Hot days, dry ground...

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Adrena1in

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...makes for some bloomin' long shots on the course, wouldn't you say?

Was playing Worldham Park near Alton, Hampshire, on Saturday. Didn't really notice my shots going further than normal at first, because I'd never played the course before and found it hard judging the distances. At the 4th I think, 205 yards, I elected to take a 4I and held the green nicely, which was a pretty good shot for me. Later on, there was a hole with slight downhill, 278 yards, and my playing partners said that big hitters can often reach the green, so I went for it and hit a cracking dead straight driver just a couple of yards short.

But it was the 293 yard hole that really surprised me. I couldn't see the green, but to me it looked like the fairway ran for perhaps 200 to 220 yards, then doglegged right slightly. I took a 3I hoping to hit to the end of the fairway I could see, and hit a cracker, right off the middle, bit of draw...lovely, went exactly where I wanted it to. Got to my ball and the fairway didn't dogleg right...it just stopped, and the green was off to the right slightly, and I was perhaps 20 yards short. 260+ yards with a 3I!

I like these hot days and dry fairways...ball runs a mile!! ;)

Shame the rest of my game was attocious!! :(
 
nice for some..

my local courses are wet as fook, getting little to zero run.

Roll on our two weeks of sun shine

Incase your wondering where i am at i live in the North West of Ireland. Raining about 340days a year lol.
 
Hendy, I'm from the same neck of the woods as yourself, Letterkenny in Co. Donegal & as you were saying there hasn't been too many days where there have been dry ground around here.
 
I agree, the rock hard fairways were giving me some monster bounces today, however with that comes the occasional negative kick that places a perfectly good drive in the rough!

To be honest though I prefer getting less roll off the tee / more stop on the greens when it is wet. Halfway through my round I started deliberately gripping 2 inches or more down the club to try and get the distances right with allowing for the bounce. This worked out ok but even then i was going through some greens, and I hit the ball with a high flight that usually stops quickly, the greens were just not very receptive today when hitting from distance. I would say my 7 iron was kicking on an extra 10 yards compared to what is usually does (about 155 carry, 5 yards of roll normally- today was 'rolling' about 15 yards).

Although I felt they were as true as I have seen them with the Lagonda trophy coming up. I was able to get enough control when playing shots around the green including stopping a ball dead after once bounce from 38 yards (this was with a Taylormade TP red I found- first time I've used the new ones and it is a great ball!) I just couldn't get the longer clubs to stick...maybe because I was being lazy with cleaning the grooves...who knows. Putting on the quicker, yet thick greens was a pleasure though.

My longest measured drive today was 274 so the fairways are definitely giving some extra distance as this shot was not out of the middle! This more recently has been my max yardage when I have middled it.
 
Hendy, I'm from the same neck of the woods as yourself, Letterkenny in Co. Donegal & as you were saying there hasn't been too many days where there have been dry ground around here.
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My mums family are all from Ballyliffin, in Inishowen. My dads got a house over there too - its a great part of the world. Am going over in July and hope to play both courses at Ballyliffin and NOrth West in Buncrana. HAve you played any of them?
 
Mines hardly ever dry. Norn iron is never dry lol but when I do play a dry course my ball tends to get the extra 30 yards. I have a 10.5 degree driver so it goes pretty high - suits my course as it gives me good carry - about 250 yards of it :D
 
My course is starting to look a little brown in patches already which doesn't bode well and to be fair there are some holes that long is definitely not good as it brings a number of ditches into play and so I may have to start thinking about 3 woods of some tees.
 
That's the problem when you play the same course week in week out and almost reach for the driver automatically on some holes. Its the 5th hole, its 500 yards I must need the driver. Well not if you can hit your 3 wood 260 with the extra run, your driver 290 and there's a ditch at 280. So you gotta think clever!!
 
Hendy, I'm from the same neck of the woods as yourself, Letterkenny in Co. Donegal & as you were saying there hasn't been too many days where there have been dry ground around here.
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My mums family are all from Ballyliffin, in Inishowen. My dads got a house over there too - its a great part of the world. Am going over in July and hope to play both courses at Ballyliffin and NOrth West in Buncrana. HAve you played any of them?
Click to expand...

I've played North West, think it was in February, it's a good tough links course, it wasn't too windy the day I played there luckily enough. Unfortunately never played either of the courses at Ballyliffin.
 
I drove our second hole today 361 off the back but not sure hard ground very hot my best ever tee shot and the roll and just downwind was buzzing made birdie.
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Playing in the "North v South" match last week, I was in the same group as a guy called Sean McDonald from the Golf Magic site. He hit the biggest drive I had seen all day on the 15th I think it was. Absolutely nailed it, flushed it, call it what you like. It was massive. We marked it out on the SkyCaddie and it had gone exactly 265 yards. You are a golfing God Mono, and I would have loved to have seen that drive of yours.
 
I drove our second hole today 361 off the back but not sure hard ground very hot my best ever tee shot and the roll and just downwind was buzzing made birdie.
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Mono, thats awesome.
I'm sure I'm not alone in saying lets see this swing of yours. I can use it as an example to others of how to get more distance.
Just join Youtube and post your swing on here.
I look forward to seeing it :)
 
Had my longest drive ever recently, 283 measured on the SC. When I looked back to the tee, it looked miles. I would love to see someone I play with hit over 300, but I have never seen it yet.
 
I drove our second hole today 361 off the back but not sure hard ground very hot my best ever tee shot and the roll and just downwind was buzzing made birdie.
Click to expand...

I'm not one to call anyone out, but sorry mate, no danger did you drive a 361 hole.I'm 6'1", 15 stone and can melt my driver, and last week I think I hit the biggest drive of my life at the 18th hole at Gullane #2, a par 4 at 291 off the whites.It trundled a while and just reached the front of the green.
 
Don't know about rock hard, we had a fair amount of rain last week and it softened them right up as with the greens. Did though drive about 240/250 with a 4i from a elevated tee on Sunday, did cream it like but usually its about 210-220 from the same tee.
 
Our fairways were wet through on saturday after a weeks worth of rain so it was all carry as always. They dried out with a couple of days of sun but 15-20 yards of run is about the max I was getting the ball to run once it landed.

Mono - 361 yards that's ridiculous I've got a clubhead speed of 115mph and the max I've hit is 310 yards (measured using my SC). You must have the hardest fairways in Britain.
 
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