[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

The 8th hole at Oakmont will once again play as the longest Par 3 in U.S. Open history, coming in at 290+ yards. It was 300 yards the last time the Open was played there.

I don’t think every pro golfer can hit it 290 yards. In 2021, the average drive was 295.30 yards.

Is this unfair to the shorter drivers??

Are you saying that they should change the length of the hole or just call it a par 4? If you don't change the length, no one is being treated unfairly.

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Are you saying that they should change the length of the hole or just call it a par 4? If you don't change the length, no one is being treated unfairly.

I agree. You could have every hole be a par 3, 4, or 5.

However, par is supposed to reflect the score a scratch player is expected to score on a given hole. Pros are better than scratch golfers.

[Rainger99]

Rory reached the green but was 16 or 18 yards short of the flag.

He is one of the longest hitters on tour.

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Well, the 86th longest driver on tour averages 300. The 150th, 294 yards---yep pretty fair. And 300 to hole might only be 280 cover. No different that a 320 par 4 where the longest hitters have a big advantage. And I suspect some of the longer hitters won't even need driver on this hole. (Bryson will swing hard with a gap wedge )

What is a "gap wedge"? Could I use it to get though the gap between the clowns legs? 🤡

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I don’t think every pro golfer can hit it 290 yards. In 2021, the average drive was 295.30 yards.

Is this unfair to the shorter drivers??

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Almost no one will need a Driver for the 8th hole.

Most everyone will hit a Utility Iron or a 4 Iron. It was the 5th hardest hole at the 2007 Open, at 300 yards ... guys have gained a lot of distance in the last 18 years. Bryson says he's hitting a "soft 7 Iron". [https://x.com/PGATUOR/status/1925657...81583/photo/1]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Rory reached the green but was 16 or 18 yards short of the flag.

He is one of the longest hitters on tour.

The course is soft today.

Rory is not one of the "longest hitters on tour" with his irons. He's in the upper-middle of the pack with irons ... by design.

Rory hit a 3 Iron to the 8th green this morning.

When it's dry and no wind, the 8th is hybrid/driving iron distance for most, 3 wood for a few guys.

I'll be surprised if more than 5-10 players will use Driver today.

https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/commen...e_301yd_par_3/ (You can watch the video, so you can see it's an iron.)

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Rory is not one of the "longest hitters on tour" with his irons. He's in the upper-middle of the pack with irons ... by design.

Based on Trackman data and player profiles, here’s a rough estimate of 4-iron carry distances for these players, assuming they exceed the PGA Tour average (209 yards):
- DeChambeau: ~230-240 yards
- Rahm: ~225-235 yards
- McIlroy: ~225-235 yards
- Scheffler: ~220-230 yards
- Finau: ~220-230 yards(

Conclusion
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Tony Finau are among the PGA Tour players likely hitting their irons the longest, particularly long irons (3-iron, 4-iron), due to their high swing speeds, optimized equipment, and elite ball-striking stats. Their ability to carry long irons 220-240 yards, well above tour averages, gives them an edge on long approach shots. For precise distances, we’d need player-specific Trackman data, which isn’t publicly available.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Based on Trackman data and player profiles, here’s a rough estimate of 4-iron carry distances for these players, assuming they exceed the PGA Tour average (209 yards):


- McIlroy: ~225-235 yards



Conclusion
Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Tony Finau are among the PGA Tour players likely hitting their irons the longest, particularly long irons (3-iron, 4-iron), due to their high swing speeds, optimized equipment, and elite ball-striking stats. Their ability to carry long irons 220-240 yards, well above tour averages, gives them an edge on long approach shots. For precise distances, we’d need player-specific Trackman data, which isn’t publicly available.

"Trackman data", bears absolutely no relation to PGA Tour performance. Trackman is a ball flight monitor, that is not used (alone) to generate PGA Tour statistics. It's part of the process & used primarily for "viewer enhancement".

ShotLink is the technology that measures actual PGA Tour Event shots. Different process, different technology, different results, different motivation and not simulated ... it's real life.

If you'd like access to direct ShotLink Data, get yourself a subscription to Data Golf APi. If you'd like access to Trackman data, that's available too, but that data isn't PGA Tour real data.

As for Rory, he hits his 4 Iron 225-230 yards? Funny how he hit his 3 Iron onto the 8th Green today, when it was playing 301 yards. 71 Yard gap between his 4 iron and 3 Iron is a fairly large gap, huh?

[Rainger99]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

"Trackman data", bears absolutely no relation to PGA Tour performance. Trackman is a ball flight monitor, that is not officially used by the PGA Tour.

ShotLink is the technology that measures actual PGA Tour Event shots. Different process, different technology, different results, different motivation and not simulated ... it's real life.

As for Rory, he hits his 4 Iron 225-230 yards? Funny how he hit his 3 Iron onto the 8th Green today, when it was playing 301 yards. 71 Yard gap between his 4 iron and 3 Iron is a fairly large gap, huh?

I never said that trackman numbers have any relation to tour performance. But I think that if you are one of the longer hitters with trackman, you would also be one of the longer hitters on tour.

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Rory is not one of the "longest hitters on tour" with his irons.

And you said Rory is not one of the longest hitters with his irons. How many people today hit a shorter club on #8 than Rory’s 3 iron? I didn’t see anyone with a 4 or 5 iron.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

I never said that trackman numbers have any relation to tour performance. But I think that if you are one of the longer hitters with trackman, you would also be one of the longer hitters on tour.

That would be inaccurate conclusion, based in dissimilar and anecdotal information .... and 2 incongruous sentences.

Originally Posted by Rainger99

And you said Rory is not one of the longest hitters with his irons. How many people today hit a shorter club on #8 than Rory’s 3 iron? I didn’t see anyone with a 4 or 5 iron.

I'm sorry, but I hate to be misquoted.

I said

Originally Posted by BrianL99

Rory is not one of the "longest hitters on tour" with his irons. He's in the upper-middle of the pack with irons ... by design.

That's what the statistics show. ON TOUR Rory isn't typically one of the "longest hitters on Tour with his irons". Could he be if he felt that was important? Probably.

Originally Posted by Rainger99

How many people today hit a shorter club on #8 than Rory’s 3 iron? I didn’t see anyone with a 4 or 5 iron.

You should have watched more closely.

Originally Posted by Rainger99

The 8th hole at Oakmont will once again play as the longest Par 3 in U.S. Open history, coming in at 290+ yards. It was 300 yards the last time the Open was played there.

I don’t think every pro golfer can hit it 290 yards. In 2021, the average drive was 295.30 yards.

Is this unfair to the shorter drivers??

Originally Posted by coleprice

The average PGA drive of 300 yards is accomplished with a DRIVER. Many PGA pros can't hit 300 yards with anything but a Driver or 3-Wood, if they can reach 300 hards at all.

The premise of the original post, was that the 8th hole was "too long" for many PGA Tour Players.

Players were hitting irons on that hole. I'm sure a couple of guys hit Drivers, but that was rare. There are no players on the PGA Tour that can't reach a 300 yard Par 3 and most of them don't need a Driver to do it.

Originally Posted by Rainger99

Entering the 4th round, it is the third hardest hole.

The average score is 3.480.

There have been 11 birdies,
198 pars, 149 bogeys, 21 double bogeys, and 1 other.

Not a fair conclusion. 15 other holes averaged lower "in relation to par".

"Par" is an arbitrary number, that doesn't really mean anything, nor is it a characterization of how difficult a hole is.

There's no real way to quantify "hardest", because there's no way to quantify a player's intentions. Players weren't playing #8, with the intention of making "birdie", they were playing it with the intention of not make bogey or double-bogey. Changes the dynamic.

The hardest holes (through 3 rounds), were likely, the 3rd, 9th or 15th. Those holes had the most double-bogeys or higher, score.

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by Rainger99

The 8th hole at Oakmont will once again play as the longest Par 3 in U.S. Open history, coming in at 290+ yards. It was 300 yards the last time the Open was played there.

I don’t think every pro golfer can hit it 290 yards. In 2021, the average drive was 295.30 yards.

Is this unfair to the shorter drivers??

It made the tournament interesting, along with the rough and the rain.