So, I got myself into a bit of a rabbit hole recently. I was watching some golf, you know, just relaxing, and they kept flashing numbers on the screen whenever someone hit a drive. Ball speed this, ball speed that. And I started wondering, what’s the real story there? Not just the commentators talking, but what are the numbers actually looking like across the board?
I figured, hey, I watch enough golf, why don’t I try and keep a little log myself? Just a casual thing. So, I grabbed an old notebook and a pen, and whenever I had a tournament on TV, I started paying close attention to those drives. My plan was simple: see the number, write it down. If they showed the player’s name, great, I’d note that too. If not, just the number.
My Little Tracking Project
It wasn’t exactly scientific, mind you. Sometimes they show the speed clear as day, other times they don’t show it at all, or I’d miss it fumbling for my pen. And I decided to focus mainly on the tee shots with the driver, seemed like the most common time they’d show the speed. I wasn’t using any fancy gear, just my eyes, the TV screen, and my trusty notebook.
I did this for a few weeks, maybe across three or four different tournaments I caught. Just jotting down speeds whenever they popped up. It was kind of interesting, actually. Made me watch the broadcast a bit differently, waiting for those little data boxes to appear.
Here’s what I started noticing from my scribbled notes:
- There wasn’t just one single speed everyone hits. Not even close.
- I saw a pretty wide spread of numbers, honestly.
- Some guys were consistently up there, hitting it really hard. You could almost guess who it was sometimes before they showed the name.
- Others were lower, but still incredibly fast compared to regular folks like me.
- Even the same player wasn’t hitting the exact same speed every single time. Course conditions, maybe how they felt that day? Who knows.
What I Found (Roughly)
Looking through my notebook after a while, most of the speeds I managed to write down seemed to hover in a certain zone. Again, this is just based on what I saw and managed to capture during my casual viewing. I saw a lot of numbers in the 170s and 180s (mph) range. Some guys were definitely pushing higher, occasionally getting into the low 190s which was always impressive to see flash up.
There were definitely swings below that main cluster too, maybe guys hitting different types of shots or just not going full tilt. But that 170-185 range seemed to be the most common ground based on my informal tracking.
It was just a fun little exercise for myself, really. Didn’t discover anything earth-shattering, but it satisfied my curiosity. It’s one thing to hear commentators say “Oh, these guys hit it fast,” it’s another to actually sit there and write down the numbers yourself over a few weeks. Gives you a bit more appreciation for the power involved, seeing the range and the consistency they have even at those speeds. Definitely made watching the drives a bit more engaging for me.
