[Michael Moore]

I am sincerely interested in your responses, as I do not believe that this has been asked previously.

And no, this is not an attempt to smarmily point out that the sky is not falling or that only .0000whatever of golfers are uncorking 350 yard tee shots.

I went the second round of the Northeast Amateur last year to see for myself. On level hard fairways the young kids were hitting it to the exact same spots, which were just about 300 yards away. I observed the long drive contest, and asked a bunch of reporters and participants if the ball went too far. To a man, they said "How far is that?"

I really don't know what to think. As you are perhaps aware, I have punted on the issue by reverting to wooden implements.

Do you hit the ball too far?

[Brent Hutto]

My usual shots are short enough to need to play "senior" tees on longer courses. Even my very best shots if I eliminated all my distance-robbing swing flaws are not long enough to render an average-length course into drive-pitch-putt.

The people I play with every week at my club, others I'm paired up with on away rounds or at resorts and even the best players who compete in something like a club championship do not hit the ball far enough to totally defeat fairway bunkering and so forth on most 6,600-7,000 yard courses.

However, the best males among the college scholarship athletes I see practicing at our course are pushing the line on "hitting it too far" if that's defined as requiring a changeover to hitherto unnecessary length of golf courses in order to offer a challege other than hitting it close to the hole with a wedge and making the resulting short birdie putt. The very, very strongest high school players that I've met are also in this category.

My conclusion is that the current level of technology gives any healthy male golfer of above-average athletic ability and sound swing mechanics the opportunity to overpower most sub-7,000 yard golf courses. It has not proceeded to the point where a 50-year-old weekend club player needs to play the course at 7,000+ yards to have his game tested but could conceivably reach that point if equipment improvements continue unabated (meaning of course unregulated or  ineffectively regulated). I think advances in training and physical conditioning will eventually mean that the strongest players a decade or two from now will be able to play pitch and putt on 7,800 yard courses even with today's equipment.

[Craig Sweet]

Recently, at the Montana Open, I witnessed the Long Drive contest...the competitors were some of the best club pros and amatuers in the inland Northwest...the winner of the long drive smacked it 347 yards...the vast majority of drives were in the 280-310 range...at no time did I or anyone else feel that the sky was falling and technology was out of control....

[PThomas]

now that's a silly question Craig!

[rjsimper]

Yeah, I do.

I mean, it's fun to get on a par 5 and hit Driver 7 iron to a 500 yard hole on occasion, but I feel like I'm cheating.

Now, I won't give back my Driver distance unless someone makes me (and I certainly hit it so crooked that the ones I DO hit in the short stuff deserve to be taken advantage of...) but I hit my 48 degree PW 140...I actually think this is DISadvantageous to my game - leaves me guessing from 135 and in far too often.

[Andy Troeger]

I'd say that question depends on whether the drive I just hit is heading down the fairway or off to the right (or left...but its usually right) into imminent disaster.

I'm a fairly long hitter, although nothing wonderful by "today's standards", but my scores vary all over the place because of my inability to control the accuracy of my tee shots. The distance thing is great when my timing is good, but it makes for long days when the ball goes a long way in the wrong direction. I like to think if I got to play more that maybe I'd be more consistant. I tend to think that I am capable of playing the back tees at most courses, but I have more fun playing the regular tees and therefore usually do so.

So do I hit it too far? Depends on the day

[Ian Andrew]

As a player who hits bad blocks on a semi-frequent basis, I indeed hit it too far. People are more in danger from my errant drives than they were 10 years ago. They go further astray.

Safety is a larger problem than it was 10 years ago, and is a larger issue than shortness of courses.

[JLahrman]

Uh, what the previous two posts said.  Between not having been able to play much lately and being 6'6 and long limbed, my tee shots have been wild recently.  Technology is great when you're hitting it straight, but my drives have wound up in some rather uninhabitable locales lately.

[ForkaB]

Only when I am 50-80 yards out and I thin my lob wedge.

[Philippe Binette]

Too far...

too far in trouble, yes...

[Brian Noser]

Come on Simper you know you enjoy hitting the ball to FAR.

Me on the other hand I do not think I hit it to far. Just not straight enough and if it was straighter it may be i do not know. I make it interesting besides the lengh.I do hit the ball pretty long though but not in the 350 range. I would say I am in the group of 290 - 315 and the rare huge one at 330 - 340.
 If it gets any longer it will start to be come a problem I think.
for most of the general public corses to make them interesting. it is fun every now and then to hit wedges into every hole but not every week.

[Mike_Cirba]

I don't hit it too far...

But, all of my opponents do!  

[RJ_Daley]

Not that this is in the realm of reality, but restricting length on the second shots would be somewhat more effective ideally.  The only way to do that is to require extreme technology restraints like hickory shafts, and devolution of iron manufacturing.

If the competitive players are hitting it too far ( which I think is evident when most par 5s are reached in 2 with irons, and 440-500 par 4s are reached with mid to lofted irons, then that is where the game gets boring, and becomes a game of lawn darts.  So, if the desire is to have that orgasmic crushed drive off the tee, then follow it up with a challenging club of low technology that demands real club head and swing control for shaping and playing more demanding shots from the second shots in to the green and hole.

Do {I} hit it too far-  definitely not.  My best is about 260 and usually I'm 230-40.  It is not us geezers and hacks that hit it too far, no matter what the techology.  It is the competitive top ams and pros that we suffer from boredom by watching the drive and pitch contests, and birdie fests.

[Phil Benedict]

I think the technology has kept me about even to how I hit it 30 years ago with a wooden driver and balotta ball.  My guess is I would be 25 yards shorter with old technology.  Every once in a while I hit one high on the face and towards the toe (the sweet spot for the modern driver) and it goes forever.  But as a 6 handicap, this doesn't happen that often.  The problem is with expert golfers and professionals who hit it right 90% of the time, and have incredible swing speed as well.  I might not hit it too far, but they do!

[Mike_Cirba]

Shivas,

I'm playing with a "driver only" bag these days, as well, but it's because I gave my dad my 3-wood (he had his best round in ages one day he borrowed it this past summer), and because I'm too cheap and daft to replace my 20 year old Taylor Made blades, 2 through PW.  

Plus, it makes me look like a true purist and it gives me a built-in excuse for my sometimes squalid play.  

[PThomas]

thanks Mike...it makes me feel good when people have old clubs like me...my irons are 13 yrs old, 2 of my fairway woods are around 10...

I'd buy new ones if I KNOW they will help he hit it better, but whenever I demo something they never seem to be a big improvement

[Dan Kelly]

No.

[THuckaby2]

Do I hit the ball too far?  Hell no.  Somehow this whole distance thing missed me, and I am not shy about purchasing at least close to the latest technology.

But shivas' words do weigh heavily... if too many guys like him feel no need for fairway woods, then something isn't right.  Those and long irons should be a larger part of the game.

[Michael Moore]

Thanks for these interesting responses.

There was a morbid clip from one of the John Gotti trials in which the Dapper Don is heard to say, in a most ungrammatical fashion, "I, me, John Gotti, will sever his mother#$%#$@ head off !"

So I congratulate Ryan Simper, who after all this debate is the first person I have ever heard stand up and say "I, me, Ryan Simper, hit the ball too far." Good work.

I do want to hear from other folks on this issue.

[THuckaby2]

Michael - shivas' stood up and said so also, and gave a darn good reason why he feels that way.  Not that I enjoy giving him any credit - far from it - but you must have missed his post.

As for the rest of us, the answers are sincere.  If I could reach 500 yard holes with driver/7iron then I'd step up and concur with Ryan.  Fact is that's sadly driver/3wood/some sort of wedge, depending on conditions.  And that's the same as it was 25 years ago for me.  OK, sure, perhaps I shouldn't be able to do the same things at age 42 as I did at 17... but I still don't hit the ball too far!

 

[Michael Moore]

Michael - shivas' stood up and said so also . . . but you must have missed his post.

No, I did not miss his post.

I said that Simper was the first person I had heard say that that he hit the ball too far. He posted two hours and one minute before Mr. Shivas.

Please read more carefully.

[THuckaby2]

Aha.  My bad.  I do need to read more carefully.

I also wish I could hit the ball like Ryan Simper... or shivas.. or lots of other people who truly do hit it too far.

 

[PThomas]

aye, I think ye giv it a fine strike, young Huck

[THuckaby2]

aye, I think ye giv it a fine strike, young Huck

Paul, well I won't admit to being a complete weakstick... so thanks.    But man I am humbled and emasculated around really big hitters like our man shivas.  And the bottom line is I still don't reach too many par fives in two, and most definitely do still carry a 3wood I hit a LOT.

[PThomas]

aye, I know your feelings all too well, young Huck

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