Knowing One's Yardages

[ubizmo]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

Here's an interesting article on distances: http://www.amickgca.com/lsgolfers.htm

WillingToListen's yardages are *much* longer than mine, even when I get what feels to me like an excellent shot--good crisp contact, straight flight with height appropriate to the club. That tells me that my club head speed just isn't that fast, at the best of times.

This article is also interesting: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...5/ai_114373184 , especially this comment: "One of the most telling numbers was how dramatically the amateur players inflated their driving distances. The lower handicappers claimed their average drives went 247 yards, while driving-distance stats taken on two holes documented an average of 232--a 15-yard exaggeration. Higher handicappers claimed a driving average of 227 yards and, in actuality, hit it 198 yards--a 29-yard lie of the mind." I know I've claimed that I "drive 250 yards," when the truth is I *can* drive 250, once in a while. I don't think I've ever hit a golf ball farther than that, but I've hit shorter drives plenty of times.

I also find that it just isn't that easy to judge how far I'm hitting balls, even at the driving range. Typically the markers are placed at 50-yard intervals, and from ground level at the tee, unless I happen to land one quite near one of those markers, it's hard to be sure just where it came down or where it ended up.

[gord962]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

gordie, how much do you weigh? how tall? Do you hit the gym?

lol, may sound weird but I just wanna get some insight. You wanna give me some lessons because by looking at those yardages, it looks like you got a solid golf swing.

Just so everyone knows it doesn' take a gorilla to hit a long ball, I am 6'2", 175 lbs. I haven't been a gym rat for about 10 years now, but I am very active in most sports.

The biggest difference between myself and most golfers I play with is flexability and core stability. Next to technique, these are the two most important things you need if you want to increase your distance. Without them, you can not increase your clubhead speed and be able to keep your swing on tempo.

[WillingToListen]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

Here's an interesting article on distances: http://www.amickgca.com/lsgolfers.htm

WillingToListen's yardages are *much* longer than mine, even when I get what feels to me like an excellent shot--good crisp contact, straight flight with height appropriate to the club. That tells me that my club head speed just isn't that fast, at the best of times.

This article is also interesting: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...5/ai_114373184 , especially this comment: "One of the most telling numbers was how dramatically the amateur players inflated their driving distances. The lower handicappers claimed their average drives went 247 yards, while driving-distance stats taken on two holes documented an average of 232--a 15-yard exaggeration. Higher handicappers claimed a driving average of 227 yards and, in actuality, hit it 198 yards--a 29-yard lie of the mind." I know I've claimed that I "drive 250 yards," when the truth is I *can* drive 250, once in a while. I don't think I've ever hit a golf ball farther than that, but I've hit shorter drives plenty of times.

I also find that it just isn't that easy to judge how far I'm hitting balls, even at the driving range. Typically the markers are placed at 50-yard intervals, and from ground level at the tee, unless I happen to land one quite near one of those markers, it's hard to be sure just where it came down or where it ended up.

Agreed. At the course today, I was hitting my irons 5 or so yards less than what I stated on my first post. But when I hit crisp and smooth, those yardages apply. So it all varies, there are so many variables that determine the distance of a golf ball (trajectory, wind, slope, elevation, speed of greens/fairways).

[ubizmo]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

Just so everyone knows it doesn' take a gorilla to hit a long ball, I am 6'2", 175 lbs. I haven't been a gym rat for about 10 years now, but I am very active in most sports.

The biggest difference between myself and most golfers I play with is flexability and core stability. Next to technique, these are the two most important things you need if you want to increase your distance. Without them, you can not increase your clubhead speed and be able to keep your swing on tempo.

Here's another factor. The golf swing, like many (but not all) athletic movements, is an explosive move, involving very high power over a very short duration. We now know that such movements are the specialty of the fast-twitch muscle fibers. Muscle tissue in general is a combination of fast-, slow-, and intermediate twitch fibers, and the proportions are genetic. Granted, muscles must be trained and technique must be mastered, but a person with significantly less fast-twitch muscle fiber will *never* generate the kind of club head speed that a person with more fast-twitch muscle can achieve. Depressing but true. Sports that require explosive bursts of power for short duration will favor this type of individual.

Mike Austin, the longest hitter of all time, was a thin wiry guy. He claims that his ability to hit the ball so far is a result of a special way of swinging. Maybe so, but I'd be willing to be that in addition to any special technique he was blessed with an unusually high proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

[RobotDoctor]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

If anything, my yardages are under what I can actually hit when I am swinging well. I used to inflate my yardages, due to ego, but would really screw myself up when I needed to hit a shot to a specific yardage. I have a rangefinder that is accurate up to 400 yards +/- 1 yard. I have used the rangefinder to chart my shot distances when I am practicing off grass and swinging well (or well enough). I did play a little on my college golf team (being #10 on a 10 man team) so I quickly learned to be honest about my game. The biggest benefit of this is that I can identify the flaws of my game and correct them rather quickly. Being honest with my game, including club carry yardages, is what enables me to shoot par (or close to it) on courses of 7,200+ yards and slope of 135 or so with a little practice and playing. I have assessed, and continue to do so, all the elements of my game with truth and no bias attached. I can honestly say that I am a mediocre golfer (7 -8 handicap playing about once a month with no practice other than the pre-round warmup) who can be closer to a 1 handicap when playing 2-3 times a week with some practice.

[gord962]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

I completely agree, The only one you are fooling when exagerating your distances is yourself. If you are looking to impress people with a portion of your game, show them how you can hit every fairway and green in regulation - a MUCH more impressive stat that distance. If you can't hit every fairway and green in regulation, you are worrying about the wrong part of your game.

[SlicersHell]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

Here's another factor. The golf swing, like many (but not all) athletic movements, is an explosive move, involving very high power over a very short duration. We now know that such movements are the specialty of the fast-twitch muscle fibers. Muscle tissue in general is a combination of fast-, slow-, and intermediate twitch fibers, and the proportions are genetic. Granted, muscles must be trained and technique must be mastered, but a person with significantly less fast-twitch muscle fiber will *never* generate the kind of club head speed that a person with more fast-twitch muscle can achieve. Depressing but true. Sports that require explosive bursts of power for short duration will favor this type of individual.

Mike Austin, the longest hitter of all time, was a thin wiry guy. He claims that his ability to hit the ball so far is a result of a special way of swinging. Maybe so, but I'd be willing to be that in addition to any special technique he was blessed with an unusually high proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

This is most definitely true. I think some teaching pros and training gimmicks try to convey the false idea that anyone can drive the ball 300 yards...that it has nothing to do with natural physical ability and everything to do with technique.

There's a certain look to a swing that generates a powerful, long shot. There's flexibility involved and well, and being capable of swinging hard. Some people aren't. I'm a decent sized guy (6'1" 190 lbs.), but I'm not overly strong. I can't bench press more than 200 lbs., but I can just swing the club fast and always could (relatively). Some people I play with cannot. It's not just that they don't know how, it's just that at this time, they're not physically capable of it. It is an explosive movement, as ubizmo said. Of course, clean contact on the sweetspot is of utmost importance, but add to that this natural physical ability, and you're going to find yourself hitting some long shots.

As for me, my distance judgment is totally skewed. I have a rough idea of how far I can hit my short irons, but because of my inconsistency, I often find myself blasting them over the green. After that, I'll decide I should play my clubs for my perfect shot, and miss-hit it a bit and come up short. It seldom adds up for me.

...and as far as I'm concerned, part of the fun of golf is hitting the ball far. It's just exciting. Part of the allure of these PGA pros are that these guys can hit the ball so damn far. It's awesome to watch, and capturing that same sensation (within your own amateur limitations, of course) is part of the appeal.

I'm not sure if I would enjoy playing as much if I couldn't drive the ball over 200 yards, even if I could hit it straight. I don't do this for a living or to win at all costs. I do this for hobby. I do this for satisfaction, for working at something and achieving it, for excitement, for impressing my friends\playing partners...part of that is hitting it long (well, long to me at least) and straight. As of now, I am working to swing within myself rather than just going out and trying to kill the ball every time, but one of my ultimate goals in this game is definitely to be considered a long hitter of the tee.

[LowPost42]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

I completely agree, The only one you are fooling when exagerating your distances is yourself. If you are looking to impress people with a portion of your game, show them how you can hit every fairway and green in regulation - a MUCH more impressive stat that distance. If you can't hit every fairway and green in regulation, you are worrying about the wrong part of your game.

I agree with that. I'm much more impressed (read: I'll give him a much harder time) with a guy who plays fairways and greens and leaves long putts within 2 feet than a guy who can bomb it, but scores poorly.

[gord962]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

I'm not sure if I would enjoy playing as much if I couldn't drive the ball over 200 yards, even if I could hit it straight. I don't do this for a living or to win at all costs. I do this for hobby. I do this for satisfaction, for working at something and achieving it, for excitement, for impressing my friends\playing partners...part of that is hitting it long (well, long to me at least) and straight. As of now, I am working to swing within myself rather than just going out and trying to kill the ball every time, but one of my ultimate goals in this game is definitely to be considered a long hitter of the tee.

The truth is you need to learn how to hit the ball straight first. Once you have learned the proper technique how to hit the ball straight, distance will likely come with the correct swing. It is much easier to add clubhead speed to a technically sound swing than it is to correct a poor swing that generates a lot of clubhead speed.

[SlicersHell]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

The truth is you need to learn how to hit the ball straight first. Once you have learned the proper technique how to hit the ball straight, distance will likely come with the correct swing. It is much easier to add clubhead speed to a technically sound swing than it is to correct a poor swing that generates a lot of clubhead speed.

Oh, of course...everything you've said is absolutely correct.

My comments were more in response to the distance not mattering concept and accuracy being the only thing that matters. I was just trying to convey how hitting the ball far is part of the fun of voluntarily playing the game.

Of course, my top priority right now is to hit the ball straight...but that's often hard to do out there when you've experienced how good it feels to catch one cleanly and watch it fly.

[ubizmo]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

SlicersHell, I'm the same height as you, but 40 lbs heavier lately. I am pretty strong. At 52, I continue to do weight training and although my strength hasn't increased in the last 10 years (which doesn't bother me), it hasn't decreased either.

Without having to go to a lab for expensive muscle tissue analysis, I can say for sure that I'm not the type who has a high proportion of fast-twitch muscle. I know because since I was a kid I've done poorly at those explosive athletic movements. I haven't had my golf swing clocked, but I'd be willing to bet it's under 100 mph.

Of course, form and technique matter and I certainly don't claim to have great form and technique. But even a bad golfer is going to do it right once in a while, and the way I figure it, those are the times I drive 250. That may be close to my ceiling, for my body type. I just don't know. But it's okay. I have no illusions of achieving fame or fortune at this game. Hitting a ball far is fun but for me the real fun is *precision*--being able to put the ball just where I want it, even from 50 yards, or being able to pop it over some trees onto the green with my 9 iron, or executing a nice low punch to avoid hanging branches...that sort of thing. With my scores, I'm obviously not at a high level of precision, but this is an aspect of golf that *doesn't* depend on my muscle fiber type; it's something that I can hope to get as good at as I am willing to put time and effort into.

So if 250 is my best drive, I'm happy to just work on being able to hit those 250s straight and consistently, and it doesn't bother me at all that Annika can drive it farther.

[LowPost42]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

Ubizmo, that is my philosophy pretty much to a T. I'd much rather lose a club or two if I had the ability to fire radar-guided shots into greens. One putt pars would be much more satisfying to me (this assumes I'm so short I've gotta take 3 shots on the average par 4 to get to the green).

The only reason I'm interested in more distance is so that I can hit higher lofted clubs into greens from further out. There's a lot of times on my home course where being able to launch a 9i from 150 yards would be beneficial (as the trees tend to swallow up my 7i offering).

[SlicersHell]

Re: Knowing One's Yardages

I can honestly say that I am a mediocre golfer (7 -8 handicap

7-8 handicap constitutes a mediocre golfer? Yikes, I think you're being hard on yourself. I would think you can add 10 strokes to that and then call yourself a mediocre golfer.

SlicersHell, I'm the same height as you, but 40 lbs heavier lately. I am pretty strong. At 52, I continue to do weight training and although my strength hasn't increased in the last 10 years (which doesn't bother me), it hasn't decreased either.
...
So if 250 is my best drive, I'm happy to just work on being able to hit those 250s straight and consistently, and it doesn't bother me at all that Annika can drive it farther.

Well, at 52 years of age (not that that's old), your distance off the tee is nothing but commendable. A 250-yard-drive is hardly anything to be ashamed of. I feel you're short-changing yourself a bit.