PGA Tour Driving Distance

[JB]

I just saw on TGC that the entire top 10 in driving distance in the PGA this year are averaging over 300 yards. I dont know why this surprised me, but for some reason I thought the number was around 290 once you got past the top 5. Over 300 is pretty darn amazing. I am sure it has been that way, but I just never really noticed it.

 

[Ty_Webb]

I just saw on TGC that the entire top 10 in driving distance in the PGA this year are averaging over 300 yards. I dont know why this surprised me, but for some reason I thought the number was around 290 once you got past the top 5. Over 300 is pretty darn amazing. I am sure it has been that way, but I just never really noticed it.

Tiger came second on the driving distance I think behind John Daly in 2000. That was with about 298. Since then though, there are some flat out bombers who have appeared like JB Holmes and Bubba Watson, together with guys like Robert Garrigus who hit it miles. Just joke far.

Funny thing is, as I hear it, Tiger has the highest swing speed (or at least did - I think he may be swinging a little slower this year) at around 125. Bubba's is just about the same, but his launch figures are so much better optimised for distance than Tiger's. Tiger plays the spinny ball because he wants control around the greens in the sure and certain knowledge that he is giving up distance off the tee. I guess when you have that kind of swing speed, you have a few spare yards to play with.

Either way, it will be interesting to see if the change in the groove rules has an impact on that next year. People throttling back to stay on the short stuff.

 

[BigLeftyinAZ]

Pretty amazing. 14 guys this year with 300+ avg .
42 guys with an avg of 295+

For the year of 2003 ,10 ave 300+ for the year.only 28 people ave 295+

Thats the info I posted a few weeks ago in another thread.They are hitting it long

 

[mchepp]

It's just not fair.....

I was talking with my friend the other day and we were thinking about how it would be to play golf without worrying about distance. Meaning that on a 430 yard uphill hole you would have like an 8-9 iron coming in versus me hitting a 3 wood. They are playing a totally different game.

 

[Smallville]

. . . Meaning that on a 430 yard uphill hole you would have like an 8-9 iron coming in versus me hitting a 3 wood. They are playing a totally different game.

That's true, but they are playing from the back tees too, so their approach shots are kind of similar to ours. The LPGA players hit closer to our distances, although more accurately than we do!

 

[mytime]

That's true, but they are playing from the back tees too, so their approach shots are kind of similar to ours. The LPGA players hit closer to our distances, although more accurately than we do!

Yes they do. 300+ off the tee is unreal. I would love to be able to drive like that.

 

[Smallville]

Yes they do. 300+ off the tee is unreal. I would love to be able to drive like that.

Mytime, you are on an internet message board. You can drive as far as you want to!

See? I can now average 310 off the tee. I can also bomb them 380 if I really crank it. Cool, huh? hehehe

 

[mytime]

Mytime, you are on an internet message board. You can drive as far as you want to!

See? I can now average 310 off the tee. I can also bomb them 380 if I really crank it. Cool, huh? hehehe

I see your point. LOL But I might run into one of you one fine day on a course. Well I guess I could claim injury.

 

[StLCardsFan]

Does anyone know if they still only do the two holes per round for the official driving distance stat? Or do they use every distance when they are in the fairway? I know that they track every shot now, but I wasn't sure if they use every hole, every drive for the stat.

It has been my belief recently that this is a pretty useless stat. It does give you a general idea about who the longer hitters are. But I think too many people see a guy who's stat is below 300 and he is a short hitter. Heck, even Corey Pavin has one drive over 320 and 12 over 300. Tiger is at 298 but from what we see on TV, that distance is a well positioned 3 wood or a hard 5 wood.

I know it is just an 'average', but you routinely see guys hitting 3 woods around 300 on TV and drivers up and over 350. These guys are so much longer than what the average shows. Because of the length, they are able to hit irons, hybrids, and fairway woods off the tee to stay in play and be in a good position. To call it an average 'tee shot on non par 3 holes' would be much more accurate IMO.

 

[Ty_Webb]

I'm pretty sure it's still just the two shots per round. They try to pick holes in opposite directions to cancel out the wind and they also I think pick holes where most people hit driver.

One major difference between the pros and the rest of us is that they are playing on courses where the fairways are cut like the greens at some of the places we play. It's not unusual to see them getting 50 yards of roll (granted Liberty National was somewhat different). Lots of roll like that is flattering on the distance category, but crucifies you on the accuracy stat. You better hit it very straight if it's going to roll that far.

 

[biggsy]

300 yards, meh, no big deal...I would love to be able to sink a putt or two.

 

[provisional]

I have a friend who use to do the Long Driving Contest thing up in Mesquite Nevada. Just crazy long back about 10 years ago. He could average over 300 with what seemed like little effort. We would golf at a course near St George Utah, that had a carry over a canyon of 230 yards, with another 20 yards of hard ground before the ball could reach the fairway. He always reached the fairway on the carry, and then some. Me, I was praying I would just hit the hard stuff, a few feet on to the other side, and get a high, hopping bounce on to the fairway.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

It's just not fair.....

I was talking with my friend the other day and we were thinking about how it would be to play golf without worrying about distance. Meaning that on a 430 yard uphill hole you would have like an 8-9 iron coming in versus me hitting a 3 wood. They are playing a totally different game.

Preoccupation with distance is ruining the game, or at least preventing spread of popularity. More and more courses are being built at absurd distances, or current courses lengthened. I've heard Nicklaus talk about it several times, now that he is older and can't reach par 4s like he used to. In Johnny Miller's 2004 book he emphasized that only recently has he understood the plight of senior golfers, that courses need to be built with shorter hitters in mind, whether that means multiple tee boxes or keeping them reasonable to begin with.

The longest holes are boring and lack versatility by nature, specifically par 4s approaching 500 yards.

I recently returned from a trip in which I played many enjoyable courses, mid length and at altitude, which really helps. I could often hit 3 wood off the tee. Sure the courses were tree lined, which I'm not used to in South Florida, but the diminished length was more than a fair trade off.

Then yesterday I played my first round upon return to Miami. Not enjoyable at all. I was almost begging to be back in the mountains. The ball simply doesn't carry at sea level and during rainy season, like now, the bermuda is like a sponge with no semblance of roll. On top of that, the young guys who run the course think they need to keep up with the distance trend so they are placing tee markers in moronic spots. Yesterday the white tees were back where the blues normally are, extending many holes 20-35 yards, with the blues tucked at the very back, only a few paces behind. The toughest hole on the course, with water and trees and bunkers everywhere, is normally 410 from the white but yesterday they had it at 436, into the wind. The one par 3 that sometimes plays less than 185, and can be in the 160 range at the forward tee, was stretched to 211.

During a rain delay I complained in the clubhouse. Frankly, I thought I would be dismissed or ignored but the manager said he noticed the same thing when touring the course in the morning, and he would do something about it.

When I was 18 or through my 30s I wouldn't have cared. I hit it past virtually everyone I ever was paired with. But I lost considerable yardage beginning about 5 years ago and the game simply isn't as much fun when bloated distance is a necessity.

 

[dynarider]

I don't score very well when the par 4's are over 420+ yds. Course lengths of 6500+ yds do not suit my game at all. If I can stick to 6,000-6,300 everything is fine.

 

[texasaggie]

I really like hitting long drives (around 230 ) most of my long one's are hard to find.

 

[soxngolf]

Does anyone know if they still only do the two holes per round for the official driving distance stat?

It has been my belief recently that this is a pretty useless stat. It does give you a general idea about who the longer hitters are.

These guys are so much longer than what the average shows.

They do use just the two holes and I agree that the stat gives you an idea of who the long hitters are, but not really their actual distances. If you look on the LPGA's stats Brittany Lincicome is "averaging" 269 this year, but we all remember her tee shot on 18 at the Kraft Nabisco. She hit a 320 yard drive under some crazy pressure, so 269 isn't really an accurate number for her distance.

 

[fireman07]

I can't imagine hitting a 300 yrd drive..250 is a monster for me..It would be cool though.

 

[timbertoes]

Gotta do the "Squat"
Watching the swngvison... the hip squat those guys do must be a big part of the power in the swing.

I cant do it, and I have never seen any of the low HC guys on the course do it.

Want to do it, and try to at times.