That year, Duval ranked ninth in distance and 26th in accuracy. I say was because Tiger is not as long as he used to be, much like Jack later in his career. Compare that with today's bombers: In 2012, the PGA Tour's top 10 in driving distance were 20.3 yards longer (7 percent) than the tour average. Lets focus on that middle section. Max Homa won the PGA Championship long-drive contest in 2019 at Bethpage Black with a 318-yard shot, but that came on a cold and wet spring New York day. Top 100 Courses in the U.S.: GOLFs all-new 2022-23 ranking is here! Mexico payout: Rahm sets record before May, Bhatia seeks first win after switching to AimPoint, How Rahm stopped negative momentum Friday, Tavatanakit emotional after making Scottish cut, Kupcho on brink of her first major victory. On a windy day, gusts can carry a player's ball away from the fairway- regardless of if youre a golf driving professional or just an average golfer. He wrote that advancements in golf equipment account for at best, 25 percent of the distance increase. [/quote] Yes, but always somewhat behind Weiskopf & Pohl. I dont think anybody else could ever do it.. The leader in driving distance in 1980 (the first season the PGA Tour has driving distance stats available) was Dan Pohl at 274 yards. Jack Nicklaus. She leads by five strokes with 18 holes to play. Was there a Jack Nicklaus Whats in the bag article back in the 70s or 80s??? And the social-media hype train needs but the smallest nudge to leave the station.
How pro golf has changed off the tee since 1980 is even more staggering Golf My Way, if memory serves, had all his distances. [quote name='tElihu' timestamp='1306158032' post='3255647'] Its not a stretch to believe Trevino. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Pretty hard to argue with his decision. Those include changing equipment specifications, and thats when wed propose specific rules changes. Jim, Jack was very, very longduring the PGA Championship in either 1963 or 1964 they had a long drive contest earlier in the week. (Actually, Nicklaus' average driving distance in '83 was three yards shorter than in 1980. The average money-list rank of the top 10 in distance in 1967 was 32nd. What year was it? In 2021, the average driving distance was 295.3 yards, second to only 2020 as the longest average driving distance in PGA Tour history. But his performance off the tee was an even greater statistical anomaly. See trending; Company. It's all relative. Phil Mickelson averaged 299.8 yards per drive in 2011, while Adam Scott was just behind at 299.8. GOLF DIGEST MAY EARN A PORTION OF SALES FROM PRODUCTS THAT ARE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR SITE AS PART OF OUR AFFILIATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH RETAILERS. He averaged 270 yards off the tee. He also collected paychecks from non-equipment companies. Keeeeeep scrolling. Now they can bust it out 240-250 with relative ease. and he was one of the longest hitters of his dayimagine what your average joe hit the ball then? The same could be said about Patty Tavatanakits performance this week at Mission Hills Golf Club. At one time the PGA Championship held a long drive contest for the players. 1 for at least two years. In fact, several notable players are not among the top 20 in average driving distance, yet have won major tournaments and/or contend on a regular basis. 1. Needless to say, Snedeker and his cohorts are glad they dont have to play for a living with equipment from a previous era. Since 1980, play from the tee box has changed drastically in professional golf. Lob wedges on the other hand are designed to propel the ball into the air and present a steep angle of descent. With 18 holes to play, Tavatankit leads by five at 14 under par. He was just better than anybody else. These conditions were not achievable by Jack .
Jack Nicklaus PGA TOUR Player Profile, Stats, Bio, Career (Nicklaus did four years at Ohio State but finished a few courses short of a degree; he was granted an honorary one in 1972). The data is based on the average taken from over 26 million shots hit from golfers from scratch level to a 25 index. Again, same short persimmon steel shafted driver.
Average Reddit driving distance according to Golf Digest. Nice Forty years ago, the TOUR started compiling reliable data to calculate this metric. There's no question in my mind that the touring pro has benefitted far more from the advances in clubs and particularly in balls than average joe has. In 2021, the average LPGA Tour pros (female golfers) driving distance was 256 yards. That's upwards of a 25% increase. With the 384, he said, he was driving 20 to 25 yards farther than he had a few years earlier. A Mammoth drive for persimmon! crazy to think how good he would have been with new equipment and balls Wishon 5, 6 560 MC 7-PW MMC MB In 2009, Couples was a 49-year-old with a decade-and-a-half battling serious back problems.
GOLF - Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com See Rorys distances WGC-Mexico Championship in Mexico. Nicklaus ranked 10th in driving distance and won two majors during that 1980 campaign, but his 269 yards off the tee would have been dead last on Tour in 2019. Fans stood near the crosswalk to see if he could do it again. [size=5]Driver: 250 yards and up[/size] A search for a more scientific answer is hamstrung by a lack of data. [quote name='tembolo1284' timestamp='1302780024' post='3152485'] I have collected all the essential club distance charts for you in this article. Amateur, the youngest champion at the time at 19 Won the 1959 North and South Amateur Tied for 13th in the 1960 Masters at age 20 Tied for second at the 1960 U.S. Open; his 282 was the amateur record for an Open before Viktor Hovland broke it in 2019 Tied for seventh in the 1961 Masters Won the 1961 NCAA Championship Won the 1961 U.S. He shared his thoughts in 2016 when asked about the possibility of adding length to the 13th hole at Augusta National. In 2009, Couples was a 49-year-old with a decade-and-a-half battling serious back problems. He could have played basketball at the collegiate level, and he began golfing was he was as young as 10. [size="5"]From Golf My Way p. 31[/size] If we translate that advantage to last season, hed have averaged 318.71 yards, which would have led the tour. Throughout his career, Nicklaus would consistently hit mammoth 330-yard drives. When Nicklaus played, golf clubs and balls weren't as technologically advanced as in today's game. RELATED: At 80, Jack Nicklaus' legacy becomes less defined by his record, more by his character. Although the report has been polarizing, Jack Nicklaus sounded off with a ringing endorsement of the work done on the project by the games two governing bodies. . I do remember that, too, he told Golf Channel in 2013. According to Golf.com, golfers with a handicap between 13 and 20 average about 200 yards of driving. [size="5"]Sand wedge: Up to 100 yards[/size] Photo: Robert Riger/Getty Images. In 2023, Rory McIlroy leads all golfers on the PGA Tour, hitting the average golf ball 326.60 yards per drive on the golf course. It wasnt until 1962 , after hed finished T-2 and T-4 in the 1960 and 61 U.S. Open as an amateur, that he decided playing golf was a better option than selling insurance. Jack played in a record 154 consecutive major championships for which he was eligible from the 1957 U.S. Open to the 1998 U.S Open. You'll discover it's more than just a golf lesson. IBM collected distance information at 11 of 34 official events in 1967 -- a number it deemed statistically relevant --- and found that the top-10 players in distance drove it an average of 270.2 yards. Dent's feat was highly publicized in the local media. No need to monitor it when players were on the tee. I can remember watching the 1st skins game, which was I think in 1982 he was pounding it 265+, back then that was very long. crazy to think how good he would have been with new equipment and balls Nicklaus has been arguing for golf's governing bodies to roll back the distance of the golf ball since the 1970s. Both hit towering shots with the Tourney ball, noticeably different ball flight than the rest of the field. There is a lot of information about how far you should hit your clubs, but they often lack completeness and background information. [quote name='titleistfan14' timestamp='1302833449' post='3154660'] There's no question in my mind that the touring pro has benefitted far more from the advances in clubs and particularly in balls than average joe has. Ping G425 Max 17.5 5 Tensei Orange 75 X [size=5]3-iron: 195-210 yards[/size] He currently plays off a 4 handicap. Its reasonable to assume Jones, who was one of the longer hitters of the day and the games greatest amateur, would have no trouble keeping up if given modern equipment. Back in Nicklaus day, if you played well in a junior tournament, the best you could hope for was a write-up in the local paper. I guess it all depends on your experience and observations. Extrapolate that 4.5 percent advantage to the 2018-19 season, when the average was roughly 293.8 yards, and a player with Nicklaus advantage would have averaged 307 yards. The book came out in 1974.. don't know about the average distances.. wasn't born yet. In 2021, the average driving distance was 295.3 yards, second to only 2020 as the longest average driving distance in PGA Tour history. Saturday, she allowed herself a few moments of excitement as she extended her lead at the top of the leaderboard. GOLF DIGEST MAY EARN A PORTION OF SALES FROM PRODUCTS THAT ARE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR SITE AS PART OF OUR AFFILIATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH RETAILERS. Instant access to the latest news, videos and photos from around the world of golf. If you take Lee Trevino for his word: freakin far. Youre sitting on your couch on a Sunday afternoon, scrolling through Twitter during a break in Golf Channels coverage of that weeks PGA Tour event. [/quote] He would often hold back on power to achieve this, but had a power advantage over most rivals through the set, so that he could hit a 3-wood or 1-iron from the tee with increased accuracy to avoid trouble, with sufficient length to keep up with the drivers hit by most rivals. "If they do that on roughly 14 Par 4s and 5s in a round, theyve gained 1.4 strokes on the field based on their 20 yards extra distance. Look at our favorite swing tips to improve your game! But with the huge size, perimeter weighting and launch conditions programmed into the head and shaft, average joe's can now hit the clubface with consistency. [/size] Helped by the fact that he was hitting a warm ball through the thin Texas air, Jack was getting tremendous distance. rkangrah, April 13, 2011 in Classic Golf And Golfers. No one can tell me that those guys wouldn't completely dominate with todays clubs and particularly - the ball. In 2020, in her first stint as a rookie on the LPGA Tour (2020 rookies are also rookies this year), she finished T-64. Jack won it with a poke of 330 yards. Jack I think during his prime, could easily hit his driver 250 to 275 if he had to. All shafts are S2S Stepless Steel Wishon. [size=5]1-iron: 215-235 yards[/size] You must remember that a 7i loft was 1.5 to 2 iron weaker than the irons today, perhaps more. and he was one of the longest hitters of his dayimagine what your average joe hit the ball then? Jack rarely hit the ball as hard as he could. Golf My Way, if memory serves, had all his distances. Thats way more accurate than most amateurs, even when theyre hitting it as far as theyre hitting it. [size=5] So strap in, it looks like there will be plenty of time for takes on the hottest issue in golf. I don't believe the distance gap between the average joe and the touring pro was as large in the 1970s as is it today. The average clubhead speed increased from 104 mph in 1980 to 113 in 2016. But theres another relevant data point here, and it paints a slightly different picture. I was 58, and I was out at either Titleist or Callaway and I was 118 miles an hour. [size=5]5-iron: 170-185 yards[/size] That was with the old MacGregor persimmon and the old Tourney ball, which was known to be pretty much a dud (the ball). Get started on your journey with a PGA Coach who specializes in your experience and needs. Pasted as rich text. Technology companies. Here is the rest of the top 5: Having the fastest swing speed and winning the long drive contest does not necessarily mean a player is going to win the PGA Championship every year. To put that into perspective, Brendan Steele led the PGA TOUR in total driving in 2018-19. Nicklaus ranked 10th in driving distance and won two majors during that 1980 campaign, but his 269 yards off the tee would have been dead last on Tour . He averaged 268.7 yards in driving distance, which was eighth on the PGA Tour. Anachronistic comparisons like that one dont tell us much beyond what we already know: inflation and a purse explosion make the life of todays middling PGA Tour player much, much more comfortable than the life of a middling PGA Tour player in 1972. And, the legends from the past wouldve loved to tee up their graphite/titanium beauty and swing away. Here is Sports Illustrateds description of the performance, one that could be copied, pasted and published in 2020 without anyone knowing how long ago it was written. However, they tend not to be as accurate, and not as accurate means they miss about one more fairway per round. Speaking of that 1963 PGA Championship, Nicklaus won it. Join InsideGOLF for only $20 - includes instant $20 Fairway Jockey credit! Marshalls kept fans on either side of the ropes. I recall a few drives from Nicklaus pushing the 300yd range.
PGA Tour Driving Distance Over The Decades - Geoff Shackelford That was 6.2 yards longer (2.3 percent) than the tour average. A player's driving distance is partly at the mercy of environmental considerations such as wind. Once we got into a wound golf ball and once we got into steel shafts, the game from basically the early 1930s until 1995 changed very little, and all the golf courses that were built needed very little adjustment to be able to handle any kind of a tournament," Nicklaus told USA Today in 2007. Wishon 929 HS 14.5*, 19* 0.5 Open PGA TOUR Stats, bio, video, photos, results, and career highlights [quote name='titleistfan14' timestamp='1302833449' post='3154660'] Jack in a relative way was probably as long as Tiger is/was. So Tour players are hitting the ball further than ever but are missing more fairways. His former World Cup partner, Davis Love III, led the PGA Tour in 1986 at age 22, averaging 285 yards per drive. Sergio Garcia averaged 299.2 and Ernie Els averaged 288.1 yards. Golf courses used to be firmer and we got more roll than we do now, but the people I was around hit the ball a lot further than 200 yards.