What are your average distances (carry) ?

[JJF69]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

 

[Region3]

I usually like to hit the ball easy and have a bit to spare if its needed.

I am with you on this.

As to the original question on what are my carry distances, I could give a list of numbers but really what is the point? They are totally irrelevant to everyone except me.

I think that the original question is pointless. The distance you can hit a given club is just one of many factors that govern club choice for the shot. E.g. lie, wind strength and direction, elevation to target, ambient temp, required height of shot, required shape of shot, type of roll needed on landing and I could go on. Added to all that is how hard you hit it which could make 30 yards difference from a normal swing to giving it a good belt.

There seems to be an obsession with yardage numbers corresponding to clubs with many golfers these days. I don't approach the game in these terms as I don't think it is the right way to think about a shot..

Golf is not a game of perfect numbers. If the question is more specific like how far can you hit an 8 iron on a warm day with no wind on the flat from a good lie with your standard 8 iron swing then fine, I can give a pretty accurate answer but given that these conditions don't occur that often, it is a meaningless number!

Far better in my view to look at the wider shot picture and ask what type of shot do I need to hit in order to get my ball roughly close to where I want to be and from there, what is the best club in my bag to try and achieve this with. This is a different thought process to asking how far something is away and then pulling your stock club for that distance.

I agree with you that my numbers are irrelevant to anyone else, but regardless of conditions you still need to know them.

My thought process is something like this. I have 150 to go, but it's uphill a bit so call it 155. It's also into a bit of a breeze so I'll add another 10 for that, so I need 165. Then I'll pick the club that hopefully will go that far, which would be an easy 6, even though with no wind on a flat shot would be an 8.
If I don't know the flat calm distances how do I pick a club on a windy day, or downhill?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I agree with you that my numbers are irrelevant to anyone else, but regardless of conditions you still need to know them.

My thought process is something like this. I have 150 to go, but it's uphill a bit so call it 155. It's also into a bit of a breeze so I'll add another 10 for that, so I need 165. Then I'll pick the club that hopefully will go that far, which would be an easy 6, even though with no wind on a flat shot would be an 8.
If I don't know the flat calm distances how do I pick a club on a windy day, or downhill?

I go along with this and as I have said I measure mine using an average based on 10 shots per club both into and down wind (approx 10mph) and so know what is good for me. However it is purely subjective and personal so I have to say numbers on here are largely irrelevant to anyone but the person involved. So what you can hit a 6 iron 180 yards and I need a hybrid. All about getting the ball around as best you can and its the reason we (mostly) carry 14 clubs to help

 

[RGDave]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

I'm taking it you agree with me.

I'd have guessed the perfect hit off 104 mph would produce somewhere up to/around 250, so you helped to prove the theory.

 

[Region3]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

I'm taking it you agree with me.

I'd have guessed the perfect hit off 104 mph would produce somewhere up to/around 250, so you helped to prove the theory.

More evidence

I've had 2 driver fittings, both with a launch monitor.

One I was swinging consistently 105-107, and getting 250 carry, the other was 101-103 and carrying 240.

Both times with smash factor around 1.43

 

[kid2]

I usually like to hit the ball easy and have a bit to spare if its needed.

I am with you on this.

As to the original question on what are my carry distances, I could give a list of numbers but really what is the point? They are totally irrelevant to everyone except me.

I think that the original question is pointless. The distance you can hit a given club is just one of many factors that govern club choice for the shot. E.g. lie, wind strength and direction, elevation to target, ambient temp, required height of shot, required shape of shot, type of roll needed on landing and I could go on. Added to all that is how hard you hit it which could make 30 yards difference from a normal swing to giving it a good belt.

There seems to be an obsession with yardage numbers corresponding to clubs with many golfers these days. I don't approach the game in these terms as I don't think it is the right way to think about a shot..

Golf is not a game of perfect numbers. If the question is more specific like how far can you hit an 8 iron on a warm day with no wind on the flat from a good lie with your standard 8 iron swing then fine, I can give a pretty accurate answer but given that these conditions don't occur that often, it is a meaningless number!

Far better in my view to look at the wider shot picture and ask what type of shot do I need to hit in order to get my ball roughly close to where I want to be and from there, what is the best club in my bag to try and achieve this with. This is a different thought process to asking how far something is away and then pulling your stock club for that distance.

I agree with you that my numbers are irrelevant to anyone else, but regardless of conditions you still need to know them.

My thought process is something like this. I have 150 to go, but it's uphill a bit so call it 155. It's also into a bit of a breeze so I'll add another 10 for that, so I need 165. Then I'll pick the club that hopefully will go that far, which would be an easy 6, even though with no wind on a flat shot would be an 8.
If I don't know the flat calm distances how do I pick a club on a windy day, or downhill?

+1 with Reg and Homer on this too.......
You still need to have a fair idea of what distance your hitting a certain club...Even if you only want it to land within a rough area.....
No point in saying that its maybe a 7,8 or 9 iron when you dont know how far you can carry each of those clubs.

It could be the difference between hitting the centre of the green or just making the front edge.

 

[jammydodger]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

I'm taking it you agree with me.

I'd have guessed the perfect hit off 104 mph would produce somewhere up to/around 250, so you helped to prove the theory.

More evidence

I've had 2 driver fittings, both with a launch monitor.

One I was swinging consistently 105-107, and getting 250 carry, the other was 101-103 and carrying 240.

Both times with smash factor around 1.43

I had my driver fitting up at Ping HQ and I was swinging well within myself at ave 101 mph with ave carry of 255 and smash was 1.51

 

[SimonC]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

I'm taking it you agree with me.

I'd have guessed the perfect hit off 104 mph would produce somewhere up to/around 250, so you helped to prove the theory.

More evidence

I've had 2 driver fittings, both with a launch monitor.

One I was swinging consistently 105-107, and getting 250 carry, the other was 101-103 and carrying 240.

Both times with smash factor around 1.43

I had my driver fitting up at Ping HQ and I was swinging well within myself at ave 101 mph with ave carry of 255 and smash was 1.51

This confirms my previous post that you do not need a clubhead speed of 116mph to carry the ball 265 yards.

That's a fantastic smash factor by the way and the total carry looks as good as it can get with your clubhead speed.

 

[jammydodger]

It never ceases to amaze me how many golfers who clearly can't break 80 (or even 90) can mysteriously hit it further than my pro, and our club champ, and Luke.

Mathematically, to carry the ball 265 would require minimum 115.8 mph club-head speed.

This.

I have a driver swing speed of around 100 - 104 mph, with a fullout 100% strike i can pitch the ball about 250 max (thats TV golf standard)

Some posts on here are beyond stupid.

I'm taking it you agree with me.

I'd have guessed the perfect hit off 104 mph would produce somewhere up to/around 250, so you helped to prove the theory.

More evidence

I've had 2 driver fittings, both with a launch monitor.

One I was swinging consistently 105-107, and getting 250 carry, the other was 101-103 and carrying 240.

Both times with smash factor around 1.43

I had my driver fitting up at Ping HQ and I was swinging well within myself at ave 101 mph with ave carry of 255 and smash was 1.51

This confirms my previous post that you do not need a clubhead speed of 116mph to carry the ball 265 yards.

That's a fantastic smash factor by the way and the total carry looks as good as it can get with your clubhead speed.

Of course you dont you just need to transfer all your energy better and make the most of your effort. Something called technique I would think

 

[Billysboots]

YET AGAIN we have a "distances" thread absolutely inundated with mid handicap golfers who now claim an AVERAGE CARRY with the driver which isn't far short of the average drive on the PGA Tour.

I suggest some of you take a look at the official Tour stats and then, maybe, you will come to realise just how ridiculous some of your comments are.

Our range is just in excess of 250 yards and I am considered a long hitter by most I play with. I have NEVER carried a ball all the way to the far end of the range. Not once. Not once did I see Gary Wolstenholme, a regular at our range, carry a ball to the end of it. He isn't recognised to be long, but he turned pro off +4 FFS.

I refuse to believe that so many on here AVERAGE that sort of carry.

 

[Imurg]

Trouble is, as has been said on this thread, people take their average from their good shots. I can hit 300+ - maybe once a year - but I'm more regularly at around 260-270 but that's carry and roll.
To take a proper average you have to include all the tops, duffs, slices etc etc so your 3 good shots that averaged 270 are shot down by the 20 yard top and the 100 yard slice.
Take Timbo. As per another thread, 1 x 371 + 1 x 25 = 396. Divide by 2 = 198 average (sorry to use you Tim but it illustrates the point perfectly).
The swing speeds necessary to "carry" the ball 280+ yards are unattainable by the vast majority of Humankind.
I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

 

[Region3]

Maybe a bit off topic, but I think the word 'average' is taken a bit too literally on threads like this.

Average distances as calculated for tour stats are regardless of whether or not the ball was well hit, not that they duff many.

I interpreted the point of this thread as being the distances you play to out on the course, which are the only important ones to most here.

I put 150 for my 8 iron. If I really flush it and inadvertently overswing it might go 160. If I catch it off the toe it might go 135, but you can't think like that when you're figuring which club to hit.

With my driver, I need to know if there's much risk to carrying a hazard or cutting a corner. It makes no difference to me how far it'll go if I duff one along the ground. I only want to think about will it go far enough to be safe, or will it stop before the trouble.

 

[Billysboots]

I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

I'm willing to bet there's not a single, solitary one.

 

[RGDave]

I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

I'm willing to bet there's not a single, solitary one.

But there must be. Especially since my theory about 115 mph has been "proved" incorrect. Funny that, considering I'm reading the information from one of Ralph Maltby's charts.

 

[haplesshacker]

Two measured drives on Friday put me both at 251. Both were good hits, and what I'd expect. But only when they work. One other would be sub 150, which kinda brings the average down a bit!!!!

But I have to assume that on average, a driver would get me past 220.

 

[EZprophet]

I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

I'm willing to bet there's not a single, solitary one.

I'll take the other side of that bet.

 

[SimonC]

I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

I'm willing to bet there's not a single, solitary one.

I'll take the other side of that bet.

Me too 250 yards isn't long. I averaged 277 yards last year when I measured all my drives with skycaddie. Some were below 250 but I had plenty over 300 yards. I've stood next to a European tour player when he's hitting driver and yes he hits a long ball he averages 290 yards according to the stats on the European tour website. But no way is he 40 yards past me, me friend Max plays golf with him and hits the odd drive past him and I'm longer than Max.

 

[Losttheplot]

I'm sure there are a few on here who can genuinely average 250+ but not many.

I'm willing to bet there's not a single, solitary one.

I'll take the other side of that bet.

Me too 250 yards isn't long. I averaged 277 yards last year when I measured all my drives with skycaddie. Some were below 250 but I had plenty over 300 yards. I've stood next to a European tour player when he's hitting driver and yes he hits a long ball he averages 290 yards according to the stats on the European tour website. But no way is he 40 yards past me, me friend Max plays golf with him and hits the odd drive past him and I'm longer than Max.

I'd take that bet too mate.

You obviously haven't played much with Fundy. Steve hits it a proverbial country mile and I'd happily back him with no second thought...
He carries a 3 wood past most people's drives never mind his driver. Witnessed first hand!

Oh and how is this thread still going??

 

[Tommo21]

Time after time there has got to be some totally $hit shots from you big hitters. I only CARRY about 225 with my driver and I play off 5. Played saturdays medal in windy conditions, got it round in 76 and I would be lucky to hit one over 260...downwind. Oh last week at Dodgers place...the 18th 500 yards par 5. I flush my drive, flush my 5 wood just short, hit the pin with my 3rd, one putt for a 4...bang. Oh, that was down wind.

Maybe we need the stats to show how much the hole is cut in length........not a 260 yrd drive straight right or left, leaving 250 yards to a 400 yard hole. There is some bull on this site.

 

[Losttheplot]

Tommo I have to agree with you, there is a lot of serious willy waving on here.

There is only one person who isn't a pro I'd say hits over 250 carry consistently and that is Fundy. Not played with the other guys on here so I can't say it's false but I'd suggest it was.

I'm not a short hitter nor am I long and I only carry 210 roughly, rolling to 250 on a good day, 260-270 on a rare rare occasion, 230-240 more often than not. Definately not worth willy waving over....