D
Deleted member 3432
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Last time he and I played he failed to reach the fairway on more than one occaision!
In his defence I had the same problem as it was a tad windy!
GM Web Article on Distance
- Thread starter DCB
- Start date
Last time he and I played he failed to reach the fairway on more than one occaision!
In his defence I had the same problem as it was a tad windy!
GreggerKBR
Head Pro
Raises an interesting question...
Where exactly d[FONT="]id Game Golf publish these stats? Something about Golf Digest... but I can't find it.
It says Apr-Sept. but not which country or how many players or anything!
[/FONT][FONT="]Anyone know any more?[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT]
Dasit
Tour Rookie
People mixing up empirical evidence with anecdotal evidence. Like someone else mentioned above.
Seems to be common on every thread like this on the forums.
Not sure how people can argue that there is not correlation between handicap and distance off the tee. Almost gets to trolling from the same few
Seems to be common on every thread like this on the forums.
Not sure how people can argue that there is not correlation between handicap and distance off the tee. Almost gets to trolling from the same few
D
Deleted member 16999
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rksquire
Head Pro
I am the longest hitter in my regular competition fourball, 2nd in terms of handicap in that group and nowhere near forum distances. The excel chart in the GM article seems pretty close to my experience. In my society, there's one guy who hits it 'out there' (off 6 and looks it in one round followed by looking like a 24 h/cap the next) and others who are at most 15 yards past me. None hit it 300+.
I've played a club competition against a young guy (age: 21) whose handicap has now fallen to single figures - he could hit it 300+. First and only person I've ever seen do it at my course - so they do exist, but they are rare.
I'm obsessed with our 17th - a difficult 420 - 440ish par 4 (depending on tee location). Getting on it efficiently in 2 means (for me) you must clear a sloping crest (otherwise I'm looking at a high drawing 5 iron or high fading wood - neither of which are easy for me!). I'm regularly on top of this, just short of being where I aspire to be because the drop off behind it rolls your ball out downhill to be in prime position. On top of it, you've 180 to the middle of the green. The young guy doesn't even see the crest - everyone else I've played with after hitting their sunday best is +20yards or - 40 yards. Statistically its the hardest hole on our course (but not by SI) - average 5.48, out of 70 players on average it yields (most I've seen any one week) 4 pars. The point is, few get there in 2 shots.
A 'flat' straight hole is our par 5 18th, it has 2 lateral trenches along the fairway. Carry the second trench and you've 210 yards left. I've personally seen a handful of people clear it - it needs a carry of about 250 if you flirt with the OOB - other wise 260 required. My best (not average!) is in the 2nd trench, and that wasn't all carry and only since I got the new driver. It averages 6.31 but yields occasional eagles. It's good hole to gauge peoples distance and my experience is those carrying the ball 250/260+ are real, but very much the exception.
I've played a club competition against a young guy (age: 21) whose handicap has now fallen to single figures - he could hit it 300+. First and only person I've ever seen do it at my course - so they do exist, but they are rare.
I'm obsessed with our 17th - a difficult 420 - 440ish par 4 (depending on tee location). Getting on it efficiently in 2 means (for me) you must clear a sloping crest (otherwise I'm looking at a high drawing 5 iron or high fading wood - neither of which are easy for me!). I'm regularly on top of this, just short of being where I aspire to be because the drop off behind it rolls your ball out downhill to be in prime position. On top of it, you've 180 to the middle of the green. The young guy doesn't even see the crest - everyone else I've played with after hitting their sunday best is +20yards or - 40 yards. Statistically its the hardest hole on our course (but not by SI) - average 5.48, out of 70 players on average it yields (most I've seen any one week) 4 pars. The point is, few get there in 2 shots.
A 'flat' straight hole is our par 5 18th, it has 2 lateral trenches along the fairway. Carry the second trench and you've 210 yards left. I've personally seen a handful of people clear it - it needs a carry of about 250 if you flirt with the OOB - other wise 260 required. My best (not average!) is in the 2nd trench, and that wasn't all carry and only since I got the new driver. It averages 6.31 but yields occasional eagles. It's good hole to gauge peoples distance and my experience is those carrying the ball 250/260+ are real, but very much the exception.
Capella
Journeyman Pro
The article does not say anything about the gender of the golfers. So we can either assume they are all male and they don't even bother to mention that fact, or it is a mixed gender group, in which case the data is not very usable, because I guess on average the difference between a 50 year old male 20 handicapper and a 50 year old female 20 handicapper is way larger than that of a 30 and a 50 year old male or that of a female 5 to a female 20 handicapper. GameGolf does have a gender setting in the profiles, but I think if they had taken that into consideration in the statistics, they would have mentioned it.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Yes this was my reaction too and fairly typical. How hard would it be to give both male and female stats or at the very least state which they are showing?
GreggerKBR
Head Pro
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Couldn't be bothered or just didn't consider it more likely.
Either way, no reason not to state that it refers to male golfers only rather than forcing us to assume that's the case. All too common, unfortunately.
snell
Journeyman Pro
Haha
He had no problems on Sunday.
The drive in question was an absolute missile! Easily 300+
I hit before him and was mightily impressed with my 260 yards Sunday best....then he ruined it for me
Canary_Yellow
Journeyman Pro
I'm not keen for this to be fact. I just don't understand why it is being challenged as being unreliable simply based on someone's particular experience. It would be good to hear some challenges that are based on some real data rather than just anecdotal evidence.
In any case, why should weather and location be stripped out of average distance? It is relevant. We're talking about average here, which includes all factors. We're not talking about average Sunday best drives.
The questions of whether or not the sample size is big enough are valid. As others have said, it would be good to know more about the underlying data.
I don't think the answer would change though.
The more consistent the golfer, the closer their average driving distance will be to their best. The more consistent they are, the lower their handicap is likely to be.
Being a 25 handicapper and being able to bomb it doesn't necessarily result in a long average driving distance as average includes topped tee shots, shots into the woods that are cut off well short of maximum distance, and various other unsatisfactory outcomes which reduce the average.
Similarly it stands to reason that as we get older we lose a bit of flexibility and strength and lose a bit of distance.
There are exceptions to every rule, but that does not render data invalid.
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
But not by as much as if the average you were using was the mean.
The median of 20,50,120,240,245,249,254 is 240.
The mean is 168.
Canary_Yellow
Journeyman Pro
That's a fair point. Your numbers are a bit all or nothing, but yes, the effect would be the same when comparing median and mean.
Would be good to see some of the underlying data from someone that has game golf to compare their mean and median numbers. For a bit of context, I mean.
D
Deleted member 3432
Guest
Haha
He had no problems on Sunday.
The drive in question was an absolute missile! Easily 300+
I hit before him and was mightily impressed with my 260 yards Sunday best....then he ruined it for me
Didn't see any of that hitting at Silloth, betterball score of 6 points going out we had and were pleased with that!
300 yards was out of range in 2 shots that day into the wind and too wet and cold to care by the time we got downwind!
srixon 1
Journeyman Pro
If you're referring to JN I had the pleasure of playing him at our place in the Beckford Bowl once. A true gent and I still take from that round that you are never too old too be competitive and a low handicapper. A legend at Broadstone and Dorset County golf.
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
I am indeed Steve :thup:
splashtryagain
Q-School Graduate
SavingPar - I'd just about got that round of golf out of my mind! Truly, spectacularly windy - without a good hit I think it may have gone backwards - the starter laughing at us was not a good beginning!
Sorry Snell!!
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D
Deleted member 3432
Guest
I still have a chuckle thinking about standing on the 13th tee wondering what to do knowing there was no chance whatsoever of reaching the fairway and seeing only a sea of very wet heather.
Usually only a worry reaching that fairway off the back tee in the wind.
Funniest thing was we were utterly hopeless downwind!
Hope you are enjoying Hexham.
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
Had three lessons in the last couple of weeks. One bunker and two driver lessons,
the first driver lesson looked at my swing and trying to lose a bit of side spin. Now looking at the stats did not make good reading, but I was not hitting it well at all. Eg played today and hit every fairway except the first, without any side spin. My second lesson was aimed at getting a bit more distance. Looking at video of my swing showed a lot of backwards body swing. We ironed that out and yes I was getting another 10-20 yd, but it was going left right and centre. So I get another twenty yd but am playing my second shot in the naughty stuff.
So for me I would sooner be twenty yd shorter but in the middle of the dance floor, with a swing I am comfortable with. I will try to gel the new swing with the old over the next couple of months but if I cannot get it consistently down the middle, I will stick to what works well for me now.
the first driver lesson looked at my swing and trying to lose a bit of side spin. Now looking at the stats did not make good reading, but I was not hitting it well at all. Eg played today and hit every fairway except the first, without any side spin. My second lesson was aimed at getting a bit more distance. Looking at video of my swing showed a lot of backwards body swing. We ironed that out and yes I was getting another 10-20 yd, but it was going left right and centre. So I get another twenty yd but am playing my second shot in the naughty stuff.
So for me I would sooner be twenty yd shorter but in the middle of the dance floor, with a swing I am comfortable with. I will try to gel the new swing with the old over the next couple of months but if I cannot get it consistently down the middle, I will stick to what works well for me now.
