Pounds - yardage

[Loop]

In an old issue of Golf Magazine, there was an interesting page about the relationship between weight and yardage. There are rare players who can drive the yardage twice their weight in pounds. Examples are Annika Sorenstam and Hidemichi Tanaka, both around 140 pounds and drive about 280 yards.

This has me thinking. I'm 5'8 and weigh 128 pounds, and the good drives I can make (without any wind helping) is about 260 yards, and make an average of 245 yards. So making an average of 280 yards seems unrealistic.

How much do you guys (and gals) weigh and how long do you drive max (without any wind) and average ?

 

[Slingblade61]

I'm 220 and my longest drive was around 330.....I'll never even THINK about trying to hit 440.

 

[Bravo]

I'll answer your direct question first....

I am 210 and a good drive is 260. A great drive is 275. An adverage drive is about 245.

I have played golf however (for 24 years) with someone who comes close to fitting your formula.

He is 50 years old, is 5'7" and weighs about 160 pounds. Plays to a 4 index.

I can tell you honestly (after playing 100+ rounds with him) that he averages about 275...and I have seen dozens of 300+ yard drives.

When I started playing with him many years ago, it would honestly screw me up...I would swing out of my shoes and be in the woods all the time. After all, here is someone 5 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter who blows it by me.

Over time, I have learned to ignore the fact that I am behind him...(and my back is still OK!).

The secret of his power is his lower body. He has enormous leg drive. At the top, he makes a huge movement forward with his legs and hips, which brings the rest behind. This coupled with the fact that he plays 150 rounds a year and spends a vast amount of time fine tuning his equipment.

In any event, he does not fit your formula but he did about 8 years ago...he was consistently over 300 then and I am not kidding...

 

[Rockford35]

I'm 5'10 and 183lbs, i have maybe 6-8lbs on me that I shouldn't. Call it late life baby fat.

I average about 280-285 off the tee. I can hit it over 300 if i want to, but it's better to be 280 down the pipe that 300 in the trees. Or, to put a long story short, I can swing hard to make the ball go farther, but i'm happy with a bit more control.

Loop, you weigh 128? Is that a typo? Dude, eat some food.

R35

 

[MAHALLEDAY]

6'-3" 180lbs ave drive 280-290. long drive 310 or so.

 

[JasonMacIsaac]

6`1 160 : 280 - 300 on average with a solid hit

 

[AMcNeel]

5"8 - 140

My Average Drive is about 280 290. . .

my long is about 310

 

[Silver]

Jesus, you guys need to eat. All y'all.

Except maybe Sling and Bravo. Guys, we should go to the gym.

 

[Silver]

Oh yeah, and I ain't never drivin' nothin' 500 yards.

 

[bdcrowe]

6' 165(ish +/-). My average is 275 - 285. Often get great drives 300 or more, but not the average.

That formula is crap. Sorry. Distance is less about ass/mass and more about your swing. As a matter of fact, I've heard several teaching pros state that flexability will help you more than muscle. I play often with a good friend who is quite a bit larger than me (which isn't hard). He isn't a whale, but he's probably 6'3 or more and has at least 50lbs on me. Oh, and he's a near scratch player. He has a great swing, but I still outpace him by 15 - 30 yards off the tee (however, he seems to find center fairway a bit more than me. ).

 

[Loop]

Not a typo, I truly weight 128-130 pounds. Not anorexic, but skinny
Bravo, your friend certainly has great leg drive. I've been swinging completely like Ben Hogan: flat plane, hips rotation only. My upper body, arms and hands are completely relaxed, and my only power generator is my lower body. I've been pretty consistent in my drives, but like you, I am swinging easy 80%, not wanting to kill my back.
Understanding and correctly applying the plane fundamentals (such as shaft parallel to adress) has helped me in hitting it straight.
I know that I need to accept things as they are, but I keep wondering on how to achieve more speed, yet stay on the short grass.

bd, I am very flexible, yet I see some heavy guys with lots of fats on their belly hitting it far, without making big swing....

 

[DaveE]

6', 175 and I don't drive the ball 350. Average is about 240, hit my best drive of the year yesterday about 280, (slightly wind aided). Besides height and weight there is a third factor for me, age. I'm in pretty good shape but 51 is very different than 31 or even 41 for that matter.

I played with a couple of kids from the local high school golf team yesterday and the difference in flexibility is staggering. And FWIW, the skinny one could hit it farther.

 

[nsherman2006]

5'11, 160-165, and i hit the ball between 280-320 at the end of last year. Now it's more like 260-280 on the course and 300 on the range when i'm more relaxed. Shaking the rust off, tho

Having gap wedge into a 450 yard par 4 is nice, but it makes it a little tougher when you have to thread it between trees, lol

 

[MyGolfDomain.com]

I weigh 20 pounds more than I did two years ago and my drives are shorter. It's all about technique to a point. My swing gets better as the season goes along. I don't get much of a chance to play late fall through early spring.

In the words of the pro I recently took lessons from, "Power comes from angles and lines.". Of course that is only true to a point. If you can combine the proper angles and lines with strength you are part Tiger.

 

[Rockford35]

I have a friend that carries a little more weight than he should. He always cites a good line that makes sense to me on the range. He says on a drive that he pushes off to the right that he "didn't get his junk through."

Interpret that as you will, but it makes sense. It's more a reference to his timing, but it's a quick mental thought on the teebox that really works with your practice swing. "Quick with the junk, you hit a pull. Slow with the junk and lazy, it's off to the right. Get that junk through as you come to the ball."

Now, he might be speaking of his genitals. That I can't answer too. But maybe those that can hit the big drives get their "junk" through because of the amount of mass inertia that is brought with the down"swing", while those with less mass have trouble getting it beyond 240ish....

R35