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Realistic numbers.

goalie said:
This.

So much this.

I used to make note of who talked smack about having a hard shot when I played competitive hockey. Usually they couldn't hit 100mph on a Kawasaki Ninja.

The guys who could shoot hard and heavy without a release that took forever, well, we goalies figured out who they were rather quickly, without anything being said.
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Not a ton of guys have a 100 mph clapper... and you’re right - players know who can really let it rip.

I never included myself in with the hard shot group, always felt my wrist and snap shots were way more useful.
 
YukonLiving said:
Not a ton of guys have a 100 mph clapper... and you’re right - players know who can really let it rip.

I never included myself in with the hard shot group, always felt my wrist and snap shots were way more useful.
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FB_IMG_1514821108895.jpgFB_IMG_1514821182709.jpg

I've faced a few legit 100+ in a game situation shots during my 42 years as a goalie.
😉
 
YukonLiving said:
Not a ton of guys have a 100 mph clapper... and you’re right - players know who can really let it rip.

I never included myself in with the hard shot group, always felt my wrist and snap shots were way more useful.
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Yeah, we all knew pretty quickly at the Small Batch Experience that we had no chance.
 
My theory is as long as you hit it "far enough" you can compete at a high level. The level you are trying to compete at defines what far enough is.
 
ntanygd760 said:
My theory is as long as you hit it "far enough" you can compete at a high level. The level you are trying to compete at defines what far enough is.
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How far is far enough in something, say, like a club championship. I tell you what, I competed in a recent Senior State Am qualifier and there were guys who could pound it. I asked one guy what his driver ball speed is and he said it approaches 170. That is tough to compete against.
 
Tenputt said:
How far is far enough in something, say, like a club championship. I tell you what, I competed in a recent Senior State Am qualifier and there were guys who could pound it. I asked one guy what his driver ball speed is and he said it approaches 170. That is tough to compete against.
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I believe driving a tee shot with an average of 235 yards is long enough to shoot par or better on 6,800 to 7,000 yard courses.
John Mahaffey won 10 Tour events, including a Major, with a driving average of 235 yards.
 
DG_1234 said:
I believe driving a tee shot with an average of 235 yards is long enough to shoot par or better on 6,800 to 7,000 yard courses.
John Mahaffey won 10 Tour events, including a Major, with a driving average of 235 yards.
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True, but that is definitely an outlier. You have to be a very good iron player if your competition is hitting pw and you are hitting 8 iron.
 
YukonLiving said:
Photo in the locker room - ca 2002 or so?
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That sounds about right for the year.

Fernandez had the flu, I was available to practice with an hour notice.

It was enlightening.

Curtis Foster = only guy to legit scare me with a shot.
 
Tenputt said:
True, but that is definitely an outlier. You have to be a very good iron player if your competition is hitting pw and you are hitting 8 iron.
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Traditionally, long drivers are not especially good with wedges or short irons.
In theory someone who drives it super long and straight, while at the same time having a sharp short iron and wedge game sounds great. But the reality is that long drivers of the ball usually have a swing length-tempo-rhythm that does not lend itself well to shorter distance shots.
Nearly every consistently low scoring player I've played with swings within himself/herself all around the golf course, maintaining a swing length-tempo-rhythm that works well for all the clubs within the bag.
 
Tenputt said:
How far is far enough in something, say, like a club championship. I tell you what, I competed in a recent Senior State Am qualifier and there were guys who could pound it. I asked one guy what his driver ball speed is and he said it approaches 170. That is tough to compete against.
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Depends on the club but would think 240 - 250 range.
My typical drive is around 275-280 and I find myself in the average distance range or maybe just above when I play scratch city/county type events. I imagine I would be below average if I got my game in good enough shape to try USGA am/mid am qualifiers
 
We have a couple of par 4's at my course that measure a little under 375 yards from the senior tees. I'm far from a long hitter nowadays, but these holes are a driver and a 5 or 6 iron for me. I read a lot of golfers' accounts of hitting the ball 325 yards, with an occasional drive approaching 350+ yards (which would almost reach these greens) and I'm left shaking my head! I believe they are telling the truth, but I've been playing golf for almost 60 years, and I don't think I've ever seen a regular golfer (professional long drivers for sure) pound the ball that far! I would love to be in a foursome with them and would really enjoy watching them hit the ball.
 
There's a par 4 that's 360 from the senior tees. It's 425 from the blues. I've played with a guy who turned that into a driver + 90 yd pitch from the blues.
 
Tevenor said:
The biggest surprise for me when validating against Arrcos was the variant between longest and shortest drives per round, even when taking off any mishits/pulls into trees/etc. There was a round where my shortest was 254, my longest was 322 and my average was 283. almost 70 yard range. Why? 20 mph wind.

Made me realize I wasn't adjusting my approach off the tee to take account for the wind.
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You do have to keep an eye out in Arrcos for missed shots. I've found a few 390-yard drives in there where it didn't pick up my second shot.
 
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?
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I have a buddy who was convinced that he hit the ball much farther than he really was. I kept trying to convince him to move up to the Senior tees, but his ego wouldn't allow it! Finally I told him that I was moving up, and I didn't really care what he did. When he found that I was consistently out driving him, was when he finally agreed to move up!

Golf has been much more pleasurable since!
 
wadesworld said:
You do have to keep an eye out in Arrcos for missed shots. I've found a few 390-yard drives in there where it didn't pick up my second shot.
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Garmin does the same thing. It has my all-time longest drive listed at 467 yards! (tee to green on a par 5, it missed my second and third shots). I've tried to go into that round and edit it out, but get an error message every time I try, so I just ignore it. Every so often it will fail to pick up a shot, but it's pretty easy to tell when I look back afterward and it says I hit a 7-iron 252 yards or some such nonsense.
 
DG_1234 said:
Traditionally, long drivers are not especially good with wedges or short irons.
In theory someone who drives it super long and straight, while at the same time having a sharp short iron and wedge game sounds great. But the reality is that long drivers of the ball usually have a swing length-tempo-rhythm that does not lend itself well to shorter distance shots.
Nearly every consistently low scoring player I've played with swings within himself/herself all around the golf course, maintaining a swing length-tempo-rhythm that works well for all the clubs within the bag.
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I think this is more of a sample selection thing. If you look at any range of skill levels, the shorter hitters will tend to be better iron/wedge players than the bombers simply because they have to be better at another aspect of the game in order to make up for their lack of distance. For example, on the PGA tour the guys hitting it 280 tend to be great wedge players or putters but its not because longer hitters have an inherently harder time with short game shots. Its simply because everyone hitting it 280 without a phenomenal short game can't make it on tour.
 
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wadesworld said:
You do have to keep an eye out in Arrcos for missed shots. I've found a few 390-yard drives in there where it didn't pick up my second shot.
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I’ve found this the odd time as well. Not a big deal though since I can just edit the hole quickly since I check after each to ensure putts were counted appropriately and place the flag.
 
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