Sobering launch monitor session....

rsvman

Went to my local golf retailer today toting 3 drivers. Asked for little monitor time to see which of the drivers should stay in the bag.
Clubhead speed with each of the drivers was about 92 mph. That may explain why I can't hit very far anymore. Last time I had my swingspeed checked it was between 98 and about 103. (Just realized that that was about 15 years ago.)

Good news was that I was getting the shots out to about 215-232 or so. Caught one perfectly and got slightly over 250.

I guess 220-225 and in play isn't horrendous. Won't be winning any long drive contests anytime soon, though.

PA-PLAYA

rsvman

I would still think that you're still north of the average.

Might be a bit stressful on those few 400+ yard par4's, but I still think there's enough MPH there to sustain you if you're playing the appropriate distance tee box.

I feel most comfortable playing 6300 yards, which is down a couple hundred yards from just a few years ago. Part of it is just the natural progression of getting older, part of it is just not being nearly as strong and athletic as I used to be. But 6300 yards (for the most part) seems like a fair challenge for me overall these days.

My best drive these days go about 240, but my average would be somewhere around 220. Haven't had my swing speed checked in years, but it's probably similar to yours. Driving has been pretty good for me over the past 10 years, so I know it has a lot to do with my level of fitness/flexibilty currently.

sdandrea1

rsvman I guess 220-225 and in play isn't horrendous.

I'll trade ya!

My GPS does a much better job of telling me how far I hit the ball. It's REAL data since it accounts more accurately for course and weather conditions. I think launch monitors (the good ones) tell you how far you "might" hit a ball.

ode

Still solid....if need be, move up a tee!

scotts33

ode Best post this week!

BTW.....most discount golf stores use simulators not true launch monitors (only decent LM's Trackman and Flightscope) so figures can be very awry. What you actually do on a golf course with the ball you play in true environs are the true numbers. If you use a GPS most have a shot feature...mark some of your drives next round and see how far you really drive the ball.

The reason discount golf stores use simulators and tend to jack them up are simulators are used as marketing tools not fitting tools.

rsvman

scotts33 I definitely hit a couple of drives on Wednesday that were in the 220-230 range on the golf course using GPS, so I think this machine was pretty close.
Also, a few of my drives were less than 200 on the simulator, which also happens on the course sometimes and led me to believe that this particular simulator wasn't too jacked up.

Tinker

I have a small Bell radar and I check my speed once in a while. My speed is about the same and those yardage’s are pretty close. The bid thing is drivers or balls don’t matter. I can hit I drive I don’t care for, reach in the bag and pull out an old brown ball I found and hit my longest drive if the day.

Tinker

The best thing in the world for picking a golf club is impact tape. The club you hit the most dead center will overall work the best.

JeffTilley

Most drivers are too long for your average golfer. I’ve found that 44.5” works best for me. I’ve tried longer, but I lose control. Shorter makes me feel like I’m crouching over. Screw distance and go for control. The middle of the fairway is miles closer to the pin than the trees are.......

Sneakylong

Was in a Dicks recently and they had a chart up in their hitting bay. For a 90 mph swing speed it said carry was 200-210. My swing speed is in the 90 mph range and my best drives measured with GPS including roll are in the 230-240 range. I play the Gold tees at my home course (~ 6000 yards). The longest par 3 is 162 and the longest par 4 is 411.

I find at that distance I could possibly hit every club in the bag. I'm usually a low to mid 80's shooter, but when on can get into the 70's. Golfers would have more fun playing the appropriate distance (tee) for their game.

JeffTilley

Sneakylong

That’s a really good point. Tee boxes should be marked for handicap, not yardage. Beginners should start at forward tee boxes and move back as they improve. And folks like me should get to move forward as their handicap goes up. But hey, nobody is stopping folks from playing the tee of their choice. Nobody but pride......

letthebigdogshunt

I will not go to any golf shop and get on a monitor. I think they would tell me, sir we are sorry, but your swing speed is not fast enough to register on our LM. 😱

Tinker

I can live with the 200 to 220 drives. What gets me on the 6000 plus yard courses is being 165 170 out. Have to hit 5, 4 iron or hybrid, fairway clubs that kill my greens in regulation. You know what Travino said “ pro’s that putt for par and dogs that chase cars don’t last long”.

DC300

Tinker Never heard that saying before, but it makes an awful lot of sense. Hitting more than a 7 iron in greatly depreciates my chance of scoring ( on a par 4 at least), hence my interest in SL irons, but that’s another topic.

I played with Wierfan last week and saw that our group probably should have played from three different tees if you are looking purely at distance. We played back, while the two we were pair with played the senior tees, as hey should have. The longer tees allow me to actually hit more than drive and a wedge into Par 4s, Peter could still reach par 5’s in 2 from back there, but was admittedly more comfortable being a bit closer and the other guys needed every bit of the distance gained. What I find most telling is how far back you can feel comfortable on a par 3. 200 yards is it for me, beyond that, it’s a 💩 shoot. If that distance is more like 150-160 for you, then play the tees that put you there and you probably are closer to the right set. I find most courses set up to allow your approach to be from about the same distance as the average of the par 3s ( barring extremes) so it’s a pretty good indicator of where you should be playing. I know we have some extremes here in terms of SS, but that 90mph range should find that pretty true.

Weirfan

DC300

We played at 6700 which is fine in terms of distance even at 25 years your senior 😉

distance isn't a problem yet as I still average 260 when in play , even though I'm usually 40 yards plus behind you....but of course that day playing my 2nd shot from the trees alot didnt help. putting my second to 12 feet on the par 5 18th was my some redemption 😉

at hey we both were under 90

ZWExton

I thought someone on FGI some time ago shared that an ideal course length is your 5i distance X 36 or something? Does that sound familiar?

JeffTilley

ZWExton

By that math it’s 5580 for this short knocker.......

ode

ZWExton

I caution against using those formulas as they tend to put folks at a tee that is past their skill level. It would have me at ~6800+.....can I, sure, but I have no business playing 6800, especially a course with a higher slope.

As long as the golfer is telling the truth (how many are full of sh1t with there yardages) and it ought to be an average, not, I "can" hit my drive 280, which I can, but a more realistic avg is 260. Things like slope,layout, etc. Should be factored in. I like to play hybrid tees quite often, which would be Mens/White and then the next tee back which will get me 6300+ up to 6500,much more than that is asking for trouble. I have also played courses where playing shorter tees is no fun as the EOF is in range or hazard or junk....that's no fun either.

sdandrea1

JeffTilley By that math it’s 5580 for this short knocker.......

I got exactly the same number and on most of my courses, I play 5500 to 5800.

raggmann54

Do what my regular foursome did - move to the geezer tees. The 4 of us have been playing together for years and are similar in ball striking with similar clubhead speeds and all within 5 years of age of each other - 70 to 75. By moving up we enjoy the game more and still play for bragging rights and talk smack when we hit one really good.

Tinker

Overall yardage is really not the factor. The course closest to my house is 5850 from the whites but it has one short par five, three medium par threes and the rest mostly beastly par fours. One par four is 455 uphill. The very next hole is 410 with the first 280 uphill. 18 is 400 dogleg right with 260 to get to the corner.