GM Web Article on Distance

[Canary_Yellow]

I don't see where you get this from. If you want to lower your handicap you should work on accuracy, consistency and short game. I have seen high handicappers that smash the ball miles and low guys that don't hit it anywhere. Hitting it longer does NOT lower your handicap.

Erm....where did I say hitting it further lowers a handicap?

I said, as backed up by the game golf statistics, that on average, people with lower handicappers hit the ball further than people with higher handicap. This is based on every shot played not just each player's Sunday best.

You seem to be trying to argue against the data that game golf has gathered by pointing towards some old bloke you know that doesn't hit it very far but is a good player. That's nonsensical.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Erm....where did I say hitting it further lowers a handicap?

I said, as backed up by the game golf statistics, that on average, people with lower handicappers hit the ball further than people with higher handicap. This is based on every shot played not just each player's Sunday best.

You seem to be trying to argue against the data that game golf has gathered by pointing towards some old bloke you know that doesn't hit it very far but is a good player. That's nonsensical.

Isn't that what you are implying here? And I have seen numerous low handicappers that don't hit the ball very far, not just one person.

What are the handicaps of these players that use Game Golf?

 

[DCB]

Interesting old thread on this topic from a few years back.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Isn't that what you are implying here? And I have seen numerous low handicappers that don't hit the ball very far, not just one person.

What are the handicaps of these players that use Game Golf?

It's all in the article. Have you not even looked at it?

And no, that isn't what I'm implying. I'm not actually implying anything, I'm just referring to the factual evidence gathered by game golf.

In my opinion, the explanation for these facts is that better golfers are more consistent, and therefore someone that hits it 200 yards every time has a higher driving average than someone that hits it 210 nine times out of ten but duffs the other one 50 yards.

Therefore, the better the player (and as you say, it is consistency that drives handicap) then the closer their average drive is to their Sunday best.

I don't disagree that there are plenty of 20+ handicappers that hit it a long way, their average driving distance won't be anything like that though. Probably comfortably sub 200 yards when the duffs are taken into account.

 

[Robobum]

It is a good article and goes to prove that most people are full of crap when it comes to how far they hit the ball. A lot of people look at what their distance is by how far they hit it on the launch monitor in American Golf, but that is not he swing they use on the course. I can stand on a launch monitor all day long hitting it past 300, but the reality is on the course I am around the 280 mark as that is the swing that I can control.

Looking back over the last few years I can only think of 4 golfers that I can remember that I would say are longer than me. Steve (more commonly known as Fundy), 2 plus handicappers in my Sunday role up and a young lad from my role up that is off on a mini Pro tour for the winter and he is crazy long. So out of dozens and dozens of golfers, only a handful are longer than me. But when you hear people talking about their distances, I find that most people are longer than me.

So I always find it hard to believe when people come on here saying they hit it 300 yards and they hit 160 yard wedges. Maybe they do, but how accurate are they with it? I can hit a 160 yard wedge, but I do not have a clue where it will land. People look at their distances with an iron and think they are Johnson Long, but I would be too with these jacked up lofts that people have. I hit my buddies PSi Tour the other week and it went at least a club longer than my MP-15, my 9i has more loft than some of the PW's in some of the newer sets.

I never knew you were a long hitter, you very rarely mention it 😉😂

 

[MadAdey]

I never knew you were a long hitter, you very rarely mention it 

Fair point.............

But that's why I always question when people claim how far they hit it. PLayed with a lot of different golfers over the years and found only a handful that outhit me. But on the internet there's a lot that claim to outhit me by 20-30 yards, maybe I've not had the pleasure of their company on the course yet. I'm not for one minute saying they are all full of crap, just most of them.........

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

It's all in the article. Have you not even looked at it?

And no, that isn't what I'm implying. I'm not actually implying anything, I'm just referring to the factual evidence gathered by game golf.

In my opinion, the explanation for these facts is that better golfers are more consistent, and therefore someone that hits it 200 yards every time has a higher driving average than someone that hits it 210 nine times out of ten but duffs the other one 50 yards.

Therefore, the better the player (and as you say, it is consistency that drives handicap) then the closer their average drive is to their Sunday best.

I don't disagree that there are plenty of 20+ handicappers that hit it a long way, their average driving distance won't be anything like that though. Probably comfortably sub 200 yards when the duffs are taken into account.

Yes I've read the article, I think you should too. The figures do not refer to average distance, they refer to MEDIAN distance so you can forget about the tops and wayward shots and lower players being more consistent etc.

Bottom line is distance is an advantage but it is not what sets good players apart from higher handicappers.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Yes I've read the article, I think you should too. The figures do not refer to average distance, they refer to MEDIAN distance so you can forget about the tops and wayward shots and lower players being more consistent etc.

Bottom line is distance is an advantage but it is not what sets good players apart from higher handicappers.

What is the median if not a measure of average?!

Again, I've not said that distance is what sets players apart. See my post above.

You can't argue with the facts, but yet it won't stop you trying. It comes across as very arrogant. You are right and game golfs statistics are wrong. Laughable.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

What is the median if not a measure of average?!

Again, I've not said that distance is what sets players apart. See my post above.

You can't argue with the facts, but yet it won't stop you trying. It comes across as very arrogant. You are right and game golfs statistics are wrong. Laughable.

Google the definitions of average and median, they are quite different.

And I'm not arrogant, I'm basing my comments on over 40 years of observations playing with golfers of all different ages, abilities and handicaps.

Are you just taking a bunch of statistics as gospel?

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Google the definitions of average and median, they are quite different.

And I'm not arrogant, I'm basing my comments on over 40 years of observations playing with golfers of all different ages, abilities and handicaps.

Are you just taking a bunch of statistics as gospel?

"Average: a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number."

I'm astonished that your observations over 40 years have allowed you to keep a running total of the median distance each of your playing partners hits it sub divided across all handicaps.

Why don't you write down for us all to see what you think the median distance of each handicap category is to demonstrate that your observations actually back up your claims that median distance has no correlation to handicap?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

"Average: a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number."

I'm astonished that your observations over 40 years have allowed you to keep a running total of the median distance each of your playing partners hits it sub divided across all handicaps.

Why don't you write down for us all to see what you think the median distance of each handicap category is to demonstrate that your observations actually back up your claims that median distance has no correlation to handicap?

And to think you accused me of being arrogant........

 

[Canary_Yellow]

And to think you accused me of being arrogant........

I assume that you don't actually have any evidence to the contrary of game golf's statistics then.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I assume that you don't actually have any evidence to the contrary of game golf's statistics then.

Yep, years of observation playing with people of all different ages, abilities and handicaps at club, county and national level events.

What about your game golf stats, how many people were sampled in each category? 5? 50? 5000?

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Yep, years of observation playing with people of all different ages, abilities and handicaps at club, county and national level events.

What about your game golf stats, how many people were sampled in each category? 5? 50? 5000?

So go on then, what is the median for each category if game golf is wrong?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

So go on then, what is the median for each category if game golf is wrong?

You tell me? I never said game golf was wrong, I questioned how many people were in each sample group. Also, factors like type of course and weather conditions have an impact. I've hit a drive in excess of 400 yards downhill and downwind in summer, I've also hit drives around 150 yards into the wind on links courses. All I'm saying is there are too many variables to take the numbers at face value.

 

[3565]

I got 3 drivers, Mizuno MP630, An experimental Geotech with a £300 Nippon shaft in it, and my main driver a Wishon 919 with an £18.50 shaft, 10.5, 10.5 and 11 degrees and all at 44" length. I've used game golf on all 3 drivers in comps and knockabouts and the stats say they are within 5yds of each other with the Geotech being slightly ahead. I'm over 50 and play off 3 and the distance is about 264yds between the 3.

 

[snell]

I played with Splashtryagain on Sunday and he hit the first forum length drive I've seen since I've taken up golf!

So they are are out there!

 

[USER1999]

May be the older, short hitting cat 1s dont feel the need to use game golf?

 

[MadAdey]

And I'm not arrogant, I'm basing my comments on over 40 years of observations playing with golfers of all different ages, abilities and handicaps.

I'm with you when it comes to making comments on this thread. I've played for the last 28 years and I am basing my comments on that, not from what Game Golf gives us. I don't know one player at my place that uses it, most probably do not even know what it is.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

You tell me? I never said game golf was wrong, I questioned how many people were in each sample group. Also, factors like type of course and weather conditions have an impact. I've hit a drive in excess of 400 yards downhill and downwind in summer, I've also hit drives around 150 yards into the wind on links courses. All I'm saying is there are too many variables to take the numbers at face value.

I don't know about the sample size, but regardless of how big it is you'd say it was too small, or too big, or the wrong type of golfer.