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Driving Distance Relative to Index

LICC said:
There is a big difference between 6500 and 7000 yards. From 6500, driving 250 should be enough. From 7000, I don't think it is. Closer to 280 for those distances.
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For sure, that’s why my original post put the distance at around 6500.
 
Snowman said:
I think 250 is probably a fair estimate, but percentage of fairways hit is going to factor into that also. If you're driving it 250 but hitting every shot out of the rough or from behind the trees, that's not going to get it done. And as has been discussed, a lot of courses take driver out of your hands on a decent number of holes, so how far you hit your driver may only be relevant on 5-6 holes.
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This was my round yesterday, tree lined fairways got pretty creative on moving the ball forward with punches!
 
Chef23 said:
I played with two guys in their 20s like that yesterday. They played the back tees which were 6700 yards. Neither of them could hit the ball straight off the tee and I would be surprised if either of them broke 95. The white tees at the course were 6400 which would have been much better for them. I did play back there with them but I also shot 76. I did spend a chunk of my day trying to keep moving to keep us from falling behind and think we may have been a little quicker if they played a tee forward. It is a little weird with the 15 minute tee time gaps. My thought on pace of play has always been you should be right behind the group in front of you. We played in 4:05 and never saw the group in front. A couple of times the group behind was waiting and I felt bad about that and tried to hustle everyone up.
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So the problem I have with this is that you're saying they played tees too far back, couldn't hit the ball straight, didn't break 95, and it would have been better for them to play from the 6400s, without a single mention of how far they actually hit the ball. And without that rather crucial info, I don't see how anyone could agree with a single one of those other statements. You're either playing past your distance or you're not. Direction and score would seem to be secondary. Moving up doesn't make someone chip/putt better or hit the ball any straighter. Or automatically change the pace.
 
LICC said:
250 for 6200 yards? I think 230-240 would work. But generally this is pretty good.
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I think it’s key to remember those numbers not only make it playable, but put scoring clubs in more hands which usually helps with pace...and fun. But I agree with you.
 
Chef23 said:
I played with two guys in their 20s like that yesterday. They played the back tees which were 6700 yards. Neither of them could hit the ball straight off the tee and I would be surprised if either of them broke 95. The white tees at the course were 6400 which would have been much better for them. I did play back there with them but I also shot 76. I did spend a chunk of my day trying to keep moving to keep us from falling behind and think we may have been a little quicker if they played a tee forward. It is a little weird with the 15 minute tee time gaps. My thought on pace of play has always been you should be right behind the group in front of you. We played in 4:05 and never saw the group in front. A couple of times the group behind was waiting and I felt bad about that and tried to hustle everyone up.
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I mentioned on another thread that playing the back tees when you are not a single digit handicap is just rude.
 
Would think long only helps if the ball is in play. Just look at the pro's that have messed up their game chasing ten more yards.
 
LICC said:
I mentioned on another thread that playing the back tees when you are not a single digit handicap is just rude.
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I think it is rude only if you are holding people up. As long as people maintain an appropriate pace of play and are enjoying themselves, I don’t think it matters what tee box they play.
 
GG194 said:
Would think long only helps if the ball is in play. Just look at the pro's that have messed up their game chasing ten more yards.
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Your statement is true, but if somebody is good enough to be at scratch as long as the course is not too long (the point of this thread), I would think it is a given that the same player is able to keep the ball in play.
 
LICC said:
There is a big difference between 6500 and 7000 yards. From 6500, driving 250 should be enough. From 7000, I don't think it is. Closer to 280 for those distances.
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It depends on where the distance is at on the course. I play a course once in a while that's in the upper 6800 range. The par 4's aren't killer (except one), but the 5's and 3's are pretty long. I think 250y and consistent would play that course well. Might hit 3 wood into one of the par 3's and would likely need driver, 3wd, and a mid iron into a couple of the par 5's, but it's doable. Now, if the par 4's are where the distance is all at, then all bets are off. Hitting long clubs into the par 4's all day will ruin a person quickly.
 
LICC said:
I mentioned on another thread that playing the back tees when you are not a single digit handicap is just rude.
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What if the back tees are only 6300ish yards long and 70.5/123 rated?
 
250 yards at that yardage is long enough. I’ve played most of my golf in that 6400-6800 the last 25 years and have been a 1 to +1 for most of that period. We have a former LPGA player at our club who Only plays the 6400 or 6950 tees, is in her 60’s and hits it about 235 yards. She shot 65 a couple days ago and plays to a plus 5.5 index!! She can putt and get up and down from anywhere - fun to watch.
 
tahoebum said:
250 yards at that yardage is long enough. I’ve played most of my golf in that 6400-6800 the last 25 years and have been a 1 to +1 for most of that period. We have a former LPGA player at our club who Only plays the 6400 or 6950 tees, is in her 60’s and hits it about 235 yards. She shot 65 a couple days ago and plays to a plus 5.5 index!! She can putt and get up and down from anywhere - fun to watch.
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I know you complain frequently about your putting, but I don’t think it is possible for anybody to play scratch without being an adequate putter. I love watching people play who have great short games and touch around the greens.
 
Tenputt said:
I think it is rude only if you are holding people up. As long as people maintain an appropriate pace of play and are enjoying themselves, I don’t think it matters what tee box they play.
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Ok, I'll qualify- it is rude if you are on a public course and others are playing with you or behind you.
 
It really depends on how good you are on approach shots. If you can stick long irons and hybrids when needed, then you don't have to be long off the tee, just accurate.
 
LICC said:
Ok, I'll qualify- it is rude if you are on a public course and others are playing with you or behind you.
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Well, it's rude of anyone to play from any tee if there are people having to wait on them every hole. Common courtesy says to let the person/people behind you play through.
 
The tee it forward numbers are totally dead on. Part of the problem is people think they hit 250 yard drives because they uncork one ever 10 but are really living around 220.
 
I mean the answer is 250. The entire system is based off that number. Keep in mind scratch doesn't mean par so on long courses a scratch golf might rarely if ever break par. If you can't hit it that far then you need to be better in other areas and if you hit it well past you can be weaker in areas.
 
250 should be plenty if the rest of your game is there. There in lies the problem with most of us hackers. Any weakness can and will be exploited esp. over 6500.
 
tahoebum said:
250 yards at that yardage is long enough. I’ve played most of my golf in that 6400-6800 the last 25 years and have been a 1 to +1 for most of that period. We have a former LPGA player at our club who Only plays the 6400 or 6950 tees, is in her 60’s and hits it about 235 yards. She shot 65 a couple days ago and plays to a plus 5.5 index!! She can putt and get up and down from anywhere - fun to watch.
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She hits it past what the number used when they rate tees for the women. She isn't that low if it was a mens cap. Still probably better then scratch so your point still mostly stands.
 
ntanygd760 said:
She hits it past what the number used when they rate tees for the women. She isn't that low if it was a mens cap. Still probably better then scratch so your point still mostly stands.
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She is that low. She shoots 65 to 68 often off the men’s tees at our course and shot 68 at Hazeltine last summer from 6850. She finished 12th at the US Senior Open 2018.
 
I think there are some variables on this question, but for most courses around here if you are playing 6500+ it would best to hit around 275. I do think 250 would work with smart play again depending on the course layout.
 
the chart is spot in for my game, 225 from 6,000 is Driver, mid /short iron and the Par 5's are reachable.
 
Joshnoble01 said:
The tee it forward numbers are totally dead on. Part of the problem is people think they hit 250 yard drives because they uncork one ever 10 but are really living around 220.
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100%. Probably 10% of the people I have played with recreationally can consistently hit their drives 250+, and I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a 300+ yard drive.
 
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