Is distance really that important?
coolbreeze
Aspiring Golferr
I think distance is important of course. I don't think its everything, but if I'm longer with every club, that means I can hit less club off each shot bringing less trouble into play on each shot.
If I hit 3 hybrid off the tee, because I'm long enough, and you have to hit driver, then advantage me. Then for the second shot from say 150 yards out, if I'm hitting 9 iron and your hitting 7 then advantage me again.
Its not everything but it sure can be an advantage.
If I hit 3 hybrid off the tee, because I'm long enough, and you have to hit driver, then advantage me. Then for the second shot from say 150 yards out, if I'm hitting 9 iron and your hitting 7 then advantage me again.
Its not everything but it sure can be an advantage.
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- #203
Man, am I glad you did not see me after the rain delay at the Morgan Cup then. 5 straight holes of horrendous golf. You might have told me I was not good enough...:act-up:
Mulligan9111
Go Skers!!
I agree 100%. While length doesn't mean a better golfer, it does give that golfer better scoring opportunities.
Mr. Satchmo
urielsatchmoortegaMR.Jinx
tomahawk18
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Chicks dig the long ball! 
But seriously, my dad and I have this discussion quite often. He thinks I should hit more irons off the tees, because I am fairly long. I am an average iron player, which causes 2 problems with this logic. I can (and most of the time will) miss a couple of fairways with my hybrid or 4 iron if I use them all day. Nothing worse than missing a fairway with an iron AND being 210 from the hole in the rough. If I use driver all day, I may miss 4-5 depending on the course, but can also only miss 1 or 2. Gaining the 2 fairways with irons, yet losing 50-70+ yards on every hole isn't a good trade for me. Remember I am an average iron player, so if I am 190 out on a bunch of holes due to using irons off the tee, I am going to miss a bunch of greens anyways. If I am 120-140 out on 400+ yard par 4's with driver, even in the rough, I have a better chance of hitting the green from there than from 185-200 in the fairway. It's a huge difference for me to hit 8 or 9 iron in as opposed to 4 or 5 iron to a green. All in all, as long as I am keeping driver in play even in the rough, (which I almost always do), I have a better chance of scoring than I would if I hit every fairway with an iron. If I didn't have my length, I don't think I would be as good, so to me, it is important.
There is no trading practice time, and for me to get better with my long irons I would need to spend a lot of time on it, which I just don't have right now with work and other commitments. I have time to play right now, which I love to do, so practice time suffers. Because of this, I play to my 1 of my above average strengths, which is length. It all depends on how you use it, but it sure makes the game easier.
On the other hand, my buddy and teaching pro Mike, is no longer than 260 off the tee with his driver on most days, but is deadly with his long irons. He routinely hits it close with 4 and 5 irons, and generally shoots in the 60's, (that's why he is a pro). So for him, length means very little in general terms. He does say that one single biggest reason he couldn't stay on any tours was his length. He is above average in most phases, but with the game evolving over the last 15 years to much longer tracks, he just couldn't hang with guys hitting it 330 off the tee and having 9 irons in while he had 5 iron.
But seriously, my dad and I have this discussion quite often. He thinks I should hit more irons off the tees, because I am fairly long. I am an average iron player, which causes 2 problems with this logic. I can (and most of the time will) miss a couple of fairways with my hybrid or 4 iron if I use them all day. Nothing worse than missing a fairway with an iron AND being 210 from the hole in the rough. If I use driver all day, I may miss 4-5 depending on the course, but can also only miss 1 or 2. Gaining the 2 fairways with irons, yet losing 50-70+ yards on every hole isn't a good trade for me. Remember I am an average iron player, so if I am 190 out on a bunch of holes due to using irons off the tee, I am going to miss a bunch of greens anyways. If I am 120-140 out on 400+ yard par 4's with driver, even in the rough, I have a better chance of hitting the green from there than from 185-200 in the fairway. It's a huge difference for me to hit 8 or 9 iron in as opposed to 4 or 5 iron to a green. All in all, as long as I am keeping driver in play even in the rough, (which I almost always do), I have a better chance of scoring than I would if I hit every fairway with an iron. If I didn't have my length, I don't think I would be as good, so to me, it is important.
There is no trading practice time, and for me to get better with my long irons I would need to spend a lot of time on it, which I just don't have right now with work and other commitments. I have time to play right now, which I love to do, so practice time suffers. Because of this, I play to my 1 of my above average strengths, which is length. It all depends on how you use it, but it sure makes the game easier.
On the other hand, my buddy and teaching pro Mike, is no longer than 260 off the tee with his driver on most days, but is deadly with his long irons. He routinely hits it close with 4 and 5 irons, and generally shoots in the 60's, (that's why he is a pro). So for him, length means very little in general terms. He does say that one single biggest reason he couldn't stay on any tours was his length. He is above average in most phases, but with the game evolving over the last 15 years to much longer tracks, he just couldn't hang with guys hitting it 330 off the tee and having 9 irons in while he had 5 iron.
jmatt
Fat b4 the shafts were
And that's what I would expect. I suppose to phrase it better, distance in and of itself doesn't magically make a better golfer, but among golfers of comparable skill levels the longer hitter tends to have an advantage. I know that's hard to quantify, but if 2 golfers spray 5i with about the same dispersion, the longer hitter with shorter approaches is going to usually have a lower handicap...which generally is taken as a measure of skill.
Gawd, circular reasoning makes my head hurt. How about uncontrolled distance is no help, but the more playable distance you have, the better an individual is likely to score?
BIGBALL
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I've mentioned in several of these threads that it's always the long guys who say distance doesn't matter.
But have you ever heard one of them say "I wish I only hit it 230. I hate hitting it 280 all the time"?
But have you ever heard one of them say "I wish I only hit it 230. I hate hitting it 280 all the time"?
I will focus on distance once I keep track of my score by how far I hit each tee shot.
I think this post pretty much sums up why people crave distance.
The tee it forward program is trying to encourage people to play a yardage that allows them to hit driver off the tee and have a wedge / 9 iron into the green. Why? Because the game is easier with shorter clubs. Unfortunately, most people don't want to play the Senior Tees even though they are going to be hitting a 5 or 6 iron into most greens otherwise.
I am fairly long off the tee but still have a high handicap. When I do move up, my scores improve dramatically. My handicap is established off the Men's Tees, but my club has everyone rated with a 10 or worst handicap playing the senior tees in our tournaments. As a result, I typically shoot well below my handicap and get a lot of sideways glances.
Mark
Active member
Distance is important to me but not as much as accuracy. Sure I love to be able to bomb them out there but if there is no control and the ball is not in Play, it isn't worth a nickle. My woods are
my distance clubs and irons are the scalpels on course. I want to be able to set up scoring situations off the tee on longer holes, to dO that I need accuracy too. It does matter but it coincides withany other facets.
my distance clubs and irons are the scalpels on course. I want to be able to set up scoring situations off the tee on longer holes, to dO that I need accuracy too. It does matter but it coincides withany other facets.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
Distance is important especially when you don't have it. Having to hit long irons into greens instead of short irons puts a lot of pressure on the rest of your game. That being said, I will take accuracy over distance to a degree
RadRob
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To me, the graph is off by 25 yards. I hit my driver about 225 normally, and I really like playing courses in the 6,200 to 6,400 range. I'm 53 years old, and maybe a club shorter than a lot of folks.
Keeping the ball in the fairway is the most important thing, and I find myself hitting long irons off the tee more frequently than I ever have before. Yay R11 4 iron with KBS shafts!
If I can have a 7-9 iron into greens, then I feel I'm doing alright out there. I'd actually rather have a full 7 or 8 iron than I would a half or 3/4 wedge shot, because my touch with the less than full shots isn't as reliable.
Keeping the ball in the fairway is the most important thing, and I find myself hitting long irons off the tee more frequently than I ever have before. Yay R11 4 iron with KBS shafts!
If I can have a 7-9 iron into greens, then I feel I'm doing alright out there. I'd actually rather have a full 7 or 8 iron than I would a half or 3/4 wedge shot, because my touch with the less than full shots isn't as reliable.
Arkie_3_fan
Active member
Personally, I think distance is pretty dang important. Take myself for example, I've had some shoulder problems the past 2 - 3 seasons that have robbed me of some distance. Because of shoulder problems, I've spent more time making easy swings and working on my short game. Because of this, my scoring average has stayed about the same despite losing 30 - 50 yards on my drives and 15 or so yards with my irons.
Where I struggle the most now is on the Par 3's. The ones at my home course play anywhere from 125 to 175. Going from an 7, 8 or 9 iron to a 5 or 6 iron makes a huge difference for me. Especially since I really struggle with irons longer than my 7.
Hopefully some time in the gym to get some strength back in my shoulders, combined with some range time will help this and 2013 will prove to be a good year in golf for me.
Where I struggle the most now is on the Par 3's. The ones at my home course play anywhere from 125 to 175. Going from an 7, 8 or 9 iron to a 5 or 6 iron makes a huge difference for me. Especially since I really struggle with irons longer than my 7.
Hopefully some time in the gym to get some strength back in my shoulders, combined with some range time will help this and 2013 will prove to be a good year in golf for me.
Kobey
I'm a French model
I'm getting one thing out of this thread and it's that some of us need to work on our mid-game. It seems that a lot of us want to hit it farther in order to avoid having to hit clubs we aren't as accurate with.
Mulligan9111
Go Skers!!
It doesn't matter how good you are with your 3, 4, 5 irons, the 8, 9, and wedges are always going to be easier to hit and give you a better scoring opportunity.
Kobey
I'm a French model
Sure it matters. If I was better with my fairways and long irons I would hit more greens with them, resulting in better scores. So if a person is a short driver and is at their limit for distance, their mid-game is going to have to take up the slack for them to be their best.
In order to be great at the game, you need to be good at everything. To be good at the game, you need to be good at most things. To be fair at the game, you need to be good at some things. And to be bad at the game, you just need to do what I do.
Damaikis
Fairway Finder
Oh I agree they were the wrong tees for me. 7400 yards is stupidly long. I obviously lost some strokes due to my long game, but I actually hit a normal # of GIRs for me. 1 less than my average in fact. FWIW, I actually don't think I played that badly there. I shot 4 strokes over my average.
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- #220
You do have to be good at everything, but there is a point where being good isn't good enough if distance is an issue.
Look at is this way: Let's pretend that you have a 10% ratio of accuracy to the distance you hit the ball. My guess is that none of us really have that kind of ability, since a study Pelz did showed professionals were seeing about a 7% ratio for all full swings.
Your distance from the hole would something like this.
120 yards - average of around 12 yards (36 feet)
160 yards - average of around 16 yards (48 feet)
200 yards - average of around 20 yards (60 feet)
Again, that's assuming you are a very good golfer. You still see more dispersion in longer clubs and that's not really going to change. Bump that percentage up to 20% and you really see why the shorter club becomes more important.
CharlieMoy
Well-known member
I had a 323 yard drive on a 400 yard par 4 yesterday. Got a pretty good kick off a downslope. From there I flubbed a wedge, then left myself a 20 foot par putt, which I blew 7 feet by and missed the comebacker.
There are more important things than distance.
There are more important things than distance.
- Staff
- #222
Obviously it's not the only thing, and I don't think I've said it was the most important thing. Still, it is an advantage. If it wasn't, we could all just play the same tee box. Hell, I think it was Tom Watson has basically said that he can't really contend in the Masters because it plays too long for him.
CharlieMoy
Well-known member
Hawk Im def not arguing with anything you said, I just stated in general. There are times when distance makes the game more difficult, rather than easier.
Mulligan9111
Go Skers!!
Better to flub a wedge from 77 yards than to flub a 3 iron from 190. Think about how much worse your score would have been then.
- Staff
- #225
No doubt. I've seen it in person playing w/ Jrod. He'd take a driver every hole and end up at 70 yards almost every time, which was a bad distance for him. Of course, he could have hit 5 wood or something and been at 100 yards.