Long Drive Comps

[al_baldwin94]

Hi all,

New to the forum after an interesting night getting back into golf and having some irons custom fitted. I ended up going for callaway rogue pros but the pro I was with said he’d never seen someone hit a 7 iron so far.

I averaged a 107mph (topping out at 110mph) swing speed with a 138-140 ball speed - this was carrying 200 yards.

The pro who fitted me said his driver was about the 110mph swing speed mark and suggested I should look into long drive competitions - describing my swing as “obscene”. I tried a driver and, without a glove (club was slipping) and only casual desert boot shoes (bad grip), I was carrying 300yards with a swing speed in the 120mph mark for a driver with an “extra stiff shaft with a tip” that I’d never used before.

So my question is, is there any plausibility to the fact I could compete and even do well? I know I have a very fast swing but I didn’t realise it could be up there with ‘the big boys’.

A penny for your thoughts...

 

[chrisd]

Many of us here have met, chatted to and seen in action Joe Miller the world long drive champion and, seriously, I've seen him hit a putter over 200 yards.

 

[Dibby]

Do you want to do it, or not?
The above is all that is matters, what people on a forum say is of no consequence.

There will be people out there who can't hit it as far as you and also plenty of people who can hit it further. If your only motivation to do it is because you think you will automatically win, then I wouldn't bother, but if it genuinely interests you, then go and try it out.

 

[Imurg]

There's no reason why you can't but...
You'll need that swing speed to be well over 140mph to keep up with the likes of Joe.
He's regularly up to 150 or more with ball speeds over 220mph....
It's a big jump but not beyond reach if you put the hours in.

 

[jim8flog]

Being able to hit enormous distances will not necessarily make you a good golfer.

The guys in these comps spray the ball all over the deck but they are only looking for one or two very long shots that stay in the landing zone

It is worth deciding what you really want out of golf.

 

[chrisd]

Being able to hit enormous distances will not necessarily make you a good golfer.

It is worth deciding what you really want out of golf.

This is so true, if you can hit a 7 iron 200 yards when you get down to the wedge end of the bag you'll probably have nothing left for 100 yard shots. Distance is ok so long as you can club everything from short to long with the same swing

 

[al_baldwin94]

This is so true, if you can hit a 7 iron 200 yards when you get down to the wedge end of the bag you'll probably have nothing left for 100 yard shots. Distance is ok so long as you can club everything from short to long with the same swing

Yep, I have that issue. There’s a 40 yard difference between my PW and SW - 150yrds and 110yrds. It makes the approach game quite difficult.

 

[duncan mackie]

Yep, I have that issue. There’s a 40 yard difference between my PW and SW - 150yrds and 110yrds. It makes the approach game quite difficult.

Most people carry a GW for that reason - and it's even named for that reason 😀

 

[jim8flog]

Yep, I have that issue. There’s a 40 yard difference between my PW and SW - 150yrds and 110yrds. It makes the approach game quite difficult.

As Duncan says that is probably because there is a 10 degree or so difference in the lofts. PW around 45 and SW around 55. Your irons will normally have a 4-5 degree gap between them and give a 10 - 20 yard differential.

 

[kevingopher]

Check out James Wiltshire’s YouTube channel. He is an aspiring long drive competitor who is putting a lot of hours into long drive specific training so he can compete at long drive.

 

[patricks148]

300 yards carry... tbh you would struggle to win a long game challenge on here with that distance, let alone a national one

 

[shortgame]

The forum (or is it woods ) is full of big hitters so you're in good company 👍

My swing too has often been described as 'obscene' - not sure as a compliment though

But seriously, if you enjoy it and wanna go for it then go for it 👍👍

 

[MendieGK]

i'm sorry but something is wrong if your 7iron is at 110mph and driver only at 120.

To give context, i average about 124mph with my driver, 116mph with my 2iron and about 100mph with a 7iron.....

clearly you've got speed but 120mph with a driver isnt long driving speed

 

[jim8flog]

i'm sorry but something is wrong if your 7iron is at 110mph and driver only at 120.

To give context, i average about 124mph with my driver, 116mph with my 2iron and about 100mph with a 7iron.....

clearly you've got speed but 120mph with a driver isnt long driving speed

I would agree with this, the guys who compete in these champs have driver speeds around 145 MPH.

Checkout the videos on Youtube.