Do You Actually Get Flyers?

[JonMA1]

I didn't select anything in the poll because I'm unsure of what a flyer is.

The majority of shots that end up far too long are cause by hitting too thin. The common club is the 9 iron which I will use for anything 105 to about 130. I'll often grip down and swing easier to get in-between yardage. When I make decent contact, the shot is high and stops at a reasonably close distance to my target. However, I'm prone to hitting thin which can turn out ok, but will often come in low, fast and through the green.

This can occur from the fairway or even the tee so I guess it's different than the "flyer" from hitting out of the rough.

 

[Junkyard]

Nothing to with less resistance. It comes from way less spin. 3000 less spin can get you like 15-20 yards with a 7 or 8 iron.

I'll agree with this, but doesn't the fact that you are unable to compress the ball because of the fluffier lie ultimately lead to less spin?

 

[Flipit]

I consider it a low bullet that comes out hot with less that desired flight and rockets past my target.

 

[Architex]

I get them all the time. Probably 1 every 5 rounds or so. I play in Bermuda grass so it tends to happen a lot more than other grasses.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Joshnoble01]

I said not a lot but they happen. With my irons it is definitely much more rare. But a wood or a hybrid it definitely will.

 

[ntanygd760]

I'll agree with this, but doesn't the fact that you are unable to compress the ball because of the fluffier lie ultimately lead to less spin?

Total myth. Compressing the ball by hitting on tight lies and trapping the ball between ground and club has long been shown false by high speed cameras.

 

[redneckwop]

I'm still trying to get my distances dialed in with my new irons & when I make perfect contact it sometimes surprises me.

 

[ddec]

I put not a lot but they happen. I notice it more when I am playing down south and out of Bermuda rough.

 

[HarlettoScara]

Fixed that up for you.

Hahaha that's more like it, that's another ball gone!

 

[Knot Right]

Once in a while.

Mostly in the morning when dew and grass clippings get between the face and the ball.

 

[rollin]

I think if you are a tour pro and you are looking to land the ball on a dime, then yes, to the likes of us, no.

Not true. have had them plenty times. The ball holds a perfect line (cause its barely spinning) with good height and we think we hit a really great shot but ends up flying not only the pin but the entire green as well and that 9iron ends up at 7 or even 6 iron distance. Absolutely happens to us.

Is it a flyer, or just a rare well struck shot.

we may never know.

See above. The rare well struck 9iron isnt isnt flying 7 or 6 iron distance (20 and more yards) further in the air. i mean yes a pure struck 9iron might fly the extra 5 or 10 yrds carry at best if that but not fly 20 or 25 or whatever more. hence the term ...."flyer"

 

[rollin]

I get them often enough to know for sure they exist and are very real. More so later half of summer as the rough dries and is shorter or anytime the rough is on the shorter and thinner and or dryer side. . Just enough grass between club and ball but not enough to slow down the club at all nor enough to cushion the blow. And bam!......there goes my high 9i flying over not only my targeted 140 yrd pin but also then flying the entire large green and hopefully didnt make the woods behind everything.

I find them annoying as heck esp[ecially when you (at first) think you just hit one the better and straighter iron shots that round but then after half way through the flight you realize something aint right.

because they do happen enough I often question myself as for why or how i should be able to anticipate the condition and change clubs accordingly. But its not so easy to do and I mostly forget about them until it happens and of course its too late. But even if I did anticipate that this given lie looks like to be a flyer lie and i know i had to carry a front bunker the last thing Id want to do (even if its correct) is to club shorter. Not easy to do that especially just gueesing that this "might" be a flyer.
Different from when your in deep moist rough where one knows they need to club stronger whicvh happens much more often vs flyer lies and yet even then we for some reason often refuse the notion.

 

[golfinnut]

What's a flyer? They happen when I don't play for it. If I play for it, it comes up short.

 

[GoldenBuff]

Flyers from rough are rare for me. With summer conditions I can often get the ball through with speed but grass in front of the face can cause those knuckle balls that fly far and roll farther.

I have never had an equipment flier. I can get different distances depending on where I strike on the face. Some days finding center can be like a surprise.

 

[formula8]

I've had numerous this year. All out of the rough when the ball is sitting slightly up. Feels like it comes out real clean but grass between the face and ball and probably stuck higher on the face. The shot seems perfect at first but just goes forever.

 

[Sox_Fan]

Occasionally from the rough on a full swing (but typically account for it if I have that type of lie) but see it more often on chip shots when the rough is up.

 

[rollin]

I get them often enough to know for sure they exist and are very real. More so later half of summer as the rough dries and is shorter or anytime the rough is on the shorter and thinner and or dryer side. . Just enough grass between club and ball but not enough to slow down the club at all nor enough to cushion the blow. And bam!......there goes my high 9i flying over not only my targeted 140 yrd pin but also then flying the entire large green and hopefully didnt make the woods behind everything.

I find them annoying as heck esp[ecially when you (at first) think you just hit one the better and straighter iron shots that round but then after half way through the flight you realize something aint right.

because they do happen enough I often question myself as for why or how i should be able to anticipate the condition and change clubs accordingly. But its not so easy to do and I mostly forget about them until it happens and of course its too late. But even if I did anticipate that this given lie looks like to be a flyer lie and i know i had to carry a front bunker the last thing Id want to do (even if its correct) is to club shorter. Not easy to do that especially just gueesing that this "might" be a flyer.
Different from when your in deep moist rough where one knows they need to club strong

 

[McLovin]

I don't have enough confidence in my swing to know whether from one swing to the next my speed, aoa, face-to-path, etc are identical to then determine whether the club was the reason the ball went farther vs me just making an a+ swing. So no, I don't think I get flyers.

 

[Templet0n]

I play courses where the fairways produce flyers.. hahaha.

 

[rollin]

I don't have enough confidence in my swing to know whether from one swing to the next my speed, aoa, face-to-path, etc are identical to then determine whether the club was the reason the ball went farther vs me just making an a+ swing. So no, I don't think I get flyers.

Im surprised given your cap (if thats your correct cap or close enough) that you wouldn't know if you had a flyer and that you dont have enough confidence in your swing to know an a+ swing vs not and the given result. In fact with due respect, its mind boggling to me that a player that close to scratch hasnt enough confidence nor can tell a better stroke vs not.. Youd have to b the luckiest golfer Ive yet met.

I mean with what I have placed into this game to try to improve I feel very many folks are simply lucky cause they dont even woprk as ghard and yet play much better than me. But here as a 6 capper (if thats even close to correct) and you dont have enough confidence to know a good strike vs a best one vs a flyer etc,...

really,...Im not at all trying to mock you nor pick on you at all. But honestly you have to be among the luckiest players to play to that level and not have a great feel for your shots nor the confidence., Again....thats just mind boggling. Did you just pick up golf and hardly practice and bnarwe;y take a lesson and ion a few months just begin to shoot 80 golf and better? I dont get how easy this game comes to some of us. I mean ...dont know exactly how well you hit and yet a 6 cap? Great for you but cheeeeeze now I realize im even that much more worse than i thought before.

 

[McLovin]

Im surprised given your cap (if thats your correct cap or close enough) that you wouldn't know if you had a flyer and that you dont have enough confidence in your swing to know an a+ swing vs not and the given result. In fact with due respect, its mind boggling to me that a player that close to scratch hasnt enough confidence nor can tell a better stroke vs not.. Youd have to b the luckiest golfer Ive yet met.

I mean with what I have placed into this game to try to improve I feel very many folks are simply lucky cause they dont even woprk as ghard and yet play much better than me. But here as a 6 capper (if thats even close to correct) and you dont have enough confidence to know a good strike vs a best one vs a flyer etc,...

really,...Im not at all trying to mock you nor pick on you at all. But honestly you have to be among the luckiest players to play to that level and not have a great feel for your shots nor the confidence., Again....thats just mind boggling. Did you just pick up golf and hardly practice and bnarwe;y take a lesson and ion a few months just begin to shoot 80 golf and better? I dont get how easy this game comes to some of us. I mean ...dont know exactly how well you hit and yet a 6 cap? Great for you but cheeeeeze now I realize im even that much more worse than i thought before.

i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and actually answer your question somewhat respectfully despite my better judgment.

I have been on trackman or gc quad plenty of times to see how small variations in angle of attack and face-to-path can produce very big differences in carry and total distance. one swing to the next may be almost identical in speed and strike location, but those variables can produce dramatically different results.

on the range today I went through two pyramids of balls. that's a lot of golf shots. directionally the shots were very similar, but standard deviation in the total was probably pretty big. one shot comes up 10-15y short, the next is over the target green. both felt like similar swings. why? because one strike was marginally in the bottom of the face, the next great mechanics but a bit heely, another flushed but with a out-to-in path, blah blah blah.

there have been plenty of times I thought I hit a great shot, only to come up short. or missed it and still got the full distance.

a 7 handicap may be closer to scratch than a 14 handicap, but trust me when I saw a 7 handicap is NOT ANYWHERE near scratch. I shoot low to mid 80s more than mid to high 70s. it's just a measure of potential, not an average. my handicap is predicated on lots of pars, plenty of bogeys, one or two doubles, and very few penalties.

 

[OldandStiff]

Im surprised given your cap (if thats your correct cap or close enough) that you wouldn't know if you had a flyer and that you dont have enough confidence in your swing to know an a+ swing vs not and the given result. In fact with due respect, its mind boggling to me that a player that close to scratch hasnt enough confidence nor can tell a better stroke vs not.. Youd have to b the luckiest golfer Ive yet met.

I mean with what I have placed into this game to try to improve I feel very many folks are simply lucky cause they dont even woprk as ghard and yet play much better than me. But here as a 6 capper (if thats even close to correct) and you dont have enough confidence to know a good strike vs a best one vs a flyer etc,...

really,...Im not at all trying to mock you nor pick on you at all. But honestly you have to be among the luckiest players to play to that level and not have a great feel for your shots nor the confidence., Again....thats just mind boggling. Did you just pick up golf and hardly practice and bnarwe;y take a lesson and ion a few months just begin to shoot 80 golf and better? I dont get how easy this game comes to some of us. I mean ...dont know exactly how well you hit and yet a 6 cap? Great for you but cheeeeeze now I realize im even that much more worse than i thought before.

Well I'm a plus cap, and I'm the one asking if people even get them. I have a pretty good feel for my shots and don't seem to get what people call a flyer except on a VERY rare occasion. I'll hit a knuckler every now and then out of a sneakily tough lie, but they're not sailing any greens. If a ball is sitting up I think I mostly compensate before they can happen. Change how I hit it. That's my theory anyway. I think Chris's response is a pretty reasonable one. Part of what I was saying is that I hear people say they caught a flier a lot more often than I believe they did. It's a convenient rationale, and there aren't a lot of people with a consistent enough swing imo to say 'yes, that was absolutely a flyer'. I'm not saying they don't happen, and I can come up with reasons like I mentioned that they might happen to me less.

@McLovin has a thread documenting all the hard work he puts into his game by the way. It's a good one.

 

[WMac19]

Well I'm a plus cap, and I'm the one asking if people even get them. I have a pretty good feel for my shots and don't seem to get what people call a flyer except on a VERY rare occasion. I'll hit a knuckler every now and then out of a sneakily tough lie, but they're not sailing any greens. If a ball is sitting up I think I mostly compensate before they can happen. Change how I hit it. That's my theory anyway. I think Chris's response is a pretty reasonable one. Part of what I was saying is that I hear people say they caught a flier a lot more often than I believe they did. It's a convenient rationale, and there aren't a lot of people with a consistent enough swing imo to say 'yes, that was absolutely a flyer'. I'm not saying they don't happen, and I can come up with reasons like I mentioned that they might happen to me less.

@McLovin has a good thread documenting all the hard work he puts into his game by the way. It's a good one.

I have to agree that perhaps most references of flyers are misapplied. Maybe wrong club or perfectly pured shot.

I know that I was guilty in the past. Not so many years back, not some, the vast majority of my iron contact was slightly toward the toe. So because the frequency was my actual norm, I'd calculated my expected yardages to hit based upon that all too regular mis-hit.

But when I'd infrequently square it up, and strangely enough it happened more often in the rough. No idea if it was my staying down on the ball more or if just the rough's fractional effect on the hosel would help me find center. No idea.

But this happenstance would lead to some incredibly nuked shots that I'd refer to as flyers.

Maybe the rough did take off some spin but I'd have to think that this moment of my unusually squaring it up, contributed more.

I still mis-hit more toward the toe than I'd prefer, albeit less than in the past. But technology sure has helped there so I'm not as penalized for shots a bit off the sweet-spot. Whether it be my CF-16's currently back in the bag or my P790's, similar forgiveness.

And amazingly, my actual incidents of or perception of flyers, has since reduced dramatically.

 

[rollin]

Well I'm a plus cap, and I'm the one asking if people even get them. I have a pretty good feel for my shots and don't seem to get what people call a flyer except on a VERY rare occasion. I'll hit a knuckler every now and then out of a sneakily tough lie, but they're not sailing any greens. If a ball is sitting up I think I mostly compensate before they can happen. Change how I hit it. That's my theory anyway. I think Chris's response is a pretty reasonable one. Part of what I was saying is that I hear people say they caught a flier a lot more often than I believe they did. It's a convenient rationale, and there aren't a lot of people with a consistent enough swing imo to say 'yes, that was absolutely a flyer'. I'm not saying they don't happen, and I can come up with reasons like I mentioned that they might happen to me less.

@McLovin has a good thread documenting all the hard work he puts into his game by the way. It's a good one.

I honestly wasnt meaning to insult nor mock him at all and I believe I covered that but wanted to make that point again.

I may not and am not very good at golf. For every 86 I shoot I shoot 7 95's and three 100;s . But heck I been playing for decades and Ive played countless rounds and range sessions and couldnt even count the ball strikes without a super computer.
Flyers are real and I know when I hit one and Im only about a 16 capper. (maybe not even that much currently)
I mean even i can tell what kind of strike i placed on the ball. heel, or toe, or thin or fat etc,.... and I can often guess where the ball is heading (within reason of course and its not 100% at all) but based on what the swing and strike felt like I can anticipate the direction and even somewhat the distance. Thats not about being real good at the game at all but simply due to to an enormous body of work. And after countless swings through such a loooong time one simply gains a feel that relates to a given result even if by default.

That said.......with due respect I will repeat I find it strange and even mind boggling that a player fairly close to scratch wouldnt have enough confidence to know whether or not they hit a great shot or good and or know if the caught a flyer. To be fair, I will admit if one never had one than they wouldnt know what it felt or looked like and I suppose even a really good player may possibly never had one or at least not inrecent enough memory. One nearer scratch may not be finding himslef all too often in rough flyer lies and also depends where one plays and what the rough like. That is all very possible and therefore one wouldn't know what a flyer felt like or looked like. I will have to assume such may be the case here because if he or you has had enough of them you would or should absolutely know the difference after you see yuour 9iron fly the front pin and the entire green and off the back like a 6iron.

And LOL I diont mean the rare times we grab our 6 thinking its a 9 lol yess happens but not what Im talking about.

 

[rollin]

I have to agree that perhaps most references of flyers are misapplied. Maybe wrong club or perfectly pured shot.

Thats possible but I think it may be the case for those who never experienced one or not enough times to acknowledge or realize the differences between them vs other hits.
From some the discussion in the thread Im thinking that possibility is more popular than i though it would be. Just a percentage ofolks never really in the position ad or conditions for the flyers enough the time