Still open to persuasion

[CrapHacker]

I know they are stupidly long

I know their short game is unbelievable

I know they can't always get it right

But how many 'ordinary' players are capable of getting a 9 iron inside 30 yards ?

Watching the golf again, I just saw Scott hit a huge drive down the last. I know he had a tough back 9, and I know he hit a fantastic putt.

But I'd like to think that with daily practise, and on a like for like basis, I too could hit a 9 iron to within 30 yards of the pin most times.

And if I could do that, what about the decent golfers here ?

If you got the chance to take these guys on, would you maximise your chances by playing off the back tees with full handicap difference.

Or playing them stroke for stroke, but teeing up far enough forward of them, so you could play the same iron approaches ?

Stupid question, I know, because it ignores their short game advantage, but, for me, it just goes to show how important length is to the modern pro.

I can work on my short game and improve ( not up to their standards but to within an acceptable % of it ).

But I am just physically not built, no matter how much practise and tuition I got, to get anywhere near approaching being a gazillion miles behind these guys, distance wise.

Convince me, please, that learning to beat the absolute heck out of the ball, isn't the first thing to maximise, before working on pitching.

 

[birdieman]

Think Tim Clark, Anthony Kim, Soren Kjeldsen, Justin Leonard, David Toms etc. These guys are not big physically but they can hit a ball far enough. If they can do it then with the correct coached swing and much physical conditioning work maybe you can do it?

Re the 9 iron within 30 yards I think anyone with a handicap of 15 or better would look to get a 9 iron within 30 yards of the flag, 30 yards is a big miss!

 

[Imurg]

It always re-inforces my belief that my game isn't that bad when I see shots like Scott's or Goosens drive off the 1st yesterday. Sure he found the fairway and got it on the green but I'm sure his drive was a good 30-40 yards right of where he intended. Trouble is, at my club that will be in the waist high clag with no chance of finding it and even less chance of getting it out if by some miracle you do.
Watching the play live is always better becasue you do see the poor shots. A lot of the tv coverage just shows good drives, approaches, chips and putts - they do show the odd bad one but you won't see a Journeyman shanking a wedge in the 3rd group out!

If you work on the 10% rule - always try to be no more than 10% of the initial distance from the flag after the shot (excluding drives of course!) - then you can see 30 yards wide from 140 out is a cock-up of monumental proportions for a Pro.

 

[madandra]

Missing the pin by 30 yards on most courses would mean missing the green. I like to think I hit more than my fair share of approaches onto the short stuff so I think my 9 iron strike rate is is about 70%.

 

[wrighty]

I don't think you realise how good the tour pros are! A stat I heard (on here maybe, so pinch of salt required...), was that the difference between a tour pro and a scratch golfer was the same as the difference between a scratch golfer and an 18-handicapper! I read about a question posed to John Daly asking him what his best ever score was when playing with mates - 57!! Twice!!! I don't think that's just about power - that's a lot of single putts.

These blokes are using the same kit and balls we do, swing speeds are a little quicker, but it's all about they're far superior technique rather than a massive increase in power.

This is of course IMHO, but I think the golf is in technique, natural ability and efficiency rather than sheer power.

 

[JustOne]

Convince me, please, that learning to beat the absolute heck out of the ball, isn't the first thing to maximise, before working on pitching.

Um,..... you are trying to compare your game to the best golfers in the world who are also playing their best at that moment in time (enough to make it onto the TV coverage)

....are you MAD?

You'll hit it plenty long enough to give anyone you come across a run for their money. Can't see you teeing up next to Tiger in the next few years so I wouldn't worry about hitting 350y drives..... 300 will do! hehe

Length isn't important to get round in 72, I bet Tom Kite could beat you round any track and he hits it about 4 feet! LOLOL

You should be looking for these things:
Good strike, reasonable length, accurate as hell, good course management, get up and down from anywhere within 100 yards, putt like a magician

 

[Troy]

Rather than looking at one or two bad shots here or there, look at Goosen and Scott's stroke averages, bearing in mind the tracks that they play on, and compare these averages to your own.

In addition, if I was 30 yards off line with a 9 iron, I would probably have a better chance of double bogey than par.

There's an interesting bit in one of Bob Rotella's books. He talks about a chat he had with Tom Kite. Kite reckoned that if he played 18 holes with a mid to high handicapper and they switched balls after the first two shots on every par four, three shots on every par five and first shot on every par three, the 18 hole score with the ball Kite was playing second on each hole would be better.

 

[RGDave]

But how many 'ordinary' players are capable of getting a 9 iron inside 30 yards ?

My greens are not 30 yards front to back and certainly not sideways. If I miss the green with a 9 iron I'm pretty cross.

I'd imagine the answer to your question (if in regard to single figure players, which I'm not) is most.

 

[RGDave]

There's an interesting bit in one of Bob Rotella's books. He talks about a chat he had with Tom Kite. Kite reckoned that if he played 18 holes with a mid to high handicapper and they switched balls after the first two shots on every par four, three shots on every par five and first shot on every par three, the 18 hole score with the ball Kite was playing second on each hole would be better.

This has fried my noodle.....

He was saying that if he swapped balls, he'd still make a better 18 hole score. I drive off and play two, then swap with Tom (who's played 2 as well). Tom then gets to play my ball and ends up scoring better than me, even if mine is still 100 yards to go and his is on the green? Hmm....possible....certainly if the amateur can't putt. He could 3 putt or chip and 2 putt every hole playing Tom's ball. Tom could get down in 3 from 200 yards almost everytime.

Interesting idea....wouldn't work against a decent player (short game/putter) though.

 

[Macster]

I'm convinced the Pro's play with lot stronger lofts on their irons,...... I mean, 8 iron 182 yds ??

As for getting with 30yds with a 9, if you arent already doing that even off a 28 h/c, you better start practising !!

 

[Sneds]

I have a friend who plays off a handicap of 3, is about 5'9/5'10 and very slight (he plays left wing in football to give you an idea)

He hits a 9iron ~150 yrds without taking into account wind, lie, flag position etc etc.

When quizzed about it, he told me that once I get a good solid swing, and play more your distances will naturally come on. He rarely goes gym and when he does it's not with the intentions to increase his yardages. Just play your game and everything should come! x

 

[RGDave]

When quizzed about it, he told me that once I get a good solid swing, and play more your distances will naturally come on. He rarely goes gym and when he does it's not with the intentions to increase his yardages. Just play your game and everything should come! x

Nice idea, but not entirely true. The lowest (and best) player at my old club hit his irons almost the same as me, after 25 years playing and serious amateur golf. I do know where he's coming from though...it's fair to say that until you have hit the ball perfectly (once in a blue moon for most!) you won't really have reached your potential.

I'm up a good 10% on where I was after I started playing again (2 years ago) and maybe 15% on 3 wood and driver...it does come.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If you can hole around 50% of your 6 foot putts and chip 50% of the time to within the 6 foot radius your scores will tumble anyway. Its not about how far off the tee (it helps) but about how close you can get on the approach (in my book anyway). If you can hit a 9 iron inside 30 feet are you actually hitting the green. Not at my course so you'll need to hit it inside 25 feet and once you start doing that you can look at wedges from 100 yards. Can you get inside 15 foot. If so look at your putting. Can you hole more than 3/10 from that range.

Basically its about achievable targets based on ability. If you have a decent swing you need to find ways of getting into scoring positions and then work on getting it in the hole.

 

[mono217]

I can hit a 9 iron within 30 yards all the time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Mono - dictionary definition - GOLFING GOD