163 replies to this topic

[golfpros1]

OK, I'm not saying I should be able to hit irons the same distance as pros, but these distances I'm seeing on TV are off the charts crazy to me.

Nick Watney hit an 8 iron from 202 yards that went past the hole (and he blocked it a little).  Seriously?  Was he between hard 9 iron or easy 8 from 200 yards?  This is ridiculous.  And I don't exactly remember Nick being a big bomber either.  Then Tiger hits 9 iron from like 185 yards.  WTF.  Heck, Nick Faldo was laughing at how ridiculous it was.

As a person that can hit the ball a decent distance, as my driver swingspeed is around 110mph, I can't even get my 5 iron to a pin 200 yards away.  OK, again, I know I'm not a pro, but how in the freaking world are they hitting irons this far?  Thin air my arse, I've lived in Scottsdale, you get one club more at the most.  

Do pros play clubs with lofts bent strong?  Do they deloft and compress the ball so well to gain this kind of insane distance?  What's the freakn secret?

[oldpalchamp]

This week they are playing in altitude.  Also, there seems to be some elevation change, too.  Bottom line, though, clubhead speed plus solid contact equals ball go far!

[rblmp32]

They make better contact then us typically.    Watney is long though.

[golfpros1]

i've lived in arizona, and i'd say you only gain about one club in my experience.

[MadGolfer76]

golfpros1, on 24 February 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

OK, I'm not saying I should be able to hit irons the same distance as pros, but these distances I'm seeing on TV are off the charts crazy to me.

Nick Watney hit an 8 iron from 202 yards that went past the hole (and he blocked it a little).  Seriously?  Was he between hard 9 iron or easy 8 from 200 yards?  This is ridiculous.  And I don't exactly remember Nick being a big bomber either.  Then Tiger hits 9 iron from like 185 yards.  WTF.  Heck, Nick Faldo was laughing at how ridiculous it was.

As a person that can hit the ball a decent distance, as my driver swingspeed is around 110mph, I can't even get my 5 iron to a pin 200 yards away.  OK, again, I know I'm not a pro, but how in the freaking world are they hitting irons this far?  Thin air my arse, I've lived in Scottsdale, you get one club more at the most.  

Do pros play clubs with lofts bent strong?  Do they deloft and compress the ball so well to gain this kind of insane distance?  What's the freakn secret?

I believe the announcers said they were hitting with the wind. Higher lofted irons assisted by wind can put up some big numbers. Still, good hits to be sure.

[Socrates]

Go to the gym.  Workout daily on your core like you were training for the Seals.  While you're doing that work on your cardio and the rest of the golf muscles.  Apply that to very good mechanics and let me know how far you hit it.  I wish I had that dedication, but I don't, so I'm just like you.  Ten years ago it was only Tiger, now it is everyone of them (well maybe not Tim Herron and Calcavecchia).

[Medic]

The distances are amazing but what REALLY impresses me is their accuracy.

Any lie. Any angle. Sand. Rough. Doesn't matter. They almost always are spot on and are disappointed when they end up over 20 feet from the pin.

The game I play is quite different. For me anywhere on the green is acceptable. Within 25 feet is a great shot. Within 10 feet happens once or twice a round. Tap in birdies once a month playing once per week.

Their "smart golf" sure is different than mine, that is for certain.

[596]

Scottsdale...............1200ft above sea level.  I play at 3500ft and go down to Scottsdale and play at the 1200 and don't really lose 1 club going down in elevation that far.  Assuming they are gaining at least one club length going from sea level to 1200ft really is a stretch.  

I remember yesterday Tiger hitting a 7 iron on the second shot of a par 5 from 220 yards.........totally sick.

[jewofgolf]

Guys, it has been discussed before: the distances are jacked up a lot of the time.  It's done for entertainment.

[golfpros1]

Socrates, on 24 February 2012 - 06:57 PM, said:

Go to the gym.  Workout daily on your core like you were training for the Seals.  While you're doing that work on your cardio and the rest of the golf muscles.  Apply that to very good mechanics and let me know how far you hit it.  I wish I had that dedication, but I don't, so I'm just like you.  Ten years ago it was only Tiger, now it is everyone of them (well maybe not Tim Herron and Calcavecchia).

I get your point but 200 yard 8 irons?  i mean, i can remember when people thought john daly was from another planet for hitting 8 irons 180.  I just can't believe that fitness alone can make this big of a difference.  And like I said, my swing speed is already about pga tour average at 110 with a driver, and i couldn't hit an 8 iron 200 yards with a running start and an extra hand.

Edited by golfpros1, 24 February 2012 - 07:31 PM.

[jmvargas]

as bobby jones man once said after watching jack nicklaus hit his towering drives and SHORT irons to augusta's par-5s....."he is playing a game i am not familiar with"!!!...

[Hacker#5252]

I remember the Watney-Woods pairing at that par 3. Watney hit an 8 and Woods a 9.

That is amazing, but to be fair, they were downwind, the hole is 10 feet (or is it 10 yards ?) below the tee box, and they both came up short iirc.

On that very golf course, there is a 500+ yard par 4 (that's FOUR), that is still reachable even if the 2nd shot is from the rough.

Also, they were saying that desert golf does that to distance. Perhaps because there is virtually no humidity (i.e. less air resistance), in addition of the course being in high altitude.

That course is 7600+ yards iirc, about the longest on the tour, so it clearly plays shorter than the actual distances.

[asualum]

First, Marana sits at an elevation of 2,000 feet, so the thinner air plays a role, as does the low humidity. It's also very wind out there this week. And desert golf courses like this have a lot of elevation changes and elevated tees. Just ask my legs after walking the course on Wednesday.

[Thrillhouse]

1) they compress the crap out of the ball
2) conditions play a part
3) they are really, really good at golf

[wolfpack]

The air has no moisture in Arizona..  When they played the President's cup at Harding, they were hitting 160 yard 7 irons just like i do at that course.    Conditions have a huge impact on the distances they hit it.      I'm not saying i can hit it like a tour player... but that the distances are much more realistic at sea level with thick heavy air.

[RainShadow]

I used to read theta the pro jacked the lofts i their clubs a bit. I'm pretty sure this is common. Factor that with conditioning and viola, long iron shots.
That's why I laugh when the "purists" whine about how strongly lofted OTR irons are now. Pros have been doing it for years........
But again, most of the really long hitters are very fit, young and flexible, and they are playing in the desert w/ a little altitude.

Edited by RainShadow, 24 February 2012 - 09:18 PM.

[JASVA]

I think there is some confusion on humidity. Humid air is actually lighter and golf balls travel farther than they do in dry air.

[Vindog]

Thrillhouse, on 24 February 2012 - 08:42 PM, said:

1) they compress the crap out of the ball
2) conditions play a part
3) they are really, really good at golf

Well he did say "almost"

[wobgon]

RainShadow, on 24 February 2012 - 09:15 PM, said:

I used to read theta the pro jacked the lofts i their clubs a bit. I'm pretty sure this is common. Factor that with conditioning and viola, long iron shots.
That's why I laugh when the "purists" whine about how strongly lofted OTR irons are now. Pros have been doing it for years........
But again, most of the really long hitters are very fit, young and flexible, and they are playing in the desert w/ a little altitude.

All tour pros i know play most of their lofts weak.

[wolfpack]

JASVA, on 24 February 2012 - 09:38 PM, said:

I think there is some confusion on humidity. Humid air is actually lighter and golf balls travel farther than they do in dry air.

You are correct.

[kwh1te]

i would prob say that most pros hit: SW- 125             PW- 145             9i- 160             8i - 175           7i- 190           6i- 205           5i- 215         4i- 225

[Harob11]

It's probably a combination of things - thin air, warm weather, GREAT compression, de-lofted at impact, swing speed - obviously and then there's exaggeration.  Just like in Major League Baseball, radar gun readings are exaggerated all the time.

[MtlJeff]

some guys crush it....but conditions play a big part. So does where the ball actually lands

At Riviera there was a 230yd par 3 and a lot of guys were hitting 5 or 6 irons in. But they were landing the ball 20-30yds short of the hole in most cases. So they were hitting it 200yds, which isn't outrageous. You have to understand the roll pros get makes things seem entirely different.

I didn't see Watney's shot. But like i said some guys actually do crush it. But not as many as the average fan thinks.

[4Par]

How many guys can throw a baseball 100 mph?  Bet it's close to the number of guys that can hit an 8 iron 200 yards...... No one here feels there is some tricked up reason for a guy throwing a ball 100 mph but many want to believe there's something tricked up about an elite athlete hitting a ball beyond the capabilities of Joe Average.........

[kg92lefty]

the elevation does not make that big of difference.

[highdraw69]

didn't someone start a thread in this forum after pebble beach amazed at how SHORT the pros hit the ball?

[Hutch306]

That's a great point about the baseball players throwing 100...I wouldn't try to throw 100 MPH fastball, but I will sure as heck try to hit a drive 300.

[1puttwoods]

596, on 24 February 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

Scottsdale...............1200ft above sea level.  I play at 3500ft and go down to Scottsdale and play at the 1200 and don't really lose 1 club going down in elevation that far.  Assuming they are gaining at least one club length going from sea level to 1200ft really is a stretch.  

I remember yesterday Tiger hitting a 7 iron on the second shot of a par 5 from 220 yards.........totally sick.

And he came up about 20 to 30 yards short.

[miz85uno]

1puttwoods, on 24 February 2012 - 11:38 PM, said:

596, on 24 February 2012 - 07:29 PM, said:

Scottsdale...............1200ft above sea level.  I play at 3500ft and go down to Scottsdale and play at the 1200 and don't really lose 1 club going down in elevation that far.  Assuming they are gaining at least one club length going from sea level to 1200ft really is a stretch.  

I remember yesterday Tiger hitting a 7 iron on the second shot of a par 5 from 220 yards.........totally sick.

And he came up about 20 to 30 yards short.

to be honest he came up about 5 yards short of where he wanted to land it...and then it took the false front and rolled 20-30 yards short

[Potatohead]

If he was in the rough he probably thought it was going to jump. Tiger doesn't normally hit seven irons from 220, but he has before (sixth hole at Pebble in 2000 US Open).

I agree though, the distance is insane. I swing it at about 108 and hit a 7 iron 165, maybe 168 if I smoke it. In the hot desert I might get 175 out of it.