300+ Yard Drives - Bulls**t!!

[ezra76]

Chalk me up a BS'er I guess. I was told my top swing was at 116 at a Callaway fitting. I guess they were trying to sell me that FT-3 because last week I didn't even hit 100mph. on the launch monitor. My driving distance is the same as it was back when I was fit. Probably longer since it's winter and my drives are the same.

Possilbe that quite a few yardage markers are off at courses in my area. I've driven several greens. I'll list a few par 4's I was on in one, 301, 315 (twice), 294 (a bunch, it's my old home course). My longest was probably one I hit with my 360XD with the wind at my back. High and slight draw it ended up in the greenside bunker of a 371yd. par 4. It goes down, up an down at the end. I most likely caught the back edge of the 2nd hill. I lost sight of it when it cleared the 1st (which is not tough to clear, I can get 3w into the 1st "valley". ).

So, yeah 300 is out there and I've probably caught a few dead perfect that rolled out close to it. Carrying 300 consistantly? I don't want to hear it unless the guy is scratch or better.

 

[longshot]

I played a guy in a club team event a couple of years back.I have hit loads of drives well over 300+ some of these have been measured on gps.I am one of the longest hitters at my club and i still think i only ave 270.But i have never seen anyone drive like this guy.He was big though 6,4 and about 250 pounds he must have been close to 300 ave.It takes a lot to hit 300+ i play off 5 and i would say i only hit 300 once per round.Also you need to take into account the poor shots you hit.How many drives have you caught off center they all count if you want to work out your true ave.We all remember the good shots but not always the bad.

 

[fore142]

there are people who can do it, i just dont think as many people who say they can, actually can. even fewer can actually put that 300 yd drive in the fairway. i have however played with people who can put it out there that far, and i have beaten most of them, so it goes to show you that distance isnt everything.

 

[Tenn-Driver]

Yesterday I spent the afternoon practicing just hitting the ball and after a good warm up I hit a bucket down field.
For the expection of 1 hook and 3 mis hits, I was pretty consistantly straight with my drives... surprisingly. My fence posts are exactly 20' apart, and its right at about 220 yrd to the last post. 3 of my balls went thru the trees across the creek, about 250 yrds. but that was just 3 balls out of 30 ?

I know I have hit a couple of slices that just when out of the park. The one ugly shot in Fla a few weeks ago went over a house that was easily 175 yrds down from where I tee'd off . Granted it was very windy and the wind caught the ball which cleared his house easily landing across the street. Would this be considered a 300 yrd shot ? I doubt it, but I know that thing was sailing and I would have believed a shot would have been possible, by me anyhow... LOL

I think for some people it is possible to shoot 300 yrds, but to do it consistanly... no, unless their name was Tiger Woods :laugh:

 

[artfulgolfer]

So many factors increase driving distance, such as tailwind, downhill, high altitude, hard and dry fairways, low humidity, and high temperature... very few golfers hit 300 yard drives consistently under average conditions. Most golfers who hit a 300 yard drive are getting help from at least one of these factors listed above. However, there are some young golfers I've played with that just kill the ball - and hit 'em pretty straight too.

I'm 5'8", 165 lbs, 48 yrs old and often hit at least 1 300 yard drive per round... but it's usually due to the help of some wind or downhill fairway. But on average, I'm in the 260-280 range.

Just today, I hit a 350+ yard drive on the 18th at Monarch Dunes. It's a 387 yard par 4 from the tees I play. I ended up less than 30 yards out, pitched up and birdied. I've only been closer on one single occasion. On this hole, if you carry about 250 yards, you can get some good downhill role and get a 300 yard drive in easy. Today, with a little help from a tailwind, I carried even further. I have to admit, that was a great way to end the round. I swung a little harder today since my drives were under control. Usually, I go for accuracy over distance.

Just a sidenote... I had fun round today... I shot 2 doubles on the front to go 6-over, but birdied 3 of the last 6 holes to go 2-under on the back... Pretty happy with a 4-over after that start!

 

[cypressperch]

I played a course in Durant, Oklahoma

when I was about 20 years old. I drove a green that was 405 yards out. An explanation is in order. It was August and it was both hot and dry. It was so dry that there were cracks in the fairway about three feet deep. Those fairways were just like concrete. In old days they made sod houses from such stuff, and that kind of sod does not crumble. It is hard. The ball bounced on the fairway almost like it was on a cart path. There was no wind or I would have probably been forty yards too far. When your first bounce is like a 3/4 wedge, I guess you can't brag too much about hitting such a long ball.

We had a college tournament here a few months back. They had a long drive contest, and one guy carried a ball 340. He was thirty yards longer than the next couple of guys. Most who entered this competition did not make it to 300 yards. So conditions have a lot to do with how far you hit the ball. I suppose most courses have certain holes with certain spots that if you hit that spot you get a tremendous roll. On our 18th, if you hit a fairly low screamer on the left side and carry a trap over there, the ball shoots foward and to the right. Yesterday, I hit that shot and the ball ended up on the right side of the fairway and right at 300 yards off the tee. If I hit a regular trajectory shot to the center of the fairway, it will be 30-40 yards shorter.

I know distance is fun and can come in handy. I am convinced that the best way to get consistently good distance with accuracy is to slow things down to where you can make contact with the sweet spot on the driver face. People who are going for the crush every time are not going to hit that sweet spot. An 80% swing that hits the sweet spot is going a whole lot farther than a 100% swing with off-center contact.

In addition to making certain clubs illegal, I think that FLAT BELLIES should be made illegal. I get sick seeing these young guys that I could break in half hitting the ball as far as they do. Don't they know about Charles Atlas and skinny guys getting sand kicked in their face? When I weighed 175 I was long off the tee, even with persimmon (though they were Powerbilts). Now I am up to 218 and with the new technology I am still 15-20 yards shorter. Maybe being 35 years older has something to do with it. Maybe I am swinging 80% having acquired a tad of wisdom in those years.

Those of you who are gripping it and ripping it, do yourself a favor and take care that you do not hurt your back.

Sincerely, Cypressperch

 

[Eracer]

...In addition to making certain clubs illegal, I think that FLAT BELLIES should be made illegal. I get sick seeing these young guys that I could break in half hitting the ball as far as they do. Don't they know about Charles Atlas and skinny guys getting sand kicked in their face?

Sincerely, Cypressperch

Whew! For a moment there I thought you said "FAT BELLIES".

All this talk about driver distance begs the question:

Why does it matter? If the flat belly plays off the back tees, and I play off the forward tees, and my 240-yard drive ends up next to his 290-yard drive, what does it matter? Is he a better golfer than me? Maybe. Again, so what? And if the flat belly plays off the forward tees, smacking 300-yard drives out to within 50 yards of every par 4, so what? Is that testing his game?

 

[DouginGA]

Put me in the "what does it matter" group. my second sunday round makes my point.

was backed up on the first tee so we asked the twosum behind us if they wanted to join up. First hole is an easy 290 downhill par four. my ball ended up 20 yrds short of the green. then one of the unknown guys hits a whopper, clears the green and hits the cart path behind it and goes deep in the woods. hits a second, goes right and in the greenside sand. I chipped to 7' missed the putt (dammit) and tap in for par. his third shot (4th stroke tho with the drop) out of the sand clears the green, 5 is a chip thats 20' short, 6 is a putt wide and he takes a seven with a lucky putt. par is better than triple bogey

my decent drives average about 240. my overall (including all the crappers i am trying to forget) would take me down to the 210-220 range. I would love to be longer (no jokes here ) but will gladly take good wedge play over distance. That round had two wedges hit the pin gently for tap ins (one was from the sand even) and on 18 i dubbed a 20 yd wedge that rolled back down the hill to 25 yds. hit the second one well i thought but the elevated green made it a blind shot. got on the green and couldnt see my ball. playing p pulled it out of the hole Par saved!!

We need two polls here, one is what you think your average drive is and one that is what your average drive actually is.

 

[sandwedge]

I think most people exagerate their yardage. I would be happy with a consistent 240 yards in the fairway. I would probably lower my score by 5 stokes if I was hitting my 2nd shots from the fairway every time too. I only swing at about 75% with all of my clubs in an effort to have a smooth tempo and hit the sweet spot so I don't hit the ball that far anyway.

 

[TheOnlyGolfProHere]

Not so fast there. I average around 240-250 off the tee with my driver, but I can get the same with my 3-wood with a good solid strike. But, I have NEVER hit a 300 yard driver with my 3-wood. Over the course of my 3.5 years playing I have hit more than 15-20 shots over 300 yards. But as you said, it's not average. Even Tiger doesn't hit 300 yards shots EVERY time he tees it up. Now according to your TITLE you said 300+ yards is BS. Is that because you think people are saying that they hit it all the time on average? Well, if that is the case I would agree with your title. But every once in a while even a blind squirrel will find a nut. We don't know exactly how we hit 300+ yard shots, if we did we would do it more consistently.
TOGPH

 

[MCDavis]

I hit one over 300 Monday afternoon.

Cally warbird ball + Ping G5 w/TFC 100 R flex + elevated tee box + good, strong hit down the right side + landing on the cart path = 300+ yards.

What, you can't do that with your Rapture, wbl??

Had it been in the fairway, it would've carried around 240-250 and rolled another 15-20. It was well struck, but poorly directed.

 

[chollyred]

I'm with DouginGa. The last time we played, I was hitting my driver well for the most part and was getting out around 240 or so. That's about it on a good day. I did get lucky and have one roll to 300 or so once when I hit a drive of my life and managed to catch a downslope that let it roll out.

I have a buddy (club champ) that averages 275-280. He dialed it back to that to keep it in the fairway more often and dropped from a 15 to a 4 hcp. For the longest time, he'd swing for the fences on every hole. It was impressive when you could find it. Most days, he plays with 3 clubs. Driver, wedge, and putter.

 

[flomarilius]

I have had 2 300 yard drives in my life. And by no means were they pretty. Well maybe the first one was ok, it was about 300 on the money give or take 2 or so and well I was on the tee on a short 323 par 4. Right to left wind just helping so I thought to myself let me hit a fade into the wind so I can have a short iron in. Little did I know I almost hit our #1 in front of me walking onto the green. As we walked down he greeted me with a birdie and told me to watch out. Got birdie but shot +5 that day on the 9.

#2 was in another tournament. I had already ruined the back 9 and I was off to the start (played 10 thru 18 first) so I decided to tell myself that this round no longer mattered because my team was out of contention. Hit a really weird tee shot on hole 6 that caught some type of sprinkler head because it was nearly a wormburner that rolled 300 yards on a 395 par 4.

Those are my only 300 yard drives and I think that I would take an average of 300 with mediocore wedge play rather than vice versa. What do good wedges do if your getting infront of the green in 3 or 4 or 5?

 

[gunning4u]

A three hundred yard drive for me isn’t that big of a deal, most of the guys I play with can hit it over three hundred and past me. I’m 30years old 6.2 235lbs ex-marine grunt and I have been driving 300-320 yard greens for about 12years. I played baseball, football and basketball thorough high school and always considered my self fairly athletic I use to be able to dunk. Do I hit 300 every time hell no but its safe to say I will hit one or two drives a round 300+ if my swing is feeling good that day. I have been over a 304yard par 4 with my 3 wood, my problem is that I suck at putting and hitting it dead stright every time.

 

[emc]

I am one of the longer hitters in my club, and 300 isn't a lifetime achievement for me. In the summer, I've driven a 360 yards green, a 380 yard green, and hit a 400 yarder on a downhill par 5. Even last Sunday I nutted one 300 on the fly, but that was elevated tee, gorilla swing (I'd lost my match) and a wind behind.