How Far Do You Need to Hit a Golf Ball?

Let's agree right off that distance in golf is good. The more the better. I like being able to hit into a 395-yard par 4 with a driver and a 6-iron, and if there was a way that I could do it with driver, 8-iron, I would be on it in a second. More distance makes the game that much easier to play. However.

Not everyone is a long hitter. I saw Alvaro Quiros on TV once, telling us what things he does to hit the ball as far as he does. They were all good ideas, but he left one out - be Alvaro Quiros.

I try to optimize the titles of my posts to attract readership, whenever I can. My most popular posts all have the words "distance" and something else like "driver" or "irons" or "7-iron" in the title. The title of this post, with the keywords "far" and "golf" in it, will attract readers like bees to honey. Everyone is looking for a way to hit the ball farther, because that will make shooting a lower score easier, all things being equal.



I would ask you though, is the distance you're getting right now good enough? Here's the way I look at it. I average 36-37 shots with a full swing per round. Since I normally pitch into par 5s from under 100 yards, those full swings include a few flubs that lead to an extra shot of that kind. I accept that. That's being a recreational golfer.

But still, I get the ball up to the green in a hurry, but not always on the green in a hurry. My handicap is reflected on my short game. If you added the number of full shots I take to the number of putts I take, that would add up to a few strokes under par. It's the extra short shots that I have to hit because of an errant full shot, and not getting the up and down, that puts my handicap where it is.

You could say that only means I should get better at the short game, but we're talking about distance here. I'm getting the ball to the green in regulation, but not on the green. Distance is not the problem. Accuracy is. I play from the right set of tees, so I'm hitting a fair number of short irons into greens. What I need to learn how to do is hit the ball straighter. I have the talent to do that. I'm not so sure that I can learn how to hit the ball significantly farther, and that would still leave the issue of accuracy unmet.

My pro once told me, "If you can hit your driver 225 yards and your 9-iron 125, you can play." I think most of us can do that. I also think that if you learn to hit those two shots and everything in between straight, you will play much better. The pursuit of unobtainable distance has driven more than one touring pro out of the sport, and it could drive your game into the ground as well.

I believe that if you're getting to the green on time right now, your work should be on hitting the ball straighter, not farther. And here's the good news. By hitting the ball straighter, you're going to be making cleaner, centered contact, which will give you more distance without any more effort on your part. How about that?