Hitting the Long Ball in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer

Golf has morphed into a game where hitting the long ball is key to winning. Amateurs are always in search of the holy grail of distance, but I am not sure any of us have the natural ability to consistently smash the all like Dustin Johnson or Jason Day. I will suggest, however, that amateurs like myself have benefited from the advances in technology to add distance to our game.

I remember some 20 years ago, most players in my league were a consistent 230-240 off the tee. If we were lucky, we could poke a ball out to 275 yards. I used my old Ping Eye 2 persimmon woods because metal woods were just becoming available to me. To regularly achieve such distance, I had to hit the ball squarely in the center of the club head or else I would lose distance very quickly.

Recently, I took a poll and the results indicate that hitting the ball long is becoming the norm vice the exception!

Over the past 20 years, club technology has advance to a point where 230-240 off the tee is now for short hitters and the need to hit the center of the club head is a distant dream.

The size of driver heads has doubled and the variety of shafts to match your swing speed has allowed players with mediocre abilities to compete with much better players.

Technology is the big equalizer in golf! It has opened the door to a new group of long hitting players and I am not convinced that this is a bad thing. In the big scheme of things, does it really matter that players can hit the ball 25-50 yards farther on average? I really do not think so because what we write on the scorecard is what really matters.

I sometimes play at an elite level. Most of my competitors hit the ball much farther than I; but, I am still able to compete because the other aspects of my game (iron play and my short game) is equal to or better than the big hitters.

This is a lesson I learned a long time ago – distance is important, but my short game is king! So, to all my readers, congratulations for hitting the ball a country mile, but I suggest that it is time to practice short game to really shot low scores.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

9 thoughts on “Hitting the Long Ball in Golf”

  1. The average golfer doesn’t actually get the benefit of all the new technology. The pros actually reap that benefit. But overall technology has helped the average player. But I will argue that hitting longer does give you the distinct advantage of hitting a shorter club into the green which should make your GIR stat increase and lead to lower scores. So while I agree wedges and short game is critical to scoring well I would argue that a long drive and a much shorter club into the green is also an effective way to lower scores.

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  2. Jim, totally agree. Even with the new technology and added distance, the handicap of the average golfer has stayed steady through the years. I would hazard to guess that the professional scoring averages have come down which is why they’ve had to lengthen so many venues.

    Thanks,

    Brian

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  3. Jim,

    Everyone loves the longball, and it feels good to hit, but you’re right that short game is king. Your short game can save you when the rest of your game is off, but it doesn’t work as well the other way around.

    Cheers!
    Josh

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  4. Another interesting poll would be what is your consistent distance. While I have hit a few over 300 yards, my consistent distance is probably 255-265. Hitting the center of the face and increasing swing speed could go along way to helping hit it farther and lower scores.

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