Forgiveness.... not the myth i thought it was !

[USER1999]

I agree with most of what has been said re distance. I too have a swing speed of around the 100 mark, and carry it 230 ish, running out to 260 odd. My smash factor is pretty much on it, and the rest is physics.
But, every now and then, I can launch one. 280 is possible, and I have even hit a 300 yard on a wet Tuesday in February. Clearly on these hits, my swing speed is faster than 100, it must be. The annoying thing is, I have no idea how to harness this speed more often. I know it is in me, but I have no clue as to why.
I guess having a variable swing is one of the many reasons I am not on telly.

 

[Curls]

I played a club match this year and one of their guys was off 24. Our first is a short uphill par 4, I’m 50 short of the front on a good day. He drove it. My first thought was “we’re toast”.

He then duffed the chip and 3 putts later picked up. We creamed them. He was a big guy, swing like lightening, found everything in the game that wasn’t teed up very difficult.

However i think people are confusing clubhead speed and ball speed. My driver club-head speed (measured last week) was 135, giving me a ball speed of 95, carry of 230ish (a lot less with my old driver this is with the new).

So to the OP, if your clubhead speed is 100mph, you’re well above average! But if that’s your swing speed perhaps you would be better off with a regular shaft and that’s where the extra distance and accuracy came from.

It’s not a case that stiff shafts mean more distance for everyone, far from it, a regular shaft may be easier for you to activate

 

[USER1999]

A driver club head speed of 135? Are you Bubba in disguise. With a smash of 1.5 you would be getting a ball speed of 202 ish. That would go way more than 230.

 

[patricks148]

He never stated carry at all, 281 total was the distance! 240 to 250 is attainable for an average 100 mph swing speed. So he will have days when he’s swinging faster than that, it might have been one of those days. People’s swing speed can vary on different days, lots of different factor contribute to that. I use trackman a lot, I’ve seen mine vary from session to session by up to 15mph at times, depending on how I feel due to work, gym, tiredness etc. He never said 280 is his normal distance.

280 plus is a long way attached stats for SS and carry etc. I'm about 100 and lucky if i get that sort of distance downwind on a links course

 

[Jacko_G]

280 plus is a long way attached stats for SS and carry etc. I'm about 100 and lucky if i get that sort of distance downwind on a links course
View attachment 25673

I'd like to think I fit in a category between LPGA Tour and 100, my driver is probably more similar to the LPGA but my irons fall more in line with the 100 mph swing. Maybe I need to get a new driver fitting for a better suited shaft????

Hope you have not just cost me money Paddy!

 

[Orikoru]

Why would you ever think forgiveness was a myth? 99% of golfers are looking for forgiveness, especially in the driver. I recently picked up a G30 SF Tec and went from hitting an unwanted fade/slice to a slight draw overnight! Couldn't believe my eyes when I started drawing it. Some of these bats really do what they say on the tin.

 

[USER1999]

That chart shows that a 6 mph swing increase would change the total distance from 258 to 274. To me, if the OP has absolutely creamed one, there is no reason why as a one off, he can't have added 6 mph to his swing speed.

 

[USER1999]

Also, given the inefficiencies in an average golfers swing, I can't see why every now and then, that it can't become more correct, or efficient, by total accident.

 

[patricks148]

I'd like to think I fit in a category between LPGA Tour and 100, my driver is probably more similar to the LPGA but my irons fall more in line with the 100 mph swing. Maybe I need to get a new driver fitting for a better suited shaft????

Hope you have not just cost me money Paddy!

My iron distances are spot in the 100 MPH, maybe a bit further, but driver carry is 235 to 240 on a good day, but i'm also capable if hitting it way shorter than that

 

[Orikoru]

Also, given the inefficiencies in an average golfers swing, I can't see why every now and then, that it can't become more correct, or efficient, by total accident.

A chart like the above is only useful if you hit it out of the middle every time anyway. If it's out of the toe or heel, or high or low on the face then the carry is going to be less regardless. So as you say, if you have a good swing that's slightly quicker for whatever reason, AND hit it out the middle which might be rare, then you're going to see a big difference.

 

[Robster59]

What was the original question again? The 281 was a one-off, he said so himself calling it an "absolute bomb". I've had one or two of those even though my normal game is nowhere near that. The 10th on our course is 270 off the yellows, 278 off the whites. I have driven that twice, on the same day one after the other when I was out on my own. I've not been within 20 yards of that distance on that hole since. Yet people seem to get dragged into one statement on the entire post.

Going back to the OP. It seems to me that you don't really think too much about what you buy but maybe just goes for what looks OK at the right price. If you are keen on your game, get some lessons, get a fitting and don't fritter around at the edges otherwise you could be chopping and changing for years. Once you have a set-up and clubs that work, stick with that for a while and don't change when they don't work for a few games. That happens to everyone.

 

[patricks148]

A chart like the above is only useful if you hit it out of the middle every time anyway. If it's out of the toe or heel, or high or low on the face then the carry is going to be less regardless. So as you say, if you have a good swing that's slightly quicker for whatever reason, AND hit it out the middle which might be rare, then you're going to see a big difference.

thats why they are averages and some are LPGA and PGA/Senoirs who have sim SS to Ams

 

[User 99]

What was your smash on each session ? It more likely you were hitting it poor to end up with a lower distance with the higher swing speed on the first session.
I don’t get the rush to call his claim as bs, who cares how far he hits the ball.

145 the first time, 151 the second, still no where near 281 yards. I never suggested he/she was talking bs, I stated someone was.

We still don't know the conditions nor the type or course, so again I was question the validity of the claim if it were on certain type courses at this time of year.

 

[rksquire]

I wouldn't rush into changing the shaft especially if the consistency has improved with the club and shaft set up as it is.

 

[User 99]

Re the shaft, yesterday I played 9 holes with a guy who also had a TS2 fitting, his shaft was the 65 gram even flow, mind was the Kuro Kage 50 gram, my swing is/was much quicker than his and was giving him at least 20 yards, yet he had the heavier/quite possibly stiffer shaft.

 

[Trapdraw]

Re the shaft, yesterday I played 9 holes with a guy who also had a TS2 fitting, his shaft was the 65 gram even flow, mind was the Kuro Kage 50 gram, my swing is/was much quicker than his and was giving him at least 20 yards, yet he had the heavier/quite possibly stiffer shaft.

Could he be middling it more than you ?

 

[User 99]

Could he be middling it more than you ?

Well if he was he should be asking for his money back cause I was being conservative when I said 20 yards. My point is, shaft is person specific, I had a softer shaft yet hit it much further than him, so someone saying they "need" a stiff shaft is utter rubbish, they "need" what is specific to their swing, not what they "think" they need as proven with myself and the chap I played with yesterday.

 

[Slab]

I love how this thread is tenuously clinging to topic with the odd nod towards forgiveness but really everyone wants to talk about the ‘281’ so back on topic… nah not really cos you’re all missing the point going on about the swing-speed or smash potato for 281

The OP said “For context it was on a 430 yard par 4, left myself 149 to the pin…” The arithmetic being 430yrd hole, minus 149yrds remaining = 281 tee shot

Since when was that the way to determine how far a shot has travelled!

First point is where did that 430 figure even come from, written on a big rock/plank of wood near the teeing ground or even the scorecard. We all know that yes it could be 430 or maybe they moved the tee’s that day and its 20 yards out
Second, assuming it even was 430 it means that unless he hit the ball exactly on the same line the course used to measure the hole length you just can’t take the remaining distance and subtract it from hole length for your tee shot distance, we all know it just doesn’t work like that. Any curve/bend or even dog-leg means as the crow flies it isn’t anywhere near a 430yrd hole… or it could play a helluva lot longer than 430 … so it’s actually possible he hit it 300!

 

[Trapdraw]

Well if he was he should be asking for his money back cause I was being conservative when I said 20 yards. My point is, shaft is person specific, I had a softer shaft yet hit it much further than him, so someone saying they "need" a stiff shaft is utter rubbish, they "need" what is specific to their swing, not what they "think" they need as proven with myself and the chap I played with yesterday.

My mistake I thought he hit it farther than you.
I agree with that statement by people saying they need a stiff shaft, people need to get fitted ! Stiff shaft from one company might be far stiffer than from another company and vise versa.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

281 yards from a 20 capper in mid October ? 281 ??

A lot of fairways are still rock hard after the summer and with the right wind and downhill it’s quite possible for people to still get long drives with big bounces and lots of roll - regardless of what someone’s HC is