Long Drivers

Status
Not open for further replies.
birdie_man

birdie_man

New
Are there any tour players who could compete with the long drivers?

What do you guys think? Give Tiger, Kuehne, Daly, etc. a 50" (or w/e the length is) driver...would they have a chance?

The winner of the Remax World Championships hit it 377 this year.
 
I

Iowagolfpr

New
quote:Originally posted by birdie_man

Are there any tour players who could compete with the long drivers?

What do you guys think? Give Tiger, Kuehne, Daly, etc. a 50" (or w/e the length is) driver...would they have a chance?

The winner of the Remax World Championships hit it 377 this year.
Click to expand...
In my experience the answer is no. John Daly has appeared at the RxMax World Championships in conjuction with a promotion that allowed amatures to compete against him. He was hitting drives at the same time and place as the regular long drive tour members. John hit it max around 350. A long driver who I help played a round of golf with Hank Kuehne. Hank was 20 yards behind him off the tee. Last year conditions were cool and the landing area was soft at the ReMax Championship. Thus, the 377 yard winning drive by David Mobley. However, the year before that the winning drive was over 400 yards. The long drivers a huge men who are very, very strong. They don't practice their short games! They spend hours working out and hitting drives hard. When timed by a radar gun the top tour players have a clubhead speed of 130 miles per hour. The top long drivers have a clubhead speed of 160 miles per hour. Adding a couple of inches to a driver length doesn't help tour players that much. They aren't strong enough to take advantage of the extra shaft length. Tiger bench presses 250 pounds. The long driver that I teach benches 350 pound. He is 6'4" tall and weights 240 pounds and has only 6% body fat. Tour golf and long drive competition are two different animals. 70 percent of all shots on the tour are hit from 100 yards in!
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

New
Wow, 160 mph clubhead speed...holy crap. Ya that's a little more than the guys on tour. It does make sense though...with the intensive training of the long drivers I mean.
 
C

cdog

New
At age 64, in a PGA senior tour even, Mike Austin hit a drive 515 yds, with the standard equipment of the day.
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

New
I'm still skeptical of that...just because it's such a standout-long yardage. No question he had some serious power in that swing, but I'm not sure if I can believe he just maxed it out with some super-swing and powered it that far.

Any mention of the wind conditions on that day?
 
C

cdog

New
30 mph tail wind.
I can understand being skeptical, thats a long freakin way!
It's suppose to be in the Genisus world record book, Happy Chandler (the pro he was playing with that day)also talked about it and described it.
It's also said at age 70, his avg distance off the T was over 300 yds.
Redgoat used the range Austin used when Brady was a kid, maybe he could add info.
On his technique, he says the same thing Barry Bonds says about hitting, they try to throw the head of the instrument into the ball (clubhead or bat).
 
B

bsbsbs

New
First of all the Senior PGA Tour did not exist in 1974 it was I believe a PGA of America endorsed Senior open.??
Secondly it's Chandler Harper not Happy Chandler he won the PGA in 1950 I think it was.
Several years after that in his 70's on a tour that Preceeded the LDA with a group called the 350 club that included Mike Dunaway, Austin averaged well over 300. IF you have seen clips Of Austin what he teaches and what he does are really not the same he talks about a move that is pure throwaway releasing from the top and both arms straight at impact. In reality he had huge lag and a bent right wrist at impact.
 
I

Iowagolfpr

New
quote:Originally posted by jim_0068

Hank Kuehne could without a doubt. He swings over 130mph with a 45" driver and gets ball speed numbers in the 180+ range.
Click to expand...
A good friend of mine is one of the top long drivers in the country. He played a round of golf with Hank last summer. After the round, Hank hit some drives with my friends 48 inch driver. He did not get any for extra distance. To use a 48 inch driver you must be really strong. Hank is not strong enough to get more distance with the long driver. My friend can out driver Hank by 30 yards. John Daly can't hang with the longer drivers either. The long drivers a huge strong dudes. They train all day with weights etc. They don't have to practice their short games or irons.
 
J

Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
Iowa.....it takes training like anything else. With Hank's clubheadspeed and ability i'm sure if he decided to dedicate himself to learning how to use a 48" club and get stronger to use it he "could" be "competitive"
 
I

Iowagolfpr

New
quote:Originally posted by jim_0068

Iowa.....it takes training like anything else. With Hank's clubheadspeed and ability i'm sure if he decided to dedicate himself to learning how to use a 48" club and get stronger to use it he "could" be "competitive"
Click to expand...
I agree Hank could be a competive long driver, if he focused on long driving and trained for it. He could he be a competive long driver at this time? No.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top