range depending on how solidly I strike the ball (that ignores the occassionaly really bad one). I sometimes play with guys who are considerably longer but not often.

[drewmart2004]

If I am honest my average carry is only about 210 with about 10 yards of roll. I live in Scotland though so strong winds and wet conditions affect distance a lot. My furthest drive this summer was about a 265 carry on a downhill, downwind hole on the hottest day this summer, though I suppose that would still leave me 50 yards short of most people on here. :lol:

[vulture20076]

I alluded to this sort of philosophical issue on another thread. I mentioned that I was by all counts a long hitter with the old technology back when I played competitively. I played D1 golf in the early nineties and played in amateur events throughout the summers until around 1995. In college, I would say that I consistently outdrove probably 70% of my competitors and 20% were about the same length while maybe 10% were definitively longer. I grew up playing junior and amateur golf in Wisconsin and played in amateur events with all the starters on the UW team (even a few times with the likes of Steve Stricker and David Roesch (who led the US Open a few years back)). The longest player I remember playing with was Mark Scheibach; he absolutely killed the ball. Stricker, in his earlier years, was just an absolute machine with the driver. Almost no curvature off the tee, just darts down the middle with good distance. With Tour Balatas and old Taylor Made Burners I'd average around 275 off the tee. 112 mph swing speed back then.

 

Nowadays, with 2001 technology I probably average about 280 with that club about 265-270 yards of carry. With this Nike 450cc (I hate the shaft), I carry the ball more in the range of 280+ and can roll them out to 300+. Alot of guys call bs on these threads, but I don't really get it. I myself am inclined to call bs on the many guys claiming 125 mph+ swing speeds, but not for guys saying they hit 285-300 with roll. If a guy is a low handicapper, there really isnt a whole lot of difference between their length and the length of many players on the mini-tours.

[darnoldil]

I generally look for the plated yardage marker somewhere on the tee and another marker as close to my ball as possible then do the math instead of going by the card but I have used GPS and found it quite accurate with the plated marker at the tee on a number of courses. Of course I'm talking within a 5 yard or so range.

 

Swing speeds of 105+ should be able to see regular [good] drives of 260-280yrds depending upon the amount of roll and conditions. Ball speed varies based upon a number of factors, one being the ball itself but in general my experiences have been that a SS of 105 usually = BS's in the neighborhood of 150mph. Of course quality of swing, type of swing, driver, ball, humidity, altitude, fairway condition, down hill/up hill fairway run out, trajectory, and temperature all play viable roles in what people see.

 

 

I for one typically only get about 15 yards of roll out on the Chicago Suburb courses that I play on but it's probably more my trajectory/club than anything else. The method that I have used to determine this is to locate my "probable" pitch mark based upon where I saw my ball come down. One round in Florida last year while we were on vacation had me getting only 5-7 yards of roll!!! It was summer and HOT and HUMID!!!!!! My ball was almost plugging! LOL!!

 

My "C" quality swings average 250yrds total, my "B-A" quality swings average 270-280 yards total. My SS has been taken at 105-112mph over the past 5 years to current at different places using radar devices but I have found the Vector monitor system used by Golf Smith now to be extremely inaccurate, the Speedstik is better than that thing and many people complain about it. The Vector only uses 2 photos to measure ball spin and speed and then extrapolates all of the other data, change your spin characteristics and ball speed/smash factor and it will change accordingly even if you swing speed hasn't. LOL!!! On that thing I only hit my driver 190yards!!! LOL!!! Needless to say I don't test drivers at my local Golf Smith anymore. LOL!!! My smash factor was typically lower with my driver resulting in lower than anticipated BS's but I later found out it was the actual driver.

 

Part of the problem was my old Snake Eyes 600T which was consistently down on BS by a mean of 20mph (127 mph!) to a number of mainstream drivers in a head to head comparison two years ago. My current driver (GBB2 415) gave 147mph rather consistently at that test which is why I bought it. Just a couple of weeks ago I tested a Sumo 2 and was consistently getting 150-155mph for BS. Yes sir, equipment definitely can play a role. LOL!

[Ace In The Hole]

I have a Sky Caddie SG2 so I know how far I hit it, I know my avg, and I know my big drives, avg would be 245-260yds, and a big drive is 285-300yds. I love golfing with guys who think they have this long ball in there game, I'll put one out there, and they will do the same, sometimes further than I sometimes not, and the comment is always the smae, man that must be like 320-340 that's huge, then I tell them it's actually 275, and they think something is wrong with my GPS, peopel have such a squewed idea of what they actually hit, so unless you have measured your drive with a GPS I really don't think you can comment on how far you hit the ball. just my $.02

[DEGOINS]

In Ohio, I would say out of 10 balls I am normally around 260-265 carry. 1 ball may be 280 carry another may be a 230 duck hook.

 

 

You described my drives to a "T"! Today at the range a buddy of mine was lasering my shots and I was consistantly dropping them around 260-270. I had one huge shot that was a career hit for sure that carried 280 and rolled another 30 yards. That was one out of many many shots.

[progolf4life]

My longest drive was 300yds (I think) and my average is around 270.

[Jim_0068]

I don't know why people have to be so jealous or think everyone is a liar.

 

I swing the club between 112-115mph. My ball speed is in the 165-170mph range. I carry the ball between 270-285 yards and hit drives in the 285-300 yard range (depending on the ball speed).

 

Do i hit drives that are shorter? Sure, into the wind...uphill fairways...soft courses...etc. But that's how far it goes.

[stuckntx]

I believe most distance claim until we start getting above 280-290. When multiple people claim to average 290-310, I have to call BS on at least half of them.

Great examples are at the range when a guy hits 5 ground hooks in a row, then catches one that goes about 250 and states "that one went 300, easy. Thats my normal distance."

:drinks:

[leekgolf]

When my ball ends up in trouble or OB, too far. When it's in the fairway, not far enough!

[Stuy Pegleg]

Yeah, I thought that I hit somewhere like 235 for my driver....got skycaddie and she says 202 for a drive that I thought I hit well...granted, I'm still working on a new swing, but it sure is humbling to have your distanced gps'ed. Real humbling.

[Jim_0068]

I don't know why people have to be so jealous or think everyone is a liar.

 

I swing the club between 112-115mph. My ball speed is in the 165-170mph range. I carry the ball between 270-285 yards and hit drives in the 285-300 yard range (depending on the ball speed).

 

Do i hit drives that are shorter? Sure, into the wind...uphill fairways...soft courses...etc. But that's how far it goes.

 

Just would like to add that i just played a course that had a GPS cart. here are some stats:

 

Shortest "drive": 255 with 3 wood, no roll

Shortest drive with driver: 265, into wind ballooned a little.

Longest drive: 320, caught a downslope.

 

Carry distances: On the 16th hole i purposely tried to carry my drives into a bunker that was 275 yards out verified by the GPS. I hit 3 balls:

 

1) flew into bunker

2) flew into some nasty lie around the bunker

3) FLEW the bunker and ended up in rough at about 280

 

So, there are some of us out there who can hit the long ball and you know what the funny thing is? I have 2 more friends that can out hit EVERYTHING i can. One is 6'2 and can carry the ball 300 yards if he wants and the other is SMALLER than me who i have witnessed with old Titleist 975D hit drives routinely in the 300-310 yard range and 230 yard 4 irons pretty routinely (MP-30s and no jacked up lofts).

 

Don't hate on the long hitters :russian_roulette:

[Konakid67]

I have a Sky Caddie SG2 so I know how far I hit it, I know my avg, and I know my big drives, avg would be 245-260yds, and a big drive is 285-300yds. I love golfing with guys who think they have this long ball in there game, I'll put one out there, and they will do the same, sometimes further than I sometimes not, and the comment is always the smae, man that must be like 320-340 that's huge, then I tell them it's actually 275, and they think something is wrong with my GPS, peopel have such a squewed idea of what they actually hit, so unless you have measured your drive with a GPS I really don't think you can comment on how far you hit the ball. just my $.02

Another good way is determine points of reference on your course. I stated on another post that there is a hole slightly up hill I play during member scrambles that plays 335 (378 from the tips) and a trap just to the right at about 300 yards.

I hit a good drive and my ball hit the back lip of that trap and rolled back in. I also threw a ball down from the womens tee it plays 265 and I have have carried that hole with my burner 5 wood. I know for a fact I get good carry because there are traps on our course that are around 275+ out and I have carried them with no worries. In my late 20's and 30's when I played a great deal I was a scratch golfer I could shoot mid 60's to mid 70's, I tried out for the US open once and did not play to well. It is all mental when you get that point, I never had it to go any further. That is really the difference between mini tour players and pros, they all have game but they all do not have the same head game. I am 40 years old now and have started playing more. With todays new technology it is amazing some of the yardages I have hit.

Kevin

[ezra76]

I believe most distance claim until we start getting above 280-290. When multiple people claim to average 290-310, I have to call BS on at least half of them.

Great examples are at the range when a guy hits 5 ground hooks in a row, then catches one that goes about 250 and states "that one went 300, easy. Thats my normal distance."

:russian_roulette:

 

Agreed. It's a tough question to answer "average distance" for an average player, myself included. My swing is too inconsistant with a driver. Maybe 7i-PW I can give an accurate average but not on drives. Last week I've hit 5iron onto the back upper tier on a 455yd. hole that plays uphill all the way and 5iron to the front of the green on a 329yd. flat hole, both teeing off driver. lol.

 

A swing good enough to average over 300yds. with a driver is certainly good enough to hit an accurate yardage with a 7iron on up. So if a guy averages over 300, he'd have links to at the least the local am's he's played in. I know of 1 guy who averages over 300 and he's #2 in the state. He'll be on the Nationwide if he gets the short game in order and chooses to do so.

 

When or if my swing is good enough to average 280, I'll be scratch in no time and I'll attempt the local qualifiers. Now it's good enough to bust one that far in the fairway maybe once a round if I'm lucky.

[Ezgolfer]

Lot of people here have hit 300 yarders one time or other . If someone is saying they average 280-300 yards on drives. I believe thay have very consistent and solid swings.

[dkward]

Just thought I would point out to all you supermen out there: Only 23 out of almost 200 PGA TOUR GOLFERS average over 300 yards per drive. And none more than 315. WOW, you guys are awesome! Especially that one dude who "bombs it 380". The world long drive championship a couple years ago was won by a 377 yard drive. Where were you that day? :russian_roulette:

[blue_alert82]

[quote name='darnoldil' post='678509' date='Aug 13 2007, 07:15 AM']On that thing I only hit my driver 190yards!!! LOL!!! Needless to say I don't test drivers at my local Golf Smith anymore. LOL!!![/quote]
Yea we find most people who come in and test clubs on our vector machine think it isn't accurate because they aint hitting as far as they THINK they do, "oh, your machine must shorten everyones drives then?"
Although when one of us steps up and casually knocks it over 300 they seem to change their tune.

[ezra76]

Another one dug from the dead. I've recently switched to a 9.5* FTi and an improved swing since I posted in this thread months ago. I've had it out in extremely wet conditons and drives have been all carry with minus yardage after backing up a few feet on most. Out of a dozen drives I walked off to a marker minus teebox listed yardage I came up with 262.5. I had 4 drives of just over 270 carry and a long where I caught a "speed slot" of some harder ground with a powerfade rolling out to just over 310. I threw out the 310 from the equation along with the ones I hit very poorly, signigicantly shorter than a solid strike with a relatively square face at impact. Avg. swing speed with this driver was 108mph. with an all out speed of 113mph. shifting so fast I came off the ground a little. I don't think I could trust my footing to ever swing that hard standing on grass though, regarless of spikes.

[klima]

[quote name='Frogfish' post='673604' date='Aug 9 2007, 08:53 AM']How far do you hit your driver (or more accurately what is your carry) ?[/quote]


Factors: Temperature, air thickness, elevation, swing speed, driver characteristics (ie. center of gravity), driver loft, shaft, type of ball used, fade/draw, et al.

Mother nature is very difficult to predict. You may have two days in a row with exactly the same environmental factors and still get different carry. C'est la vie.

[pocketfulladoubles]

[quote name='JDorfler' post='673787' date='Aug 9 2007, 10:36 AM']Not only altitude has a huge effect, so does latitude. Remember, you are much lighter at the poles than you are near the equater. If you go to a place like Colorado and play on a nice warm summer day, I am pretty sure your carry will be out of this world.[/quote]


That is not true, you are ever so slightly heavier at the poles. The acceleration at 90* latitude is 9.832 m/s^2, and 9.782 m/s^2 at the equator.

[msguillory]

I have a GPS unit coming in tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how far it really is going. I know that you can cut off a lot of distance on some holes just due to the shape of the hole. I tend to hit the ball further than the guys in my group on average, but there are a few of us that we "think" are hitting it around 260-280. The unit I bought shows a continuous distance mark so everyone in the group can be measured without having to hit a distance button for just one drive. Should be interesting to see what happens, we are playing Saturday.

[leekgolf]

[quote name='dkward' post='705751' date='Sep 4 2007, 09:39 AM']Just thought I would point out to all you supermen out there: Only 23 out of almost 200 PGA TOUR GOLFERS average over 300 yards per drive. And none more than 315. WOW, you guys are awesome! Especially that one dude who "bombs it 380". The world long drive championship a couple years ago was won by a 377 yard drive. Where were you that day? [/quote]


I don't know about the rest of the posters, but Jim068 is telling the truth. Guaranteed.

[titaniummd]

[quote name='stuckntx' post='701231' date='Aug 31 2007, 08:57 AM']I believe most distance claim until we start getting above 280-290. When multiple people claim to average 290-310, I have to call BS on at least half of them.
Great examples are at the range when a guy hits 5 ground hooks in a row, then catches one that goes about 250 and states "that one went 300, easy. Thats my normal distance."
[/quote]

A guy claimed he could hit a 2 iron 220 (carry). He said, sure I'll try your club. 190 yards 3 times. There are a lot of embellishments. But I don't doubt accomplished players who can hit that far, either - and I have seen it done with little effort, at all.

I can only carry 210-215 on average, right now. Last Spring, I was 220-230 yards.

[kebeal]

I am 24 in good shape and a 1.8 hcp, I carry the ball about 255 on average. About twice a round I will hit one around 280 and every once in a blue moon around 300 but these are not my average. I play with a lot of assistant pros in the area and few are substantially longer than me. Reality can be harsh sometimes fellas, just because you swung hard doesn't mean it went far.

[tbowles411]

Oh yeah....300, all day!

No really.

I'm doing backflips if I hit it 260. Consistently 240-250....

[hbear]

105-108mph clubhead speed..
average carry between 250-260...

Confirmed via launch monitors, AND on course with my rangefinder.

Yes there are a lot of guys that overestimate their driving distance, but there are also A LOT of guys that can really hit a golf ball. Their iron game/short game/putting might be the craps...but they can hit a fairly decent long ball.

[tburchell]

If you need those extra yards, just do what I do, aim for the cart path
I hit one 315 thanks to the nice friendly bounce

But usually, I carry about 225-235 with my 95-99mph SS.

[ezra76]

I'm no superman. I got my driver on a launch/distance machine and a 107SS with 13.8* launch produced exactly 250yds. carry. I've got to use that controlled 90% swing on the course. My buddy has a very good swing with a 116mph. SS. I outdrive him probably 1/3 times and have to get a perfect, square face strike to do so. So I guess my longer carry distances I've figured to be 260-270 are well hit and downhill and/or downwind.

I'll never forget a few years back playing with my dad. We got joined up at this cheap track we liked to play with a guy who was a bit odd on #10. He kept talking about how far he could hit the ball, but wasn't hitting it that far at all. I was even more erratic back then than now and couldn't hit the driver for anything that day. On #17 he connects with one and starts in with "Man, that things over 300 all day". I pulled out a 3iron and winked at my dad. I delofted that thing and piped it with a draw 10yds. past his ball. He was perplexed as he walked past his then stopped abruptly... I wonder if he's on the net talking about the kid who hit the 312yd. 3iron.

[kitsoasis]

lol, i love your story ezra
my general rule for these things is the guy that keeps going on about hitting 300yard drives probably doesn't, this is also the same guy that ask if the simultators shorten everyone's drives :P

besides, in my opinion driving 300 yards is more of an ego thing, i'd be more than happy to take 230-250 in the middle of the fairway

[Chaddeh]

haha, that is a funny story Ezra...

I used to think that I was kinda long, my normal SS is around 115... . What I have found though as I have been exposed to more players, is that there are some guys out there that hit it realllll long. Hell around here, 115 seems common!