Average Driving Distance???

[Hacker]

Nope.

I don't even understand why long-drive competitions get as much hype as they do.

I belive the appropriate saying here is "Chicks dig the long ball"

Whether it is golf or baseball, society seems to be in love with the long ball - but I agree, it is as boring as hell. I put it right up there with NASCAR.....left turn, left turn, left turn, oh look he's gonna............nope, left turn

[Txxxxxxx]

Thanks for the data Chief.

[mberube]

There could be some execptions to the rule as there always are but imo if you are a GOOD player and have a CARRY distance of 280 then I would think that you would hit a 60 degree lob wedge 100 yards. Take a look at the following attachment. I got it from BC a couple years back.

SWING SPEED VS CARRY DISTANCE

In the end though it does not do much for my handicap

I’m not sure about that. Wedge distance all depends on the position of your hands at impact. If you don’t deloft the short clubs you will hit them shorter but you can still have the club head speed to hit it long with the big dog. The contrary also applies.

I swing the driver between 110 and 116MPH. I lasered two drives yesterday as posted in another thread here. 270Y and 298Y, averaged 284Y. I hit a 56d wedge 100y carry and PW 122Y carry. Full out distance is hard to estimate since the course conditions are never the same. I cannot hit a 60dW 100y. I have a friend that is shorter with the driver then me but hits his wedges longer. Go figure. We also noticed that his swing speed with his short irons was faster then mine.

[big mac]

Hey guys---got an idea. Lets setle this once and for all. EG is coming to Ottawa in August---"lets have a forum long drive contest" Simple--10 balls--should get at least one good one--as long as it is on the short grass it gets measured. I'm sure we can find a range that will participate????

[Txxxxxxx]

Hey guys---got an idea. Lets setle this once and for all. EG is coming to Ottawa in August---"lets have a forum long drive contest" Simple--10 balls--should get at least one good one--as long as it is on the short grass it gets measured. I'm sure we can find a range that will participate????

I don't know how many ranges would shut down their operations for a handful of guys interested in hitting the ball long. Not to mention, I don't think how far I'm hitting the ball is in question. The debate is more about the correlation between how far you hit certain clubs to another.

I'll be playing a few rounds of golf though and measuring yardages to see the difference between playing in Edmonton to Ottawa.

[big mac]

I don't know how many ranges would shut down their operations for a handful of guys interested in hitting the ball long. Not to mention, I don't think how far I'm hitting the ball is in question. The debate is more about the correlation between how far you hit certain clubs to another.

I'll be playing a few rounds of golf though and measuring yardages to see the difference between playing in Edmonton to Ottawa.

I understand EG, all I am saying is this discussion keeps coming up and I am more curious than anything else. For the life of me I can't believe how far I hit my 3wd but can't hit my driver---even when I do connect.

I noticed somewhere in the thread about height etc---I think there are probably more physics involved in answering this than we could ever understand---you have different balls---different head weights--shaft stiffness--swing speed--humidity etc etc etc.

Maybe the answer is "if it is in the fairway at 225---that's all that counts"

But I'm still curious I know--"look what happened to the cat"

[rezadue]

That is astonishingly close for a general purpose chart. My swing speed is right around 95mph. And I estimate my drives are mostly in the 210-230 yard carry. And I normally hit a 7 to 150 yards, although if I try really hard and hit the ball properly, I have hit 8 irons 160 yards.

Always.

Here is more:
From Golfsmith.
http://www.golfsmith.com/display_pag...num=learn_how5

SWING SPEED CONVERSION CHART
When a swing speed device is not available, this chart may be used to approximate swing speed based on driver carry distance or the club used to approach the green from 150 yards. (Based on average club lengths and lofts.)
Shaft Flex	Driver Swing Speed (MPH)	Driver Carry Distance (yds.)	Club From 150 yds.
Extra-Stiff	105-plus	260 +	8 or 9-iron
Stiff	90-105	240-260	6 or 7-iron
Regular	80-95	210-240	5 or 6-iron
Flexible (A-Flex)	70-85	180-210	4-iron
Ladies'	Less than 70	Less than 180	3-iron/lofted wood

[ironmaster15213]

Here's something that I've used to figure out yardages for other people, enjoy http://www.csgnetwork.com/golfclubdistancecalce.html have a good time and maybe learn a little something in the process about your swing and yardages.

[Txxxxxxx]

I tried it out and everything filled up with 'NaN'. Am I doing something wrong?

[ironmaster15213]

I don't know but it works for me when I click on the thread???? Is it working for anybody else??

[Chieflongtee]

I’m not sure about that. Wedge distance all depends on the position of your hands at impact. If you don’t deloft the short clubs you will hit them shorter but you can still have the club head speed to hit it long with the big dog. The contrary also applies.

I swing the driver between 110 and 116MPH. I lasered two drives yesterday as posted in another thread here. 270Y and 298Y, averaged 284Y. I hit a 56d wedge 100y carry and PW 122Y carry. Full out distance is hard to estimate since the course conditions are never the same. I cannot hit a 60dW 100y. I have a friend that is shorter with the driver then me but hits his wedges longer. Go figure. We also noticed that his swing speed with his short irons was faster then mine.

Where did you get your swing speed measured? Unless you went to a clubfitter with a sophisticated device(or any other sophisticated device out there-but certainly not a simulator) the data you posted could be totally off.
I hit the 56 sand wedge 100 yards and my pitching wedge 140 yards but I don't believe I ever carried a driver(no roll) 270 yards. That is quite a poke. I have hit the occasional once in as blue moon 300 yarder on very hard packed dry courses after a drought but that includes roll as well such as Vieux Moulins.
Your average is not accurate after just 2 drives. There is a gap of 28 yards between the 2. I believe you need more than 2 drives to come up with an average. One could be downwind while the other could be upwind uphill etc...and one was hit on the sweet spot while the other had a fade Your measured yardage was including roll and the numbers posted above do not include roll.
Your yardage between your pitching wedge could be off if you are playing a non modern pitching wedge. Some people never hit the 60 degree wedge full. I get 80 (full swing)yards out of mine and I don't deloft(well at least not consciously).
Anyway keep it in the short grass especially at HP.

[Chieflongtee]

I don't know but it works for me when I click on the thread???? Is it working for anybody else??

Works here too. Thanks for sharing.

[hoolio]

Here's something that I've used to figure out yardages for other people, enjoy http://www.csgnetwork.com/golfclubdistancecalce.html have a good time and maybe learn a little something in the process about your swing and yardages.

I tried it out and everything filled up with 'NaN'. Am I doing something wrong?

Wouldn't work for me in Firefox, but when I tried it in explorer it worked fine. Not sure if that helps. I think it might have to do with the recent update I did to firefox where it said that my Java Console couldn't be updated and that page uses a javascript for calculations.

Some of those yardages were pretty accurate, others not so much.

[Txxxxxxx]

Wouldn't work for me in Firefox, but when I tried it in explorer it worked fine. Not sure if that helps. I think it might have to do with the recent update I did to firefox where it said that my Java Console couldn't be updated and that page uses a javascript for calculations.

Some of those yardages were pretty accurate, others not so much.

I will try it in IE then. The page loads and lets me enter my variables, but when I clicked for it to calculate, every field had 'NaN' in it. Probably a FireFox issue.

[Txxxxxxx]

FYI...It works fine in IE but not in FireFox.

As for the distances..They were pretty much spot on for all my clubs, give or take a few yards either way with a couple of them.

[big mac]

Unreal---I made a small card to carry in my pocket last year with distances on it after playing 10 rounds (avg each club). Everything was right on within 2 yds. The only bad one was the 3Wd--it gave me 202 but I hit it consistantly more than that---a lot more: but the driver distance was right. Wierd---I should have printed the page
My characteristics were --senior--play for fun--average--5 iron 160--no lessons

[ironmaster15213]

I Joined a new golf league today and tried my garmin G.P.S. unit to measure drive distances, I found an old Wilson long jack ball and used it for the whole round, boy was it long!!!!. I measured 5 holes, very little wind today, my distances on the holes were #11 312 yards, flat hole got a good amount of roll. #14 slightly downhill, 297 yards. #16 fairly uphill but still got some roll 294. #17 slight uphill but lost ball to right due to knee buckling but even so still got 264 ( and I might add a double bogie ) #18 thought I crushed the drive from the tee but only went 278, only rolled 2 yards there was a soft spot in the fairway. The guys I played with for the first time today asked me to pee in a cup after my 3rd long drive . That G.P.S. worked pretty well and I will definitly use that long jack ball tomorrow . I'll be 52 next month so I feel pretty good about my length off of the tee, I just wish this knee would hurry up and heal already.

[Started2k3]

I Joined a new golf league today and tried my garmin G.P.S. unit to measure drive distances, I found an old Wilson long jack ball and used it for the whole round, boy was it long!!!!. I measured 5 holes, very little wind today, my distances on the holes were #11 312 yards, flat hole got a good amount of roll. #14 slightly downhill, 297 yards. #16 fairly uphill but still got some roll 294. #17 slight uphill but lost ball to right due to knee buckling but even so still got 264 ( and I might add a double bogie ) #18 thought I crushed the drive from the tee but only went 278, only rolled 2 yards there was a soft spot in the fairway. The guys I played with for the first time today asked me to pee in a cup after my 3rd long drive . That G.P.S. worked pretty well and I will definitly use that long jack ball tomorrow . I'll be 52 next month so I feel pretty good about my length off of the tee, I just wish this knee would hurry up and heal already.

Hold on to that ball. I loved the Jack Long a few years ago, but discontinued.

A similar ball for me is the original Noodle long and soft - the same distance as Jack.

[mpare]

Frank, nice stroking. That is very commendable distance. I feel so inadequate in your presence. Seriously, I have no doubt that we all wish you a speedy recovery from the persistent knee problem.

[mberube]

Where did you get your swing speed measured? Unless you went to a clubfitter with a sophisticated device(or any other sophisticated device out there-but certainly not a simulator) the data you posted could be totally off.
I hit the 56 sand wedge 100 yards and my pitching wedge 140 yards but I don't believe I ever carried a driver(no roll) 270 yards. That is quite a poke. I have hit the occasional once in as blue moon 300 yarder on very hard packed dry courses after a drought but that includes roll as well such as Vieux Moulins.
Your average is not accurate after just 2 drives. There is a gap of 28 yards between the 2. I believe you need more than 2 drives to come up with an average. One could be downwind while the other could be upwind uphill etc...and one was hit on the sweet spot while the other had a fade Your measured yardage was including roll and the numbers posted above do not include roll.
Your yardage between your pitching wedge could be off if you are playing a non modern pitching wedge. Some people never hit the 60 degree wedge full. I get 80 (full swing)yards out of mine and I don't deloft(well at least not consciously).
Anyway keep it in the short grass especially at HP.

My swing speed was measured three times in the past on three times, at Chuck browns and with my old pro twice with three different devices. Can’t tell the device they used. I also have a P3pro at home and it gives me 110 MPH on the pad.

The average I gave on my drives was only on two drives that I could accurately measure with the laser link. The other ones I did not factor in cause EC wanted only drives that could be accurately measured. Both drives were on a straight hole with no elevation and the wind was not a factor. I precisely noted in the other thread that the 270Y drive was hit high on the face making it a less then perfect drive. The 298Y drive was a perfect drive. Prefect 5 yard draw dead center. Like I said earlier I can hit it 300Y on the occasional drive but I usually hit it 270-280Y.

Can I hit a SW longer then 100Y, yes but I can’t control it. I don’t know why someone would want to hit it 125Y unless it’s perfect and controlled.

SW Cleveland 56d ~ 100Y
GW Hogan 53d ~ 112Y
PW Hogan 48d ~ 122? But I noticed with the laser that I was more like 130Y

I rarely hit driver especially during competitions. I usually hit 3W of the tee. I hit that club 250 controlled. I’ll take that any day.

Mike

[Mike999]

I WAS hitting about 260 or so, but usually into the trees way right, ive been putting a ton of time trying to straighten it out, and just yesterday hit the fairway 11 times at greensmere. With the practice and swing changes and what not the distance is down to about 220 - 230, but its nice not taking a drop every hole haha.

[big mac]

^^^^You will eventually realize that it's not the length of the drive that counts.

[dlb]

The majority of people over-estimate how far they hit it ........ if you can use a GPS to get accurate figures. You may be surprised ??

[kofclubs]

260-290 with the occasional 300+, but the fairways are to narrow!! I'm usually in the rough.

Did have a 325 yarder last week in a scramble, but it helps being 6'4" and 250 pounds though.

I'm a 12 hcp, as I said I can't find the fairway.

[rezadue]

Now I find this a relevant statistic. While it may be irrelavant as to how far people hit their drivers, it would be nice to see if people's perceived Avg. driving diatance is a function of:
a) Handicap
b) Height
c) Weight
d) Combination of all

For me:
HDCP: 20, Height: 7' 7", Weight: 150 lbs, Avg. Dist. = 210-230 yards

260-290 with the occasional 300+, but the fairways are to narrow!! I'm usually in the rough.

Did have a 325 yarder last week in a scramble, but it helps being 6'4" and 250 pounds though.

I'm a 12 hcp, as I said I can't find the fairway.

[Sphere Hunter]

I think I over estimated my driving distance.

I went on Google Earth and was surprised at how much shorter I hit it, than I thought I did. I can only guess but I think my average drive is in the area of 260 yards. I'm a 3 handicap. At my club, the fairways are hard and the ball almost always releases down the fairway. My average drive at my home club (Greensmere) is probably a little longer. After measuring many of the holes at Greensmere on Google Earth, I think many golfers over estimate their driving distance. Just my opinion. I don’t play with too many players who are longer than I am and yet, I am not that long off the tee. Depending on the shot I choose to hit with my driver, I carry the ball between 225 and 250.

[jvincent]

Now I find this a relevant statistic. While it may be irrelavant as to how far people hit their drivers, it would be nice to see if people's perceived Avg. driving diatance is a function of:
a) Handicap
b) Height
c) Weight
d) Combination of all

For me:
HDCP: 20, Height: 7' 7", Weight: 150 lbs, Avg. Dist. = 210-230 yards

Damn you're tall.

Unfortunately, there's no strong correlation to physical size. Look at Charles Howell. He's ranked 15th on tour and weighs 155lbs.

It's all about clubhead speed. The ability to generate speed is certainly influenced by your strength but technique plays a huge part. I've seen lots of guys bigger/stronger than me that can barely hit the ball 200 yards because they simply lack the skill.

Also worth noting that it's not just strength but flexibility that help.

[rezadue]

So true, but what are these big guy's HDCPs?
The geek in me is wondering what the correlation factor (R) is and whether the factors mentioned below are interdependant.

Damn you're tall.

Unfortunately, there's no strong correlation to physical size. Look at Charles Howell. He's ranked 15th on tour and weighs 155lbs.

It's all about clubhead speed. The ability to generate speed is certainly influenced by your strength but technique plays a huge part. I've seen lots of guys bigger/stronger than me that can barely hit the ball 200 yards because they simply lack the skill.

Also worth noting that it's not just strength but flexibility that help.

[jvincent]

Handicaps are only so-so as an indicator of driving distance because you get the short hitters who have amazing short games skewing the numbers.

If you assume that the PGA tour guys are all relatively close handicap wise you can just plug the driving distance and physical stats from the web site into excel and run the correlation.

[rezadue]

I can't fault that logic. Except I am wondering what the "real life" golfer does. Not the near perfect Tour player. Our swings (mine anyway) are a lot more variable.

Handicaps are only so-so as an indicator of driving distance because you get the short hitters who have amazing short games skewing the numbers.

If you assume that the PGA tour guys are all relatively close handicap wise you can just plug the driving distance and physical stats from the web site into excel and run the correlation.