Skewed view on here

[miamistomp]

Numbers - the only numbers that matter are your own

 

Most guys don't know their real numbers

 

I know , for me,

 

driver 11.5  230-240 carry       

mini driver 16 loft 220  carry

7 wood 195

 21 hybrid 185

 4 iron  180 tee-175 grass

 

7 iron 150

PW 115

 

Don't use trackman or any of that--not happy with the one set I was fitted for although they are good clubs and will use them for evening rounds

 

I play from tees that are around 5800-6000--sea level or below ( South Florida)

 

scores this year-- best 78  avg 84

 

I honestly don't care how far anyone else hits it

 

near 70 years old but flexible and fit--6'1  , 180 lbs  95 mph on cheap a** radar

 

I try and maintain my game and NEVER EVER watch you tube instruction 

 

 

[chipa]

17 hours ago, Vater said:

I just read something that underscored what I believe to be a very particular segment of golfers on here versus, well, reality. Someone took data from the Game Golf tracker - TONS of data - and came up with this for average drive distances by score:

 

100-105 = 172 yds

90-95 = 193 yds

80-85 = 217 yds

72 or better = 251 yds

 

But it seems like the majority of folks on here average 300 yd drives using XXXstiff shafts with 200mph swing speeds. It feels like 4 out of 5 people on here are Bryson DeChambeau... Occasionally you'll get what sounds like a real story only for it to turn into a humble brag.

 

Maybe part of this is that the guys I golf with a few times a year aren't on this site. What do they have to share or comment? "I have a wicked slice and I hit my 4 iron like garbage"? I guess that wouldn't make for much of a post and they wouldn't spend their time on here.

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a part of this community - I've learned a lot and been entertained. I just feel like the MAJORITY of people on here can't all be pro-level beasts, can they?

 

It may be true that most golfers don't hit it that far but then again many here wouldn't believe them anyway even if they hit it far and posted their real numbers, especially if their swing looks quirky.

[physasst]

47 minutes ago, Roody said:

FWIW, I have met and played golf with two WRX members. Both of them have crazy fast swing speeds, and can hit the ball 300. One of them is a scratch golfer, the other is about a 20 handicap. 

 

Contrast that to me, I can hit it 260-270 tops, and that's on my better than average swings. I'm probably more around 240-250 most of the time. I could tell everyone I'm a 320 hitter, how would they know otherwise? But meh, who cares. In my opinion the scorecard doesn't know how you obtained that birdie. 

 

^^^^^ Same...

[nitram]

Reading this thread has made me realize how much I miss Jones Scott.

[MtlJeff]

1 hour ago, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

No way do those driving distances posted by the OP match up with me or anyone I play with, all guys in our 50s and bogey golfers. No one is hitting it 300 but  come on under 200...no way. 

 

Anyone see those numbers as accurate? 

 

For a true "average" yes it's possible IMO. A higher index will have a couple of real disasters off the tee here and there. A pull into the trees for example that might go 80yds. These things dramatically skew an average

 

If you hit 17 consecutive 225yd drives, then top a ball 30 yards, snap one into the trees that goes 50yds, and then pop one up 75yds....Your average drops to 199

 

I think hitting 3 really poor drives out of 20 is perfectly reasonable for someone who is like a 14-15 index

[Tumbleweed_1968]

12 hours ago, Bonneville85308 said:

" I usually shoot in the 70s ..."

Me too. And if it's any hotter than that, I don't play... (Bob Hope)

[chipa]

Speaking for myself I have a golf radar and my 7 iron controlled swing is around 85, my 7 wood in the high 90's and my 47" driver is around 110 or more with a controlled swing. For some reason I am short with my irons compared to most but long with my woods, it probably has to do with my back issues.

[Rocky Ball-boa]

"Average distance" is very different from "average distance of good shots".

 

I think as others have said in this thread - a lot of young 'uns in their twenties have the raw athleticism required. And a lot of them will most likely have the coordination to get of a 300+ yds drive every once in a while. It really isn't that special anymore.
 

Averaging it is a different matter. And consistently and effectively averaging it is even harder. A single drive that goes as far right as it does forwards is enough to drive an average down to way below 300. Not to mention what they do to your score.

 

Add to that - equipment of today. When many of us were in our physical primes where a 300 yds drive was more easily attainable, a balata ball and a 200CC metal wood was all there was to work with. So don't compare yourself with that equipment at 20 with the kids today and their 450 CC monsters.

 

But in conclusion - a lot of people hit it 300, and more of them are on this forum because here's where decent golfers flock.

[GolfDancer]

2 hours ago, jholz said:

will ever drive the ball 300 or score in the 70's.

 

Yet, if you talk to golfers, most of them have recently done both - just like the other weekend when you weren't there. 

 

Or you play with them and see why they shoot in the 70’s.  3 mulligans per round.  Occasionally drop another ball after chunking one from the fairway.  Fail to drop a 4 foot putt, then claim a gimmie, or take a gimmie after missing a putt by 4 feet.  Kick their ball out of the rough, because “It must have hit something to get there”.  Hit a ball into the woods, then take a drop 40 yards ahead of where it actually went out.  And so on…

 

[Brausch24]

1 hour ago, Rocky Ball-boa said:

"Average distance" is very different from "average distance of good shots".

 

I think as others have said in this thread - a lot of young 'uns in their twenties have the raw athleticism required. And a lot of them will most likely have the coordination to get of a 300+ yds drive every once in a while. It really isn't that special anymore.
 

Averaging it is a different matter. And consistently and effectively averaging it is even harder. A single drive that goes as far right as it does forwards is enough to drive an average down to way below 300. Not to mention what they do to your score.

 

Add to that - equipment of today. When many of us were in our physical primes where a 300 yds drive was more easily attainable, a balata ball and a 200CC metal wood was all there was to work with. So don't compare yourself with that equipment at 20 with the kids today and their 450 CC monsters.

 

But in conclusion - a lot of people hit it 300, and more of them are on this forum because here's where decent golfers flock.

 

Very good points here.. I'm late 20's (Almost 30) and would say i easily average 300+ off the drives. But, being 6'6" and muscular helps a lot in that. 

 

Now with that said, when i miss, and being a 12 HC happens more than I would like, is a bad miss. But, the distance is still there, just making the next shot more of a pinball out.. LOL

[golfortennis]

22 hours ago, MtlJeff said:

 

For a true "average" yes it's possible IMO. A higher index will have a couple of real disasters off the tee here and there. A pull into the trees for example that might go 80yds. These things dramatically skew an average

 

If you hit 17 consecutive 225yd drives, then top a ball 30 yards, snap one into the trees that goes 50yds, and then pop one up 75yds....Your average drops to 199

 

I think hitting 3 really poor drives out of 20 is perfectly reasonable for someone who is like a 14-15 index

 

 

I told you that in confidence!!!

 

[MtlJeff]

1 hour ago, golfortennis said:

 

 

I told you that in confidence!!!

 

 

I thought you told me that with confidence!

[MattM97]

First don't believe everything you read on the internet. 

 

Second it's possible to be able to drive the ball 300 yards and have a lower average, remember golf is hard, we don't hit everything perfectly. 

 

I can drive the ball 300+ (total not carry) but I don't every time cause I'm an ~17 cap lacking flexibility with a so, so swing. My average on Arccos right now is 255 yards with my driver but this includes those sub 200-235yard miss hits off the tee and also my more usual range of 265-280 yards and a few 300+ drives sprinkled in there. And I'm going to assume this is the same for a lot of guys especially on stat tracking apps. 

[Break68]

I hit driver 240-250 on a good day, I am 53 years old. With a bad back and bad shoulder and really bad eyes. I can shoot 83 or 103. My putting is terrible (bad eyes). My chipping is the best part of my game. Driving distance helps my game but if I don't putt well, my handicap will stay at 20.1. Hitting bombs is great, but I need lessons more than I need driving distance.

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Break68

[TiScape]

On 8/17/2021 at 6:06 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

No way do those driving distances posted by the OP match up with me or anyone I play with, all guys in our 50s and bogey golfers. No one is hitting it 300 but  come on under 200...no way. 

 

Anyone see those numbers as accurate? 

Agreed. I typically play with my son or go out as a solo. So I play with a lot of different people. Very rarely I see someone below 200 with a decently struck driver. 

[TiScape]

On 8/17/2021 at 9:15 AM, Brausch24 said:

 

Very good points here.. I'm late 20's (Almost 30) and would say i easily average 300+ off the drives. But, being 6’6” and muscular helps a lot in that. 

 

Based on your avatar, I’d like to add quite handsome as well. 😉 haha

[golfortennis]

8 hours ago, MtlJeff said:

 

I thought you told me that with confidence!

 

I told you I was confident I could hit it more than 30 yards!  Must be an international language thing, you being in Quebec and me in Ontario and all.   🤪

[A.Princey]

I hit it medium long and my longest drives end up around 275. I probably avg 260 with driver. There are plenty of crap golfers in my area at this distance, and I’ve

played with some of my caliber who are 20-30y longer than me. 
 

I agree, there aren’t many with 300y drives, but for someone to say it’s like 1% is foolish. If you’ve never seen 275 even, you must be playing with folks in The Villages

[JohnnyCashForever]

On 8/16/2021 at 4:08 PM, Vater said:

I just read something that underscored what I believe to be a very particular segment of golfers on here versus, well, reality. Someone took data from the Game Golf tracker - TONS of data - and came up with this for average drive distances by score:

 

100-105 = 172 yds

90-95 = 193 yds

80-85 = 217 yds

72 or better = 251 yds

 

I'm a little surprised no one has complained about the lack of a 95% confidence interval or standard deviation associated with these averages.  Even if the 95% CI is small, like +/- 25 yards, that would bring up the possibility that the true average is as low as 225 yards for golfers who shoot par or better.

 

Anyhow, I'd like see to the average number of putts per round (and associated 95% CI or SD).  I would guess that the par shooters average less than 30 putts per round and the 100 shooters are above 40.  Most of us can't get an extra 25 yards, but I would guess that we can all find 2, 3, or a dozen putts/round we'd like to have back.

 

On 8/17/2021 at 6:47 AM, Ferguson said:

People typically exaggerate four things. 

 

1. Net worth 

2. Value of property 

3. Driving distance 

4. How much blood they have in their body  

And here I am thinking it was (1) height (No man is below 5'10'') and (2) the size of their wawa. 

 

[TiScape]

2 hours ago, JohnnyCashForever said:

I'm a little surprised no one has complained about the lack of a 95% confidence interval or standard deviation associated with these averages.  Even if the 95% CI is small, like +/- 25 yards, that would bring up the possibility that the true average is as low as 225 yards for golfers who shoot par or better.

 

Anyhow, I'd like see to the average number of putts per round (and associated 95% CI or SD).  I would guess that the par shooters average less than 30 putts per round and the 100 shooters are above 40.  Most of us can't get an extra 25 yards, but I would guess that we can all find 2, 3, or a dozen putts/round we'd like to have back.

 

And here I am thinking it was (1) height (No man is below 5'10'') and (2) the size of their wawa. 

 

Height and “wawa” must be 5 and 6 just after ‘how much blood they have in their body’. 😜🤣

[Rocky Ball-boa]

On 8/19/2021 at 12:34 AM, JohnnyCashForever said:

I'm a little surprised no one has complained about the lack of a 95% confidence interval or standard deviation associated with these averages.  Even if the 95% CI is small, like +/- 25 yards, that would bring up the possibility that the true average is as low as 225 yards for golfers who shoot par or better

 

Yeah, I think a lot of people average 300+ on their good drives. The topped ones that goes 30 yds and into the long grass or the fatted 50 yds shank that drives the average down comfortably into the 250s are conveniently dismissed 🙂

Same for the time of year when you wear 4 layers of clothing, it's cold, moist and windy and you hit it 30+% shorter.

 

I mean even the PGA tour average is 295.9 yds (year to date of writing), and they play almost exclusively in conditions that are very favourable to distance. Only 62/206 of them average > 300 yds.

I've said this in other, similar, threads.. A lot of people can get it out there 300+ yds. It's not super hard anymore. Truly averaging > 300 as an amateur golfer is another story.

 

 

[smashdn]

On 8/16/2021 at 8:54 PM, capking said:

you can be a bad golfer and still have a high swing speed, especially newer young adults who are strong. The longer it’s in the air the longer that slice puts it Right!

 

What do athletes do when they can no longer play "their" sport?  They take up golf.  I played baseball.  Swinging anything hard and fast is not a problem.  A bat is round.  It doesn't really matter how you turn it with your wrists as long as you strike the pitched ball squarely with it.

 

Now that golfing club on the other hand is a real conundrum.  You got to be mindful of both path and where the club face is pointing?  And how you generate power with a baseball swing involves different wrist action than a golf swing.

 

So, long story, short, I can/could hump it out there a pretty long ways.  Long ways right and long ways left.  It has gotten better but I doubt i will ever sniff scratch or even sub 5 hdcp.  At least not until I am retired and playing more.

[Fairway14]

On 8/17/2021 at 6:06 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

No way do those driving distances posted by the OP match up with me or anyone I play with, all guys in our 50s and bogey golfers. No one is hitting it 300 but  come on under 200...no way. 

 

Anyone see those numbers as accurate? 

 

Here are the numbers from the OP:

100-105 = 172 yds

90-95 = 193 yds

80-85 = 217 yds

72 or better = 251 yds

 

I know lots of 250 average drive players who shoot 90 and 215 average drive players who shoot 72. Mostly good scoring is about hitting the ball straight and getting missed greens up and down for par.

[NoTalentLefty]

On 8/16/2021 at 3:08 PM, Vater said:

I just read something that underscored what I believe to be a very particular segment of golfers on here versus, well, reality. Someone took data from the Game Golf tracker - TONS of data - and came up with this for average drive distances by score:

 

100-105 = 172 yds

90-95 = 193 yds

80-85 = 217 yds

72 or better = 251 yds

 

But it seems like the majority of folks on here average 300 yd drives using XXXstiff shafts with 200mph swing speeds. It feels like 4 out of 5 people on here are Bryson DeChambeau... Occasionally you'll get what sounds like a real story only for it to turn into a humble brag.

 

Maybe part of this is that the guys I golf with a few times a year aren't on this site. What do they have to share or comment? "I have a wicked slice and I hit my 4 iron like garbage"? I guess that wouldn't make for much of a post and they wouldn't spend their time on here.

 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being a part of this community - I've learned a lot and been entertained. I just feel like the MAJORITY of people on here can't all be pro-level beasts, can they?

Skew’em

[Stinger83]

This forum is a collection of obsessed golfers. You really have to be obsessed with golf to get good at it. So yea I would imagine there is a larger sampling of better players on this forum than almost any golf course you will find. 

 

However on the distance issue. I play with a lot of random groups at my local course. I see guys that can hit it 300 all the time....doesn't mean they're any good though. Best player in my usual group of 8 friends is the shortest hitter too. Worst player....the longest. 

[me05501]

On 8/16/2021 at 6:04 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

I think the “prodigious wrxer” has become more of a fun thing to joke about than what it really is. I think it’s a very small minority of folks that post about the giant drives and swing speeds but that stuff just gets more reaction because it’s trolling or …. once in a great while you find out for some it’s true. Most of the really good players on here seem to fly under the radar or at least not brag - but they are good.  FWIW. 

 

As someone who gets frustrated by only seeing X and TX shafts for sale in the Classifieds I have to wonder whether this is actually true. 

[TiScape]

11 hours ago, me05501 said:

 

As someone who gets frustrated by only seeing X and TX shafts for sale in the Classifieds I have to wonder whether this is actually true. 

Those are all X and TX shafts guys buy with their egos, use twice and come to the harsh realization that they do indeed belong in an S! 😂 

[Nels55]

At my little course I have golfed with former division one players and lots of former junior golf guys how hit it a long ways.  There are a lot of good players out there who can hit it far.  The funny thing is that none of these kids who bomb it that I have met seem like the kind of dudes who sit in front of a computer posting on a golf forum... 

 

Anyway there is a huge selection out that so I guess that most who post here are probably honest about how far they hit the ball. 

 

LOL recently I played a match against a guy who I think was 74 years old which is 8 years older then I am at his home course and on one hole I bombed one out there as far as I can hit with roll at least 250 and that guy hit it by me 50 yards.  I found out later that he was kind of a famous guy in the area and had won multiple club championships in the past.  I got smoked in that match...

['Noles2013]

On 8/17/2021 at 8:06 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

No way do those driving distances posted by the OP match up with me or anyone I play with, all guys in our 50s and bogey golfers. No one is hitting it 300 but  come on under 200...no way. 

 

Anyone see those numbers as accurate? 

 
Yeah I agree.  I usually shoot in the 80s and I went to the local golf store a few days ago to scope out a new driver and was hitting them 250+ on the launch monitor with the crappy old balls they had and that’s with the normal left to right trajectory my ball usually takes which obviously kills some yardage.  

[BlackDiamondPar5]

15 minutes ago, 'Noles2013 said:

 
Yeah I agree.  I usually shoot in the 80s and I went to the local golf store a few days ago to scope out a new driver and was hitting them 250+ on the launch monitor with the crappy old balls they had and that’s with the normal left to right trajectory my ball usually takes which obviously kills some yardage.  

 

On 8/23/2021 at 11:06 AM, Fairway14 said:

 

Here are the numbers from the OP:

100-105 = 172 yds

90-95 = 193 yds

80-85 = 217 yds

72 or better = 251 yds

 

I know lots of 250 average drive players who shoot 90 and 215 average drive players who shoot 72. Mostly good scoring is about hitting the ball straight and getting missed greens up and down for par.

Yeah. So I looked at my drives for my last two rounds and averaged 240 for 28 drives with a high of 283 and low of 100. Both rounds were in the 90s, about my average. 

 

Yes I'm a little longer than most of my friends (all of us late 50s) with similar scoring but no way am I or any of them averaging anything nearly as low as 193. That data posted doesn't align with anyone I know.