Distance - When Do You Stop?

[Region3]

The Aeroburner thread got me thinking.

If all the reviews I've seen are to be believed, this thing is a missile launcher.

If I bought the 3 wood and it went 10 yards further than my current 3 wood, I then have a ~30yd gap between that and my 5 wood.
So I get the 5 wood as well and now I have a ~30yd gap to my 3 iron/hybrid.

At what point do we say "enough is enough" and settle for the distance we already get, or is all extra distance useful and we should take whatever we can whenever we can?

Obviously there is a vast range that amateur golfers hit the ball, so maybe for the shorter guys every advancement is great news.

For me though, although the extra distance sounds nice, I feel that it would stretch out my bag too far and the disadvantage of losing out elsewhere outweighs that advantage of my furthest fairway club going a bit further.

What are your views?

 

[StrangelyBrown]

What are your views?

Not to worry about the gaps at the top end of the bag :thup:

I've never chased distance, and I wouldn't have changed a thing in my set up if I hadn't won the Nike Vapour driver last month.

 

[fundy]

TBH the only club I would want any extra distance in really is my driver and certainly wouldnt want it at the expense of accuracy (hence why ive given some up to go to a shorter shaft of late), the rest of the bag travels far enough for me (and distance isnt the key rider in the rest of the bag). More a case of having a bag that Im happy with all of the clubs in really

 

[Deleted member 1147]

When I bought my 5 wood & hybrid I came across this very issue.

My 3 wood is strong, but when I tried the 5 wood from TM (RBZ 2 iirc) it went as far as my 3 wood. The hybrid went too far when put next to my 4 iron.

As such rather than buying TM driver, 3 wood and irons to go with the 5 wood & hybrid, which I hit very well, I chose the Titleists as they better fit the gaps at the top end of my bag.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Interesting how distance is always the issue. I think when Rory got his hole in one recently he said something along the lines of 170yds, perfect for a 9 iron. Blimey, what about yards 30-170. How many clubs do you need to cover those distances. If you keep stretching at the top end at some point you are going to have a gap, be it at the middle or the bottom. You are only allowed so many clubs in the bag.

If I had the ability, and money, my aim would be to have a driver that went miles, a wood that went miles and the rest normal. Not every hole is 550yds plus and you need clubs to satisfy the other distances. They are probably used more than the bombing 3 wood anyway.

 

[pokerjoke]

Good point.
Theres no need to have a 5 wood that can go as far as your 3 wood or a 3 wood
that goes as far as a driver because then your changing your driver and as
you point out then a gap appears somewhere else.

To be honest Gaz instead of posting we should be out working on our game instead
of looking for the holy grail of clubs.
For me an hour on the putting green would be more beneficial than new clubs.
I wish I thought of this before I shelled out my money

 

[jamielaing]

I think we get to a point where all the distance in the world doesn't help anymore.

I hit my driver around 300 yards and went looking for a 3 wood. I could hit this about 270 and thought about when I would need that in the bag. I worked out that 250 was the number I wanted so bought a Ping 4 wood which worked nicely for me. I have just bought a hybrid that I should hit around 230 and fills the gap to my 4 iron nicely for me.

I think it is about filling the gaps throughout your bag. There is no point at all in having clubs that are almost as long as each other. A friend of mine has a driver, 3 wood and hybrid that he hits within 10 yards of each other.

There is another problem with distance- my driver is an R9 and I feel it's time to upgrade. The G30 gives me more forgiveness and on the trial I had an extra 15-20 yards. I like to go for the 'reachable' par 4s at my course and notably there are two that I can confidently go for- 290 yards and 307 yards. I want to upgrade but this will then put me through the back and out of bounds.

*I do expect to get the usual 'forum distance' chat from writing this however I would say this is a true reflection of my driving. What is also true is that it can end up in any direction though!*

 

[Region3]

To be honest Gaz instead of posting we should be out working on our game instead
of looking for the holy grail of clubs.

I agree, and if I wasn't stuck at work until 5pm I'd be out there now


I think I'm sorted club wise now. I get my 3 wood back Saturday and if I get on with it I'll be happy with almost all of the clubs in my bag. The wedges are the only thing under threat and that's only because I've had to take one out to carry 2 fairway woods.

 

[patricks148]

I think we get to a point where all the distance in the world doesn't help anymore.

I hit my driver around 300 yards and went looking for a 3 wood. I could hit this about 270 and thought about when I would need that in the bag. I worked out that 250 was the number I wanted so bought a Ping 4 wood which worked nicely for me. I have just bought a hybrid that I should hit around 230 and fills the gap to my 4 iron nicely for me.

I think it is about filling the gaps throughout your bag. There is no point at all in having clubs that are almost as long as each other. A friend of mine has a driver, 3 wood and hybrid that he hits within 10 yards of each other.

There is another problem with distance- my driver is an R9 and I feel it's time to upgrade. The G30 gives me more forgiveness and on the trial I had an extra 15-20 yards. I like to go for the 'reachable' par 4s at my course and notably there are two that I can confidently go for- 290 yards and 307 yards. I want to upgrade but this will then put me through the back and out of bounds.

*I do expect to get the usual 'forum distance' chat from writing this however I would say this is a true reflection of my driving. What is also true is that it can end up in any direction though!*

what are you playing off at the moment and how long is your home course?

 

[Region3]

*I do expect to get the usual 'forum distance' chat from writing this however I would say this is a true reflection of my driving. What is also true is that it can end up in any direction though!*

Don't worry, if anyone starts I'll cross it out in felt tip pen on my screen

I try not to post distances any more because of exactly that. I'm by no means a long hitter but it doesn't stop the short guys calling foul and harping on about short game.

 

[jamielaing]

what are you playing off at the moment and how long is your home course?

I am off 11, putting was disappointing last season so am working on that. Play at Kingknowe in Edinburgh which is a 69- 6000 yards approx.

Up your way this weekend, unfortunately no golf though!

 

[Imurg]

I think distance has kind of maxed out now.
Take most current drivers and, if they're set up for you, hit them out of the sweetspot and there won't be much difference from last years version in terms of absolute distance.
What they all focus on now is the off-centre hits, tweaking the head so that loss of distance is minimised. This won't increase absolute distance though.
The time to stop searching for more, though, is when you have reasonable, repeatable gaps between clubs - all the way from Driver to Lob wedge. Changing clubs in any area of the bag often leads to changes in other areas as gaps open up.
If clubs do keep getting longer we'll be playing lob wedges into medium par 3's and half shots into short ones.
Distance isn't the Holy Grail despite what the Marketing Department says.

 

[patricks148]

I am off 11, putting was disappointing last season so am working on that. Play at Kingknowe in Edinburgh which is a 69- 6000 yards approx.

Up your way this weekend, unfortunately no golf though!

If there's a load of short holes, what about hitting an iron off the tee to a good wedge distance? unless of course there is no trouble around those short holes. i found one i started playing boring golf my handicap came down. the 4 short holes we have, i never go for even in summer where i could easily reach the green as i'm pretty straight off the tee. I always go for the option of an easy 2nd shot.

Course looks nice, went to Uni in Edinburgh, but havn't played any of the courses there, didn't play golf back then.

Where are you off to up here?

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Play at Kingknowe in Edinburgh

Another Edinburger Welcome

 

[Maninblack4612]

It's very simple, in my view. you want a driver that hits the ball as far as possible & a 3 wood ditto, consistent with them being reasonably controllable. If you can hit a driver far enough to have an iron (or shorter iron) for your second on most par 4s and the 3 wood goes as far as possible for the par 5s & unreachable par 4s the rest of your clubs should simply span the gap as evenly as possible. That's why I have a 3 iron bent & lengthened to the same as a 2 iron & only carry a 22º hybrid. This, for me, covers the whole distance from 250 yards plus to wedge distance.

I would never complain about a club that hit it too far unless it was at the expense of accuracy.

 

[jamielaing]

If there's a load of short holes, what about hitting an iron off the tee to a good wedge distance? unless of course there is no trouble around those short holes. i found one i started playing boring golf my handicap came down. the 4 short holes we have, i never go for even in summer where i could easily reach the green as i'm pretty straight off the tee. I always go for the option of an easy 2nd shot.

Course looks nice, went to Uni in Edinburgh, but havn't played any of the courses there, didn't play golf back then.

Where are you off to up here?

I am changing my course management to try to play more of a make par mentality while working on my short game (resulting in a few 71s) so I hope to see the handicap tumble this season. There are a few holes that I don't go for because they are too tight or not practical to go for but the 14th and 18th are great to go for. Not a huge amount of trouble around the green that would result in dropped shots. The other holes are all about sensible golf now! Some holes I am hitting a six iron off the tee.

I'll be in Tain, Strathpeffer, Inverness- visiting family. I haven't had much chance to play up your way but it's definately on the to do list, some great courses by all accounts.

 

[jamielaing]

Don't worry, if anyone starts I'll cross it out in felt tip pen on my screen

I try not to post distances any more because of exactly that. I'm by no means a long hitter but it doesn't stop the short guys calling foul and harping on about short game.

Probably a good call- difficult to do with the subject title of Distance though!

My first ever post here was about buying advice for a low spin driver, never had so much 'banter'!

 

[patricks148]

It's very simple, in my view. you want a driver that hits the ball as far as possible & a 3 wood ditto, consistent with them being reasonably controllable. If you can hit a driver far enough to have an iron (or shorter iron) for your second on most par 4s and the 3 wood goes as far as possible for the par 5s & unreachable par 4s the rest of your clubs should simply span the gap as evenly as possible. That's why I have a 3 iron bent & lengthened to the same as a 2 iron & only carry a 22º hybrid. This, for me, covers the whole distance from 250 yards plus to wedge distance.

I would never complain about a club that hit it too far unless it was at the expense of accuracy.

not sure i agree about a 3 wood going as far as possible, if it went the same distance as a driver why have a driver?

for me i want a 3 wood that doesn't go as far as driver as thats a club i use to lay up on a couple of par 4's to be short of Burns and bunkers.

 

[patricks148]

I am changing my course management to try to play more of a make par mentality while working on my short game (resulting in a few 71s) so I hope to see the handicap tumble this season. There are a few holes that I don't go for because they are too tight or not practical to go for but the 14th and 18th are great to go for. Not a huge amount of trouble around the green that would result in dropped shots. The other holes are all about sensible golf now! Some holes I am hitting a six iron off the tee.

I'll be in Tain, Strathpeffer, Inverness- visiting family. I haven't had much chance to play up your way but it's definately on the to do list, some great courses by all accounts.

Tain is a cracker, and would avoid Strathpeffer at all costs not the right time of year to play up here anyway , give it another month.

 

[la_lucha]

Interesting how distance is always the issue. I think when Rory got his hole in one recently he said something along the lines of 170yds, perfect for a 9 iron. Blimey, what about yards 30-170. How many clubs do you need to cover those distances. If you keep stretching at the top end at some point you are going to have a gap, be it at the middle or the bottom. You are only allowed so many clubs in the bag.
.

I have recently started striking the ball alot better and I'm finding this sort of issue. 9 Iron is 140, Pw is 130. That means that my 52degree is having to see me from 120-1. It's alot to ask of one club when I'm stretching out the top end distance to 456.3 yards approximately. I've managed quite well the past few weeks with one club, but it just begs a different question doesn't it.