[niss]

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Generally, IMHO, great length only really helps when you play from the tips on most courses. Being able to drive it >300yds isn't beneficial on most holes because course designers usually pinch off the fairway at that point from the normal tees. If you can drive it ~280 and be very consistent, I'd take that and not think twice about risking losing the consistency for 15-25 more yards (same applies to irons).

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You make no sense. In one breath you say length doesn't matter. Then you say if you could hit it 280 consistently, you'd take it. Ya think! I'd venture to say less than 1% of the golfing population can hit the ball 280 yards, and consistently land it in the fairway.

As for your other argument, that length isn't important - I'd make the following bet with you all day long. I get to drop the ball in the rough 300 yards from the tee box, and you get to drop the ball in the fairway 220 yards from the tee box. Who do you think will score better?

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Your reading comprehension might need work...I said GREAT length...so >280avg. Take a guy who hits it consistently 275 vs a guy who can hit it 320 but with 50% of the first guy's consistency, and see who wins...the second guy will likely need to have a great short game to scramble ceteris paribus.

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Besides, when we're talking about the AVERAGE golfer, we're not talking the difference between the fairway at 225 and the rough at 300. We're talking the difference between fairway and OB/woods/water/highway.

If I could drive the ball 280-300 consistently in the rough, I'd take it every time. But I can't. And long and wrong is really, really bad on most courses.