How Long?

[kid2]

Evening all,
Given the mental posts of late about distance and all that Box Lox...

Iv been wondering how long it took you to realise that distance isnt the be all and end all...

I figured out this just last weekend in a medal cometition...The 1st of the season...I started playing with my driver off some of our par 4's again with the sole thought of just "EASE" it out there "DONT" try and knock the name off it...

The conclusion was that i hit 7 of 8 fairways with it and it felt good...
This filtered down through all my irons also...Taking 1 more club than i would usually resulted in much straighter shots with alot more control....Had my game around the greens been better as well as my putting i think that i would have done alot better....

I guess the moral of my story is that you can welt the ball as hard as you want and knock it way past your partners for the oooooh's and aaaaaa's that come afterwards but there usually the ones off the low figures that are consistently playing to there handicap and easing there way round the course having the last laugh....

Burn your EGO to burn up the course

 

[timgolfy]

You should write to all the Tour Pros and tell to simply hit the ball shorter but more accurately.

 

[timgolfy]

Better still, use the putter on the tees and fairway. Very very accurate.

 

[kid2]

You should write to all the Tour Pros and tell to simply hit the ball shorter but more accurately.

Young mannasero doesnt seem to mind being short..."Oh wait a minute didnt he just win the weekend"?

Or maybe Corey Pavin on the PGA tour.......Or maybe you already knew that!

 

[jammag]

Most of them are accurate though and thats because they have done things bit by bit like get a bit more distance then learn to control it then push that extra yardage. Theres a youtube clip of Harrington doing a Happy Gilmore and he gets an extra 15 yards or so but he said he would never do it because of the slightly bigger dispersion rate of his balls. So shows they would rather be accurate than majorly long.

Also wasnt Tiger using a 3 wood because he could control it better during the masters for most of the par 4s.

 

[timgolfy]

Young mannasero doesnt seem to mind being short..."Oh wait a minute didnt he just win the weekend"? Or maybe Corey Pavin on the PGA tour.......Or maybe you already knew that!

Ans even those guys are way way longer than the majority of this forum. Hitting is short is good for women and OAPs. For the life of me I can't understand why healthy individuals wouldn't expect to hit the ball long.

You want to putt the best you can.
You want to chip the best you can.
You want to approach as best you can.
You want to be short off the tee.

 

[Swinger]

It's not how many, it's how.

 

[Crow]

Very true Kid2, I had this revelation recently and the difference from not putting extra penalty and recovery shots on my card is huge.

Swinging easier means that my shots are much straighter and distances are much more consistent too. A "full out" shot could either be a great contact and reach the target or, more often, be a poor shot wide or short (or both) of the target.

It's now a matter of ingraining this mind-set as I still forget, especially with the driver!

 

[jammag]

What is your swing speed up to now then? Do you practice your quick swing with the wedges and irons. I mean pulling off 300 yard drives is good but a 150 yard lob wedge would top it off? or do you go back to a normal type swing for irons?

Just generally interested not a pisstaking question as it may seem.

 

[timgolfy]

A very interesting set of stats from Andrew Rice.

I practice improving clubhead speed with all my clubs. My driver now averages over 115 with peaks into the low 120s. My irons are a little less than the stats on that page.

 

[kid2]

Young mannasero doesnt seem to mind being short..."Oh wait a minute didnt he just win the weekend"? Or maybe Corey Pavin on the PGA tour.......Or maybe you already knew that!

Ans even those guys are way way longer than the majority of this forum. Hitting is short is good for women and OAPs. For the life of me I can't understand why healthy individuals wouldn't expect to hit the ball long.

You want to putt the best you can.
You want to chip the best you can.
You want to approach as best you can.
You want to be short off the tee.

Tim with all due respect to you my man.....
The majority of this forum on a good day would hit the ball 260-280 even 300 me included but i would hold back on your opinions UNTIL a. You get a card in your hand b.You get an official handicap and c.You go out on a real course and play the game for real in all weather conditions......

Because no matter how many drives you hit over an 18mtr fence thats X distance away from you, you cant even begin to realise how far from the real game your world is!

If all your concerned about is being able to drive for show then belt away until the head of your driver falls off.....

Me, ill just keep concentrating on getting my handicap down.

 

[HickoryShaft]

The previous accountant at out place was a really good player ( off 2) and he really could hit it a country mile but generally didn't try to do this.

Got in a game with him on a works outing and he said he tried to keep it at about 80% of the swing and keep it as straight as possible so would do exactly as the post suggested and take an extra club or sometimes even 2 extra so he could keep it all under control.

During that game he was challenged twice by one of the other fellas we were with - one to try an drive a par 4 which he did easily (in fact with a 3 wood I seem to recall) and one to carry a ditch at 250 - 260 ish yards - again which he did. The par 4 green was water on one side and severe rough on the other but he managed to put it on the green, however he said that there was no way he would normally even try these as a better score was all that counted and putting yourself in the mire was the easiest way to wreck that and he had done that too many time already. He would normally play a 5 iron up to about 80 yards from the green and chip in - when he chipped he was 90% sure he would get it fairly close and get a birdie or if not at least a par.

I guess he picked holes that he felt were worth the risk at his level just as people at other levels should do also. For the rest its play a shot that you can pull off.

So its basically risk and reward, course management and playing a shot that you feel will give you the best outcome.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Young mannasero doesnt seem to mind being short..."Oh wait a minute didnt he just win the weekend"? Or maybe Corey Pavin on the PGA tour.......Or maybe you already knew that!

Ans even those guys are way way longer than the majority of this forum. Hitting is short is good for women and OAPs. For the life of me I can't understand why healthy individuals wouldn't expect to hit the ball long.

You want to putt the best you can.
You want to chip the best you can.
You want to approach as best you can.
You want to be short off the tee.

Glad to see you are still a plonker. Most on here play for pleasure. Actually most on here actually play and don't hide away at a range fantasising over hitting over a wall.

A lot of golfers don't have time to practice often enough to get the supersonic swing speeds you mysteriously got over the course of a week as they have work/family committments. Most probably aren't athletic enough either and risk injury should they suddenly start trying.

It's funny how a lot of golfers on here with handicaps ranging from mid 20's down to single figures all seem to get by perfectly with the distances they hit and would rather be on the short stuff and taking a club more than 300 yard OB or in the cabbage. Most recognise that a good short game and putting stroke will be a match for most he man big hitters. Jog on

 

[One Planer]

Someone should tell Luke Donald he needs to hit the ball further......

After all ..... He's only made €9,592,582 on the European tour (to date).

 

[Region3]

Swinging smoother leads to more shots out of the sweetspot and therefore more distance (average) than swinging out of your boots all the time, unless you're a really good ball striker.

I've learnt the lesson that a nicer swing gives better results than lashing at it, but would I use a 3/4 swing with my driver to hit 75% of fairways at 200-220yds? No chance.

As for quoting the short hitting pro's, they're only short compared to other pro's. I'd take Pavin, Faxon, Donald, or any other 'supposed' short hitters driving over mine every day.

 

[EZprophet]

So its basically risk and reward, course management and playing a shot that you feel will give you the best outcome.

This quote sums it up for me. Spot on.

Every golfer wants more distance, of course! Id much rather have a PW into the green on a par 4 than a 6 iron. Who wouldnt? 99% of golfers are significantly more accurate with a PW than a 6 iron!

But obviously distance is far from the most important part of the game.

I played against a +1 handicapper in November in a scratch knockout tournament and I was 40-50 yards past him on every single drive... We were shaking hands on the 13th, he beat me 6 and 5!

Distance is only one part of the game, there are still like 99 other parts to worry about! Its just a part of the game that gets more attention than others due to the fact that its a kind of visually impressive part of the game that golfers undoubtably link to their egos...

All those here saying distance doesnt matter know that they are talking crap, as it does. Its just that there are loads of other parts of the game that matter equally as much, if not more.

 

[doubletripledouble]

Timmygolfy,
I'm beginning to think you were bullied at the long driver forum for hitting it short, and came on here to make yourself feel special.

 

[bluetoon]

All this talk of hitting long is crazy.

I'll hit the big dog maybe 13times in my round, less if i consider accuracy and the next shot has more importance. Also the wind may be a factor and i might use the 3 wood a few times in the round instead.

The point is out of 78 hits only 13 are with the big dog. less than 20%. I you want to hit low scores, which i assume most of us do, then the focus should be from 100yards and in, that where most of the shots are played.

Timy, you keep knocking it over the fence, im off to pracice my putting, ill be hoping to only use it 32 times my next round.

 

[USER1999]

The trouble with throttling back, is where do you stop. Today it's 90%, next week 80% and the week after that it's a 6i from 100 yards. I don't find this is good for my golf. Leathering every club in the bag isn't good, but neither is easing up too much. Distance is still important.

Rather than easing up, I view it more as my standard swing is 100%, and my 'eye balls out' swing is 120%.

 

[Imurg]

Very true Kid2, I had this revelation recently and the difference from not putting extra penalty and recovery shots on my card is huge.

Swinging easier means that my shots are much straighter and distances are much more consistent too. A "full out" shot could either be a great contact and reach the target or, more often, be a poor shot wide or short (or both) of the target.

It's now a matter of ingraining this mind-set as I still forget, especially with the driver!

I'm the opposite.
I have to feel I'm swinging normally to make everything work.
If I try to swing slower it breaks down and falls apart.
Admittedly, with the driver, it still falls apart often but I know if I slow down it doesn't get any better.

On the Sideshow of this thread - regardless of how far you've hit your driver, it's how close to the pin your next shot ends up that counts more. Yes, distance is good. Yes it's easier to hit a wedge in rather than a 6 iron. But only if that wedge finishes closer to the hole than the 6 iron.