darthweasel
Well-known member
I recently joined a semi-private club. It has been beneficial in several ways...one being the slowest round I have played on the member side (there are 2 courses they rotate: one is "private" for 2 weeks, the other "public", then they switch them) is 3:43. One one of those days the wife was sleeping so I bopped over to the public side and teed off minutes after finishing a 3:21 round and it was 5:06 on the public side...
Now, for years I have played a majority of my rounds as a walk-on. I have several golfing buddies but most of them have a life...kids, etc...whereas I have a wife who works nights and no kids so I can more or less golf at will and often do.
In those matchups I have observed several things. First, I generally am the longest hitter in the group or close to it. And it is not because I am overly long. All time (since I have used Golfpad, 3035 recorded shots) my driver average is 250. On the nose today. Over the last 50 rounds it is 260 and over the last 10 251 yards. So clearly there has been fluctuation. When I first bought my current driver last year I had a stretch over a couple months where it ranged from 279 to 271...it was not fun watching that drop lol.
The point being I am routinely the longest driver in the group, rare exceptions aside, at around 250 yards over a sizeable stretch of time. There have been exceptions of course, but they are rare enough I notice them. My first round after signing up was not overly different...the guys all went around a prominent bunker. I noted the distance and had zero qualms going straight over it and cleared it by a good distance.
Well, in the most recent round I was matched up with three guys. I generally just play whatever box the people I am with are playing. Exception once you get past about 6600 I move up regardless just because I don't really like playing too long. Even if I am capable it is not fun. I will happily move forward boxes and find it great fun playing from short. Personal taste. These guys suggested one up from the tips. No worries, I can hang from there, lets go.
I often play with someone here and there who is better than I am when random pairings. It is rare for there to be two. It doesn't happen where there are three. This has always somewhat surprised me as I am a self-proclaimed mediocre golfer and my handicap has typically ranged from 16 to 12...hardly eye-popping. I have lived in the 85-100 range for years and that is just what I have found...I have, in random match-ups, been among the better.
This time I was matched up with three who were all significantly better than me. The first hole was indicative. The first guy had a stiff, problematic back impinging his swing and maybe drove it 200? that would prove to be a fluke as the rest of the day he was generally out beyond me. My first drive was 245 and in the left rough. I was slightly behind one guy and 25-30 yards behind another.
After two I was furthest from the green...and the guy with the shortest drive had the only birdie. Two of us missed birdie putts and the guy who would go on to shoot a 68 had a chunk chip that cost him a stroke.
This is point one. Distance is a skill. I have played this hole several times and it has been reachable in two for me a little under half the time. Backing up one box actually took reaching in two out of play for me on every par 5. That made one person in the group for which it was true. Related but applicable point: Long par fours were much more difficult as I was often 20-30 yards behind. This is 1-3 clubs...that matters. My dispersions are always, under every circumstance, going to be larger with say...my 9i to their pw. That will make the ensuing chip/putt longer on average. That will lead to a higher score over the course of things.
Will there be exceptions? Absolutely. I likely had the lowest score outright on the hole I birdied and tied for low on several I parred...but overall? Over time? They are going to have better scores and a lot of that is proximity due to length off the tee. Funnily enough, there is an easy way for me to adjust this...I can move up a box lol. The yardage I play from can and will affect my scoring opportunities.
On a related note, more than once when I have eagled a hole I have had someone comment they have never had one and never reached in two. As a general rule they do not have the length to reach in two. As stated above...if that is how they enjoy golf, more power to them but I genuinely believe a lot of people don't take advantage of the flexibility of golf to allow it to be played by people with different skillsets to get similar results...or opportunities for similar results.
For example, if I played PGA length...not only would I never reach any par 5 in two, there would be several par 4s that would be at the extreme edge or even beyond my capability to reach in two. But if they were playing from there and I were playing 6200-6400 hundred...yeah, I might reach here and there. Meanwhile, that guy pummeling his driver 200? play from 5300 and he might reach here and there.
I have played with many players who could go driver-driver and not reach multiple par 4s. Now, if they enjoy that...more power to them. Play the game the way you enjoy. I am not going to tell them to play shorter because I think it would be more enjoyable...any more than the guy playing 5600 with a 250 drive am I going to tell he might enjoy more from 6300. Play as you enjoy, just be aware the option is often there to play from a yardage that fits the distance.
The post got rejected for being too long so clipping here...
Now, for years I have played a majority of my rounds as a walk-on. I have several golfing buddies but most of them have a life...kids, etc...whereas I have a wife who works nights and no kids so I can more or less golf at will and often do.
In those matchups I have observed several things. First, I generally am the longest hitter in the group or close to it. And it is not because I am overly long. All time (since I have used Golfpad, 3035 recorded shots) my driver average is 250. On the nose today. Over the last 50 rounds it is 260 and over the last 10 251 yards. So clearly there has been fluctuation. When I first bought my current driver last year I had a stretch over a couple months where it ranged from 279 to 271...it was not fun watching that drop lol.
The point being I am routinely the longest driver in the group, rare exceptions aside, at around 250 yards over a sizeable stretch of time. There have been exceptions of course, but they are rare enough I notice them. My first round after signing up was not overly different...the guys all went around a prominent bunker. I noted the distance and had zero qualms going straight over it and cleared it by a good distance.
Well, in the most recent round I was matched up with three guys. I generally just play whatever box the people I am with are playing. Exception once you get past about 6600 I move up regardless just because I don't really like playing too long. Even if I am capable it is not fun. I will happily move forward boxes and find it great fun playing from short. Personal taste. These guys suggested one up from the tips. No worries, I can hang from there, lets go.
I often play with someone here and there who is better than I am when random pairings. It is rare for there to be two. It doesn't happen where there are three. This has always somewhat surprised me as I am a self-proclaimed mediocre golfer and my handicap has typically ranged from 16 to 12...hardly eye-popping. I have lived in the 85-100 range for years and that is just what I have found...I have, in random match-ups, been among the better.
This time I was matched up with three who were all significantly better than me. The first hole was indicative. The first guy had a stiff, problematic back impinging his swing and maybe drove it 200? that would prove to be a fluke as the rest of the day he was generally out beyond me. My first drive was 245 and in the left rough. I was slightly behind one guy and 25-30 yards behind another.
After two I was furthest from the green...and the guy with the shortest drive had the only birdie. Two of us missed birdie putts and the guy who would go on to shoot a 68 had a chunk chip that cost him a stroke.
This is point one. Distance is a skill. I have played this hole several times and it has been reachable in two for me a little under half the time. Backing up one box actually took reaching in two out of play for me on every par 5. That made one person in the group for which it was true. Related but applicable point: Long par fours were much more difficult as I was often 20-30 yards behind. This is 1-3 clubs...that matters. My dispersions are always, under every circumstance, going to be larger with say...my 9i to their pw. That will make the ensuing chip/putt longer on average. That will lead to a higher score over the course of things.
Will there be exceptions? Absolutely. I likely had the lowest score outright on the hole I birdied and tied for low on several I parred...but overall? Over time? They are going to have better scores and a lot of that is proximity due to length off the tee. Funnily enough, there is an easy way for me to adjust this...I can move up a box lol. The yardage I play from can and will affect my scoring opportunities.
On a related note, more than once when I have eagled a hole I have had someone comment they have never had one and never reached in two. As a general rule they do not have the length to reach in two. As stated above...if that is how they enjoy golf, more power to them but I genuinely believe a lot of people don't take advantage of the flexibility of golf to allow it to be played by people with different skillsets to get similar results...or opportunities for similar results.
For example, if I played PGA length...not only would I never reach any par 5 in two, there would be several par 4s that would be at the extreme edge or even beyond my capability to reach in two. But if they were playing from there and I were playing 6200-6400 hundred...yeah, I might reach here and there. Meanwhile, that guy pummeling his driver 200? play from 5300 and he might reach here and there.
I have played with many players who could go driver-driver and not reach multiple par 4s. Now, if they enjoy that...more power to them. Play the game the way you enjoy. I am not going to tell them to play shorter because I think it would be more enjoyable...any more than the guy playing 5600 with a 250 drive am I going to tell he might enjoy more from 6300. Play as you enjoy, just be aware the option is often there to play from a yardage that fits the distance.
The post got rejected for being too long so clipping here...