Driving the Ball 280 to 300.....Really???

[ArcticKnight]

I have been meaning to post on this "distance" thing for awhile. It seems there are lots of guys out there who claim to drive the ball 280 to 300+ with regularity.

I play golf with some fairly long hitters, and I'm not sure if people are being accurate.

Here's an example. I pobably carry a good drive, on average, about 235. With a tailwind, about 245, and into a HW, about 215-220. If I am on a bone dry course, or downhill, I can get a 290 or 300 yard drive, but this is with 50 or 60 yards of roll.

A couple of friends of mine are two of the longest hitters at our small club, and they can carry it about 260. A 260 yard carry with a normal trajectory is huge. When we go to other larger courses guys are pretty impressed with the distance my buddies have, but once again, they rarely carry it more than 260 and only occasionaly get a roll to 300+.

So, I ask, where are all these guys getting the 300 yard distances from? I think this occurs far rarer than most people think, yet I see people posting these numbers all the time.

[JackInDaCrak]

I don't think it's that outlandish.

I don't hit my driver any way with regularity, but I've recently had some lessons, and when I nut it I hit 275+ easy. Even yesterday on a damp course at 8 AM I had 2 or 3 at 290. And I'm a damn hack. I swing pretty hard, so YMMV.

I should note, I'm in Denver so I have 5280+ feet of elevation, but FWIW one of the guys I golf with regularly is 320+ off the tee about 80% of the time.

[ntnBO]

It's crap, very few people know how far they hit it on AVERAGE. People think when they drive it to the 100 yard marker on a 400 yard par 4 that they routinely hit it 300. Well, the tees were probably up, the hole was measured wrong, there was a tailwind, fairways were rock hard, and they were playing in Denver. And for good measure you hit it on the absolute perfect lunge.

It's one thing to have hit a drive 300, it's quite another to average 300 and I dare say nobody here even comes close. Just look at what the longest hitters on tour average and you'll see how difficult it is to average 300.

BO

[black knight]

I kinda agree...there's only <5 people at my club (of maybe 500 people I know) who can regularly hit it even remotely that far.

Personally, even as a junior I was always the longest hitter by a wide margin...and even people to be close was extremely rare. I avg >300 and carry it 280ish on avg. My v good hits are carrying 300-310 and finishing around 340 (flat hole with decent but not super hard fairways).

Ironically, at most of the courses that I frequent, being able to hit a DRIVER that far is only an advantage on at MOST 5-6 holes (often less). The other times I'm just hitting 1i or 3i. So, being really long has a benefit in that I can hit iron when lots are still hitting drivers - hoping that the iron will be more accurate. At my home course, I'm only able to really let loose on a driver on 2 holes...the others, anything >300yds is asking for trouble.

[blah_blah]

As with most ego related things people are not generally particularly honest, so take whatever I write with a grain of salt.

I've hit 315 on a launch monitor before though swinging out of my shoes (swing speed: about 110) and I've hit drives 340+ on the course with a tailwind and downhill. I've also succeeded on forced carries of 290-300 before. I'm about 6'1 and an out of shape 185 pounds who probably can't bench 150, but I make a big turn, clear my hips quickly, and have strong wrists. I hit my 7 iron about 185. I play the majority of my rounds in Vancouver which is not a particularly good place to play distance wise (courses soft, elevation minimal).

e: also I'm not saying that I average 300 off the tee, because I certainly don't.

[black knight]

[ QUOTE ]
It's crap, very few people know how far they hit it on AVERAGE. People think when they drive it to the 100 yard marker on a 400 yard par 4 that they routinely hit it 300. Well, the tees were probably up, the hole was measured wrong, there was a tailwind, fairways were rock hard, and they were playing in Denver. And for good measure you hit it on the absolute perfect lunge.

It's one thing to have hit a drive 300, it's quite another to average 300 and I dare say nobody here even comes close. Just look at what the longest hitters on tour average and you'll see how difficult it is to average 300.

BO

[/ QUOTE ]

Prop bet?

[dzh90]

not many recreational players carry the ball 250 or more.

[TripleH68]

So many people exaggerate/flat out lie about the distance they hit driver it is sickening.

I play at courses where I do not get much rollout on my drives. The better half of my drives carry 225+ and reach as far as 250 to 260.

Playing at a country club two weeks ago with my brother I really got into a couple. With fairways tight and firm they measured out to 288 and 285.

If you asked me "how far do you hit your drives?" I would say I can get it out there 225-250.

[thisnamedoesntfi]

I hit it 300 yards with a standard swing, comfortably carry the ball over 280. I agree a lot of people exaggerate how far they hit the ball.

[dug]

We simply have the highest concentration of long hitters of any forum or group on the internet.