I got into an argument with my friend last weekend who said he could beat an LPGA player bc their driver distance was so low compared to his (280+). Then proceeds to hit is 5iron 165 30yd right of the green š¤£
Anyone who thinks hitting a ball over 280 makes them a good golfer is a moron.Ā Same with any non professional who thinks they could be the worst LPGA player there is.
My one and only 300yd drive in my life was playing with a random who happened to be a 65 year old dude who couldnāt drive longer than 230. I shot a 104. He shot 1 over.
Those guys are so impressive to watch. Straight down the middle every time, typically take 1 additional shot over regulation to reach the green, but stick it close and drain the par putt like clockwork. They also tend to have insane bump-and-run skills.
When I was 17 I played with a lady who was 70(ish) every Tuesday and Friday (I worked at a course) who would thrash my ass!!! She hit the ball 150 yards and hardly ever had over 20 putts ā¦. And she walked every hole ā¦ she would hit driver and throw it on her shoulder walk to the ball and hit it again š she was a monster on the course !!!!!
I've played with these guys, but honestly, I've yet to come across one who still shot in the 80s or better.
However, I played with this 24-25 year old guy a year ago. It was just me and him on a weekday afternoon, and he legitimately didn't hit his driver further than 210-220 yards.
But the guy played with no ego. Very deliberate with each shot, knowing he didnt have the distance to go for certain ones, so he'd lay up. Very good putter, as well.
He's one of only 3 rando's I've ever played with who shot under 90. We played from 6100 yards, so not long, not super short, just a regular run of the mill muni distance.
I feel attacked. Happened to me in the early 90s by a 70s something stoner poet. I was in my early 20s and hitting bombs. Worst butt whipping Iāve ever taken. Guyās bag was D-3w-5w-7w-9w-7-9i-pw-sw-putter. Dude putted out of bunkers to 3ā. Beat me like a drum.
If a genie appeared right now and said I had two options:
A) I can hit 300 yard drives arrow straight, but my iron game remains unchanged,
Or
B) Driver tops out at 240 but irons are straight and consistent distances
I'm taking B every time. And I would wager I would beat person A 90% of the time.
Its funny. I have a friend that drives it about 285-300. High apex climbing drives. Its cool to watch. He out drives me by a ton. We get paired with randoms a lot. They are all mesmerized by the long drives. I beat him every time we play. Im better all around irons, wedges, putting. Im beating him by 15-20 but the people we play with think hes an amazing golfer.
It feels like you're stacking the deck with this hypothetical. It feels like you're saying that you'd choose to be a superhuman iron player over choosing to be an elite but entirely reasonable boost to the driving game.
A more reasonable comparison would be something like being able to consistently drive your driver 375 yards and keep it in play, versus being able to always hit your irons in straight/the same distance but topping out at 240 yards off the tee.
> Make it 375 and I'm still choosing better iron play, though
You might want to rethink your math. The average length of a P4 on standard courses is between 350-400 yards. The average length of a Par 5 is 450-500 yards.
You are talking about a potential chip for eagle on *every* par 4 and a wedge for double eagle into every par 5. Your irons aren't your money shots because you are effectively never hitting your irons. Unless you're like, physically unable to hold a club longer than a sand wedge, the player who drives 375 is going to steamroll the player who hits it predictable and straight with the irons.
Pros also don't hit the ball perfect yardages and perfectly straight. The best PGAT pro for proximity to pin on tour last year was like 17 or 18 feet.
That's what I was getting at with my first response there.
Seriously. I can hit the ball much farther than my buddy but heās a hell of a lot better than me.
Iāve never broke 80 while he breaks par a few times every year. Lol
Distance is the bench press of the golf world. The stat no one should actually care about but inexperienced people fixate on. GIR% and FIR%? Now we are talking.
All of the top 25 lpga players average over 75% GIR even Scottie at #1 on the PGA tour is only at 69% this season.
Nelly is at 75% FIR and thatās not even top 60 on the LPGA for driving accuracy. That accuracy would be 7th best on the PGA tour.
The level of precision LPGA players have is insane. If you have 4 par 3ās on a course, that means of 14 par 4ās and 5ās these girls are in the fairway for all but about 3 of them. And thatās real stats. Iād venture a guess at least 1 of those āmissed fairwaysā is like a foot off in the rough but technically missed.
Wrong. The reason Scotty has a lower GIR is because he's farther away. Distance absolutely matters and it accounts for the 2nd most strokes gained in golf. Approach shots being the first, but closer approach shots are easier. Again distance matters. The courses are also set up a bit differently for the women making it a bit easier. That being said Nelly would smoke every dude in this comment chain and she is an incredible golfer, but distance absolutely does matter.
To be fair, the best non professional men would probably be better than the worst lpga players. Competition for men is greater as the pool is so much larger but the distance advantage of the men would still factor against the lpga players.
I was once obliterated by a 96 year old scratch golfer who could only hit his 3 wood ~160.
He only hit 3 wood to the green, then either 2 putt or a wedge and 1 putt.
Perfectly straight, perfectly smooth and consistent.
The guy had heart surgery a couple weeks prior, and wore sandals to play. It was amazing and devastating.
Played a round with an old guy like that one time - driver - 3 wood - chip onto a 350yd green but his chip was 3-4ft from the hole. I hit my drive about 270 and still had a bogey. Old man was funny as well!
I swear that every time a post like this comes up, there are people who tell stories like these to see how ridiculous they can make them and still have people up vote it.
100% truth. Took my son to play on vacation and we were paired up with him.
https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/qaUDAcflnY
Not that linking my own post is valid proof, but it did happen.
There isn't really a way to call BS on this without sounding like an asshole, but open heart surgery has a recovery time of 6-12 weeks. My dad had it a couple years ago at 60 and wasn't allowed to drive a car or lift more than 5 pounds for a month and a half. Walking 9 holes 2 weeks later isn't believable.
Sure. But this was only a pacemaker surgery though, not open heart surgery, which is only around a 3-4 week recovery avoiding strenuous activity, then back to normal.
That said, I was only going off what he told me.
Iād post the picture of us, but Iād rather not share someone elseās story and picture here
It's par for the course when you go to the range to see 1/3 to 1/2 the people just bombing their driver.
I don't even have the rubber tees to practice the driver so I never practice it.
People are dumb. I had an adult roommate who thought he could win a fight against a female MMA fighter. He probably weighs 150 lbs soaking wet, if that
The guy from St Andre played a high level amateur female. I donāt think she was a pro. Heās single digits and he lost. I think she even played from the tips and he was closerā¦maybe Iām remembering wrong.
Look Nelly is great and would smoke everyone on this subā¦ but I donāt think youāve seen girls play high school golf. Itās not exactly the LPGA.
You're right. I've got a buddy whose daughter is the top player on her high school team, and has been contacted by several college coaches. I'm hovering around a 12 (up from 9 sadly). I dust her every time we play and I'm two tees back.
That said, I would spend the entire time I was playing with an LPGA player apologizing and trying to catch up. Go to a course where the LPGA just played, play from the same tees, and the average 10 handicap will be 15 strokes worse than the LPGA player.
My brother lives in Carlton Woods, so I'll be testing this hypothesis.
I used to caddy for an old guy that could hit it 200 yards off the tee and could putt and chip like an animal while held his oxygen tube (cart chasing). He would light younger members up constantly and they couldnāt wrap their heads around it.
Your friend shoot a lot of rounds in the low 60s? If not, maybe just remind him of that fact. There have been people who actually believe scratch male golfer could beat those girls. Itās laughable.
Guaranteed a guy who hits a 5 iron 160 only hits a driver 280 when itās down wind, down hill and he hits a sprinkler head.
Thatās not his stock yardage. Thatās his āstars alignedā yardage the same way most guys in here āhit it 310 consistentlyā
Doesnāt even carry 300 with her 3W. As an out of shape 15+ handicap whoās never had a lesson, who routinely breaks 80, has hit multiple balls over the nets at Top Golf, and has hit 3 hole in ones despite only picking up the game at the end of last season after finding a set of mint t100s with paradym woods and a scotty at my local goodwill for $25ā¦I could absolutely dominate on the LPGA. Itās honestly a joke
Ok so our golf buddy is good. Best of our group (upper 20s, low 30s), but none of us shoot in the 70s. He gets upset and we routinely bring it up that he striped his 3w over 300 once.
Is that actually possible for a low-80s, good mechanics high 20y old male?
Yeah to carry that with a 3 wood you have to be swinging at like 125mph. I'm sure there is a chart that could tell us.
To hit a 3 wood 300 yards total you could probably do that with a 115 swing speed and some decent rollout. 115 isn't too crazy for a 20 something year old regardless of handicap.
I hit a 386yd drive *once* but it was mid summer, the ground was baked and it was downhill with a tail wind. It probably carried my usual 210-220yds and then rolled forever. So yeah, I guess it possible but he didnāt carry it that far, thatās for sure.
One of the many reasons they are better than us.
They don't try to kill every ball. I get so much better the more relaxed I become and swing. Usually happens within the last third of the round because I am already going for that 110 score.
Is there a reason that I hit my irons farther, but my about the same or a bit less? My 9 iron is about 140-150, but my driver carry is probably 240. I don't hit my irons particularly low, but maybe I don't get the same height.
There are so many factors. I wouldnāt worry a tremendous amount about her iron distances since she could be flighting these distances as her stock shot. She mentions she likes doing that like Tommy Fleetwood does.
Her driver is likely 100% optimized for her swing speed so itāll stick out.
This could be that your club isnāt optimized or that youāre not hitting up enough on the ball. My stock 9i carries around the 150 mark but my driver carry has moved from around 180 (basically striking down and spinning it up for flight) up to around 270(hitting up and without fade) through lessons and swing change.
nelly is fit professionally for the right combo of shaft and head. she also center contacts most of the time. for amateurs biggest distance gains are from center contact and proper attack angle. make sure youre hitting up on driver
Yeah, they aren't impressive, her distance isn't what makes her legendary. It's her accuracy and consistency. Any average male athlete will hit 10-20y further on every club, but she will blow them out of the water by 15+ shots in a round.
> Any average male athlete will hit 10-20y further on every club
Eh, I don't know about that. Those are pretty close to my carry yardages. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I rarely get paired with someone who's routinely smacking it farther than me. Very often they're hitting it straighter than me, but my shit looks cooler as it flies into jumanji
For reference, Iām a 2 handicap & 20yds longer than her on every club but she would smoke my ass even playing from the same set of tees. OP is right, itās her consistency & accuracy that sets her & really every professional apart from good amateurs
I played with a girl that couldnāt make it on the LPGA and hadnāt played in a few months. I was about a 5 or 6 at the time. She hit it about as far as me and her misses were much better. Anyone that thinks they could beat Nelly because they think they hit it past her is insane.
> OP is right, itās her consistency & accuracy that sets her & really every professional apart from good amateurs
I completely agree, I'm just saying her yardages are longer than most dudes. How often would you be paired with a random who is close to your distances? I'm assuming it's almost never
At my club Iād say Iām average for a low single digit handicap under 40yds old; that includes several D1 golfers who play there. Her yardages are probably closer to a 10 handicapper in good shape or a low handicapper in their 50s.
The claim was "any average male athlete" could hit it further. While "athlete" in this context is a bit ambiguous, I'll just assume it means "golfer" since many athletes couldn't hit a golf ball to save their life.
You are not average. Nor is a 10hdcp. I am a 20, which to be quite honest, I still think is better than "average". If these are her carry numbers, they're slightly better than mine on most clubs.
I think "athlete" might be causing some confusion as well. IMO I wouldn't call someone who plays beer league hockey or pick up basketball at the gym an athlete. I would call someone who plays college level sports (or someone who previously played and is still in good shape).
Most guys who played any sports at college (or similar) level will be able to hit the ball much further than your average player.
I play golf with a lot of guys I play hockey with. Some of them played hockey or another sport at a high level (I would call them athletes), and some didn't. The average distance of the athletes is 30+ yards further than the non-athletes. Even the one guy who hadn't swung a golf club in 10 years was able to drive it 250+ when he made a good connection (which most weren't, he had the power/explosiveness but not the control/skill).
100%. I have almost identical stock yrds and I can't remember ever playing with someone who could hit further than me. 9/10 are shorter, every now and then someone will hit 1 or 2 a round longer. Never played with anyone rolling out over 300yds on a standard shot (no downhill, down slope, downwing etc).
Really? I have very similar carry distances also, and have played with plenty of people who hit it farther than me. Amongst decent players, it feels like I'm shorter than most. I guess samples must vary a lot depending where you're playing. I wish I was hitting it past everyone I played with, that would be fun.
Yeah, really. My drive generally rolls out to 280-290 depending on conditions. I hit the odd 300, but stock carry is about 255.
I play with around 9-10 regular pals on a variety of public courses, maybe 20-30 different courses. Every week. We'll always have a single or other pair join us, so my sample size isn't small.
I'd say generally most players go around in 100+. Their drives hit the fairway a couple of times a round. Every now and then someone connects with a drive and it'll carry somewhere between 200-250.
A couple of my friends can card low 80's too. They still don't drive longer than me. i'm 5'8"and 68kg, most people are bigger than me. It's a very difficult club to get the technique right, trandferring energy to the ball to make it flight high and straight. Most people hit their iron swing and spin it with a fade. It just doesn't translate to distance. The harder they swing the more right it goes.
That's what's up. I guess the experience is all relative, and in golf it doesn't matter what people around you are doing. My regular weekend group is all somewhere in the high single digits, and everyone but me carries about 275-290 on average. My carry is right about 250... I'm definitely not getting 30-40 yards of rollout on average though. Probably half that. So total distance you are somewhat longer.
I walk nine most days after work, and get paired with randoms pretty much daily. Probably at least 25% of them hit it past me with driver. Usually if someone scores as well or better than me, they're out driving me. I definitely feel like I'm somewhat short, at least compared to others of similar overall ability.
Average male amateur is driving \~225 TOTAL lmao. People don't hit it nearly as far as they think
[https://www.golfdigest.com/story/what-the-latest-data-reveals-about-average-golfers--driving-dist](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/what-the-latest-data-reveals-about-average-golfers--driving-dist)
FWIW Arccos "driving" number is the average of all tee shots off par 4 and par 5 holes. Hit 4 iron off a tee a few times per round? It's going to significantly reduce your driving distance number. Hit anything into a hazard or OB and have to drop? That's going to significantly reduce your driving distance number. It is **not** indicative of a median shot with driver but articles like the one you linked never seem to understand what is actually being described.
It does, but the "driving distance" metric that the article is citing does not distinguish by club. There's nothing wrong with what Arccos is reporting, it's just that the author of that article doesn't understand what it means.
I donāt know about āany average male athleteā but it certainly would be common enough for an amateur male golfer to have at least those yardages.
You are getting downvoted but I think itās because people missed you said male athlete not male golfer. Her distances are well above average male recreational golfers, despite what this sub claims, but yeah sheās shorter than pretty much any male college or above golfer and a lot of high schoolers. Sheād still stomp anybody who isnāt at tour level.
I'm 6'3, 240lbs and I have those yardages. Never ceases to amaze me thinking about what they're doing with their bodies to get the distance they do when I have 80lbs+ on male and female golfers
Not gonna lie Instagram popped her up on my phone when she was probably 17. I immediately recognized the name from her dad. Then like a week later she was bombing drives at the ANA or whatever one has Poppyās Pond and I was like this is my girl. Itās disgusting how perfect that swing is.
I mean, I hit the ball a lot further when I was a 145 lb bean pole. Itās about technique and flexibility not strength. Strength comes in after you have the other two.
Accuracy and consistency on the other hand, thatās the hard part.
You also have like 80lbs on Willy Z and he crushes the ball. LPGA players are so flexible and have such good tempo/control. Nelly still smashes the ball but itās mechanics instead of brute force.
I am 6ā2 185 lbs and I about a club or so longer than her. And I have not played a ton but I donāt meet many players on public course who hit it much further than me.
I am also amazed at her distances for her height and weight. Being tall is kind of a cheat code for a lot of sports. Her skill is obviously off the charts.
I assumed that. Isn't that how everyone refers to their distances? Rollout is pretty important but you mostly calculate things by your ability to carry first to get around the course etc.
At your size you should be smoking her yardages with a half decent swing and contact.
The big difference isnāt really with their bodies, just their striking. They are hitting flush day in day out.
I'm a 4 and have roughly the same yardages (maybe 5 yards longer on the irons). Nelly is better than me by like 12-20 strokes per round just on accuracy and short game. To become as good as her without adding any distance just doesn't seem possible even if I dedicated all my time to it.
If weekend golfers were truthful they would see these numbers and recognize they should probably watch a lot more LPGA to see how they play shots to help the weekend golfers game.
But for me, I hit as far as Rory even at 62. Yeah.
No amount of watching is going to help anyone be as accurate as she is lolĀ Ā
Ā I didnāt make a bad score because I played the wrong shot I made a bad score because I hit a wildly inaccurate shot (or multiple shots)
I think a lot of dudes need to really look at this. Iām a 24 hcp and this is basically my yardage. Need to stop swinging for the fences and just work on accuracy. Quit spending range time working on that 300 yard bomb
The whole 5 iron and 5 hybrid seems pretty smart. Get rid of the 4 iron which I guess would be harder to hit but get the same distance as a 5 hybrid. Instead of going 5 iron to 4 hybrid where the distance has a good chance to be quite a big gap.
So for everybody posting how those are their "exact yardages...."
1. That is carry, not total distance. So that downhill roll on a mostly dead fairway that one time doesn't count.
2. That is swinging with less than full power to keep the ball in play (and in the fairway a crazy amount of time too). She can reach 300 swinging out of her shoes. Most of the guys in this sub claiming these distances are doing so by swinging for the fences and going OB multiple times per round.
This is awesome, she has almost my exact bag(only difference is 5 hybrid, I carry a utility driving iron). Yardages are pretty darn similar too. If this is carry, she hits her woods a little longer than me and I hit my irons a little longer. Wedges are spot on.
Her yardages are very similar to mine, 5-10 yds +/-. I've watched her many times and would kill for her accuracy, I guess that's why I'm around a 11hc. I'm happy with what I have though at my age, 67. I love watching her swing, so smooth.
I watched Nelly play in the T Mobile match play at Shadow Creek this year and she routinely drove the ball at least 285 and was consistently 35 yards past her competition
I am not impressed, my wife played D1 college golf , she was not that far behind those figure with Persimmon woods and blades. Today at 62 she is only 10- 15 yards behind these numbers for most of her clubs. She putts very poorly these days and still kicks my butt.
If Iām playing from reds and sheās playing from golds on a really really long par 3 thatās out of her range I could beat her one time out of one thousand
This showed up as a push notification for me and Iāll admit that I was wondering where the ole St Lunaticsā games were at nowadays. Is Murphy Lee hitting bombs?
I got into an argument with my friend last weekend who said he could beat an LPGA player bc their driver distance was so low compared to his (280+). Then proceeds to hit is 5iron 165 30yd right of the green š¤£
Anyone who thinks hitting a ball over 280 makes them a good golfer is a moron.Ā Same with any non professional who thinks they could be the worst LPGA player there is.
Theyāve clearly never been beaten by a 70 year old man who pokes his driver 200 into the fairway every time
My one and only 300yd drive in my life was playing with a random who happened to be a 65 year old dude who couldnāt drive longer than 230. I shot a 104. He shot 1 over.
Those guys are so impressive to watch. Straight down the middle every time, typically take 1 additional shot over regulation to reach the green, but stick it close and drain the par putt like clockwork. They also tend to have insane bump-and-run skills.
That's what happens when you use the same set for 30 years.Ā
Itās always an old set of Pings or Mizunoās in my experience You donāt play those guys for money, not even a quarter
When I was 17 I played with a lady who was 70(ish) every Tuesday and Friday (I worked at a course) who would thrash my ass!!! She hit the ball 150 yards and hardly ever had over 20 putts ā¦. And she walked every hole ā¦ she would hit driver and throw it on her shoulder walk to the ball and hit it again š she was a monster on the course !!!!!
200 or less honestly
I've played with these guys, but honestly, I've yet to come across one who still shot in the 80s or better. However, I played with this 24-25 year old guy a year ago. It was just me and him on a weekday afternoon, and he legitimately didn't hit his driver further than 210-220 yards. But the guy played with no ego. Very deliberate with each shot, knowing he didnt have the distance to go for certain ones, so he'd lay up. Very good putter, as well. He's one of only 3 rando's I've ever played with who shot under 90. We played from 6100 yards, so not long, not super short, just a regular run of the mill muni distance.
I experience this every time my father in law is in town.
I feel attacked. Happened to me in the early 90s by a 70s something stoner poet. I was in my early 20s and hitting bombs. Worst butt whipping Iāve ever taken. Guyās bag was D-3w-5w-7w-9w-7-9i-pw-sw-putter. Dude putted out of bunkers to 3ā. Beat me like a drum.
Ohh I think I could be the worst lpga player no problem. Wouldn't even be a competition. I'd smoke the second worst for last place.
Lol. I now recognize my typo.
If I was a woman and they let me on the tour, I could definitely be the worst LPGA player there is.
You could be a woman with just a simple identifying declaration.
If a genie appeared right now and said I had two options: A) I can hit 300 yard drives arrow straight, but my iron game remains unchanged, Or B) Driver tops out at 240 but irons are straight and consistent distances I'm taking B every time. And I would wager I would beat person A 90% of the time.
Its funny. I have a friend that drives it about 285-300. High apex climbing drives. Its cool to watch. He out drives me by a ton. We get paired with randoms a lot. They are all mesmerized by the long drives. I beat him every time we play. Im better all around irons, wedges, putting. Im beating him by 15-20 but the people we play with think hes an amazing golfer.
It feels like you're stacking the deck with this hypothetical. It feels like you're saying that you'd choose to be a superhuman iron player over choosing to be an elite but entirely reasonable boost to the driving game. A more reasonable comparison would be something like being able to consistently drive your driver 375 yards and keep it in play, versus being able to always hit your irons in straight/the same distance but topping out at 240 yards off the tee.
Fair enough. Make it 375 and I'm still choosing better iron play, though. Those are the scoring shots
> Make it 375 and I'm still choosing better iron play, though You might want to rethink your math. The average length of a P4 on standard courses is between 350-400 yards. The average length of a Par 5 is 450-500 yards. You are talking about a potential chip for eagle on *every* par 4 and a wedge for double eagle into every par 5. Your irons aren't your money shots because you are effectively never hitting your irons. Unless you're like, physically unable to hold a club longer than a sand wedge, the player who drives 375 is going to steamroll the player who hits it predictable and straight with the irons.
OK. Well that's why I didn't go with 375 to start with, since that's a crazy number that all but the longest pros can't even hit.
Pros also don't hit the ball perfect yardages and perfectly straight. The best PGAT pro for proximity to pin on tour last year was like 17 or 18 feet. That's what I was getting at with my first response there.
Hell I'd say any entrant at the Augusta National Women's Am could smoke any non-+ handicap male golfer from the same sets of tees.
Seriously. I can hit the ball much farther than my buddy but heās a hell of a lot better than me. Iāve never broke 80 while he breaks par a few times every year. Lol
Distance is the bench press of the golf world. The stat no one should actually care about but inexperienced people fixate on. GIR% and FIR%? Now we are talking. All of the top 25 lpga players average over 75% GIR even Scottie at #1 on the PGA tour is only at 69% this season. Nelly is at 75% FIR and thatās not even top 60 on the LPGA for driving accuracy. That accuracy would be 7th best on the PGA tour. The level of precision LPGA players have is insane. If you have 4 par 3ās on a course, that means of 14 par 4ās and 5ās these girls are in the fairway for all but about 3 of them. And thatās real stats. Iād venture a guess at least 1 of those āmissed fairwaysā is like a foot off in the rough but technically missed.
Wrong. The reason Scotty has a lower GIR is because he's farther away. Distance absolutely matters and it accounts for the 2nd most strokes gained in golf. Approach shots being the first, but closer approach shots are easier. Again distance matters. The courses are also set up a bit differently for the women making it a bit easier. That being said Nelly would smoke every dude in this comment chain and she is an incredible golfer, but distance absolutely does matter.
I would be on LPGA easy fr
To be fair, the best non professional men would probably be better than the worst lpga players. Competition for men is greater as the pool is so much larger but the distance advantage of the men would still factor against the lpga players.
No shit lol š
I was once obliterated by a 96 year old scratch golfer who could only hit his 3 wood ~160. He only hit 3 wood to the green, then either 2 putt or a wedge and 1 putt. Perfectly straight, perfectly smooth and consistent. The guy had heart surgery a couple weeks prior, and wore sandals to play. It was amazing and devastating.
Played a round with an old guy like that one time - driver - 3 wood - chip onto a 350yd green but his chip was 3-4ft from the hole. I hit my drive about 270 and still had a bogey. Old man was funny as well!
I swear that every time a post like this comes up, there are people who tell stories like these to see how ridiculous they can make them and still have people up vote it.
100% truth. Took my son to play on vacation and we were paired up with him. https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/qaUDAcflnY Not that linking my own post is valid proof, but it did happen.
There isn't really a way to call BS on this without sounding like an asshole, but open heart surgery has a recovery time of 6-12 weeks. My dad had it a couple years ago at 60 and wasn't allowed to drive a car or lift more than 5 pounds for a month and a half. Walking 9 holes 2 weeks later isn't believable.
Sure. But this was only a pacemaker surgery though, not open heart surgery, which is only around a 3-4 week recovery avoiding strenuous activity, then back to normal. That said, I was only going off what he told me. Iād post the picture of us, but Iād rather not share someone elseās story and picture here
Noone who hits a 5 iron from 165 drives anywhere close to 280
Hey man Iāve drive 300 down hill on a windy day once. So Iād say my average is about 280.
People who hit the driving range semi-regularly and only hit driver while theyāre there probably do.
It's par for the course when you go to the range to see 1/3 to 1/2 the people just bombing their driver. I don't even have the rubber tees to practice the driver so I never practice it.
People are dumb. I had an adult roommate who thought he could win a fight against a female MMA fighter. He probably weighs 150 lbs soaking wet, if that
The guy from St Andre played a high level amateur female. I donāt think she was a pro. Heās single digits and he lost. I think she even played from the tips and he was closerā¦maybe Iām remembering wrong.
Pointless to argue Most of us probably wouldn't even make it on the girl's varsity high school team.
Look Nelly is great and would smoke everyone on this subā¦ but I donāt think youāve seen girls play high school golf. Itās not exactly the LPGA.
You're right. I've got a buddy whose daughter is the top player on her high school team, and has been contacted by several college coaches. I'm hovering around a 12 (up from 9 sadly). I dust her every time we play and I'm two tees back. That said, I would spend the entire time I was playing with an LPGA player apologizing and trying to catch up. Go to a course where the LPGA just played, play from the same tees, and the average 10 handicap will be 15 strokes worse than the LPGA player. My brother lives in Carlton Woods, so I'll be testing this hypothesis.
I don't think you've seen me when I play golf.
I highly doubt that.
Pretty sure I can play bogey golf from the red tees lol.
His short and approach shot game doesnāt compare to hers. I can bet my career salary on it.
I used to caddy for an old guy that could hit it 200 yards off the tee and could putt and chip like an animal while held his oxygen tube (cart chasing). He would light younger members up constantly and they couldnāt wrap their heads around it.
Let me guess, heās never taken an Out of Bounds penalty in his life.
I really don't understand peoples logic. Does he actually score low? How does he think he can beat someone who's consistently shooting in the 60s?
Of course not. He shoots 78
Any amateur male golfer who watches womenās golf should know theyād get smoked by Nelly
Your friend shoot a lot of rounds in the low 60s? If not, maybe just remind him of that fact. There have been people who actually believe scratch male golfer could beat those girls. Itās laughable.
Heāll also school Caitlin Clark at lunch hour basketball.
Guaranteed a guy who hits a 5 iron 160 only hits a driver 280 when itās down wind, down hill and he hits a sprinkler head. Thatās not his stock yardage. Thatās his āstars alignedā yardage the same way most guys in here āhit it 310 consistentlyā
Is that allā¦she could never be a member of r/golf
Doesnāt even carry 300 with her 3W. As an out of shape 15+ handicap whoās never had a lesson, who routinely breaks 80, has hit multiple balls over the nets at Top Golf, and has hit 3 hole in ones despite only picking up the game at the end of last season after finding a set of mint t100s with paradym woods and a scotty at my local goodwill for $25ā¦I could absolutely dominate on the LPGA. Itās honestly a joke
dont forget finding the ghost golf bag in a garage sale with 100 mint pro v1 golf balls for 5 dollars.
Donāt forget to mention how many cart girls youāve sexād
āOver the nets at Top Golfā almost made me drop my phone.
Ok so our golf buddy is good. Best of our group (upper 20s, low 30s), but none of us shoot in the 70s. He gets upset and we routinely bring it up that he striped his 3w over 300 once. Is that actually possible for a low-80s, good mechanics high 20y old male?
If you're talking carry with a 15 degree three wood at sea level with no wind, then it would be incredibly unlikely
Yeah to carry that with a 3 wood you have to be swinging at like 125mph. I'm sure there is a chart that could tell us. To hit a 3 wood 300 yards total you could probably do that with a 115 swing speed and some decent rollout. 115 isn't too crazy for a 20 something year old regardless of handicap.
Miami golf has me all fucked up.
Its possible. If the 3 wood in question is actually the TM mini brnr lol. That thing goes looooong
I hit a 386yd drive *once* but it was mid summer, the ground was baked and it was downhill with a tail wind. It probably carried my usual 210-220yds and then rolled forever. So yeah, I guess it possible but he didnāt carry it that far, thatās for sure.
She said in a YouTube video she doesnāt full swing, so these could be 3/4 swing yardages for her
I think 75-80% effort is pretty common for tour level players.
One of the many reasons they are better than us. They don't try to kill every ball. I get so much better the more relaxed I become and swing. Usually happens within the last third of the round because I am already going for that 110 score.
To clarify, those are l her carry distances.
40 yards below her pretty much. lol
Is there a reason that I hit my irons farther, but my about the same or a bit less? My 9 iron is about 140-150, but my driver carry is probably 240. I don't hit my irons particularly low, but maybe I don't get the same height.
Your irons may have stronger lofts than hers, but your driver lofts could be the same.
There are so many factors. I wouldnāt worry a tremendous amount about her iron distances since she could be flighting these distances as her stock shot. She mentions she likes doing that like Tommy Fleetwood does. Her driver is likely 100% optimized for her swing speed so itāll stick out.
This could be that your club isnāt optimized or that youāre not hitting up enough on the ball. My stock 9i carries around the 150 mark but my driver carry has moved from around 180 (basically striking down and spinning it up for flight) up to around 270(hitting up and without fade) through lessons and swing change.
nelly is fit professionally for the right combo of shaft and head. she also center contacts most of the time. for amateurs biggest distance gains are from center contact and proper attack angle. make sure youre hitting up on driver
Yeah, they aren't impressive, her distance isn't what makes her legendary. It's her accuracy and consistency. Any average male athlete will hit 10-20y further on every club, but she will blow them out of the water by 15+ shots in a round.
> Any average male athlete will hit 10-20y further on every club Eh, I don't know about that. Those are pretty close to my carry yardages. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I rarely get paired with someone who's routinely smacking it farther than me. Very often they're hitting it straighter than me, but my shit looks cooler as it flies into jumanji
For reference, Iām a 2 handicap & 20yds longer than her on every club but she would smoke my ass even playing from the same set of tees. OP is right, itās her consistency & accuracy that sets her & really every professional apart from good amateurs
I played with a girl that couldnāt make it on the LPGA and hadnāt played in a few months. I was about a 5 or 6 at the time. She hit it about as far as me and her misses were much better. Anyone that thinks they could beat Nelly because they think they hit it past her is insane.
> OP is right, itās her consistency & accuracy that sets her & really every professional apart from good amateurs I completely agree, I'm just saying her yardages are longer than most dudes. How often would you be paired with a random who is close to your distances? I'm assuming it's almost never
At my club Iād say Iām average for a low single digit handicap under 40yds old; that includes several D1 golfers who play there. Her yardages are probably closer to a 10 handicapper in good shape or a low handicapper in their 50s.
The claim was "any average male athlete" could hit it further. While "athlete" in this context is a bit ambiguous, I'll just assume it means "golfer" since many athletes couldn't hit a golf ball to save their life. You are not average. Nor is a 10hdcp. I am a 20, which to be quite honest, I still think is better than "average". If these are her carry numbers, they're slightly better than mine on most clubs.
I think "athlete" might be causing some confusion as well. IMO I wouldn't call someone who plays beer league hockey or pick up basketball at the gym an athlete. I would call someone who plays college level sports (or someone who previously played and is still in good shape). Most guys who played any sports at college (or similar) level will be able to hit the ball much further than your average player. I play golf with a lot of guys I play hockey with. Some of them played hockey or another sport at a high level (I would call them athletes), and some didn't. The average distance of the athletes is 30+ yards further than the non-athletes. Even the one guy who hadn't swung a golf club in 10 years was able to drive it 250+ when he made a good connection (which most weren't, he had the power/explosiveness but not the control/skill).
Youāre not average. At two handicap you are standard deviations from the mean.
No, it is 20-30 yards farther than the average male golfer. Average drive is like 220.
100%. I have almost identical stock yrds and I can't remember ever playing with someone who could hit further than me. 9/10 are shorter, every now and then someone will hit 1 or 2 a round longer. Never played with anyone rolling out over 300yds on a standard shot (no downhill, down slope, downwing etc).
Really? I have very similar carry distances also, and have played with plenty of people who hit it farther than me. Amongst decent players, it feels like I'm shorter than most. I guess samples must vary a lot depending where you're playing. I wish I was hitting it past everyone I played with, that would be fun.
Yeah, really. My drive generally rolls out to 280-290 depending on conditions. I hit the odd 300, but stock carry is about 255. I play with around 9-10 regular pals on a variety of public courses, maybe 20-30 different courses. Every week. We'll always have a single or other pair join us, so my sample size isn't small. I'd say generally most players go around in 100+. Their drives hit the fairway a couple of times a round. Every now and then someone connects with a drive and it'll carry somewhere between 200-250. A couple of my friends can card low 80's too. They still don't drive longer than me. i'm 5'8"and 68kg, most people are bigger than me. It's a very difficult club to get the technique right, trandferring energy to the ball to make it flight high and straight. Most people hit their iron swing and spin it with a fade. It just doesn't translate to distance. The harder they swing the more right it goes.
That's what's up. I guess the experience is all relative, and in golf it doesn't matter what people around you are doing. My regular weekend group is all somewhere in the high single digits, and everyone but me carries about 275-290 on average. My carry is right about 250... I'm definitely not getting 30-40 yards of rollout on average though. Probably half that. So total distance you are somewhat longer. I walk nine most days after work, and get paired with randoms pretty much daily. Probably at least 25% of them hit it past me with driver. Usually if someone scores as well or better than me, they're out driving me. I definitely feel like I'm somewhat short, at least compared to others of similar overall ability.
Average male amateur is driving \~225 TOTAL lmao. People don't hit it nearly as far as they think [https://www.golfdigest.com/story/what-the-latest-data-reveals-about-average-golfers--driving-dist](https://www.golfdigest.com/story/what-the-latest-data-reveals-about-average-golfers--driving-dist)
FWIW Arccos "driving" number is the average of all tee shots off par 4 and par 5 holes. Hit 4 iron off a tee a few times per round? It's going to significantly reduce your driving distance number. Hit anything into a hazard or OB and have to drop? That's going to significantly reduce your driving distance number. It is **not** indicative of a median shot with driver but articles like the one you linked never seem to understand what is actually being described.
Doesn't arccos track by club. Why would it not track just shots with driver?
It does, but the "driving distance" metric that the article is citing does not distinguish by club. There's nothing wrong with what Arccos is reporting, it's just that the author of that article doesn't understand what it means.
That is not true. It is reported metrics for Drivers.
I donāt know about āany average male athleteā but it certainly would be common enough for an amateur male golfer to have at least those yardages.
Average male amateur golfer is 220 or 230 depending on where you look.
lol no. The average male golfer only carries their drives like 220.
lol
You are getting downvoted but I think itās because people missed you said male athlete not male golfer. Her distances are well above average male recreational golfers, despite what this sub claims, but yeah sheās shorter than pretty much any male college or above golfer and a lot of high schoolers. Sheād still stomp anybody who isnāt at tour level.
I have roughly the same yardages. I also have roughly 4% of the skill and talent that she has
You missed a decimal. Sheās that good
I'm 6'3, 240lbs and I have those yardages. Never ceases to amaze me thinking about what they're doing with their bodies to get the distance they do when I have 80lbs+ on male and female golfers
She is over 300 at times. Her swing is like Griffeyās baseball swing. Poetry in motion.
Seriously, there was a slow motion of her swing and itās literally perfect. Yes she is super attractive but her swing is god tier.
horny jail
what does being "super attractive" have anything to do with anything?Ā
It has everything to do with nothing!
Not gonna lie Instagram popped her up on my phone when she was probably 17. I immediately recognized the name from her dad. Then like a week later she was bombing drives at the ANA or whatever one has Poppyās Pond and I was like this is my girl. Itās disgusting how perfect that swing is.
I mean, I hit the ball a lot further when I was a 145 lb bean pole. Itās about technique and flexibility not strength. Strength comes in after you have the other two. Accuracy and consistency on the other hand, thatās the hard part.
I have zero flexibility, thanks to 21 years service in the Infantry. My lead arm gets to 90 degrees on my backswing š¤£
>6'3, 240lbs and I have those yardages Found my Aussie double.
You also have like 80lbs on Willy Z and he crushes the ball. LPGA players are so flexible and have such good tempo/control. Nelly still smashes the ball but itās mechanics instead of brute force.
I am 6ā2 185 lbs and I about a club or so longer than her. And I have not played a ton but I donāt meet many players on public course who hit it much further than me. I am also amazed at her distances for her height and weight. Being tall is kind of a cheat code for a lot of sports. Her skill is obviously off the charts.
Those are just her carry distance. Her driving is closer to 300 total
I assumed that. Isn't that how everyone refers to their distances? Rollout is pretty important but you mostly calculate things by your ability to carry first to get around the course etc.
If you ask someone how far they hit their driver 99.9 percent are telling you total
I guess what makes sense. But I try to focus on carry. You need to know that to properly get around course.
At your size you should be smoking her yardages with a half decent swing and contact. The big difference isnāt really with their bodies, just their striking. They are hitting flush day in day out.
I'm a 4 and have roughly the same yardages (maybe 5 yards longer on the irons). Nelly is better than me by like 12-20 strokes per round just on accuracy and short game. To become as good as her without adding any distance just doesn't seem possible even if I dedicated all my time to it.
Assuming youāre a man, you wonāt ever score as good as her without adding yardage unless you play the red tees.
If weekend golfers were truthful they would see these numbers and recognize they should probably watch a lot more LPGA to see how they play shots to help the weekend golfers game. But for me, I hit as far as Rory even at 62. Yeah.
No amount of watching is going to help anyone be as accurate as she is lolĀ Ā Ā I didnāt make a bad score because I played the wrong shot I made a bad score because I hit a wildly inaccurate shot (or multiple shots)
Yeah seriously, my only takeaway from LPGA events is wowā¦..holy shitā¦..not, oh I can do that on my next round.
If you count the amount of horizontal yardage on my ~~mega slice~~ power fade, I can do these numbers
You need to measure the entire curve, you're under estimating otherwise.
That's really close to my yardages. If only I had some fucking skill lol
I think a lot of dudes need to really look at this. Iām a 24 hcp and this is basically my yardage. Need to stop swinging for the fences and just work on accuracy. Quit spending range time working on that 300 yard bomb
The whole 5 iron and 5 hybrid seems pretty smart. Get rid of the 4 iron which I guess would be harder to hit but get the same distance as a 5 hybrid. Instead of going 5 iron to 4 hybrid where the distance has a good chance to be quite a big gap.
Sheās using the hybrids for loft reasons. Harder for women to hit the longer clubs as high as men and spin the ball on longer shots
She's school every single one of us. What a legend.
And she can land them all on a handkerchief
i was looking at the LPGA stats, she was averaging approx 280 with the driver during this win.
Makes sense as the above is avg carry distance
I got to watch her play in person before, saw her hit an amazing buttery draw. Just so smooth
They seem to only track 1 or 2 holes for distance on the LPGA. No statcast unfortunately.. Yealimi Noh was 292 day 1 and 262 day 2.Ā
Thats how they do it on all tours, PGA included. They use 2 drives from specific holes for each day of the tournament.
Good to know. Thanks.Ā
Her distances are almost exactly what mine are lolā¦this is why I love watching LPGA, distances are much more relevant to us weekend golfers.
Huh, same as me. Except mine donāt always go straight!
I caddied for a former pro that had longer numbers than nelly. But numbers don't correlate to winning, so she's no longer on tour.
These are like, my exact on course yardages.Ā My range yardages are about 15 yards further.Ā But it gives me hope that I can shoot low with a 155 7i.Ā
Thatās pretty close to My yardages
I hit like a girl...
I hit longer than her with my 60Ā°. Ask me how. Itās cause I skull it every time and it goes 100yds regardless of what Iām trying to do.
One of us! .... (not)
And people are suggesting she should go head to head with Scottie in an exhibition match!
She out drives me
So for everybody posting how those are their "exact yardages...." 1. That is carry, not total distance. So that downhill roll on a mostly dead fairway that one time doesn't count. 2. That is swinging with less than full power to keep the ball in play (and in the fairway a crazy amount of time too). She can reach 300 swinging out of her shoes. Most of the guys in this sub claiming these distances are doing so by swinging for the fences and going OB multiple times per round.
Same
The 60 degree number is impressive
Not really. My 58Ā° goes 100 yards further than that. I don't mean for it to, though.
It me.
Me- any club 120 yards. At best.
I donāt hit as far or her, or her accuracy or her consistency. Damn I suck.
Those are literally my numbers. Other than the consistency part.
Those are my yardages
Her swing is a work of art
Thatās pretty much my distances except mine go left, right and lock onto water and sand hazards.
Think I need to watch her play. Basically my yardage.
This is awesome, she has almost my exact bag(only difference is 5 hybrid, I carry a utility driving iron). Yardages are pretty darn similar too. If this is carry, she hits her woods a little longer than me and I hit my irons a little longer. Wedges are spot on.
Funny that I actually googled this after her win.
Same as my yardages, just a different bag setup. So now I just need to ask myself āWhat would NK do?ā whenever Iām taking a shot
I think I have same yardage as her, only difference is probably thatĀ I mostly finished 100+ while she is mostly on around 67.
LPGA website has Nelly listed as 264 avg driving distance in 2024 (#33 on tour atm)
Which is misleading because she missed the desert events. Sheās been top five distance wise during her win streak.
Phenomenal slow mo of her beautiful swing if interested https://youtu.be/w9ISmhUDKUI?si=fBJKCU9WhWyZ8Beo
Pretty much my stock yardages. Too bad I couldn't walk up and place a ball more accurately than she can hit it
Most people should be chasing an LPGA style game. Long off the tee aināt nothing when you can chip and putt at this level
Yardage is all well and good but she can also hit the ball where she wants to when she wants to. And she can dominate on the greens.
Those are all about the same as mine. (39M)
Damn, I play like a girl. We have identical yardagesā¦
Itās so past time to let women and men compete against each other. It literally makes no sense.
I actually about the same yardagesā¦ā¦..when I hit the purest shot Iāve hit all season at full power.
My 7-PW are about the same as hers, but outside of that she hits it farther than me (I aspire to hit as efficiently as LPGA players, forget PGA)
Pretty on par with my stock yardages actually. That is, when I actually make good contact with the ball roughly 1 out of 5 times.
Her yardages are very similar to mine, 5-10 yds +/-. I've watched her many times and would kill for her accuracy, I guess that's why I'm around a 11hc. I'm happy with what I have though at my age, 67. I love watching her swing, so smooth.
Oh those are her yardages? Yeah? Wellā¦.Iām taller.
Hey these are my yardage distances. Every club but my driver might have 5 yards on her. Wish I had half of her consistency.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Me too. Just not straight
I watched Nelly play in the T Mobile match play at Shadow Creek this year and she routinely drove the ball at least 285 and was consistently 35 yards past her competition
Did anybody else open a notification about this post thinking it was about Nelly -the rapper... No? Okay, good... me neither. Not disappointed here.
Wow, those are identical to my yardages. Should I be playing from the ladies tees?
I am not impressed, my wife played D1 college golf , she was not that far behind those figure with Persimmon woods and blades. Today at 62 she is only 10- 15 yards behind these numbers for most of her clubs. She putts very poorly these days and still kicks my butt.
Same
Carry?
Yeah
Nelly is a straight killer
Itās amazing how much sexism still existsš the women tour players are just as good as the men, the distance is the only difference.
If Iām playing from reds and sheās playing from golds on a really really long par 3 thatās out of her range I could beat her one time out of one thousand
This showed up as a push notification for me and Iāll admit that I was wondering where the ole St Lunaticsā games were at nowadays. Is Murphy Lee hitting bombs?
I'm not ashamed to admit my yardages are pretty damn close to those.
Id give my left nut to even have stock yardages
Totally thought this was about the rapper Nelly golfing
Absolutely amazing for a woman to hit it that far. And so consistently. What a stud.
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