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Does the distance you hit a golf ball correlate to a handicap??

Bullfrog

Bullfrog

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I was reading some golf stuff. And the thought popped into my head. Does how far you hit the ball dictate how low your handicap can get? If someone who hits the ball 200 yards off the tee consistently. Can they get to single digits? Is it easier for someone who hits it further than that to get to single digits? I know accuracy plays a big role in the equation. But what if someone hit's the ball 320 off the tee, is it easier for him to get to single digits? Does distance trump accuracy when it comes to a handicap. When someone has a low handicap, that means they should play from a farther tee box than a high handicapper.
 
The short answer is yes...and no. I play with a lot of different people at my club from in there 20's to 80's. The distance and handicaps all vary as well. A person that hits it farther does have an advantage when it come to scoring because he will have a shorter club into the green. If he can't keep one in play though then it doesn't really matter though. I will play this weekend with a guy who was a former hockey player and MMA guy. He built pretty solid with a lot of muscle. He can absolutely crush the ball (like 7i 220 yards) but with his driver he may not be able to keep it on the course. He has a lot of potential though to really lower his handicap a lot if he can get consistency.

A few of the older guys my not hit it far but are pretty accurate. Because they don't hit it as far then when they do hit a bad shot is much less likely to be OB or in bad trouble. These guys are single digits but probably can't go much lower unless they move up tees or find a way to get more distance. The reason be is they are hitting a lot of mid to long irons into the greens. It's hard to get much lower from where they are at if they can't play scoring clubs into the green.
 
I would say it depends. I am currently a 3.0 index and I hit driver about 230 all in unless it is super firm and carry is about 215. I regularly play our back tees which are par 71 and 6950 yards. Being a relative short knocker does put stress on your short game. There are a few par 4s at my club that I struggle to hit in 2 unless I hit it perfectly. In general I am pretty straight and I can go multiple rounds without penalty strokes or lost balls.

Hitting driver 200 yards would make it tougher to maintain my handicap as low as it is but I could definitely be single digit particularly from our middle tees.

The above said if I could keep the same accuracy and hit the ball 10% farther I think I could be better.
 
No reason you can't. I only hit driver about 240, but I also rarely venture past 6300 yards. I am more comfortable at 6000. My only goal when I step on any course is to break 80 everytime. Generally that is determined by how well I can get off the tee.
 
Chef23 said:
I would say it depends. I am currently a 3.0 index and I hit driver about 230 all in unless it is super firm and carry is about 215. I regularly play our back tees which are par 71 and 6950 yards. Being a relative short knocker does put stress on your short game. There are a few par 4s at my club that I struggle to hit in 2 unless I hit it perfectly. In general I am pretty straight and I can go multiple rounds without penalty strokes or lost balls.

Hitting driver 200 yards would make it tougher to maintain my handicap as low as it is but I could definitely be single digit particularly from our middle tees.

The above said if I could keep the same accuracy and hit the ball 10% farther I think I could be better.
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This is a GREAT answer, honestly. I'm reminded of my Great Grandfather's golf game back in the day. I remember my Dad and Grandfather talking about his game and how he didn't hit it very long off the tee. With that said, he always hit it down the middle and even though he might have to hit his driver twice on a par four, he was going to be on the green or really close. He focused on this short game and would get up and down around the green more often than not. I don't know what his handicap was, but I know my Dad was a scratch golfer at that time and he said most days he (my Great Grandfather) was easily breaking his age if not in the 70's on our par 72 course. This was also back in the persimmon wood days.
 
Handicap starts at the hole backwards not from the tee forward
 
Snickerdog said:
No reason you can't. I only hit driver about 240, but I also rarely venture past 6300 yards. I am more comfortable at 6000. My only goal when I step on any course is to break 80 everytime. Generally that is determined by how well I can get off the tee.
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I think you're nail on the head here for myself as well - I generally have a good idea on how my round is going to turn out after my first few tee shots. If I can hit a fairway, I'll usually score better. I've actually taken speed off my swing on purpose over the last year to focus on accuracy and consistency in strike. Net result has been lower scores.

So to answer the original question - I think distance off the tee can help put players in a better spot for second/third shots, but it can also be a detriment if you're not finding fairways. Therefore, yes and no; distance doesn't always relate to handicap.
 
GolfTravelDude said:
Handicap starts at the hole backwards not from the tee forward
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I really think it's a mixture of both. Putting is one area that players can focus on where swing speeds shouldn't have an impact. I definitely noticed an improvement when I practiced putting, but same can be said when I took speed off my tee shots and focused on hitting fairways.

To be fair - I do pick my ball based on how it feels on my putter.
 
Chef23 said:
I would say it depends. I am currently a 3.0 index and I hit driver about 230 all in unless it is super firm and carry is about 215. I regularly play our back tees which are par 71 and 6950 yards. Being a relative short knocker does put stress on your short game. There are a few par 4s at my club that I struggle to hit in 2 unless I hit it perfectly. In general I am pretty straight and I can go multiple rounds without penalty strokes or lost balls.

Hitting driver 200 yards would make it tougher to maintain my handicap as low as it is but I could definitely be single digit particularly from our middle tees.

The above said if I could keep the same accuracy and hit the ball 10% farther I think I could be better.
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I can't believe you are playing tees that far back. I'm about your driver distance and we play about 5800 to 6000. To play your tees would for me imply I'm hitting 5i to 3h on par 4's. that is pressure on ones game in my book
 
YukonLiving said:
I really think it's a mixture of both. Putting is one area that players can focus on where swing speeds shouldn't have an impact. I definitely noticed an improvement when I practiced putting, but same can be said when I took speed off my tee shots and focused on hitting fairways.

To be fair - I do pick my ball based on how it feels on my putter.
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Hole backward starts with putting which makes up about 35 to 40 % of your strokes if you are a single. I've been a single for 46 years and don't hit it as far as I once did. Then short game...Then approaches...Then distance off the tee. Yea, hitting it 300 can be advantageous, but that is at best 14 shots.
 
GolfTravelDude said:
Hole backward starts with putting which makes up about 35 to 40 % of your strokes if you are a single. I've been a single for 46 years and don't hit it as far as I once did. Then short game...Then approaches...Then distance off the tee. Yea, hitting it 300 can be advantageous, but that is at best 14 shots.
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I think that's the key there - Just because someone can smash the ball 320 yards, doesn't mean it's going straight. They might putt lights out, but if they're just hitting the green after 3 penalty strokes, their score isn't going to be spectacular. And that comes to your point. I agree that once you're at a certain handicap, the majority of your improvement is likely going to be when using putter.
 
Distance provides more potential, but doesn't guarantee a low handicap
 
And the easy way to tell for an individual is play from the forward tees. If your score doesn't drop it isn't distance.
The biggest advantage of length is being able to pick the distance for your approach shot. When I was a single digit at my home course, i could hit to the 100 yard marker on all the par 5s and all par 4s except 2. 12 holes where I could generally make par as my 100 yard swing was very repeatable.
Of course if I played at other courses, I rapidly found I didn't have all the shots needed.
 
To answer the title there is no doubt that distance correlates to handicap. At every average driver distance x and y where x > y the average handicap of all golfers who average x distance on their drive is lower than the average handicap of golfers who average y distance on their drive.

Does that mean if you average y and some other individual averages x you cannot have a lower handicap than them? Nope those numbers above are just averages.
 
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Acesteve said:
I can't believe you are playing tees that far back. I'm about your driver distance and we play about 5800 to 6000. To play your tees would for me imply I'm hitting 5i to 3h on par 4's. that is pressure on ones game in my book
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I hit a lot of long irons and fairway woods in. I hit 3 or 5 wood in on 4-6 holes depending on the wind. Plus one par 3 is a 5W usually and a second is a driver.

I am a relatively short hitter for a lower handicap and the guys I play with are all longer and like to play the back tees. I hold my own in the matches and I enjoy the challenge.
 
It’s one factor but not the only factor. This is from the USGA and R&A Distance insights Report:

1611272768671.jpeg

Not to incite a firestorm here but Bryson certainly believes more distance leads to lower scores.
 
I am a 5.5 handicap from the white tees. I would not be that if I played from the tips. Too many holes that I would not be able to get on in regulation or get on with scoring clubs if I play from the tips.
 
I agree with Hank Haney, distance equals potential. If I was 20 yards shorter it would be difficult to impossible to maintain my index. Plenty of golfers with higher swingspeeds have higher handicaps than me but if you're short it caps how good you can get. I swing it fast enough(105ish with driver) to be scratch or better and if I was longer I'd shave a stroke or two.

“Clubhead speed determines your potential in the game,” he said. “At every level, distance is the determining factor. Swing it faster, get more distance.”

After stating that 86 mph is the average clubhead speed among amateur golfers (it’s around 115 mph for PGA Tour players), Haney fired away at slow swings: “Take a fast lousy swing, slow it down, and you’ve got a slow lousy swing. Too many people think speed causes mistakes. That’s wrong. It makes no sense at all to take an easy swing, particularly with a driver.”

Hank Haney
 
One of my buddies plays off 28, although realistically, I’d put him at nearer 20. When he gets hold of it, he spanks the living daylights out of it. I’ve witnessed him clear 300 yards on more than one occasion. I play off 12 currently, and am regularly 40 to 50 yards behind him. However, he’ll hit a 300 yarder and split the fairway, then duff his second shot, or miss a 3 foot putt. He’ll duff about 25% of his tee shots too. So in my experience, no, handicap does not correlate to how far you hit the ball.
 
I consistently carry 300 yards with driver but I'm an 18 handicap. I would gladly trade some distance for accuracy. Sometimes distance actually hurts me as my offline shots go out at a higher rate than my friends who are shorter but missing at the same angle. My brother's slice is much worse than my right miss but his 220 carry usually keeps him in bounds.

Being a newer player I'm hoping that lessons and improved accuracy will help me turn power into a weapon. There is no doubt that distance helps you lower scores if you can control it.
 
For balance I can drive 270yds and am in the mid to high 20’s in Handicap :ROFLMAO:
 
Completely depends on the course and how punishing the rough is and if you are able to play out of it. I am positive that accuracy is better for the weekend golfer, however, leaving yards on the table because you don't train a faster swing is misguided, in my opinion. If you can manage to gain yards and not lose any serious dispersion, who would say no to that? Not to mention, if I can get a 7 iron out 190-200 yards and my shorter clubs are more accurate and hold greens better I am in a much better position.

I think there is basically a point at which you get to a low enough handicap where not having the yardage will hinder you. The thing is, it's not like you're forced to take driver, when you can take a 2 iron out and still out-drive people using their driver you have A LOT of flexibility. I am biased though, distance and clean ball flight is what I enjoy most in golf so take it with a grain of salt.
 
USAF Ret in Wis said:
Distance provides more potential, but doesn't guarantee a low handicap
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Yup. I’m barely moving the ball off the tee with driver. Everything else has been working. Not that 2 rounds mean much but I’ve been playing par golf without making a putt. In the past 27 holes I’ve probably had 20 birdie putts under 25ft.

Can’t seem to figure out driver but the course I played does NOT place a premium on accuracy from the tee. You’re unlikely to be in trouble 80% of the time if you miss.
 
Bullfrog said:
I was reading some golf stuff. And the thought popped into my head. Does how far you hit the ball dictate how low your handicap can get? If someone who hits the ball 200 yards off the tee consistently. Can they get to single digits? Is it easier for someone who hits it further than that to get to single digits? I know accuracy plays a big role in the equation. But what if someone hit's the ball 320 off the tee, is it easier for him to get to single digits? Does distance trump accuracy when it comes to a handicap. When someone has a low handicap, that means they should play from a farther tee box than a high handicapper.
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It certainly can. If you only hit the ball 200 yards off the tee, it makes it more difficult to score well because you have to be pretty much perfect in every other area to make up for your lack of distance off the tee.
Ive got some friends who have a terrible short game and cant putt to save their life but they hit the ball a mile off the tee and can still score quite well, despite their shortcomings.
 
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