Whats your average and longest drive?

[OldWindy]

I must admit, When i get on the tee and some one creams a long one down the middle, the lentgh certainly puts some pressure on and I do get tempted to try give it that little more. How many others do this? Who has the discipline to keep it easy knowing short on short stuff is better than long in long stuff?

Old fella once told me that you should play against the course and that's exactly the way to do it, i.e. play your own game.

 

[flandango]

DHM did I not say that I know long drives is not all golf is about????

Chill out mate. Not trying to prove anything as I get know where near some distances mentioned.

I thought it would generate some light hearted convo!

If you don't like it dont post...simple.

 

[Handycap]

Where's the harm in asking a straight forward question? I have long given up trying to match a longer hitter than I. However, if a hole you're faced with will reward a long drive, and the benefits outweigh the risks, then of course you will try to give it that little bit extra . It should of course be controlled "extra". I have learned to play within myself in terms of swing speed and concentrate on keeping my tempo sweet and hitting the ball well, not hard. I try never to exceed my mental maximum speed, but will risk going up to that maximum on occasion. Summer months should see 250 to 260 yards and winter 230 yards carry and roll. My max would give about another 20 yards but with a progressive decline in fairway accuracy. Is it worth it; when it works of course it is. Watch golf coverage on TV and you'll see this happen at some point to most players on the tour, generally it works for them but sometimes it doesn't.

 

[Leftie]

Really impressed with some of the driving distances guys but glad to see some are more realistic. Is there any relationship between claimed distances and handicap?

Just for interest and benchmark ....http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/2007/101.html

 

[Dodger]

Leftie this is my biggest bug bare on amatuer golfers they really have no idea just how far they ACTUALLY hit the ball....average 280plus....aye righto.

 

[Clansman]

My average is about 185/190. But on a good day with the wind behind and a firm fairway (if I hit it straight) then probably about 230/240 carry and roll.

 

[andycap]

Really impressed with some of the driving distances guys but glad to see some are more realistic. Is there any relationship between claimed distances and handicap?

Just for interest and benchmark ....http://www.pgatour.com/r/stats/2007/101.html

Interesting reading there , figures are lower than i thought they would be, and if you look back through the years with the exeption of the odd big hitter who really out drives all others on a particular year , they only creep up about 3-5 yds a year . I suppose it only really stands out when somebody from that list is playing against those that are not

 

[Up_Point_1]

DHM did I not say that I know long drives is not all golf is about????

And have I not already said in an earlier post that I can read, and I do understand your question?

I will still stand by my original comment on this thread. WGAF how far people hit a golf ball. It's totally irrelevant.

Any old numpty with an ounce of coordination can knock a golf ball 300 yards if they have 500 acres of land to aim at.

DHM.

 

[TonyN]

I don't understand

DHM.

 

[TonyN]

I will still stand by my original comment on this thread. WGAF how far people hit a golf ball. It's totally irrelevant.


DHM.

Obviously some of us do. If you don't, let us discuss it without shooting the thread down in flames.

Of course how far people hit the ball is relevant!

 

[Leftie]

Apart from the average distances being shorter than "expected", the comment at the bottom of the list is significant......

"Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not."

 

[Imurg]

And they also only measure 2 drives per round. So if, say, you drive into the trees and only make 230 yards your average is going to suck. You also don't know how difficult a driving hole it might be, wether the player is ripping it or putting it into position - he may prefer a 7 iron to a 9 so he hits it a little softer. So interesting but not that useful.

Personally, average about 240-250. 275 on a good one. And a genuinely measured 346 yarder to win the Mayor of Bicester's Charity Golf Day Longest Drive trophy about a million years ago!

 

[Handycap]

Maybe it's best to read between the lines if you're worried that some people might be fooling themselves. The original question asked how far your average and longest drives are. A different question could be how well grouped and what shape your average drives are, but that's not what this thread is about. I think the vast majority of members here would agree that course management and self discipline plays a more significant role in the game than out and out distance, but sometimes that extra 10 or 20 yards can make the difference.

On a lighter note, my personal best is Chester,UK to Dubrovnik, Croatia, about 1,400 miles. If I hadn't driven that far I wouldn't have arrived at my destination.

 

[Smiffy]

I will still stand by my original comment on this thread. WGAF how far people hit a golf ball. It's totally irrelevant.

Club/ball manufacturers obviously don't think so. Read/watch any advert for the latest driver/irons/balls and the one thing they all promise is more distance. This is what sells their gear. Everybody is after more distance, otherwise we would all still be playing with hickory shafts and gutta percha balls. Would John Daley or Tiger Woods have made the impact they have on the game if it weren't for the distances they achieve?

 

[medwayjon]

Myself and MVP are pretty much like-for-like in terms of distance to be honest.

I am averaging 265ish with roll at this time of year. In the summer I average around 280 at Gillingham I suppose.

Our driving range fence is 260 yards and with a real ball in winter, it is always a single bounce and then it hits the fence.

There are always freak drives, such as the 2 300yd 3-woods I hit in the company of some other forummers.

My best drive, was with a wind up my arse on our par5 5th, I spanked it 340 yards or so but a lot of that is because with the wind, it carried and rolled far enough to find the downslope.

But then what does spanking it matter if you still end up shooting 120?

 

[madandra]

My average is about 240-250 and I wil hit about 5 drivers per round to about 275 but then will chuff some also.


My longest on parkland is 326 with 323 carry and that was with a fellow 4umer as my witness.

My longest drive on a links course was 350 at Glasgow Gailes in the summer of 2006 and the fairways were as hard as a wh0r35 heart.

Averages are hard as I am always gonna get a minger that goes about 180.

 

[viscount17]

our society quit having a longest drive prize simply because it immediately eliminates so many from ever contesting it but everyone has a chance at the nearest the pin (even me, and I got two on our last of the season).

We'll usually get a couple of dozen show up but there is only a handful who can reliably hit 280 (and I don't think as a society we're very different from any other). (The society put in a 'team' (of those available to go, not necessarily the best) for a match in Germany, organised very efficiently by the Germans, and won it.)

I suppose I average 220+, but the variation to get that average is pretty wide. (The middle of the first tee to the bend of the dogleg is 220 and I regularly hit that.) Best ever measured (Google Earth) was 288 on a warm summer evening.

 

[RGuk]

Really impressed with some of the driving distances guys but glad to see some are more realistic. Is there any relationship between claimed distances and handicap?

Not for me.

The lowest h'cap'er at my old course only hit it 20 yards further than me (250-260) and the biggest hitter nearing 290 (old technology, of course). One was off 1.5 and the other about 17.

If evaluating pure averages, I guess I'm not too bad, 10 drives a round ave. 220 is better than 3 x 300 yarders, 2 x topped grass cutters, 2 x OOB and 3 x on the wrong fairway!!!

 

[MVP]

Really impressed with some of the driving distances guys but glad to see some are more realistic. Is there any relationship between claimed distances and handicap?

.........3 x on the wrong fairway!!!

theres a few holes at my old lcub that i used to play regulary from the wrong fairway on purpose cos 1. it shortened the hole, and 2 i had a flatter lie and less room for error!
only problem was i had to shout fore all the time!

 

[krokodil]

Leftie this is my biggest bug bare on amatuer golfers they really have no idea just how far they ACTUALLY hit the ball....average 280plus....aye righto.

Exactly.

Out of the group of people I play with I hit the longest by quite a bit, and a couple of these boys aint short, but I couldn't profess to hit that distance constantly, and I hit a looping draw which in my mind is the only shot which will genarate the bigger distances.