300 yds how do you do it.

Ive read a lot of forums stating average players are hitting 300yds. How do you do it? I have never ever hit more than about 250yds. I average about 220yds with a good hit. If you could give 1 piece of advice on how to do it, what would it be?

Head speed? follow through? Upper body turn? Whats the answer?

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Back wind, distance ball and a second shot from 220 yards down the fairway!!!

Dave, the only way to do it on a regular basis is to exaggerate.  There's usual a good 25 yards gained in the telling in my experience - 300 is a bloody long way and I reckon I've seen a drive of that length only a couple of times - apart from the odd element assisted effort (I've had one gps'd at 307 yds, but that was downhill, downwind on hard fairways - it was a freak that's all).  I've played with a lot of big hitters and lots of people who think they are, but actually get down to physically measuring them and they are generally nowhere near as long as they think they are.

One thing I've learned over the last year or so (as my handicap has dropped to go with it) is to not worry how far your opponent hit's it, it's not your ball to worry about.  Concentrate on your ball, your game and use the strengths you've got. 

As a bit of an example have a look at the stats for the PGA pros's - only 8 out of 186  manage to average over 300 yds, and 50 of them are less than 280...

300yards is a bloody long way

yes i have hit quite a few drives that measure over 300yds, with my longest drive gps measured out was 331yrds

i would say on average i was hitting around the 270-280yrd mark and people who know me would probably agree and on a number of times i have been referred to as 1 of the longer hitters but toaverage 300yd+ is probably only for the pros like tiger, westwwod etc.

The quickest route is to get a 28 handicap.

I know a few guys that genuinely hit 300+ as an average and they all have a few things in common .They are extremely talented golfers playing around scratch and below ,workout regular are all 6ft + tall.They all hit a very high staightish ball and hit fairways regular. I then know a hand full of guys  (single figures) who on occasions hit monsters but are not consistant and are usally big slinging hooks.

This years longest drive comp on our Captains day was won with a drive of 366yrds off scratch 2nd was 311yrds 8hcp mine 289yrds and off the fairway. Nice sunny day with a slight wind advantage.(gps measured)

The GPS systems I have found to have only one good use and that is to shut up the fools that think they have just hit a ball 300 yrds. The look off horror on their face when shown their actual yardage is priceless.

I'm with Darren on this.  The longest of my drives I have measured is 324 yards, but that was done with a decent back wind and piching in exactly the right place to get the most out of the contours. 

I average 240-260 yards I would say, with the odd one or two per round at the 270-280 mark.  Most people do think they hit it further than they do, and it's only when you check it with GPS and that you find the true yardage.  So many times I've heard "That's got to be 300+" but when it gets measured it's only around 240.  The response is usually "Are you sure?  That can't be right, it has to be longer than that.  How long are my usual drives then?"

A good drive for me goes about 200 yards.

Most popular video on the video section:

Hitting a 300 yard drive

Ray, that was the sort of answer I was looking for. Im not trying to hit 300yd av during a round as im fairly happy with the distance I hit but would like more fairways. It was purely a qustion of have all of us got a potential big drive in us be it 1 hit in 100. At the mo I could hit 100 balls down the middle of the fairway and I would be lucky if 5 got past 240yds. Picture this,Im on the 16th for longest drive, Ive got 21pts on my card. How can I get the most distance from that ball? so if I hit 100 balls 1 may get somewhere up to 260-270 ish. Im not going to incorporate any advise into my normal game.

Dave CAC haded Geordie

A 300yd+ drive comes from "TIMING" alone, and the optimum mix of Clubhead Speed and Launch Angle. The Pro's work out, not to hit the ball further but to be able to feel as fresh on the 18th Tee as they do on the first.

I hear guys saying that they average 300yds+ and can also hit their 7iron over 180yds, yet they complain that a 470yd Par 4 is too long ?????

They also buy 8.5* Drivers thinking it will add length and are very surprised when going to a Club Fitting that a 12* Driver is best for them.

TheLyth

Par fours were always up to 475 yards long, so they have been around a log time.

In fact the first at Saunton is 470 yards long and last year when I took all my powerful strikers from my club down there last year, not one came anywhere near it in 2 shots. This hole usually plays into the prevailing wind.

John,

A question, what direction in relation to the 1st, does the 2nd hole run at Saunton?

The reason I ask is that most designs have a long Par4 into a prevailing wind and a short Par5 in the opposite direction. This gives a reasonable target of Par9 for both holes.

TheLyth

Lyth,

The second on the East at Saunton is, as you say, a par five, a picture of it can be found on their website as it is a rather stunning hole.

It runs at right angles to the first so wind would then normally be off the right. Even when I could play the game it was not a second shot that I would attempt with all the trouble one could encounter, better to lay up and hope to get down in a one putt.

In recent times not one of our crowd could reach it for 2 shots, you, however might be able to seeing as you can hit around the 300 yard mark, but, having said that, I very much doubt that you would take it on.

Saunton, by modern standards it is not over long, but the demands for each tee shot usually dictate that the driver is kept well hiddden in the bag. A ball not coming to rest in the fairway is usually lost and if lucky enough to be found would require backbreaking strength to move it on. All the fairways are tight and some impossibly tight, but it is a classic links and there really is only one way to play it. You will know what I mean. If it were on the Fylde Coast it would be on the Open rota, it is that good a test. Why not take our last spot for August. We would love to have you.

Sorry, Stuart, 220 yards with a five iron is beyond my comprehension.

That's about 40-50 yards beyond my comprehension too John

This is more like what they should be Wayne

IronLoftLie AngleLengthS/WOffsetBounce320°60.0°38.75"D13.2 mm2.0°423°61.0°38.25"D13.1 mm2.0°526°62.0°37.75"D12.9 mm2.5°630°62.5°37.25"D12.7 mm3.0°734°63.0°36.75"D12.5 mm3.5°838°63.5°36.25"D12.3 mm4.0°942°64.0°35.75"D12.1 mm5.0°PW46°64.5°

Ivan I do have some fun with my 13* 3 iron

Interesting Dave.  This is the standard (manufacturer declared) spec of my new ones: -

  2 Iron3 Iron4 Iron5 Iron6 Iron7 Iron8 Iron9 IronPOFFSET.150" .140" .130" .120" .110" .100" .090"&nb
sp;.080" .075" BOUNCE0° 1° 2° 3° 4° 5° 6°&
nbsp;7° 8° LOFT18° 21° 24° 27° 31° 35° 39°&n
bsp;43° 47° LENGTH39.50" 39.00" 38.50" 38.00" 37.50" 
;37.00" 36.50" 36.00" 35.75" LIE60° 60° 61° 62°&n
bsp;62.5° 63° 63.5° 64° 64° SWINGWEIGHTD2 D2 D2 D2 D2&n
bsp;D2 D2 D2 D2 

 

I have been fitted as 2° flat for these though (1° flat in my current ones)

I average 230yds with my driver with one or two per round creeping upto 260yds.However my 26 year old son who plays off of 7 averages 270 yards with one or two creeping over 300 yards. He achieves this by being very athletic, 6ft 1 tall, and having a perfect swing (When he took up the game he was coached by a professional who coaches European Tour players). In view of this I find it very hard to believe the number of players who claim that they can hit over 300yds.

 

Ian

There is a big difference between "I CAN DRIVE IT OVER 300yds" & "I AVERAGE OVER 300yds". Sadly the first statement becomes the second after a few tellings for some.

JP will like this one, I once played with a young Pro who told me he was a Big Hitter, but he was silenced when he found Drives that I hit with 3iron and even a 5iron level of beyond his Drive. It didn't have the heart to tell him I was landing my shots on down-hill slopes and he was reaching the flat with his Driver. But thats Links Golf too.

TheLyth

That made me laugh, Lyth, but everyone knows I am not the longest in the game now, yet last year at Saunton I chased a five iron in to the green from 210 yards, which, to me was rather exceptionsl.

Saunton 18th 390 yrds, leyo 7iron then PW  to pin high surely i'm the real 7 iron champ (sorry Ivan )

Hmmmm last weeks longest drive champ Marshall still had to play his 2nd shot before me and he used his driver off the tee ,mwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!

GPS is marvelous! Just hit a drive out of sight at the Golf Monthly Centenary event at Breadsall Priory on the 27th July. Alan Gunnigle and I measured it at 308 yards.

Sadly distance is not everything, as I went on to record a round total of 23 points on a day that was won by 44 in my division.

Drive was from an elevated tee, with a small bit of wind assistance - the main factor was a brick-hard fairway with a fortunate bounce on the back-side of a downslope as my average drive is normally about 225 yards.

Sadly distance is not everything, as I went on to record a round total of 23 points on a day that was won by 44 in my division.

 

Another example confirming that the handicap system is totally flawed in the way it  it is worked out.