Maximum forced carry from a back tee

[jeffwarne]

I'd say 290 yds.  Remember, we're saying the back tees, the championship tees.  Where we separate the men from the boys.  The distances I see reported on pro men's golf on TV suggests that this is not a distance any of them can carry consistently.  Hence, the men from the boys.

edit: busted didn't read the whole thread to see the tongue:)

The AVERAGE PGA Tour carry is 275 yards.
A "forced" carry doesn't separate men from boys, it renders a hole unplayable.
So if half the tour is eliminated on a hole with a 275 carry,
290?[size=78%]probably does in 3/4 of them.[/size]
How could that be a good hole/forced carry?
Now an optional play to carry 290-sure


A back tee with a forced carry of more than 200 yards sucks given that an older player could qualify for a State Am that might be using back tees-or it could become into a wind on short notice.
An older player could also qualify for a final stage of a US Open or Open Championship and shouldn't be unable to reach a maintained surface(re: findable) into the wind.

[Mike Hendren]

Big hitter, the Ward.

[Matthew Essig]

What was the carry on #10 at Bethpage Black during the 2002 US Open when some players didn't reach the fairway due to the weather taking a turn?

[Carl Nichols]

I'd say 290 yds.  Remember, we're saying the back tees, the championship tees.  Where we separate the men from the boys.  The distances I see reported on pro men's golf on TV suggests that this is not a distance any of them can carry consistently.  Hence, the men from the boys.

The AVERAGE PGA Tour carry is 275 yards.
A "forced" carry doesn't separate men from boys, it renders a hole unplayable.
So if half the tour is eliminated on a hole with a 275 carry,
290?[size=78%]probably does in 3/4 of them.[/size]
How could that be a good hole/forced carry?
Now an optional play to carry 290-sure


A back tee with a forced carry of more than 200 yards sucks given that an older player could qualify for a State Am that might be using back tees-or it could become into a wind on short notice.
An older player could also qualify for a final stage of a US Open or Open Championship and shouldn't be unable to reach a maintained surface(re: findable) into the wind.

Jeff, I think Carl J posted later in the thread that his original post was firmly tongue-in-cheek.

[Jason Topp]

What was the carry on #10 at Bethpage Black during the 2002 US Open when some players didn't reach the fairway due to the weather taking a turn?

248 at 10 and 264 on 12


http://www.si.com/vault/2002/06/24/325677/pour-sports-after-slogging-round-2-on-one-of-the-most-miserable-days-in-us-open-history-many-of-the-players-were-crying-foul


They reduced it to 224 in 2009:


http://2009.usopen.com/en_US/news/articles/2009-04-06/200904071239134550719.html

[Eric LeFante]

The new back tees at Pine Valley are incredibly intimidating. Holes 4, 7, 16, 18 have carries of 230 - 250. There is a new tee on 6 that is really tough. The carry to the right side of the fairway is 280, which makes the left side look so much harder to hit.

[BHoover]

How about a 105 yard carry into the teeth of gale-force winds? JB Holmes posted a video on twitter of his 6 iron shot into the 7th at Pebble Beach.

I was unable to successfully post the link to the video. Perhaps a more-technologically savvy member can post the video (paging Mr. Riefs).

I would love to play golf in these conditions.

[Matthew Essig]

How about a 105 yard carry into the teeth of gale-force winds? JB Holmes posted a video on twitter of his 6 iron shot into the 7th at Pebble Beach.

I was unable to successfully post the link to the video. Perhaps a more-technologically savvy member can post the video (paging Mr. Riefs).

I would love to play golf in these conditions.

While it would be fun to hit full shots in those conditions, it wouldn't be fun to putt with all the standing water on the green.


Link: https://twitter.com/JBHolmesgolf/status/829111286428430336

[Philippe Binette]

1st hole at my home course growing up:


through a chute, creek from 150 to 190 from the back tee...
Not necessarily a forced carry all the way, but who would hit a 130 yards lay up into the rough to start his round...


it had the definite advantage of getting rid of all the wannabees who would say: hey, I'll play from the back tee today.

[Jon McSweeny]

Rustic Canyon's 14th hole seems to require about a 220 yard carry to get safely across the wash from the tips.

Is that a bad hole? A bad course because of the hole? In my view, the 14th is- by a comfortable margin- the tee shot on the course I most look forward to playing.

Is the hole/course truly improved by eliminating the one tee shot where proper swing execution is critically important?

[Jason Topp]

Rustic Canyon's 14th hole seems to require about a 220 yard carry to get safely across the wash from the tips.

Is that a bad hole? A bad course because of the hole? In my view, the 14th is- by a comfortable margin- the tee shot on the course I most look forward to playing.

Is the hole/course truly improved by eliminating the one tee shot where proper swing execution is critically important?

I double checked your math and agree with your measurement (although it is downhill) and agree it is a great tee shot.  It plays downhill but that is offset by the additional yardage necessary unless one aims at the forward tee. 

[David Federman]

How far was the carry from the U.S. Open tee on Merion's 18th hole to clear the quarry? It looked incredibly far and uphill,as well.

[Jon Wiggett]

I took my PGA playing ability test at the Brabazon, The Belfry. On the second and final round the wind was so strong into that the carry across the water from the tee was not possible. I hit a wedge to the ladies tee followed by a 5 iron and a 9 iron. Two puts later and I had done a bogey. There will be times when a carry will not be possible and in hindsight the tee should have been moved up 40 yards but at least there was an alternative.


Jon

[Keith Grande]

My favorite pet peeves are holes which require a long/mid iron off the tee to avoid going long into a marsh/pond, but the approach shot requires a carry over that obstacle with a hybrid or wood.  Bonus points if the lie is downhill...

[Pete Lavallee]

Rustic Canyon's 14th hole seems to require about a 220 yard carry to get safely across the wash from the tips.

Is that a bad hole? A bad course because of the hole? In my view, the 14th is- by a comfortable margin- the tee shot on the course I most look forward to playing.

Is the hole/course truly improved by eliminating the one tee shot where proper swing execution is critically important?

I double checked your math and agree with your measurement (although it is downhill) and agree it is a great tee shot.  It plays downhill but that is offset by the additional yardage necessary unless one aims at the forward tee.

Strangely enough the SCGA set the tee markers on the front of the back tee pad on #14 (the Black tee pad is long gone from one of the floods) during an SCGA Qualifying Event. Their reasoning was that there was a very competitive player who would not be able to reach the fairway from the back of that pad, but could from the front. Sure enough he just made the carry AND won the Qualifier!

Now #14 is somewhat unique in that the diagonal carry is over a wash that is marked as a hazard. But it was also fenced off after the fires so you can't go in there and play your ball anymore. Your only option to complete the hole, if unable to make the carry, would be to hit a wedge to the white tees and play from there. Now that's a tough shot!

[Eric LeFante]

How far was the carry from the U.S. Open tee on Merion's 18th hole to clear the quarry? It looked incredibly far and uphill,as well.

It's about 240 just to get to the fairway. You need to carry it another 20 yards to even have a view of the green. There was a tee that was 20 yards behind the current tee for the US Open that they got rid of after the Open.