300+ Yard Drives - Bulls**t!!

[nsherman2006]

I hit the ball far. I also suck. I suck more if i dont hit it far, but i hit it far and still cant consistently make par or better off a good drive.

My longest drive is just around 390, and i've hit more than i can count 300 plus. My swing speed is over 115. But i do it by going way past parallel, and it's reflected in my accuracy, which sucks, If you don't believe me fine, play a round with me. I'll probably outdrive you, and you'll probably beat me

[VtDivot]

When I catch it perfect I fly it 280, off center will carry maybe 20 yards less. We rarely get any roll here in VT with all the rain we've had. Out in CA when I was on vacation I was regularly hitting it over 300 tho... way more run out there

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

I'm 5'10" and 185lbs.
R35

Yeah right... maybe in college

[Davebud]

Originally Posted by nsherman2006

I hit the ball far. I also suck. I suck more if i dont hit it far, but i hit it far and still cant consistently make par or better off a good drive.

My longest drive is just around 390, and i've hit more than i can count 300 plus. My swing speed is over 115. But i do it by going way past parallel, and it's reflected in my accuracy, which sucks, If you don't believe me fine, play a round with me. I'll probably outdrive you, and you'll probably beat me

Neal you and I should play together, we would have a great time. Pound the piss out of it off the tee and piss and moan all the way to the hole from there. Ah good times.

[Davebud]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

Well, you watch a long drive contest and those guys (with their 6 foot shafts) are winning with drives of usually 330-340. Not many hit them all in the fairway. Now if we have all these 300 hitters why aren't there some new faces in the long drive contests?

I believe probably everyone here could hit a drive over 300 yards if you could just wind up, close your eyes, and swing away (and whiffs didn't count) and it didn't matter where it landed. My point is, if you only count drives in the fairway, there aren't many 300 hitters around.

The last time I went out I was paired up with a couple of older guys that constantly commented on my drives, I also had a couple of real nice wedge shots they liked. The point of that was that they said once I get the hang of Irons and Putting I am going to be scary good. These guys both scored in the low 80's and yet they both looked forward to seeing how far I was going to hit it off the tee. Big Deal, I would rather be able to score in the low 80's.

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by Davebud

Neal you and I should play together, we would have a great time. Pound the piss out of it off the tee and piss and moan all the way to the hole from there. Ah good times.

Don't let him kid you. He must have had a bad day. Nobody could hit a wedge like he does and be a bad ballstriker. We played early in the season and both were very rusty. He was still possibly the best wedge player I've ever seen. Very 1st hole he push/slices the drive, gets the second back to the edge of the trees about 40yds. out and hits what I assume was a 60* over the trap to a tight pin. 2 foot putt for par.

[Bravo]

I've been away for a few days at Disneyworld...

Overall I agree with you that most golfers overstate their drives very often.

On the other hand, I did play with two 19 year old twins a few months back and posted my experience here. These boys are college (American) football players about six feet tall but weighing about 220 pounds. They have big upper bodies from the weights.

These kids - easily - could coast it out there about 325...I saw them smoooth out 3 woods to 290ish without effort. I could tell that they were bright and tried to manage their swings and course management. They were backing off the swings in an effort to get it in the short grass.

I am 51 and play on the same course all the time. It is a very very well marked course. At 100, 125, 150, 175, 200 and 225 yards away from the center of the green are markers in the center of the fairway. Each marker has three numbers with front edge, middle and back edge yardages. Addtionally, along the edge of each fairway, (on the sprinklerheads) is a single number with the yardage to the center. Although our course is not a great course by any means, it is in super shape and very accurately marked.

My very best drives, my very best are about 280. This is with the new Grafalloy shaft, r7 head and Prov1x balls. My most common drive is about 255...

I think that the 300 yard drive for the weekend golfer happens about 5-8% of the time...thats about it. On the other hand, if you work out and do a modern golf strength routine, have a good loose swing and a loose grip with good timing...300 is not unusual...

[Slingblade61]

I average around 540 yards which is why I carry a high handicap.

It is very difficult to recover from a drive that goes so far into the woods.

[APowell1990]

I am 16 and I am around 5'10 and 230 pounds. When I am striping my driver I usually avergae around 280. It is tough to average my drives, because my course has tricks to get extra distance. I have a VERY high trajectory as well. Most of the times I just knock it over doglegs instead of going around. I HAVE hit a few drives over 300, but I am extremely conscious of hurting myself after having my season cut short a few seasons ago. I usually shoot around +9 on my home course, so I am not just a guy who can launch it at times.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by Slingblade61

I average around 540 yards which is why I carry a high handicap.

It is very difficult to recover from a drive that goes so far into the woods.

You should hit the driver instead of skulling a wedge. Might improve your handicap.

Speaking of which, you still using the 33's?

R35

[1BadHusker]

I am a large individual (6' 2", 265 lbs), and former football player and avid weight lifter. I am 29 and have been golfing for about 1 1/2 years now, but I can hit drives like nobody's business. Hole #2 on my course is a 325 yard par four with water sitting at 285 across the front of grass bunkers protecting the green--I hit past that water every single time I line up on that hole. It is nice to get the "ooohs and ahhhs" from people standing at the tee box, but I would easily trade it for a short game. I drove the green on the above mentioned hole this last Saturday, it released and rolled into the fringe on the backside of the green. I then proceeded to chip and three putt my way to a bogey.

What's my point? I can hit drives that very few people can hit, but I still suck. Driving is such a small part of the game, it is really trivial to even make such a big deal about it. One of the best golfers I play with is in his late 50's, doesn't really have a strong swing, and is lucky to hit 250 off the tee box. I have yet to come within 10 strokes of him on a round of golf.

[Eracer]

I played last week with a guy who was booming his drives. I estimate that most of his drives were going about 270-280, and for the most part they were pretty straight. On the 17th hole he absolutely ripped one. When I got to his ball, I pulled out my laser and shot the tee marker. 326 yards.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Davebud

Neal you and I should play together, we would have a great time. Pound the piss out of it off the tee and piss and moan all the way to the hole from there. Ah good times.

Although if you won, you may be taking away of the bright spots of golf for him. I speak from experience, I regularly play with a guy, where my only plus is I can outdrive them and out putt them, if they did either of those better then I would simply be out getting my butt kicked thoroughly every round. I would probably say I out chipped him as well, but he never has to chip. And either one is a small consolation for the 5-10 strokes I lose by, as I have to think about the fact that I play a good portion of the game better than them and still lose by 10.

Although I would realistically say may average on good shots, is only about 265 the last 4 years, that is still farther than most I play with. The last couple weeks it is probably straighter and over 280. I have had quite a few the last few weeks that approach the 300 mark. The problem with this is I am sometimes now being forced to use a FW because off the tees I play this leaves me with a 40-50 yard shot on a good portion of the Par 4's, that I otherwise would play well by using driver.

edit 1 - thinking more about this, this may be a large part of the reason I am currently replacing my 3 FW's with 2 Hybrids. Picked up the 19* Halo Tuesday, will hopefully find the 16* this weekend down south of here.

[nsherman2006]

well, if there's any sort of competition, i usually step it up. Was hitting the ball horribly in last year's club championship but scrambled from everywhere to end up shooting 70. Got beat because my opponent shot 68, but it was still a good round.

Anyway, i've gone through multiple phases where i try to ease back and hit the ball straight. Usually shoot about the same scores, but it's because my short game sharpens up real quick, because i miss a lot more greens from 150 out than i do from 100 out. Then when i go back to ripping at it, i usually shoot a little better. And really, 300 isnt that long. I play on the high school team, and im the longest hitter, but there are 2 kids right behind me(like 5 yards or so) We're all flexible little buggers with long, fast swings who can deal with not hitting fairways. Now, i doubt any of us average 300, but i know we've all hit drives well past 300. Example: 475 yard par 5, straight uphill, hit a drive, had 165 left, and then put an 8 iron over the green from there (made birdie too). Thats a good drive for me, as i usually have about 190 left to that hole. The previous hole is a 450 yard par 4 that you can cut the dogleg and take 20+ yards off of it, and my best drives have left me inside the 100 yard marker, with my average leaving me about 130-140. The hole before that is a 275 yard uphill par 4 that i have reached with 3 wood mulitple times. Before that, 500 yard par 5 that i usually have around 210 left into, but have had as little as 160(another driver, 8 iron birdie)

So yes, i can hit it far, and yes, my accuracy suffers, but to say that people can't hit the ball 300 is wrong. Us young'ns can do it. And 330-340 only wins long drive contests if its wet or there's wind against. Usually they're won at around 370-380, and thats getting very little roll. My longest ever was 390, but that was going down 2 different slopes and rolling over hard fairway. These guys have probably all hit the 400 mark before without any downhill assistance.

[Highdraw34]

Originally Posted by 1BadHusker

I am a large individual (6' 2", 265 lbs), and former football player and avid weight lifter. I am 29 and have been golfing for about 1 1/2 years now, but I can hit drives like nobody's business. Hole #2 on my course is a 325 yard par four with water sitting at 285 across the front of grass bunkers protecting the green--I hit past that water every single time I line up on that hole. It is nice to get the "ooohs and ahhhs" from people standing at the tee box, but I would easily trade it for a short game. I drove the green on the above mentioned hole this last Saturday, it released and rolled into the fringe on the backside of the green. I then proceeded to chip and three putt my way to a bogey.

What's my point? I can hit drives that very few people can hit, but I still suck. Driving is such a small part of the game, it is really trivial to even make such a big deal about it. One of the best golfers I play with is in his late 50's, doesn't really have a strong swing, and is lucky to hit 250 off the tee box. I have yet to come within 10 strokes of him on a round of golf.

Driving distance is a small part of the game but driving accuracy is just as important as a great short game. I drive the ball just fine distance wise. I have no problem with my 270-280 average. My problem is direction. I'm moving the ball a bit to far right to left and it is causing me to scramble for large portions of my rounds. I hit a lot of greens but I don't get within 10-15 feet very often. I am usually out of the first or second cut of rough which hurts my direction a bit. I think way to many people focus on distance when accuracy is where it is at. Hitting the controlled fade with the driver is the key to greatness I believe.

I also should apologize to Pettman for lashing out against the 300 yard drive. I did something rare yesterday which was play a course with a lot of sloping fairways. of the holes where you would hit driver I would say that atleast 10 of them ran downhill. My home course has 1 and it isn't that severe, everything is uphill. On this new course I probably bombed 4 300 yard drives. All with a monsterous amount of roll when hit with a hard draw. I guess it is not as unphathomable as I thought.