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Finally some sense about driver distance; on my old forum I was sent up in flames for stating that the average weekend golfer drives off tee on average no more than 225 yards at best. Granted there are some that can hit a 290 plus yard drive but this is not average distance, and I hear people say I went to the driving range and hit 300 yards but I get to the course and can only hit 230 yards and they wonder what went wrong between range and the course try incorrect yardage markers. Yes I agree a good shaft and going to the gym makes a difference in distances but the majority of us are not professional golfers that have hours to send on the driving range with coaches, shafts and clubs that are custom built no wonder they get distances that average 275 plus.

I will say it again the average weekend golfer is lucky to hit 225 drives understand that I am saying average not some 18 year old that is playing football and working out or someone that has time to go to a gym there are some of us that have to make a living and do not have time to work out everyday. Any way I going to stop before I really get into a rant.

Halk is right. I am not quoting some obscure website/statistic but simply giving my own observations over giving 5,000+ lessons in my career. I RARELY see a player that hits the ball over 250 but almost all think they do.

What I fail to understand is that on a normal par four ,you can gauge the drive length by the club you hitting for your second. If its 435 par four and you are hitting 6 iron (say 160 yards) ,your drive went 275 .If you are hitting 4 iron, say 185, your drive went 250. The fairway conditions are a big factor because of roll. Our SI 1 is a 435 slight dog leg. In the winter, It's all you can drive , plus 4 iron . So I'm thinking 245 carry ,5 yards roll. In summer it's a good drive plus 6,7 or 8 depending on the quality of contact and hardness of the fairway.In summer, you can add 40-50 yards on your drive.

This is an interesting topic. Like a few others in this thread, I'm generally the longest of the people I usually play with. Some of the people are semi-accurate on their average tee shots, and some seem to think that their longest tee shots are their average. I have a good friend who, when we played the first time this year, was telling me that he was sure he could be hitting 275 if he was hitting it straight, and was hitting it 250ish with a slice even. I didn't have the heart to tell him as I was blowing it 70 yards by him every time that I only average 250 on good days, more like 235-240 normally (and about 215-220 right now....something's gone awry with the driver and sapped all my power ).

Also, as Waz mentioned, people tend to discount doglegs in their calculations. #8 on my home course is a 350 yard dogleg left with a mound that you need to carry about 210 to fly over and catch a slight downslope that will net you some excellent roll. I play with a group of OGs (50s and 60s, retired state police and Navy and such) who can get to the corner if they hit one well....I always aim at the corner and unless I slice one or hook it, knock it over and catch that downslope. Oftentimes I've had 40 or 50 yards into that green, and they always comment on my "300 yard drive," when in reality, discounting the dogleg I might have hit it 270 with the extra roll accounting for 20 yards of that, so on a flat fairway it woulda been 250...a solid, but not out of the ordinary drive.

I've played with a bunch of guys who regularly crush the ball 300 yards, just not on the days I play with them.

I don't doubt that golferss on this forum can hit the ball long. But I also think golfers on this forum are probably more serious about their games than the average golfer, and put in more time practicing, choosing equipment, etc...

I think alot of people have misconceived perceptions on how far a shot actually is. I heard a guy the other day talking to me about how on this one hole he just smashed his drive and it probably went 320 yards. Its just that in the times I've played with this guy its never happened. He's hitting 3 iron 175, driver usually about 240 tops. Another guy was talking to a co worker the other day in front of me about golf and how he got a hold of one and it went at least 350. This guy was around six feet two and I'm going to guess weighed every bit of 320 pounds and not muscle. A guy like that there just isn't any way possible that it can happen, you can't make the turn nessessary for a shot like that. And last but not least another co worker who doesn't play a whole lot of golf got this new PING G2 460 driver and swears up and down that it added at least 45 yards to his drives...I just can't say what I'm thinking though.

I just see it time and time again where I think people think 300 is a lot shorter than it really is or something or that they see all the pros hitting it out there and love to think they are on the same level.

Like already stated above you can gauge your distance by how far your second shot is to the green...so I mean if you are on a 500 yard par five and you are 300 yards out then your drive went 200...simple math. Yet the guy that does this still hit it 300 I'm sure no matter what the yardage said. Now it is skewed a little depending on where the tee markers are on the tee box and everything, but its really not that hard to figure. It comes down to letting go of your ego.

That's true, and like deronsizemore said another thing that can mess up the distance is where the tees are that day... even on a straight hole if the tees are up or back it makes it harder to figure the distance of the drive...
I have a buddy that has one of those GPS golf things... The best part about it, imo, is that you can get as the crow flies distances of every shot if you want. We usually just use it for drives, I wish I had one it's pretty fun.

I'm really starting to doubt the markers on most of the courses I play.
I'm the smallest guy in my group but I will sometime take my 7 wood off the tee and be about 10 yards back of the "big hitters" in my group. So of course they all think I can routinely hit 300 or so at will. But truthfully, I just worry about carry now, because my driver will average around 250 because of rolling/flying/spinning/tourist attraction ride, left or right after it hits. When it rolls forward, is when it will actually 'get up there'. So I am comfortable saying I can 'carry' it 250 regularly, but I just don't know what's going to happen after that.
I really don't want to use the driver unless I'm hitting it well, but I find myself looking out at the distance and it just seems like it's "SO FAR AWAY" that I have to hit driver.
Then only to find that I could have hit a 5 iron to get to the same spot!
I try calculating "backwards" from the green, but then it just doesn't "look" right from the tee, so I talk myself out of it, and try to hit driver anyway.
dumb dumb dumb.

well..even if you dont know your average Driver Distance..you should know your average 3 or 4 iron distance...Right...So compare those.. I take my 4 iron between 190-200 3 iron 200-215 I "think" I can hit my driver 250 then with a little roll who knows...Probably only carry it 230-240 in the air..plus conditions..have it a few 300 yarders before..lol

Ok JC you got me wondering is it body size that matters then. For instance I am 6'2" 185lbs and I hit the ball on adverage 260 on a medium tempo 105mph swing. I am 13HC so I have a lot of room to improve. When I swing hard.,.... assuming it goes straight....I hit it 280-290. My 4 Iron distance is 205-210 off the deck. MY 7 Iron distance is 165. Is that normal?

Scott,

I am also 6'2" but weigh a little more. My distances are very comparable to yours but a bit higher. 300 with the driver when I really rip one good and straight, 7-iron about 170-175 carry, 4-iron about 215. Sounds reasonable to me.

I consider myself to be pretty lengthy off the tee, infact I hit 3wood 19* hybrid to a 525yard par 5 on the weekend.
During the same round I was going for the green in one on the 325yard par 4 14th, I brought my club back and started my downswing, and my shaft snapped in half, when I took it back to the shop, they told me that they have seen this once before, but the guy that did it competes in long drive contests.

So I would guess that my avg drive which is probably 290-300 is correct.
You can't tell by how far one hits an Iron.
This measurement is irrelevant, I would not class myself as a long Iron hitter.
I hit my 5Iron about 195 Carry.

My strength is off the Tee, I played a hole on the weekend that was a 415 yard par 4 I hit driver and a 3/4 PW.

But I can understand, because guys I play with always say you must have hit that drive 350yards, infact they said I was a Gorilla on the weekend, then offered me a Bananna.

For me its a matter of usually 235-250 average, with a bunch down around 220, and a few up 260-270. My longest was 294. Of course, i play an 8.5* driver, so i get a lot of roll (usually). My round this last friday (after a rainstorm) brought stuff more into perspective - no roll - was pulling the ball out of plugged lies 200 of the tee after a beautifully struck 1 iron. Typically it goes 215. so 15 yards lost. I didn't hit my driver all that well, but when it was in the fairway, it was only ever out at about 220. Playing in the rain brought a lot into perspective. I always outdrive my friends, but then again, one of them only ever hits it 170. He thinks he hits it 210, so my consistent 50+ yds down the fairway makes him think i hit it 280+. As mentioned earlier, distance is nothing without control. Just Look at Hank Kuehne

Is your real name Jason Zuback?

I have a 9.5 Srixon 403 with a Aldila NV 65 Stiff on loan from our rep and it ROCKS. I haven't been hitting much but even my mishits were well over 280. I hit it farther than the R7, R510TP, 983, 905, Launcher, etc...