Distance vs dispersion

harpo_72

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Lots of talk about long distance shots but few mention dispersion. I watched a vid with the unknown long hitter and everything was a pull left ... consistently left but of varying amounts. It was like total distance was King, accuracy was sacrificed. Golf courses should set up for that, blocks and pulls at 240 yards should find bad lies .... But also worm burners and tops should be penalised in the first 100 yards ...
 

garyinderry

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Laguna in villamoura has bunkers at say 220-270 one side and a big lake on the other. Rinse repeat the whole way round.

You could either hit it straight, lay up or only the big dogs could fly the trouble. god it got boring real quick laying up the whole time.

There is more to designing a good course than just sticking a hazard at the landing zone.
 

Lump

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There are different styles of long hitters though.
At Club level you have the guy thats trying to murder the thing to show off, then you have the guy that is naturally long so its not an effort to hit long and straight.
We've got a member that is naturally long. Seen him carry a par4 green at 340yrds (with a cross wind) and later in the round hit a 8 iron into a 195yrd par3 into a 2 club wind, us mortals where hitting long irons/hybrids/fairway woods.

Long drive guys, its all about RAW power, very little trainable technique with natural ability (its all about reps and building muscle memory) and hope you hit the grid with one.
 

Face breaker

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Having recently ditched my driver and 3-wood in favour of my 17* hybrid (I've been having directional issues of late with my driver/3-wood) I can now regularly hit all my shots an average of 200-210yds and they'll all land within a few yds of each other...

As of today I've removed the 4 and 5 irons from my bag in favour of a '22* hybrid' once again due to directional issues with the long irons, first used it (out on the course that is) on our 5th this morning and pitched 2 shots onto the front of the green to within 6/7 feet of each other, then used it again on our 10th and this time I was just short of the green but 3/4 feet apart, the little '22*' was purposely bought to use on our 5th and 10th holes but if the trend continues I can see it getting used for a lot more, so as of this morning 'I'm a happy man' once again... :thup:
 

HomerJSimpson

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Very good point by the OP. I always look for the one that gives tighter dispersion side to side and if I can eek out a few extra yards then so much the better. That said, even with all the technology available, it still needs the golfer to put a proper swing on it and it's not a miracle tool.
 

Nobadnomad

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The trees are full of long hitters

So is the PGA tour

Long drive guys, its all about RAW power, very little trainable technique with natural ability (its all about reps and building muscle memory) and hope you hit the grid with one.

Really?​



 

patricks148

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There are different styles of long hitters though.
At Club level you have the guy thats trying to murder the thing to show off, then you have the guy that is naturally long so its not an effort to hit long and straight.
We've got a member that is naturally long. Seen him carry a par4 green at 340yrds (with a cross wind) and later in the round hit a 8 iron into a 195yrd par3 into a 2 club wind, us mortals where hitting long irons/hybrids/fairway woods.

Golf monthly forum guys, its all about RAW power, very little trainable technique and no natural ability (its all about reps and building muscle memory) and hope you hit the grid with one.
corrected this for you;)
 

Lump

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I am pretty sure there is a lot of technique in coordinating the muscles to produce a 145mph golf swing, not to mention most of them are way better than a 5 handicap too
No.
They have a natural talent, you can't teach someone with a 95mph club head speed to swing the club 145mph+. They refine this talent, but IT CANNOT BE TAUGHT.
...and where did I ever mention they are not good golfers? Reel your neck in.
 

Nobadnomad

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No.
They have a natural talent, you can't teach someone with a 95mph club head speed to swing the club 145mph+. They refine this talent, but IT CANNOT BE TAUGHT.
...and where did I ever mention they are not good golfers? Reel your neck in.


If natural talent equals
taking up a sport
thousands and thousands of hours of focused practise then you are correct
You said they have

NO TRAINABLE TECHNIQUE, what does this mean?

They have great technique, they require almost perfect technique in order to swing so hard, their swing might not be aesthetically pleasing, but their technique is pretty good!

Define talent and give me an example of someone who did not work to get where they are
 

Beezerk

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If natural talent equals
taking up a sport
thousands and thousands of hours of focused practise then you are correct
You said they have

NO TRAINABLE TECHNIQUE, what does this mean?

They have great technique, they require almost perfect technique in order to swing so hard, their swing might not be aesthetically pleasing, but their technique is pretty good!

Define talent and give me an example of someone who did not work to get where they are

There's a short clip of one of these guys on the ss4 golf program. His swing looks like a gorilla swinging a club for the first time to my eye 🐒
I'd like to see his swing when he isn't trying to break his ball in half mind you.
 

londonlewis

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It's the old adage of preferring to be down the middle at 250 or in the trees at 300.

I know I'd prefer to sacrifice a bit of yardage off the tee for a second shot from the short stuff, that's for sure.

You see some set ups on the PGA tour that don't penalise the biggest hitters enough. They can just crank it up and smash it knowing they will have a viable second shot. It can get a bit boring as it is nice to see the shot makers having a good go at crafting a round together.
 

Steve Bamford

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Funny this. PGA Champion Jimmy Walker has gone to a shorter driver this year to hit more fairways. He reckons losing 10-15 yards (he's a 310 avg driver) is well worth the additional 10% of extra fairways he is going to hit. Was till banging it 360 at Kapalua last week mind!
 
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