Whats a decent drive

yourdeadwright

I'm just wondering what is a decent length drive,
I play only about 3 times per year & would play off 18 but currently don't have a handicap ,

I'm currently driving it about 230 yards not to bad , i get the odd 250 one but if i keep it about 230 they go fairly straight 90% of the time,

I'm just wondering what are average golfers driving these days,

Ohh i should add i get down the range a good bit just don't have the time for a round with the smaller kids about ,

Kiith

230 yard drive with 90% accuracy will be better than 90% of golfers i'd say.

I hit it a long way, around 260-280+ with a proper hit, but my accuracy is poor. Often struggle to hit fairways more than 50%, and my distance likely hurts me more than it helps me.

tommyombomb

Honestly I am around the same 230-240. I have pinged a few this year that have carried 250 but unfortunately plugged in the fairway every time as i get height. If this continues and if we get the ground to dry, I'd say i might sneak 270 on a good drive but that would be something like 1 in 10 drives. Dry ground wont add too much as mine come in high.

My handicap is higher than yours but driving the ball is the strongest part of my game so not sure what HC has an impact on above. If only i could hit my irons😫

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993442#Comment_121993442

I'd imagine the further you go the less room you have for error, as your further away for ma fairway ?

How did you get up to 260-280 is it just natural or did you work on your swing ,

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993456#Comment_121993456

Im only guessing id be off 18 id probably be higher,

Iv really worked on the drive in the last 12 months gone form a poor 180 to add the extra 50 yards.

I do wonder how lads get beyond 250 seems like it'll never be reachable for myself,

tayto lover

I also have a high handicap and don't hit long drives, usually 200/230. I hit a lot of fairways too but usually take 3 shots to hit Par 4 greens and usually take a 5 which is 2 points (an odd par for a 3 pointer, had a 4 on the index 1 for 4 points on Sat). If i could control my concentration i'd be dangerous.

BraveDonut

Most golfers don't hit their drives as far as they like to think that they do - if you are honest in hitting them 230 you are doing fine

spacecoyote

This is the Arccos data for median driver distance through handicap ranges

You're going to have a massive range across it though.

Are you young fit and strong, or are you an older shorter player with a great short game that keeps your handicap where it is.

Either way it gives you a reasonable frame of reference

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993459#Comment_121993459

I think better players are able to swing harder while keeping their swing consistent to get more distance.

I am a high handicapper and Arccos tells me that I should expect to hit driver about 225 yards if I hit it correctly. This isn't the longest distance I can hit it, it's just the distance it calculates I hit on average on good drives (i.e. it's excluding topped shots or obvious mishits).

That number is based on my last 100 drives. Longest I have hit it is 270 but I know that was on a day with a gale force wind behind me. On the other hand, all of these drives were in winter conditions with no run on the ball, so maybe (hopefully) in summer it'll go up a bit.

El Guapo!

Im off 18. Maybe slightly longer than the median data available from Arccos and Shotscope etc.

Driver generally costs me the most shots as it's guesswork as to what direction my drive is heading. A lot of the time being longer just means being further into the bushes. It's great when a long one ends up in the fairway but that's never guaranteed. If you're hitting the fairway 90% of the time at 230 yards then take it as a massive win. I'd say you're miles ahead of most other people in terms of consistency.

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993654#Comment_121993654

This ^^ x 1000

230 through the air, with relatively good accuracy will get you around almost any course comfortably.

Kiith

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993459#Comment_121993459

Pretty much. If i'm off line, i end up deep in trouble. Or if i'm way off line, i end up on the next holes fairway 🤣

As for getting there, didn't do that much, but played as a junior which really helped me when i took it back up later in life. Honestly carrying my daughter around the last 2 years has made me stronger, and has given me extra distance.

Deeper Blue

If you're hitting a genuine 230 with consistent accuracy you're doing better than the majority.

token56

Accuracy over distance every time is what I would consider good driving. I've managed to increase my average distance over the past few years and I am confident in saying that my carry is now 250-260 yards up from probably 230-240 but my handicap hasn't changed because my accuracy hasn't. All it means is sometimes I'm an extra 20 yards into trouble.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121995864#Comment_121995864

About 10 months ago it was 180/90ish but very straight,

It was actually just a tiny adjustment i made with my hips, i was hitting it all arms and no proper rotation & fixing that has given me the extra yards,

Im not dead straight every time but 9 times out of 10 its fair way or just off it,

My short games is pants i really struggle chipping but i'm working on it,

Deeper Blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996336#Comment_121996336

Fair dues, I'd recommend going for a short game lesson or two and then practice practice practice

FixdePitchmark

295 yards.

bakerbhoy

Anything that leaves you with a back swing. That's 🙌 🥇 .

.

blue note

230 yards is very decent. Lots of single figure golfers with similar distance.

90% accuracy is unreal. I doubt there's a player on the PGA tour that would get close to that.

awec

Apparently I only hit the fairway on 38% of my drives. Miss left on 27%, miss right on 34%.

Which is really to say I am all over the place!

paulos

I'm off 20, have shot scope the last year so have been tracking them.

From 45 rounds last year my average was 220.

Longest was 280.

Fairway 37%, right 39%, left 24%.

A tour player averages 59% fairway according to shot scope

finglashoop

In the fairway.

No point hitting it long if your in the trees, rough etc

Bobson Dugnutt

I play off 8. Average around 270-280. I played a lot of hurling going up, and when I started playing golf I just had this idea that the driving part of the game was easy. My home course is a links that isn't long at all, so I do find when I get a good wide country parkland that I tend to open up and let it rip. I don't really think about it too much.

My game gets less mindless and more overthinking shambolic as I approach the green. I'm a very bad putter.

Not going to be able to change it now, but I'd rather be as mindless chipping and putting as I am at hitting it off the tee.

alxmorgan

Having read Every Shot Counts recently the data would suggest that short and in the fairway is not as good as long and in the rough. Of course it depends on the rough you are in. But I was surprised in the data but it is what it is.

"For most, the measuring stick for success is whether or not you hit the fairway. I'll get into why using this stat is a flawed way of thinking, but let's take a look at some percentages.

PGA Tour: 61%

Scratch Golfer: 53%

85-90 Avg Score: 43%

95-100 Avg Score: 38%

Even at the highest level of golf, PGA Tour players and scratch golfers are barely hitting half of the fairways off the tee. So why are you getting so angry when you miss the short stuff?"

From this article

https://practical-golf.com/good-golf-shot

El Guapo!

I've seen that argument a lot and, personally, I think it's flawed. It's all well and good saying you're better off being further down the hole and in the rough, than short and in the fairway but the stats never take a number of important factors into account.

When they talk about missed fairways (or even missed greens for that matter), the miss for tour pros may be miniscule. A foot into the rough is still a missed fairway. An inch onto the fringe is a missed green. The stats can be misleading. Pros don't generally miss by a country mile. Whereas an amateurs missed fairway might mean your ball has left the golf course and gone into orbit. Or may be so far into bushes you'd need to be Indiana Jones to try head in after it.

It also doesn't factor in that when tour pros miss and end up in heavy rough, they have the speed and ability to get back out again and 9 times out of 10 end up on the green or in a really good position. If they're behind trees etc they have the vision and the ability to defy physics and get around obstacles to, again, be in a good spot. They can shape shots at will. Most amateurs couldn't shape play dough.

A shot from heavy rough for an amateur might come out pretty decent every now and then but a lot of the time it will be less than pretty. Amateurs need all the help we can get, and a nice lie 230 yards down on a decent fairway is preferable over 270 yards deep into Narnia.

Overall I'd say if your miss is small and your dispersion is tight then yes, hitting it further will be of great benefit. But if your miss is wild, then more distance just means you better have plenty of balls in the bag.

SharkMX

The drive from Tralee to Dingle is lovely on a nice day

spacecoyote

Yep, agree Alx.

Think that the thinking has moved to advance as far as you can whilst keeping penalties off the card, which goes to El Guapos point.

It's basically, as far as you can without bringing big trouble into play.

Anything that conflicts with that is, generally speaking, opinion, rather than what the numbers say

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001547#Comment_122001547

Very true

Personally i prefer to be at wood range than anything up to & including a 6 iron, but that just my lack of ability with the lower irons

Captain_Crash

I don’t carry a card anymore but fag packet maths would have me about an 18 handicap, those numbers you posted off the tee is consistent and absolutely fine! Driving wouldn't be my strongest but I’d say 220 is normal for me according to the Hole19 app. I do smoke it 280/300 every now and again! My wedge game is strong so the sooner I get within 120 of the green the better.

oleard1987

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000705#Comment_122000705

Can't shape play dough 🤣🤣-I had a right good giggle off that

Playing off 18 handicap -Can drive 260-270 but my accuracy goes completely out the window -1 in 5 goes somewhere near the fairway .Other 4 could easily go straight but could also go miles left or right

Have been practising counting 1,2 on the back swing to slow me down as this leads to shorter drives by maybe 30 yards but leads to improved accuracy -This can be 3 in 5 hitting the fairway and remaining two left or right but gnerally playing from rough

Generally happy to take a longer iron shot from the fairway than try hit a higher iron from deep in the rough behind trees bushes etc

alxmorgan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122001772#Comment_122001772

Speaking of dough it also turns out drive for show putt for dough does not stack up according to the numbers 🙂

Bloody stats…..dispelling all the things we thought we knew