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Realistic numbers.

Luchnia

Luchnia

You will never conquer golf.
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I am somewhat analytical with my distances because I want to play realistic golf, thus the title Realistic numbers.

What I find fascinating is how much folks inflate their driver numbers. I play league golf and there are mostly older golfers which don't inflate their numbers much (when you get older not sure there is much to prove), but in my observation I think it is habit for a large percentage of golfers.

I pretty much know my real on course versus launch monitor numbers and I am much more reserved on the course with my driver swing. My driver averages will be up and down, but usually around 210-230. That means I have drives that are roughly around 180 to as much as 260.

Yes I get a rare 275 once in a blue moon when the stars align, gravity forgets I hit it, and something is unique, but also sometimes a what feels like it was crushed 240 yard drive looks like it goes much further than it actually did. Don't you hit some and think, that wasn't as far as it felt like it was going?

I was playing a round in the league a few weeks back in a foursome and watching a guy hit his drives about the same as me and he had a few drives that were longer than mine by about 20 yards tops, if that. We were talking and I commented about how well he drove the ball and he responded that he drives around 275 average.

He does drive good, but 275 wasn't seen that day even though on one hole he claimed it was "about 275" and my ball landed within about 5 yards short of his. As a matter of fact, my longest recorded drive for the day was 253 (BTW on a different hole) and my shortest was 173. I was right there with him the entire round and me being somewhat of an analyst, there was no way they were 275 average. On the tops I would give him 235-240 average.

We had some great drives that day, but my average for the round was 217 with 6 drives over 225, 3 between 200 and 225, and 3 under 200, so my guess is that he may have averaged 235-240 at best that day. Even if we inflate by 10% we are way off what most might think driving distances are.

It makes me wonder why folks want to inflate their numbers and not be realistic about how far they hit the ball? It is important to me to know my realistic numbers and averages and what I am doing so I know the best strategy for the rounds I play.

Do you play with guys that have those inflatable drive numbers that are not realistic?
 
Luchnia said:
It makes me wonder why folks want to inflate their numbers and not be realistic about how far they hit the ball? It is important to me to know my realistic numbers and averages and what I am doing so I know the best strategy for the rounds I play.

Do you play with guys that have those inflatable drive numbers that are not realistic?
Click to expand...


Simple. Ego. Something I had to get out of my head years ago to focus on the entire game, not just how far I hit it. I was young and dumb once. Now I am old and less dumb. Hopefully.

There's a guy in my league who thinks hes a long ball guy even though there's at least 10 people I know that hit it farther. Usually never cards an eagle during the course of the year. Never really shines are Par 5's. But is convinced because he swings hard that he is a monster off the tee. Even when the ball goes no where because he's skying it with tons of spin. But god help you if you try to explain club/ball dynamics to him. He's the "rip it harder and it will go farther" mind set. Probably hits it on average 250-260. Might get one to 280 once a round but they literally can go everywhere. He might hit 3-5 fairways a round.

Anyways, just to add context, I've been told my swing is smooth and looks slow until the ball punches off the face and ends up a long way away. I mention this because about a year ago, I played with him and 2 other guys that I know are ball busting good guys. He gets up and with the normal cockiness tries to rip the cover off the ball. Surprisingly, he pumps one down the middle like 275 or so. He picks up his tee and does the "booyah!" crotch-slap move which I am sure you all just played in your head. :D I get up and calmly put one by him in the air out to 300. It took all of 1.4 seconds before the ball busters started in on him and for the next 17 holes, he got more and more frustrated as his drives either went so far right or left he would have to go 2 fairways over OR he would finally get one straight and I would blow by him. Over and over again. He could not understand how someone 3" shorter than him ( 6'2" vs 5'10") who wasn't trying to rip the cover off the ball was out driving him. Absolutely screwed with this mind all day. At the end of the round, he stormed off after shooting the worst round of the year.

I don't remember what I shot but I know whatever my score was, it was worth every one of them to watch him crumble as his sense of "big hitter itis" tore him up. No matter how far you hit it, there is always someone who hits it farther.
 
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Guys will even do that on other people's behalf. There's one guy in my club with who thinks I am capable of reaching 500-yard Par 5's in two strokes even though he's played with me many times and never, not once seen me do it. Maybe if the irrigation were broken, we're in the middle of a summer drought and the there was a 25mph tailwind I could roll one up on the front fringe.

But somehow it go lodged in his mind that I ought to be able to do it. I'll hit a good tee shot (i.e. about 225 yards in the fairway) and while the ball's still in the air he'll be like, "Alright! You're going to get on in two!". To be fair, his eyesight is terrible and I think the ball disappears from view after 100 yards or so but still, you'd think he'd have noticed by now I've always got 250+ left for my second shot...
 
I don't play with random golfers, so no I don't encounter those people. The league I play in, the youngest person is 32, the oldest is 71. Nobody gives a hoot about distance. There is no bragging.

I have been on various trackmans, flightscopes, and foresights. I know my distances and never brag because the golf gods are fickle and vicious.
 
I can promise you I inflate how many fairways I hit more often than how far I hit it lol
 
average joes, we're average joes, usually "long ball hitters" are long ball sprayers.
they may hit 1 or 2 about 270 and the rest of them are left and right the rest of the day out of the sprayer. i dont watch though. i was taught long ago not to watch because youll pick up bad habits, this was from grandpa long ago when i was a kid.. lol
i would gladly take the 225 down the middle all day long and be proud of it and saying i hit 14-15 fairways!
 
Long drives are like a good fish tale. They get bigger every time you tell the story!
 
There are a few, think they have to play the tips because they drive so far. Played with a guy a week or so ago, was always past me maybe 15 yards or so, made a comment, "Sure is nice driving the ball 280 everytime" I just chuckled as I knew he was closer to the 250 range being just ahead of me. It makes him happy to feel that way so so be it.
I just go by the old axiom, long drives don't scare me. You still have to finish the hole. (I beat him by 6)
 
I play with a pretty big variety of people, and a very small percentage have realistic driver numbers for themselves. It usually shows itself in one of two ways.

1. They finally ask how far one was when I drive one near them and am marking the gps. They are usually shocked or in disbelief that the 'monster' drive they just hit wasn't so monstrous after all.

2. They can't believe that I don't average 300 yds. I've had actual arguments about this one. They haven't been bold enough to shout out their supposed yardage, but can't handle that mine are only 280-ish, because then they have to redo the math on what theirs actually are.
 
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TCB2010 said:
average joes, we're average joes, usually "long ball hitters" are long ball sprayers.
they may hit 1 or 2 about 270 and the rest of them are left and right the rest of the day out of the sprayer. i dont watch though. i was taught long ago not to watch because youll pick up bad habits, this was from grandpa long ago when i was a kid.. lol
i would gladly take the 225 down the middle all day long and be proud of it and saying i hit 14-15 fairways!
Click to expand...
But short hitters spray it too. Shorter≠accurate. I would agree that longer hitters tend to miss by bigger margins, but once the ball crosses the red line, does it matter how much further it goes?
 
Luchnia said:
I am somewhat analytical with my distances because I want to play realistic golf, thus the title Realistic numbers.

What I find fascinating is how much folks inflate their driver numbers. I play league golf and there are mostly older golfers which don't inflate their numbers much (when you get older not sure there is much to prove), but in my observation I think it is habit for a large percentage of golfers.

I pretty much know my real on course versus launch monitor numbers and I am much more reserved on the course with my driver swing. My driver averages will be up and down, but usually around 210-230. That means I have drives that are roughly around 180 to as much as 260.

Yes I get a rare 275 once in a blue moon when the stars align, gravity forgets I hit it, and something is unique, but also sometimes a what feels like it was crushed 240 yard drive looks like it goes much further than it actually did. Don't you hit some and think, that wasn't as far as it felt like it was going?

I was playing a round in the league a few weeks back in a foursome and watching a guy hit his drives about the same as me and he had a few drives that were longer than mine by about 20 yards tops, if that. We were talking and I commented about how well he drove the ball and he responded that he drives around 275 average.

He does drive good, but 275 wasn't seen that day even though on one hole he claimed it was "about 275" and my ball landed within about 5 yards short of his. As a matter of fact, my longest recorded drive for the day was 253 (BTW on a different hole) and my shortest was 173. I was right there with him the entire round and me being somewhat of an analyst, there was no way they were 275 average. On the tops I would give him 235-240 average.

We had some great drives that day, but my average for the round was 217 with 6 drives over 225, 3 between 200 and 225, and 3 under 200, so my guess is that he may have averaged 235-240 at best that day. Even if we inflate by 10% we are way off what most might think driving distances are.

It makes me wonder why folks want to inflate their numbers and not be realistic about how far they hit the ball? It is important to me to know my realistic numbers and averages and what I am doing so I know the best strategy for the rounds I play.

Do you play with guys that have those inflatable drive numbers that are not realistic?
Click to expand...
No reason to lie to myself....if I admit the real numbers, I know what I'm working with.

I took a lesson from a guy who said something about guys inflating numbers due to ego...he was basically telling me, "Look, you drive it just as far as a lot of weekend warriors...when you're at the office and you hear the guy saying he drives it 280...remember, he drove it 280 one time when the fairway was downhill and he had the wind at as back blowing 20 MPH and he pulled it left, and the ball took some fluke bounces down the cart path. His normal drive is 200 (maybe) but he will run his mouth as though that 280 is the norm - and the he carries it 250 right down the middle. When you golf with him, he'll say I don't know what's wrong with me today I normally hit 100 yards further off the tee...."

:LOL:
 
Understanding true yardages includes many factors; such as air temperature and density, wind, elevation. Considering these type factors a Tour player 9-iron yardage can be in a range anywhere from 120 yards to 210 yards.
Tour players do know their true yardages and as such most of their approach shots get to hole high distance.
Amateurs tend to club themselves for pure strikes, and as such often leave the approach shot well short of the hole and, or, green.
 
I’ll be honest, I was shocked when I upgraded to The Grint Pro this year and realized many of my “300 yard drives” were closer to 270 😆 Couldn’t tell ya what my average drive is though because I often forget to track shots after hunting for my ball in the trees 🤷‍♂️
 
Luchnia said:
I am somewhat analytical with my distances because I want to play realistic golf, thus the title Realistic numbers.

What I find fascinating is how much folks inflate their driver numbers. I play league golf and there are mostly older golfers which don't inflate their numbers much (when you get older not sure there is much to prove), but in my observation I think it is habit for a large percentage of golfers.

I pretty much know my real on course versus launch monitor numbers and I am much more reserved on the course with my driver swing. My driver averages will be up and down, but usually around 210-230. That means I have drives that are roughly around 180 to as much as 260.

Yes I get a rare 275 once in a blue moon when the stars align, gravity forgets I hit it, and something is unique, but also sometimes a what feels like it was crushed 240 yard drive looks like it goes much further than it actually did. Don't you hit some and think, that wasn't as far as it felt like it was going?

I was playing a round in the league a few weeks back in a foursome and watching a guy hit his drives about the same as me and he had a few drives that were longer than mine by about 20 yards tops, if that. We were talking and I commented about how well he drove the ball and he responded that he drives around 275 average.

He does drive good, but 275 wasn't seen that day even though on one hole he claimed it was "about 275" and my ball landed within about 5 yards short of his. As a matter of fact, my longest recorded drive for the day was 253 (BTW on a different hole) and my shortest was 173. I was right there with him the entire round and me being somewhat of an analyst, there was no way they were 275 average. On the tops I would give him 235-240 average.

We had some great drives that day, but my average for the round was 217 with 6 drives over 225, 3 between 200 and 225, and 3 under 200, so my guess is that he may have averaged 235-240 at best that day. Even if we inflate by 10% we are way off what most might think driving distances are.

It makes me wonder why folks want to inflate their numbers and not be realistic about how far they hit the ball? It is important to me to know my realistic numbers and averages and what I am doing so I know the best strategy for the rounds I play.

Do you play with guys that have those inflatable drive numbers that are not realistic?
Click to expand...
We have GPS in the carts at course that gives us distance from the tee, like pictured below ⬇️

9C20EED8-0187-4345-A69F-5565AEC74B6E.jpeg
So it’s pretty hard to fudge distances...
 
I think it's a few things.

Some of it is stated distances vs playing distances. The scorecard may say the hole is 400 yards, but maybe the tee box is always 20-30 yards up from when the course was first laid out. So you laser your second shot at 130, therefore you must have driven it 270 (400 - 270 = 130), but if the tees are 30 yards up then you actually only drove it 240.

Some of it is based on that "one" drive the player will hit once every few rounds. Right on the screws, great launch conditions, a little tail wind, firm fairway, outlier. I think the guy who catches one every so often will use that one fleeting shot as his "average" and ignore the (abundant) misses.

And I think some of it is pure ignorance. I'm not sure it's willful egotistical inflation, I just think they don't actually know how far 300 yards really is.
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
I’ll be honest, I was shocked when I upgraded to The Grint Pro this year and realized many of my “300 yard drives” were closer to 270 😆 Couldn’t tell ya what my average drive is though because I often forget to track shots after hunting for my ball in the trees 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...

arccos is humbling. "dude, I tattooed that one." check the data: 255. :confused:
 
A lot of guys go by scorecard distances, ignoring if the tees are set forward on a particular day. So being 100 yards out on a 350 yard hole doesn't necessarily mean you hit it 250. Or even more common, ignoring the path they took to get there. If you cut the corner on a 375 yard hole, you can be 100 out while only hitting 225 or so.

Edit: @McLovin said basically the same thing above but types faster than me.
 
JDax said:
We have GPS in the carts at course that gives us distance from the tee, like pictured below ⬇

View attachment 8957346
So it’s pretty hard to fudge distances...
Click to expand...
The "long" hitters will claim the GPS in the carts is broken :ROFLMAO:
 
blugold said:
But short hitters spray it too. Shorter≠accurate. I would agree that longer hitters tend to miss by bigger margins, but once the ball crosses the red line, does it matter how much further it goes?
Click to expand...

ok. but that wasnt the point i was trying to make. i guess i was just merely trying to say a shorter drive with more control and playing a second shot from the fairway. but yeah go out there and grip it and rip it and play it from where ever.
 
Got my wakeup call at a par 3 course with Mrs. Reject.....hole #6 is 240 yds. First time I played it I thought 3 wood would be plenty. Striped it and was 20 yards short. So now its a driver every time. I have been over the green very few times!
 
gonyr said:
A lot of guys go by scorecard distances, ignoring if the tees are set forward on a particular day. So being 100 yards out on a 350 yard hole doesn't necessarily mean you hit it 250. Or even more common, ignoring the path they took to get there. If you cut the corner on a 375 yard hole, you can be 100 out while only hitting 225 or so.

Edit: @McLovin said basically the same thing above but types faster than me.
Click to expand...

Also, elevated tee boxes usually adds 10% or more to a shot's yardage. For example, a flat terrain course at 6,500 yards can "play longer" than a hilly course of 7,100 yards.
 
That guy Matt on TXG who is the human ball-hitting robot generates some very impressive clubhead speeds. And I do think he's legitimately a "long hitter" relative to the universe of people I play with.

But they've done a few on-course YouTube videos and it sure looks to me like his colleague Ian isn't that far behind him. Ian seems to hit driving irons when Matt is hitting driver and in real-world terms they both end up with similar clubs into the green.

So if we had actual on-course numbers to compare to Matt's in-studio launch monitor simulations I'll bet we'll find he's only medium-long in real world terms vs. pretty prodigiously long in studio.

Those course vlogs they do seem like a good illustration of a guy who is "sneaky long" because he's consistent and in the fairway (Ian) keeping up just fine with a guy who is a "bomber" but ending up off-line or in the rough or what have you. Of course Ian has a sound swing and plenty of clubhead speed, I don't mean to imply he's doing it with smoke and mirrors.

For my part, when I'm lasering stuff on the course and remembering the distances I almost always focus of "effective driver distance" by which I mean "how much closer to the flag am I than I was on the tee". So when I say I drive it just over 200 yards on average, that's 200 yards net distance. Sometimes a ball might travel 220 yards or more in whatever direction it's going in order to end up 200 yards closer to the hole (and in the rough or trees).
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
I’ll be honest, I was shocked when I upgraded to The Grint Pro this year and realized many of my “300 yard drives” were closer to 270 😆 Couldn’t tell ya what my average drive is though because I often forget to track shots after hunting for my ball in the trees 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
agreed - I have used SwingU - and there is a par 5 I play that you tee off going up and over a hill...I always thought I was driving it like 230-250 on shots that land at the top or just over the hill...it's more like 215 top of hill....I'm a terrible judge of distance, though. Of course it goes both ways...I have had shots that are longer than I judged as well.
 
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