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Why the obsession with distance?

Smallville said:
I had a very good distance day yesterday, probably my best ever. I didn't measure them all, but with one at 295, another at 275 and three others over 250. I conservatively guessed that my average was over 250 on 12 driving holes today.

I would prefer this to my usual distances.
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Yes sir... I'll take 250 up the middle all day every day!
 
Didn't realize this thread existed but I thought I'd add this. I played yesterday on a course that was dead empty so I thought I'd conduct a little experiment. I played the course from my normal tee box and then I'd play it from the very front tees to see how much of a difference there would be in between the scores. Answer: 83 vs 75. Front tees me destroyed further back me. When you have "extra length" you don't always have to pull driver, in fact it's kinda foolish to if the hole doesn't set up for it. If there's a hazard you can get over with no real worry, do it. If not, lay back (a lot easier to do might I add) and give yourself a good shot into the green. Does the fairway really pinch in at X yards? Can you blast over it or is better to hit to the widest part of the fairway? Plan accordingly. I hit only two more fairways than from further back, but having 5i into a tough par 4 vs 8 or even 9i? Sure is a heck of a lot easier.
 
Thechosen1 said:
Well that's common sense though in golf. But my point is when did this whole thing of "I want to hit it further" come about? I personally would rather spend my time in the fairway getting a yardage then looking for a ball in the rough/trees
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There is no guarantee that hitting it shorter guarantees hitting it straighter ( see Luke Donald )... Now, if I could pick up 20 yards and still keep it straight - no brainer! But if in my quest for length my mechanics or equipment change and I gain 10 - 15 yards but have no control over the golf ball, then, to me, that isn't worth it. And yea, I'm a shorter hitter.
 
Sometimes if I feel the need to work more on my irons, I'll play from the front tees and eliminate the woods. I played two rounds last week with my father in law and I ended up using mostly the wedges and 9i for my approach shots.
 
Well, the talk of gps measured distances and the statements (which I agree with) that most golfers don't really know their distances, got me thinking. Although I've had my Garmin G6 for 1/2 the season, I'd never measured a shot with a gps before.

Hit driver eight times. So, perhaps I'm opening myself up to ridicule and doubt, but here goes...

275, 283, 292, 272, 269, 313, 285, & 274. 282.8 avg.

If asked, I'd have thought I'd average about 280 so I was moderately surprised that I was actually very close to my guesstimate. But my guess wasn't exactly a blind one. Although I've never measured with a gps, my buddy has measured quite a few of my drives with his laser.
 
Length is not exclusive of accuracy. I am an average 265-280 driver. Wind does affect me, and I have had days where 240 into a wind was the norm. However, I am far more interested in hitting the fairway, as I don't mind mid-irons in, and I can hit my 4i, 5w, and 3w pretty straight and high. No one likes to be the shortest hitter in the group, but being the longest and most crooked has weaknesses too. For me, it's the art of getting inside 180. I do that, I can hit a green. Outside that distance, things can get challenging but not so much as to ruin a round. I just prefer a course under 6800.
 
the only obsession I have with distance is knowing exactly what my distances are so I have a better chance at hitting the green, I don't care that i only hit my 7 iron 150, or my driver 260, I'd rather have accuracy and consistency over distance any day
 
I wish I could hit the ball far, but I can't. I realized that if I play around 6500 yards I'm pretty good, 7000 yards and I play well but not as good as at 6500. I'm not gifted with really high club head speed, so I have to play the tees that fit me, not the tips anymore.
 
Dogman said:
Yeah, we have a couple of holes like that, 460 par 4 generally into the wind. I just play them as short par 5's when the driver isn't going so well, and take my lumps. That's golf...:D
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I think Fuzzy Zoeller said that it doesn't matter what the course says par is for a hole. All that matters is what you can play on it. If the par 4 is too long, view it as a par 5 and play it as well as possible. Or just ignore the numbers all together and add them up at the end.
 
I need to start obsessing with distance. I'm keeping the ball straight (hit 6 of 7 fairways on 9 today) but only hitting 220 or so.
 
I'll take accuracy over distance any day!!!
 
kozmo40 said:
I'll take accuracy over distance any day!!!
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I'll take 280 in the rough with a wedge or short iron than 220 with a 6 or 5 iron.

Having a long game is a huge advantage and no one will convince me otherwise. Accuracy and distance is even better.
 
lcsmrtn said:
I'll take 280 in the rough with a wedge or short iron than 220 with a 6 or 5 iron.

Having a long game is a huge advantage and no one will convince me otherwise. Accuracy and distance is even better.
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Definitely agreed there.. A few punch shots a round and wedges beats the heck out of long irons.
 
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Am I obsessesed with distance? I would say no but i am certainly conscious of it. I am not a big hitter especially with my irons. My 4 iron is about 175. Would it help if I could hit it another 20 yards, I am sure but only if I hit it where I baically want it.
 
I am obsessed with the long ball only because I can't hit it long.
 
I personally am not a long hitter. My 6-iron is right around 160 yards, 7-iron around 150, etc. Meanwhile, my friends who are just a bit younger than me hit about 2 clubs less than me the same distance. While I wish I could hit it as far as them, I don't buy into this "+5 yards" stuff. As others have said, I'd also rather hit the ball consistently and know my outcome rather than hit it farther with a bit more uncertainty. While distance helps, I feel like there's more important things out there.
 
Distance vs Accuracy is definitely circumstantial...

If we are talking a missed FIR are we talking 275 out and sitting a foot off the fairway in the 2nd cut, or are we talking a boom slice 215 out and 30 yards right.

I'd much rather take a 275 yrd drive a foot into the 2nd cut with a wedge or short iron from the rough for an approach shot than hitting a hybrid or long iron into the green from the fairway.
 
CapC said:
Distance vs Accuracy is definitely circumstantial...

If we are talking a missed FIR are we talking 275 out and sitting a foot off the fairway in the 2nd cut, or are we talking a boom slice 215 out and 30 yards right.

I'd much rather take a 275 yrd drive a foot into the 2nd cut with a wedge or short iron from the rough for an approach shot than hitting a hybrid or long iron into the green from the fairway.
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I'd say it very much depends on the course one is playing as well. I have played some courses where a shot twenty yards off the fairway still has a decent approach to the green from fairly light rough. Others (Bethpage Black near a PGA event, I'm looking at you) where if you are even a few inches into the primary cut of rough you can forget about the green and just pitch back into the fairway. Similarly, some courses run the treelines right into the fairway while others are quite open. Perhaps it is because I am fairly long off the tee, but I am usually much more concerned with accurate shots than long shots. Long and wrong is no better than short and straight on a tight course!
 
Wandered in to a little presentation Hank Haney was giving at the local Golfsmith last weekend. I found it boring, but he was talking about modern equipment and the constant search for extra yards. His take was that distance can determine your potential....or as he says it "PO-tential". I kind of agree with that. Accuracy is more important for your performance on any given day, but distance is more important for your potential. When you can combine distance and a reasonable amount of accuracy, you will probably score lower than if you hit shorter even if you are a little more accurate.
 
I'm certainly not obsessed with distance but I sure enjoy the feel, sound, and watching a well struck tee shot. Even when I don't score well, I can have a great day if I'm hitting the long ball well! It's already been said here, but it's an obvious male ego thing.

My biggest fear is losing my distance as I age. So far the ball and technology has progressed faster than my body has slowed down, so I"m actually longer than I was 25 years ago even though my body can't swing/turn at nearly the same speed. It would have been fun to have a modern driver and ball back when I was playing college golf to see how far I could have hit it!!! The ball is MUCH longer now- my old TM 7 iron that carried 150 in 1985 carries 165 now with what is certainly a slower swing.

I think the distance progression with the ball, heads and shafts is 99%+ over now. I don't know at what age I'll start to lose distance - hopefully not for another decade or so.....
 
I think people like distance so much because it makes them feel good to crush one and watch it sail. You also get to his a shorter club into the green or go for the par 5 in two and with a shorter second shot you should hit more gir's and score better if it all goes to plan
 
To paraphrase the Nike commercial, the best way to improve your short game is to make it a much, much shorter short game :)

Ken
 
If I could give up a bit of my distance, and substitute in some much needed accuracy, I would. I don't obsess over distance, but sometimes it is a nice luxury to have. I do get a kick out of the distance debate though. Sometimes it comes off like because a person hits the ball a long ways, they are assumed to be a great golfer, or are insinuating they are a great golfer because they can hit the ball so far. I hit the ball a pretty good distance, and I wouldn't call myself a great golfer. Hell, I wouldn't call myself a good golfer. I hit the ball a long ways, yet I still suck at actual golf, the part where you plot yourself around the course, avoiding danger, putting yourself in position to score, scoring. Yeah, I suck at all that. I will happily trade a few of my long drives for more birdie putts and 1 and 2 putts for par.

I was 25 feet from the hole yesterday, in one shot, on a Par 4. #2 hybrid from the tee, 275 yards, with a light wind blowing in. Was past pin high, just to the back right of the green. 25 feet away, with a wedge in my hand. I ended up with a six. One chunked chip, one chip that ran 20 feet past the hole, and a three put.

Yeah, I hit the ball a long ways. And I suck.

My philosophy is, hit the ball a long ways, and try to figure out how to play golf in between. I am yet to figure it out.
 
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