The Reddit "mythical golfer who hits 300 yard drives"

[SoCalTitleist]

On 2/7/2024 at 10:38 AM, RoyalMustang said:

I've heard this from time to time Reddit. It got me thinking: how often do you play with someone who can hit the ball 300 yards on a regular basis? 

 

I have a few guys: 

1) buddy of mine, mid 30's, played baseball and has a pretty powerful swing. He's pretty wild but can match me in distance a couple of swings a round. Not consistently though. 

2) guy in occasional playing group, + 2 cap, usually not 300 off the tee but can get there. Deadly accurate at 275-280 though. 

3) another guy in occasional playing group, played on a team that qualified in the NCAAs multiple times. He carries over 300 on every swing. 

4) group of players we were paired with that had recently graduated college and were on a mini-tour. All were carrying 300+. On the first hole we played, which is 365 and slightly uphill, all the guys were within 50 yards of the green.  

5) Another buddy who is a 13 cap. He just swings way too hard though and rarely connects.  

6) a couple of the HS kids that I've been paired with are getting out over 300 regularly. 

 

I'd wager it's not exactly rare to find a player capable of driving 300. Carrying 300, that's tougher but still NOT that rare. But the Reddit crowd seems to think so. Sure, I don't think I've ever been paired with a rando hitting the ball that far; it would be cool if I did.

you just described Golfwrx

[jda]

You can find randos on every course that swing it 105 mph, or more.  If you can swing 105, then you can make 300 a few times a round with a bounce, wind, etc.  If you hit 110 mph, then you should be able to do it very often.

 

People act like this takes some feat of incredible strength like trying to hit a 95 mph baseball 450 feet, throw 100 MPH, run a 2 hour marathon where there truly are only a few people who can do this no matter how hard they train.

 

Swing at least 105, have low spin and you will get there sometimes.  Use the ground for some power, swing up on the ball and optimize your dynamic loft and you will get there a lot.  There are lots of people in this world who can do this... they just don't take the time and we act like it is impossible.  The OP said capable and there are MANY people who are capable.

 

To me, hitting the ball 300 yards is like bench pressing 200 lbs... nearly anybody could do this at some point in their life if they took the time and cared.

[NRJyzr]

21 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Most golfers have no idea what a 300 yard drive looks like.  I generally am around 270 these days and I get multiple comments from strangers during a year saying "man that must be 325".   I half wonder if some of it is so they don't have to admit to themselves that they're only hitting it 220. 

 

I have a story along the lines of your post.  With apologies if I've already posted it in this thread...

 

I'm part of a larger group of 20-25 folks on an email list.  It's the combination of what was two separate groups of golfers.  We set up tee times for Friday/Saturday/Sunday, and whoever can make it is in, until we're full.  The "full" almost never happening.  🙂

 

In one of these rounds, I was paired in a foursome with a guy I didn't know especially well.  We have a short par 4 on our course, 340ish from the blues, 331 from the whites.  Tees are forward slightly, we're playing whites.  He gets to his ball and is excited about how he hit his first ever 300 yard drive.  He had 50-something left to the pin.  I pointed out there's 50something left, and the hole is only playing 325, he says, "yeah, 300 yards."

 

Um, ok.

 

[MountainKing]

20 minutes ago, jda said:

You can find randos on every course that swing it 105 mph, or more.  If you can swing 105, then you can make 300 a few times a round with a bounce, wind, etc.  If you hit 110 mph, then you should be able to do it very often.

 

People act like this takes some feat of incredible strength like trying to hit a 95 mph baseball 450 feet, throw 100 MPH, run a 2 hour marathon where there truly are only a few people who can do this no matter how hard they train.

 

Swing at least 105, have low spin and you will get there sometimes.  Use the ground for some power, swing up on the ball and optimize your dynamic loft and you will get there a lot.  There are lots of people in this world who can do this... they just don't take the time and we act like it is impossible.  The OP said capable and there are MANY people who are capable.

 

To me, hitting the ball 300 yards is like bench pressing 200 lbs... nearly anybody could do this at some point in their life if they took the time and cared.

 

I would fall into that world that hovers around 110, and in no world am I hitting 300 yards "often" unless we're in the middle of summer when it hasn't rained for a week.

[NRJyzr]

16 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I would fall into that world that hovers around 110, and in no world am I hitting 300 yards "often" unless we're in the middle of summer when it hasn't rained for a week.

 

Chiming in just for contrast...

 

I was in the 110mph zip code, and would usually hit 300+ a few times per round.  Where I may be different, I was 110-111, hit 113 not infrequently, and could occasionally get to 115mph and up.  Because of that, 300 may have been easier for me to attain than it would be for someone in the 105-110 zone.

 

Because part of my golf "career" has seen me in the 105-110 zone, I can also attest to that.  300 was considerably less common then.

 

Now I see 300 while I'm walking to where my second shot has finished...

 

[MountainKing]

1 minute ago, NRJyzr said:

 

Chiming in just for contrast...

 

I was in the 110mph zip code, and would usually hit 300+ a few times per round.  Where I may be different, I was 110-111, hit 113 not infrequently, and could occasionally get to 115mph and up.  Because of that, 300 may have been easier for me to attain than it would be for someone in the 105-110 zone.

 

Because part of my golf "career" has seen me in the 105-110 zone, I can also attest to that.  300 was considerably less common then.

 

Now I see 300 while I'm walking to where my second shot has finished...

 

 

Yeah 115 is a pipe dream for me anymore after back surgery and being north of 40.  108-110 is generally where I sit, I might be able to hit 111/112 on a 90 degree day where my body is moving like a normal human.  I haven't seen a measure swing speed over 112 in 4-5 years.   I do also like to sit on the higher side of the spin range, but even dropping a few hundred rpm isn't going to magically launch me into some 300 yard club.  When conditions have to be perfect for my ball to cross that 300 yard line, it's really hard to say I hit it that far.  I'd find myself in a lot of trouble on the course if I used 300 as my driver marker because I hit 10 drives a year that far. 

[jda]

Y'all have all that you need to get this done.  You might not, but you could if you wanted to.  If you are anywhere near 110, you can be living near 300 with a better swing.  Just because somebody who swings 110+ cannot get to 300 does not mean that people with better swings and a few less MPH can't get it there.

Edited March 14 by jda

[Nard_S]

In general I think people grossly underestimate landing angle and landing spin on driver to get max numbers. So that and conditions matter a lot. I'm sneaky long in the respect I can get max kick but if conditions are soggy, that may not help much. In that, scenario need max flight, air time, so height & speed,  that often means too much spin. Down wind & dry, that's green light for that too. But normal non-help wind & dry, I'm thinking, max distance with ideal kick. Into wind, trying to knock flight down without adding any more than a default spin.Take the medicine and move on.

[NRJyzr]

35 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

Yeah 115 is a pipe dream for me anymore after back surgery and being north of 40.

 

I feel for you.  I was able to hold out into my mid 50s, but age 56 or 57 is when it finally caught up with me.  Feel fortunate it's not in the surgery realm.

 

At the course, a few guys would ask if I'm limping.  Um, probably...    (was due to my back problems)

 

Love my lower back.  😐

 

I'm also 60, which makes the hill a little steeper...

 

Edited March 14 by NRJyzr

[MountainKing]

47 minutes ago, jda said:

Y'all have all that you need to get this done.  You might not, but you could if you wanted to.  If you are anywhere near 110, you can be living near 300 with a better swing.  Just because somebody who swings 110+ cannot get to 300 does not mean that people with better swings and a few less MPH can't get it there.

 

In some cases yeah - in my case I'd say my swing is better now than it was 20 years ago when I was hitting it further and swinging faster.  Still room for improvement if I wanted to take that time, but more of my issues these days are physical.  I have a back that's got some hardware, I need a new knee and probably hip.  The extra weight i'm carrying isn't helping the swing speed either Hockey did me in, I'm well past my physical prime at this point so it is what it is.

[RoyalMustang]

4 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

I would fall into that world that hovers around 110, and in no world am I hitting 300 yards "often" unless we're in the middle of summer when it hasn't rained for a week.

 

Where do you play? It makes a difference: if it's always 65 and foggy, you won't get the distance of someone living in 90 degree dry temps. 

 

Here in Dallas we are in the middle somewhere. I notice a loss of 20 yards winter to summer, not inclulding rollout. That is dependent on rain vs. dry. I recently had a 359 yard drive: had a light tailwind helping me (probably 8mph max); it was 80 degrees, the course hadn't seen rain in a week and the hole plays uphill to 260 and then downhill after that. I carried it around 300, got the big hop, and the ball just kept going till it found the water drain. Don't get me wrong: I hit it very well and in the perfect spot, but I wouldn't go around telling people I'm 360 off the tee. I get that maybe 5x a year on that hole, although it happened 2 days in a row last week. 

[RoyalMustang]

2 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

In some cases yeah - in my case I'd say my swing is better now than it was 20 years ago when I was hitting it further and swinging faster.  Still room for improvement if I wanted to take that time, but more of my issues these days are physical.  I have a back that's got some hardware, I need a new knee and probably hip.  The extra weight i'm carrying isn't helping the swing speed either Hockey did me in, I'm well past my physical prime at this point so it is what it is.

 

Yeah-getting the launch angle and spin correct makes a massive difference. The first time I went on the launch monitor I was 107 SS and carrying 255-260 max: that was 2.5 years ago. My SS is up 7% and carry 15% since then. Getting a driver with the right flex and head (set at 8.25 degrees) and learning how to get the right launch angle gave me "free" distance. At 110 swing speed you won't carry 300 in normal conditions but you'll get there with rollout 2x a round. 

[golfpractitioner5]

I agree with @RoyalMustang in that where you play makes a huge difference if we are basing the definition of 300 yard driver on course play as opposed to LM numbers. 

 

The 3 courses I play on probably the most regular basis in my area each have one hole on them that is a possible 300 total yard drive if you land your drive in the right spot.  2 are par 5s and 1 is a par 4.  The drives set up the same for each of them.  Each of those holes all set up in that they are very straight with a dramatic drop down a hill at about 240 yards, so if you can carry the ball 235 yards or more in the area, you are going to get a great bounce forward and roll out unless the courses are just a soggy mess.  They are all wide open, so they allow you to really go at the ball without any real concern of losing a ball out of bounds or into a hazard.

 

If you catch the hill right, you are left with about 150-175 yards into the par 5s and about 70 yards into the one that is a par 4.

 

I have played those courses 5 times since January and have had 300 total yard drives 3/5 times on those holes.  Those are my only 300 yard drives on the year, too.  My avg driver distance is 245-265 total yards.  I have not even come close to a 300 yard drive outside of those 3 times.

 

I know the distances are a true 300 total yard drives as I keep up with all my tee box distances by marking the tee location with my hand held GPS and listing the total distance shown from that spot to my balls locations.

 

I bring this up to state that I am not a 300 yard driver, but those 3 holes play perfectly for me to easily get a 300 yard drive around half the time.  I am very accurate with my driver these days and always seem to find the right landing spot on those holes.

 

[Obee]

I have played with many, many guys who hit it 300+ with roll and 20+ who can carry it 300+. 300+ including roll is not a big deal if you play competitive amateur golf and it's commonplace among pros, of course. Brian Harman was 156th(?) in driving distance last year at 293 yards. That's ... crazy. The guys I have played with who carry it 300+:

• A college kid with 188 to 191 ball speed.
• Two 25 to 35 year mid-ams at my former club
• A 30ish mini-tour pro at my former club
• Any number of young pros and college kids I have played with over the years
• Several pros play out of my current club, all of whom have 180+ ball speed. At one point, both Brent Grant and Kevin Dougherty played out of our club. This was them on the Korn Ferry a couple years back:
  
  

 

 

Edited March 19 by Obee

[PlatinumNike]

10 hours ago, Obee said:

I have played with many, many guys who hit it 300+ with roll and 20+ who can carry it 300+ with guys every week who can carry it 300+. 300+ including roll is not a big deal if you play competitive amateur golf and it's commonplace among pros. Brian Harman was 156th(?) in driving distance last year at 293 yards. That's ... crazy. The guys I have played with who carry it 300+:

• A college kid with 188 to 191 ball speed.
• The 25 to 35 year mid-ams at my former club
• A 30ish mini-tour pro at my former club
• Any number of young pros and college kids I have played with over the years
• Several pros play out of my current club, all of whom have 180+ ball speed. At one point, both Brent Grant and Kevin Dougherty played out of our club. This was them on the Korn Ferry a couple years back:
  
  

 

 

harman 293 is on fairways that roll forever 

 

guy is 5’6 with a 109 SS

[Obee]

8 hours ago, PlatinumNike said:

harman 293 is on fairways that roll forever 

 

guy is 5’6 with a 109 SS

 

For sure. But if we're talking roll, the ball rolls as far as it does on tour at some other courses too. 🙂

[Pnwpingi210]

300 yard carry, and 300 yards total are two very different things.

 

300 yard carry on the course on a calm day is pretty uncommon to see.

 

250 carry in the summer and roll out to 300 with super firm fairways, a little wind isn’t all that uncommon.

 

 

[bigred90gt]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:16 PM, MountainKing said:

 

Yeah 115 is a pipe dream for me anymore after back surgery and being north of 40. 

Unfortunately, I know that feeling all too well. I'm 43 and had my first back surgery at 32, my second at 34 (a few days after my 34th birthday actually). Herniated disc at L4/L5 both times. 

 

I used to hover between 115-120 depending on the day and how the back felt. I think if I hit 105mph today, I'm not sure I would be able to stand up the next day. 

 

 

[MountainKing]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:29 AM, Pnwpingi210 said:

300 yard carry, and 300 yards total are two very different things.

 

300 yard carry on the course on a calm day is pretty uncommon to see.

 

250 carry in the summer and roll out to 300 with super firm fairways, a little wind isn’t all that uncommon.

 

 

 

I was trying to find ways to say this.  I know if you hit it 300, it's 300, but if it takes 30 yards of roll for me to get there it's hard to consider myself a guy who hits it 300.  I play with guys who can carry it 300+, and the ball comes off and looks very different from my 270-275 yard drives. 

[Obee]

51 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

I was trying to find ways to say this.  I know if you hit it 300, it's 300, but if it takes 30 yards of roll for me to get there it's hard to consider myself a guy who hits it 300.  I play with guys who can carry it 300+, and the ball comes off and looks very different from my 270-275 yard drives. 

 

Well ... Duh ....

🙂

[RoyalMustang]

1 hour ago, MountainKing said:

 

I was trying to find ways to say this.  I know if you hit it 300, it's 300, but if it takes 30 yards of roll for me to get there it's hard to consider myself a guy who hits it 300.  I play with guys who can carry it 300+, and the ball comes off and looks very different from my 270-275 yard drives. 

 

hey, 270 plus rollout is easily top 7% of all golfers. Nothing to be ashamed of. And yes, you can say you hit the ball 300, just not on a regular basis. Not that anyone really goes around asking. When I think of an actual "long hitter" I'm thinking of someone out there 320+ most of the time. Those mini tour guys I played with; 330 yard hole and they are all on the fringe of the green. 

 

I just more referred to the ridiculousness of Reddit guys thinking of playing with anyone who hits it 300 is about as common as randomly playing with a person who has spent more than 48 hours orbiting the earth. 

[Dan Drake]

1 hour ago, bigred90gt said:

Unfortunately, I know that feeling all too well. I'm 43 and had my first back surgery at 32, my second at 34 (a few days after my 34th birthday actually). Herniated disc at L4/L5 both times. 

 

I used to hover between 115-120 depending on the day and how the back felt. I think if I hit 105mph today, I'm not sure I would be able to stand up the next day. 

 

 

I'm part of this camp, L4/L5 herniated at 29yrs old.  It's been good since then (although shoulders and knees are now shot), except when I quit taking care of it.  

 

That said, I've been over 120mph in the last year and plan on getting to 125mph this year.  Note: these are MAX speeds, not on-course cruising speeds.  I'd like those to be in the 115-118 range.  

 

Just enough to carry it 300, lol!

[MountainKing]

1 minute ago, RoyalMustang said:

 

hey, 270 plus rollout is easily top 7% of all golfers. Nothing to be ashamed of. And yes, you can say you hit the ball 300, just not on a regular basis. Not that anyone really goes around asking. When I think of an actual "long hitter" I'm thinking of someone out there 320+ most of the time. Those mini tour guys I played with; 330 yard hole and they are all on the fringe of the green. 

 

I just more referred to the ridiculousness of Reddit guys thinking of playing with anyone who hits it 300 is about as common as randomly playing with a person who has spent more than 48 hours orbiting the earth. 

 

I don't really think of myself as a long hitter these days, given that I'm one of the shorter guys in the group I play in.  I am however reminded of the fact that I do hit it pretty good in the rare instance  I get paired up with random people, and I find myself 50+ yards in front of them playing a tee back.  I guess some of it is perspective.  What I can say is it's not common at all, I can count on one hand how many random people in the last 10 years that drove it out there with me or past me.  250+ I think is pretty rare.

[MountainKing]

4 minutes ago, Dan Drake said:

I'm part of this camp, L4/L5 herniated at 29yrs old.  It's been good since then (although shoulders and knees are now shot), except when I quit taking care of it.  

 

That said, I've been over 120mph in the last year and plan on getting to 125mph this year.  Note: these are MAX speeds, not on-course cruising speeds.  I'd like those to be in the 115-118 range.  

 

Just enough to carry it 300, lol!

 

Just wait until you're trying to swing 120 in your 40's with back issues 🙂

[jda]

In mid-late 40s.  I can gain probably gain some SS, but learned how to use the ground for power, dynamic loft, lower spin and a slightly heavier club.  Even in your 20s, spend time of this because you can use this even at 90 mph of driver speed.  All of this is like adding 10mph, or more.

[Dan Drake]

32 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Just wait until you're trying to swing 120 in your 40's with back issues 🙂

I'm 45 years old as we speak and the speed is still there.  I plan on keeping it as long as possible as well, lol!

[bcflyguy1]

49 minutes ago, MountainKing said:

 

Just wait until you're trying to swing 120 in your 40's with back issues 🙂

Reasonable sized handful of guys at my club can squish it out there, and none of them would be classified as flat-bellys.

Will be 45 in a couple months, 6'3"-ish and 240-ish, and have a dodgy L4/L5 from way too much time in a seated position for work. Working with a TPI Level 3 coach has done wonders, as has The Stack System. For a washed up guy with a lovely wife, 3 girls, 3 jobs, and a bad bfack I move it OK. It can be done; this was a cruising, course speed driver following my Stack workout yesterday afternoon. CHS was 118 on this ball. Time is undefeated, but like my guy @Dan Drake will go down fighting for every inch.

Edited March 20 by bcflyguy1

[MountainKing]

1 minute ago, bcflyguy1 said:

Reasonable sized handful of guys at my club can squish it out there, and none of them would be classified as flat-bellys.

Will be 45 in a couple months and have a dodgy L4/L5. Working with a TPI Level 3 coach has done wonders, as has The Stack System. For a washed up guy with a lovely wife, 3 girls, 3 jobs, and a bad back I move it OK. It can be done; this was a cruising, course speed driver following my Stack workout yesterday afternoon. CHS was 118 on this ball.

 

Embarrassed to say in 10 years I went from 6 pack abs to clearing the 300 mark on the scale.  I sort of think that might be more what's holding me back at this point over the hardware in my back, and the knee/hip that need replacing.  I am currently working on that so once I'm down 100 pounds I'll report back.

[bcflyguy1]

Just now, MountainKing said:

 

Embarrassed to say in 10 years I went from 6 pack abs to clearing the 300 mark on the scale.  I sort of think that might be more what's holding me back at this point over the hardware in my back, and the knee/hip that need replacing.  I am currently working on that so once I'm down 100 pounds I'll report back.

I get it; my appetite never got the memo that the days of eating like you have a hollow leg without consequence ended about 20 years ago.

[MountainKing]

1 minute ago, bcflyguy1 said:

I get it; my appetite never got the memo that the days of eating like you have a hollow leg without consequence ended about 20 years ago.

 

Yeah my problem was at one point on top of a 90 minute workout, between coaching/playing i was on the ice 5 days a week from 5pm until about 11pm.  When I golfed I was a walker so my body required insane amounts of calories.  When I got injured and was laid up for almost a year straight my idiot mind decided that my body still required an insane amount of calories.  Years later I'm just a poster child for excuses to being fat.