Question:
Next week I will play at Grand Elk near Grandby, CO. This is listed at 7,935′. I hadn’t noticed a difference when I golfed at Keystone (9300′) this June, nor at sea level last October. Of course when you’re as inconsistent as I am, I will have my 7 wood will vary from 190-210 yards anyway – which is 10% without any change of altitude! Hitting a SW 100 yards might vary by 10 yards as well. My normal courses are around a mile high.
Response:
My partner in our Labor Day tournament was a 13 hcp, age mid 40’s. He drove to the middle of the green on a 305 yd par 4. He had a long putt to a tricky pin placement, missed, but made a long come back putt for the bird. He’s a long hitter, but he caught that one just perfect and the fact that our fairways are really firm right now was certainly a help. –Robert Simpson– USGA Certified Bogey Golfer rsg roll call: http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=simpsonr
: I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament : yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer : who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am : always sceptical of the distance people claim to hit the ball on RSG, : but some people do hit pro length distances. This guy would be longer : than the everage pro, but not quite up in the Mickelson class. He had : one shot from about 175 out from a not great lie in the rough over : water to the green. I felt I would have had to flail away with my 6 : wood to get it there. He took a swish and sent it over the green – : with an 8 iron! : : We were playing handicaps, he was off scratch, me off 11. I had a good : day and it was just too much for him to do even though he was around : even when we were done on the 15th. : : B. J. Wilkinson
Response:
There are a number of amateurs at our club who can pound it down the fairway 300+ yards. We are at over 4000 ft above sea level which may have something to do with it. Do you notice a significant difference when you play at sea level? I haven’t played much, but I could not tell the difference. But I’m not yet a consistent golfer.
IMHO there is a big difference depending where you are. I live (and play) on Vancouver Island at sea level and when I travel I notice that I get a lot more distance when I play in places like the Okangagan. At home a drive of 250 or more is looong but at altitude it goes a lot farther. Even Tiger notices the difference. http://www.sportsnet.ca/golf/story/10299758800781.shtml?sport=golf&ST… "It’s different playing up in the Pacific Northwest, he said. The ball doesn’t fly quite as far because the air is a little bit heavier. I hit a lot of seven-irons from 150. The seven-iron I hit last week (in the PGA Championship) on Sunday at 17 was 195." Rod "Hey man you’ve got the real bum’s eye for clothes" The Tragically Hip
Response:
At home a drive of 250 or more is looong but at altitude it goes a lot farther. How long do drives of 250 go at altitude?
For me it is an increase of around 20 to 30 yards. So roughly 10% and it is pretty constant through the bag. Rod "Hey man you’ve got the real bum’s eye for clothes" The Tragically Hip
Response:
My experience playing at 7000 ft at North Star, Tahoe was that the ball went roughly 10% farther than playing at sea level, where I normally play. It was very noticable to me. I didn’t measure it precisely, though, so I could be off by a few percent either way. I basically took a club
pretty close estimate, and like you said, very noticable. the rule of thumb is 2% for every 1000 feet. paul
Response:
Yes they do, BJ. I used to be VERY skeptical of "mortal" people claiming 300 yard drives. Then I played with a stranger (late 20’s guy) who over the round hit 8 or 10 drives well over 300 yards. On a 510-yard hole he said he wanted to leave a second shot of around 180….and he did it! (that’s a 330 drive – I wanted to leave myself 280…and I did it). Side note: I beat the guy by more than 10 strokes – his short- and mid-iron game was terrible….but he could wail on the drives….
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am always sceptical of the distance people claim to hit the ball on RSG, but some people do hit pro length distances. This guy would be longer than the everage pro, but not quite up in the Mickelson class. He had one shot from about 175 out from a not great lie in the rough over water to the green. I felt I would have had to flail away with my 6 wood to get it there. He took a swish and sent it over the green – with an 8 iron! We were playing handicaps, he was off scratch, me off 11. I had a good day and it was just too much for him to do even though he was around even when we were done on the 15th. B. J. Wilkinson
Response:
At home a drive of 250 or more is looong but at altitude it goes a lot farther.
How long do drives of 250 go at altitude?
Response:
At home a drive of 250 or more is looong but at altitude it goes a lot farther. How long do drives of 250 go at altitude?
I’m going to guess here but…. 250?
Response:
At home a drive of 250 or more is looong but at altitude it goes a lot farther. How long do drives of 250 go at altitude?
My experience playing at 7000 ft at North Star, Tahoe was that the ball went roughly 10% farther than playing at sea level, where I normally play. It was very noticable to me. I didn’t measure it precisely, though, so I could be off by a few percent either way. I basically took a club less than I usually do for all my shots. The thing about Tiger hitting a 7I 150 yds in Seattle vs 195 at the PGA in Minnesota… I don’t know, the elevation difference isn’t that much. I have a hard time picturing Tiger hitting a 150yd 7I, even if he says so himself. Maybe a choked down easy swing into the wind, up a hill, on a cold, humid day? Or some exaggeration?
Response:
I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am
People who can hit it 300 yards are a dime a dozen. However only the rare few have the slightest fucking clue which direction it’s going to go…sounds like he was one of them. Lumpy.
Response:
: I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament : yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer : who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am : always sceptical of the distance people claim to hit the ball on RSG, : but some people do hit pro length distances. This guy would be longer : than the everage pro, but not quite up in the Mickelson class. He had : one shot from about 175 out from a not great lie in the rough over : water to the green. I felt I would have had to flail away with my 6 : wood to get it there. He took a swish and sent it over the green – : with an 8 iron! : : We were playing handicaps, he was off scratch, me off 11. I had a good : day and it was just too much for him to do even though he was around : even when we were done on the 15th. : : B. J. Wilkinson I played the back nine at my home course a year ago with a caddy from the buy.com tour (nice guy named Trey from Atlanta, I think) who was on his way to the Salt Lake City event — he hit the ball a ton. On number 13, a 541 yard par 5, he hit his tee shot to the middle of the fairway right between the 150 markers. 391 yards! He knocked it on from there with his wedge and two-putted for birdie. — http://rec-sport-golf.com/members/?rollcall=oinesroald Please remove the under_scores if sending me mail.
Response:
Personally, I don’t notice much difference at sea level. I recently played three courses up in the Toronto area (Taboo, Scarborough GC and King’s Riding). I only hit the driver around 230 on average at my home course, 250-260 when I really catch it. Guys that have higher swing speeds say that it makes a significant difference to them. I recently played at a few courses at around 7000 feet (Paako Ridge, Kokapelli, The Links at Ruidoso) and did notice that shots carried about 10 yards further, the driver more than that. I strike my irons (Titleist 762s), up to about the 5, pretty well. I’m working on some swing changes that should help the longer irons and woods. Phil Webster Founder, cSwing http://www.cswing.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There are a number of amateurs at our club who can pound it down the fairway 300+ yards. We are at over 4000 ft above sea level which may have something to do with it. Do you notice a significant difference when you play at sea level? I haven’t played much, but I could not tell the difference. But I’m not yet a consistent golfer.
Response:
I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards.
I recently played with a golfer who was a 10 handicap (not scratch like your friend). He wasn’t hitting it 300, but probably 285, and his drives had that "pro trajectory". The problem was he couldn’t hit irons. I mean he’d chunk them and skull them – bad. From 100 yards, he was hopeless.
Response:
There are a number of amateurs at our club who can pound it down the fairway 300+ yards. We are at over 4000 ft above sea level which may have something to do with it.
Do you notice a significant difference when you play at sea level? I haven’t played much, but I could not tell the difference. But I’m not yet a consistent golfer.
Response:
There are a number of amateurs at our club who can pound it down the fairway 300+ yards. We are at over 4000 ft above sea level which may have something to do with it. I play with one of them twice a week and he’s over 50. He’s a 7 handicap. When he gets a better wedge and short game he will be a lot lower. Touch and imagination around the greens and with the wedges are among the biggest separators between us and the pros. Phil Webster Founder, cSwing http://www.cswing.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am always sceptical of the distance people claim to hit the ball on RSG, but some people do hit pro length distances. This guy would be longer than the everage pro, but not quite up in the Mickelson class. He had one shot from about 175 out from a not great lie in the rough over water to the green. I felt I would have had to flail away with my 6 wood to get it there. He took a swish and sent it over the green – with an 8 iron! We were playing handicaps, he was off scratch, me off 11. I had a good day and it was just too much for him to do even though he was around even when we were done on the 15th. B. J. Wilkinson
Response:
I played a match in our Men’s Association match play tournament yesterday. My opponent was a low 20s, former high school team golfer who was banging the ball out there dead straight 300 yards. I am always sceptical of the distance people claim to hit the ball on RSG, but some people do hit pro length distances. This guy would be longer than the everage pro, but not quite up in the Mickelson class. He had one shot from about 175 out from a not great lie in the rough over water to the green. I felt I would have had to flail away with my 6 wood to get it there. He took a swish and sent it over the green – with an 8 iron! We were playing handicaps, he was off scratch, me off 11. I had a good day and it was just too much for him to do even though he was around even when we were done on the 15th. B. J. Wilkinson