pga tour driving ball speed

TrackMan Average Tour Stats

Tour stats include:

Club Speed, Attack Angle, Ball Speed, Smash Factor, Launch Angle, Spin Rate, Max Height, Land Angle and Carry.

TrackMan Average Stats Taken From The PGA TOUR

TrackMan LPGA Tour Average Stats

80 comments

So the average male Tour pro hits down on the ball slightly with the driver? Should attack angle vary with clubhead speed?

The attack angle for the pros varies on woods, but it’s more or less negative when it comes to hybrids and irons. For the average player, the attack angle on drivers varies and in general so should the ball that is hit from the ground always have a negative attack angle in order to get a better margin of error for the impact.

However, in order to get the longest carry possible, the ball should launch high with low spin. The optimal numbers are individual based on club speed – and that type of flight can easier be achieved if the spin loft is low together with a high dynamic loft. The more the attack angle is negative, then the higher the spin loft gets => the attack angle should be closer to 0 if anything IF the goal is to carry as long as possible.

But generally, the attack angle for irons should be from -2 – -5 for almost all players, but for drivers you can hit it further with a positive attack angle, no matter the club speed.

Niklas Bergdahl Support Manager EMEA & Asia

Can you send me the optimal numbers across the board that players and coaches should be looking for in lessons and trackman sessions

Strangely enough, with a driver you can achieve a carry of 300 vs 275 with the same clubhead speed of 113. Adam Young tries to get people to convert to this method. Attack angle = +8 degrees Launch angle = 19 degrees Backspin = 2,000 Smash Factor= 1.5

Hi. I can only confirm. I achieve those positive angles and l can carry the driver (9 degr loft) 245 yards with a club speed of 95mph. Rollout is average 20 yards.

No, it is 3° and that means the clubhead is movin upwards. – is downwards.

You are reading the LPGA (ladies) numbers Tim. The PGA (men) average is -1.3.

Looks like the average LPGA players trackman swing speed is more or less the same as an average 10 hcp male player. Though the ladies are a lot more skilled in hitting it on the right angles and in the right spot on the clubface. Would an average 10 hcp male player have a advantage or disadvantege using graphite shafts?

Harry, any player of any handicap can benefit from graphite shafts. More often than not, the memory in most players’ minds from graphite stems from a very long time ago when graphite was ONLY graphite. It was whippy, and not very accurate. Material advances and composite technology have nearly rendered steel obsolete. I say nearly, mind you. There are a number of outstanding graphite shafts out there that are super stable and responsive, enabling a lighter club and longer distance without sacrificing accuracy. Fujikura makes some really nice iron shafts that fuse both steel and graphite technologies called MCI. In fact, i have Fuji PRO 95i shafts in my irons and my iron game is better now than it ever was with steel. I’m a 3.5 index and relatively strong but it allows me to play all out without getting tired on the back 9 from heavy clubs. Being a club builder, i can tell you that in golf equipment there’s a trade-off in everything. wether it’s length, weight, or feel so your advantage or disadvantage is dependent on how precisely you build your piece of equipment.

Hey Chris thanks for the info below i find it very interesting. Curious do you have those same shafts in your wedges or do you have steel in your wedges? I played SteelFiber i95 shafts last year in all my irons including wedges. I liked them in my irons but i felt like it hurt my game in wedges. Do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks

Agreed. Shallow your angle of attack to match the LPGA players.

I have had a number of sessions on a Trackman, (the latest on Aug 22, 2015, at “Modern Golf” in Mississauga On.). My clubhead speed and distances are about the same as LPGA averages. I was doing wedge work, and see that for a pitching wedge, (48°), my angle of attack -about 7.5° – is n=much higher than LPGA average. My accuracy is good, (only 3 0f 19 shots more that 20′ away, and all when the face angle was over 4° closed). I’m thinking that I should weaken my left hand a bit, (it’s a little strong on pitch shots), and play the ball farther forward- 2″ ahead of centre. Am I on the right track, or will these changes introduce new problems?

I’m 74 years old, and am a long-time PGA of Canada member. Thanks for any feedback…. love Trackman outings.

I would recommend that you visit one of our certified coaches, he/she would be able to help you and find what numbers are best for you.

See our TrackMan Locator here.

I don’t disagree with these stats but I do it;s kinda weird. 87 miles mph with an 8 iron should produce 177 yards of carry not 160 that’s a lot of mph. Iv’e seen high school kids hit 9 iron 165 and they don’t swing 100 mph with a 9 iron. When I swing hard I hit my 8 iron 155 and my legit radar read 72 mph so logic would dictate at 88 mph you would get more like 180 yards carry again that’s a lot of mph.

Remember that’s a carry number not total distance. Also since the pros produce significant more back spin, their ball flight is higher, landing angle loftier producing minimum roll whereas your total distance might be benefiting from maximum roll. One more thing to check would be launch angle where you might be hitting a low ball flight to maximize distance which in my opinion is “cheating.”

The PGA Tour 8-iron goes 160 in the air for a couple of reasons. One, they usually hit weaker lofts than high school players (like I) do. Secondly, they spin their 8-iron at 7998 RPM to stop the ball on fast greens. I believe this is the combination that makes the 8-iron go so much shorter.

I’ve hit thousands of balls on Foresight simulators, and what I’ve found is that backspin significantly influences carry distance. Holding club head speed constant, greater backspin reduces carry distance on all clubs.

For mid-irons, I’d estimate that you lose roughly 5-7 yards of carry per 1,000 RPM in additional backspin. And with the driver it’s easily 10+ yards of carry lost per 1,000 RPM.

This explains why poorly struck balls will often fly as far, if not further, than a well-hit shot. The key to backspin is crispness of contact – a poorly struck shot simply won’t spin as much. Unless the impact is absolutely terrible, the lack of backspin on poorly struck shots will cause those balls to carry further than a well-struck ball. So if you’re flying balls over the green with your irons, the culprit could be too little backspin caused by poor contact, cheap balls, a dirty club face, etc.

I think this is also the key reason why fades don’t carry as far as draws. It’s not that a draw swing is any faster/more powerful – it’s simply that fades have more backspin due to the impact geometry/physics involved with that swing.

Now I may be wrong on some of this, so I’d love to get a true expert’s take.

One thing I forgot to add to my comment above is that you need a minimum of backspin on all golf shots just to get the ball up in the air. That may be 1,500 RPM for woods and maybe 3,000 for irons.

My point is that increasing backspin beyond this base level will generally reduce carry. For example, I can guarantee that increasing the backspin on your 7 iron from 5k to 7.5k will reduce your carry with that club, even if your swinging faster at 7.5k.

I totally disagree with your premise. Draws carrying further than fades? That makes no sense.

Bare in mind tour players play with proper golf clubs which are weak lofted so the people you see hitting a 9 iron further than tour average 8 it’s probably because that 9 iron is closer to a 7 iron loft

Spin determines weather you hit a draw or fade so logic would dictate distance will also be effected. In my experience draws do tend to be further for 2 reasons and both have to do with spin. With a draw you will usually get more roll out as well as flight because of the decrease in spin. This is especially true with a driver.

Depends what clubs you are using. There can be as much as 7 degrees of variation between a ‘standard’ loft on a 7 iron. If you’re playing the Callaway Mavrik irons, you’ll get 27 degrees of loft on a 7 iron. If you’re playing the Callaway Apex Pro then its 34 degrees. That’s a two club difference.

I was custom fit recently for the Apex 21’s and currently play Apex MBs. With the MBs my 7 iron has 34 degrees of loft and flies 165yds with 89mph average club head speed. Same swing with the Apex 21s (30 degrees of loft) flies between 177 – 180 yds. Big difference.

Larry , I would highly recommend you see Mark Evershed . Buy him lunch and get the answers your looking for .

Hi guys this was a recent session with a cobra 3 wood 16 deg loft.my question is my launch angle seems a little low ,interested in your thoughts .thanks Shot # Club Club Speed (mph) Ball Speed (mph) Smash Factor Launch Angle (degrees) Direction Back Spin (rpm) Carry Distance (yards) Total Distance (yards) 1 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 2 3 Wood 98 148 1.51 9.10 Straight 4096.00 223.00 240.00 3 3 Wood 94 142 1.51 9.10 Straight 3904.00 213.00 230.00 4 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 5 3 Wood 96 145 1.51 9.10 Straight 4000.00 219.00 236.00 6 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 7 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 8 3 Wood 93 141 1.52 8.80 Straight 3826.00 212.00 229.00 9 3 Wood 92 129 1.40 12.40 Straight 4138.00 190.00 207.00 10 3 Wood 94 142 1.51 9.10 Straight 3904.00 213.00 230.00 11 3 Wood 94 142 1.51 9.10 Straight 3904.00 213.00 230.00 12 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 13 3 Wood 96 145 1.51 9.10 Straight 4000.00 219.00 236.00 14 3 Wood 93 140 1.51 9.10 Straight 3856.00 210.00 227.00 15 3 Wood 96 146 1.52 8.80 Straight 3970.00 220.00 237.00 16 3 Wood 92 140 1.52 8.80 Straight 3778.00 210.00 227.00 17 3 Wood 95 144 1.52 8.80 Straight 3922.00 216.00 233.00 18 3 Wood 96 145 1.51 9.10 Straight 4000.00 219.00 236.00 19 3 Wood 94 142 1.51 9.10 Straight 3904.00 213.00 230.00 20 3 Wood 91 137 1.51 9.10 Straight 3760.00 204.00 221.00 21 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 22 3 Wood 95 144 1.52 8.80 Straight 3922.00 216.00 233.00 23 3 Wood 95 144 1.52 8.80 Straight 3922.00 216.00 233.00 24 3 Wood 96 146 1.52 8.80 Straight 3970.00 220.00 237.00 25 3 Wood 96 146 1.52 8.80 Straight 3970.00 220.00 237.00 26 3 Wood 96 145 1.51 9.10 Straight 4000.00 219.00 236.00 27 3 Wood 94 137 1.46 10.60 Straight 4054.00 204.00 221.00 28 3 Wood 94 143 1.52 8.80 Straight 3874.00 215.00 232.00 29 3 Wood 98 142 1.45 10.90 Straight 4276.00 213.00 230.00

What kind of balls were you using?

Brent. This was at a driving range with srixon range balls

Ok the one number that really stood out to me was the smash factor. Usually anything above a 1.50 indicates something is illegal. There’s a reason not even the PGA tour players aren’t averaging 1.50 off the tee. Other than that your numbers look good.

Brent what about the launch angle

Yes the launch is a little on the low side. But seeing how you’re still getting decent distance I wouldn’t worry too much about how it’s coming out. But try hitting down on the ball more to get it up in the air faster.

I frequently get above 1.5 on trackman with longer irons and my woods (I have raised this with your tech teams already). This is because your machine measures club speed just before impact and doesn’t detect acceleration through impact

Trackman doesn’t detect acceleration through impact on solidly struck shots so you can post smash factors above 1.5. It’s best to just rely on ball speed with Trackman

Brent in one of your comments you said my smash factor was high ,had a session last night at range and some of my smash factors were 1.53 is this something to try and change and if so how do I change it

Like you had said you were using range balls correct? If so the smash factor will be a little off since they aren’t a legal tournament ball. What the smash factor (as explained to me by the Carolinas PGA rules committee chairman) is, is a measurement of how well the ball comes off the face. There’s a specific calculation for it but I’m not positive of it and anything over a 1.50 usually is a tell tale sign that either the club or ball is illegal. What I would recommend doing is using the ball you would normally play a round with and get some readings off that ball.

I read not long ago that Rory Mcilroy had a smash factor of 1.53 as well . If Willie can hit it 380 the way Rory does, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Larry. I’m 55 years old 280 is my distance not 380 Like Rory

Ball speed divided by club head speed is smash factor

I’m currently doing my university project on green-side bunker shots, I was wondering if you have any shot data for a short bunker shot or flop shot? Thanks.

Sorry but we do not have any official data we can share, but it would be interesting to see your final research :)

Blair, My assumption would be that the cleaner a ball is picked out of a bunker the more spin it will have and vice versa. The more sand you use to move the ball the less spin.

Do you have TrackMan data for AoA and DL for greenside bunker shots?

Sorry we do not have any official bunker shot data.

In looking at the tour pro stats for men – the max height reading for all clubs is about 30 plus or minus 2. I am trying to understand how/why are the heights the same for all clubs? My assumption would be the more lofted the club the greater the height! Is 30ish the optimum figure for best distance? Because in my last stats my longest 9.5 degree driver shot was max height of 56!

Is there any data available from the Senior tour?

We do not have any official charts for the Senior Tour. But you can login on mytrackman.com and use the combine section and filter, to show only Senior Tour players.

Thanks Christian!

what month/year is this data from?

Is there any data on typical club path for a tour pro?

Can you please post stats for average path, club face, and face to path numbers for PGA tour?

Could you please post average path, club face, and face to path numbers for several top Tour Players?

Before all the hype about hitting up on the ball came about, I hit down on a driver anywhere from -2 to -4 degrees and swung 1-2 degrees left.

Once I started to try and swing up on it. I lost direction big time. An easy swing for me is 112, swinging hard at it I can get it up to 123. Does Trackman recommend those that have higher swing speeds to hit down on it for straighter direction?

There is no physics logic backing up that hitting up on the ball will give a decrease in accuracy. However to go from hitting down to hitting up you have made some changes to your impact obviously. The way you made the changes could well be the problem as this could have affected your impact location, swing path, clubface and the way you release the club

Can pga tour players carry the ball 293 yards.

A Question: Were some data change on this site? I ask because I’m quite sure to have read other data for the men’s driver trajectory. Am I wrong or can someone confirm this?

kindly zorro

Is my impression right, that the data for the men driver were changed from

[Daten alt: 112mph 165mph 11,2° 2685 31y 39° 269y] to [Daten neu: 113mph 167mph 10,9° 2686 32y 38° 275y] ?

Why did TM do that?

For the tour pro stats – mainly carry distance, launch angle and spin rate for the driver, you have the averages, could you supply the max and min (filtered for outliers)? I am going to run an experiment with Trackman at my golf academy and need a starting range for each item. The tour max and min range is a starting point versus having to create this from scratch.

Anyone know where I can find raw data of clubhead speed? It is for a College project. Thanks!

You know what would be great to see – average miss from target – left and right – for each club. Of course short and long from target matter as well, but solid contact isn’t really my issue – left and right misses is my challenge

I’m about a half club off of PGA Tour average distance wise. Technically I’m a 1 handicap, but more like 4 or 5 when the tourney pressure is on. I know from playing with better players the difference between me and them is pretty much how much more accurate they are from a left and right perspective.

You can find all this info from Mark Broadie. He has tracked all the shots on the us tour for years and also written a book Every Shot Counts about it

I have been playing Golf for less than 19 months. I must admit I was damn tired of the same Golf Lesson producing varying results with inconsistent instruction(s) which seemed contradictory to the previous lesson. I take Golf perhaps a little more serious than others and my “approach” to this game may be viewed as extreme due to my focus on Fitness/Strength Training combined with my Yoga and Nutritional regimen.

That notwithstanding I would like to formally THANK the Trackman Developers and Support Staff for FINALLY producing a “Standardized” curriculum eliminating the traditional random quick fixes and circumventing the often inconsistent and contradictory methods being taught today.

I currently own a Trackman 4 and although I DO NOT wish to teach, I am Certified as an Operator and successful in obtaining my Professional Level 1 & 2 Certifications and shortly will be submitting my Thesis to be considered for review. These Certifications have greatly assisted me in understanding Flight/Ball dynamics and greatly assists my Coach and I in our 4-5 hour daily Putting-Wedge-Iron-Wood and Driver Sessions providing the data necessary to produce a more consistent and …. I have a hard time with this next word…… F U N game. (There I said the word “fun” in the same sentence as “Golf.” I’m so proud of myself!!!

Seriously, I simply CANNOT thank Nathan Meyer for coming to my hometown and demonstrating the enormous benefit(s) of purchasing the Trackman 4 product.

Kym Fontana [email protected]

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you! Your work ethic, attitude, and kindness are all things that I can look up to. very excited for 2017 and I am looking forward to seeing you again soon!

-Nathan Meyer [email protected]

Are there numbers posted for an average 5 HCP player or 10 HCP player similar to the charts above for the ave tour player?

What is the #1 PGA Tour player in “Carry Distance” average carry distance??

I understand this data is pretty old, released soon after the time when trackman first came out. I’m sure things have changed since then. Any update?

Actually, we haven’t seen any huge changes over the past years, it’s more about roundings. For example, Avg. Club Speed for a driver: 2014: 113.0 mph 2015: 113.3 mph 2016: 112.9 mph And it’s pretty much similar with the other numbers.

We do have a graphical updated version of the Tour Stats here.

Not really. Lee Westwood was interviewed recently and advised that apart from his driver he hits everything else almost the exact same he has his entire career.

I’m looking for PGA tour averages for dynamic loft for different clubs. Does anyone have this data to share? Thanks!

Are there tour averages for club path?

Are all these stats full swings? Example: Would the avg tour pro hit a 6-iron further, if he turns fully and tries to hit it as far as possible (with a natural movement like on a driver – not with an unnatural swing that creates most possible power, but result in very unconsistent ball flight)?

Currently I practice indoors because of the winter. I do my practice with Trackman and I carry my 7 iron about 177-180 yards and total distance of 188-192 yards with my TaylorMade PSi irons. Lots of my shots with the 7 iron has a smash factor of 1.50-1.51.

This is a example of one of my shots with 7 iron.

Is that normal number for a 7 iron with a that club speed?

Averages are useful, but knowing them would be more useful if we knew the median and mode, as well as the range.

Hello, Are there updated PGA Tour Trackman stats?

On Trackman this week using 7i I noticed the spin rate I had was well below that of a pro by nearly 3,000 rpm but similar club speed and attack angle. How can I get my spin rate up?

It can vary a lot due to the ball and clubs you are using. For example driving range balls are normally very hard and will have much lower spinrates than a quality ball like a Titleist pro v1. Modern day irons are also built to higher the lauch angle and lower the spinrate so that the average golfer will achieve more distance

It would be great to know the average loft for each club, especially the irons!. I think 21-24-27-30-34-38-42-46 (3-Pw) are reasonable specs. What do you guys think?

What loft are the irons? A modern 7i is now 30°

Is this still the original data from 2015 or has it been updated?

I’d be very curious to see if the how the average attack angle has changed over this time in the PGA.

Please update this data from over the years of more testing.

Do you have any numbers on tour averages numbers on dynamic loft and spin loft?

I am a 2 handicapper and I hit my driver 280 yards on an average. What is the attack angle with driver of the best players on the pga tour?

these yardages are no doubt well below reality.

6 iron only 183yds carry? Most high handicappers hit it equally far.

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Coach of the month

The PGA Tour’s Rising Driver Ball Speeds Mean One Thing – $$

Written by Graeme Hay | Last Updated: 12/03/2024

In modern golf it seems you can’t watch a PGA event on TV these days without the commentary quickly turning to the subject of distance and especially driver distance.

And because ball speed is the single biggest factor in determining the distance a golf ball actually carries the ball speeds of the top pros are consistently flashed on the screen as they smash their latest tee shot.

So given the importance of ball speed in golf today we thought it was time to take a look at the average driver ball speeds on the PGA Tour.

The average driver ball speed on the PGA Tour is 172.72mph according to the latest Shotlink stats. This represents a 0.86mph rise on the Tour average of 171.86mph at the end of the 2022 season and is 7.36mph more than the 165.36mph PGA Tour average recorded in 2007 when Shotlink began to track this metric.

But when you delve a bit deeper into the ball speed numbers amongst the top PGA and LPGA Tour pros the pattern that emerges is fascinating and the reason why the best athletes – for that is what they are now – are now constantly searching for ever more ball speed is laid bare.

And what is more, it seems absolutely clear that this quest for more ball speed amongst the top pros is not going to stop any time soon!

Chart of the money won by average ball speed on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2018

More Ball Speed on the PGA Tour = More Distance = More Money!

When a trend is seen in any sport, and especially when money is involved, the obvious question that follows is what is the reason behind it.

As we have already noted the average ball speed on the PGA Tour has been steadily rising over the last number of years, and continues to do so, therefore it is safe to assume that given there are millions of dollars in prize money at stake that there is a good reason why this is the case.

Some may point to the fact that based on the average numbers we have highlighted, ball speeds have only increased by a seemingly minor 0.49mph per year from 2007 until 2022, but while this is indeed a small number, it makes a big big difference to PGA Tour players.

Pro tip : Ball speed is the single biggest factor in how far a golf ball ‘ actually ‘ carries and is not to be confused with club/swing speed which is the key factor for determining a golfer’s ‘ potential ‘ distance. Ball speed is often judged by ‘smash factor’ which is calculated by dividing ball speed by club/swing speed. The closer the smash factor to the perfect score of 1.5 the better the energy transfer from the club to the ball.

And the simple reason for that is that more ball speed means more distance.

And more distance has been clearly identified by the golf stats gurus as a crucial element in the difference between the scores of all standards of golfers including the best pros in the world.

As Professor Mark Broadie, the godfather of modern golf stats, is quoted as saying – “Golfers who can’t hit it long and straight never even make it to the tour. You need to drive the ball longer than 280 yards to have any chance of competing on the PGA Tour.”

So for all the talk in traditional golf circles of how you drive for show but putt for dough the hard reality amongst elite golfers on the PGA Tour, or any professional golf tour for that matter, is that you have to hit the ball a long way to succeed.

Therefore given a gain of 1mph of ball speed can increase a drive distance by up to 2 yards according to Trackman – and that for pros an extra 20 yards of driving distance is worth about three-quarters of a stroke per round – it is immediately apparent why they keep focusing on improving their driver ball speed number.

3/4 of a stroke per round may not sound very much but for a PGA Tour pro it could mean hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in increased prize money.

Golfing Focus graph of the year on year comparison of average ball speeds on the PGA Tour from 2010 to 2022

In 2022 for example Cameron Young was 10th on the money list with over $6.5 million in prize money and a scoring average of 69.84. Adam Hadwin’s scoring average by comparison was 70.59 which left him 49th on the list and take home money of just over $2.5 million.

Or to look at it another way that 3/4 (0.75) of a stroke difference over the course of the season cost Adam Hadwin around $4 million!

Not that we should feel too bad for pro golfers who earn millions of dollars but the key point to take away is simply this.

On the PGA Tour more ball speed equals more distance which in turn means more prize money.

Being amongst the top PGA Tour pros in terms of driver ball speed is therefore obviously vital to success and now all the best players in the world are clearly aware of this they are going to continue to push the boundaries to achieve more and more ball speed with their driver.

And just to emphasize how much PGA Tour pros are now focused on driver ball speed you need only look at the number of them averaging a driver ball speed of 170mph on tour over the years which is something that used to put pros into the elite.

Today it’s not even average and as we can see from the table below it’s a ball speed that will more than likely cost a PGA pro his place on the tour!

Golfing Focus chart of the number of PGA Tour pros with over 170mph of driver ball speed from 2009 to 2022

[Note – If you are interested in our delve into the topic of how far amateur driver ball speeds should go ranging from 100mph and up check out our other top article here .]

What is the Fastest Driver Ball Speed on the PGA Tour?

Although average driver speeds are all very well when it comes to talking about anything to do with speed people quickly want to know who is the fastest.

And with driver ball speed on the PGA Tour golfers are no different.

The fastest ‘average’ PGA Tour driver ball speed is 190.94mph and was set by Cameron Champ over the 2020-21 season. The fastest ‘individual’ ball speed on tour of 199.55mph was recorded by Bryson DeChambeau again in 2020-21 but DeChambeau has reached a ball speed of 219mph in world long drive championship competition.

A quick glance through the fastest driver ball speeds on the PGA Tour since 2007 reads like a who’s who of the long drivers in the world of golf in recent times but even these supremely fast numbers almost pale into insignificance when we take a look at the ball speeds of the long drive specialists.

Two-time World Long Drive champion Kyle Berkshire, who unbelievably has hit a drive in competition that almost reached the 500-yard mark (yup, you read that right!), broke the Trackman ball-speed record with an astonishing 236.2mph hit in December 2022.

And unbelievably since that time that record has been broken not once but twice!

Firstly by Berkshire himself at the end of March 2023 with a recorded ball speed of 236.8mph but then again by reigning World Long Drive champ – Martin Borgmeier – who smashed a new world record ball speed of 239.3mph at the beginning of April 2023.

Putting that into context that is an average ball speed roughly 50mph faster than Rory McIlroy’s average on tour, over 53mph more than Jon Rahm’s and almost 59mph faster than Justin Thomas’.

What should be noted though is that compared to the long-driving specialists like Kyle Berkshire the pros on the PGA Tour are more than likely not hitting their drives at top speed when you watch them play tournaments.

To maintain control they will often dial back from what they could achieve should they really go for it with driver and focus purely on achieving the highest ball speed number they can while not worrying at all about where the ball goes.

So when you next watch your favourite players on TV just bear in mind that as Jon Rahm ably demonstrates in the clip below they more than likely have more in the tank!

Rahm is a beast 127.8mph club head speed 188.2mph ball speed That speed with that backswing length is incredible Really cool to see more videos of what players have in the tank vs what they use on the course. Give Rahm a few goes and he’s over 130mph easy. pic.twitter.com/4UlP06CYxt — Fit For Golf – Mike Carroll (@Fit_For_Golf) March 2, 2023

And what about the great Tiger Woods?

You would think that following his serious car crash in early 2021, in the aftermath of which it looked possible he could lose his leg, that a modern game focused on ever-increasing ball speed would now simply get away from him.

And especially when you consider that in the last event he played in prior to the accident, the 2020 Zozo Championship, he averaged a mere 168.5mph driver ball speed and reached a maximum of 171mph.

Unbelievably however in the first round of the 2023 Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in California, Woods produced an average driver ball speed of 177.6mph, hitting a max of 180mph on not one but two occasions.

Set against the current PGA Tour ball speed average of 172.72mph it seems arguably the greatest golfer ever to play the game is not going to let the younger generation leave him in the slow lane of ball speeds quite yet!

[Note – To find out how the best pros in the world hit the ball so far check out our detailed analysis on this topic here .]

What About the Average LPGA Tour Driver Ball Speed?

When it comes to the professional game the talk is typically dominated by the men’s game.

However when we turn our attention to the LPGA Tour we can quickly see that when it comes to driving distance and the speeds associated with making that happen the same trend can be seen amongst the best women golfers in the world.

Since the great Laura Davies topped the LPGA Tour driving chart in 1993 with an average distance of close to 255 yards, Emily Pedersen has added another 30 yards to that mark 20 years later.

And that means driver ball speeds have been rising on the LPGA Tour also.

The average driver ball speed on the LPGA Tour is now 140mph according to Trackman. World No.1 Lydia Ko averages this speed while longer hitters including Nelly Korda produce ball speeds over 150mph. The longest driver in 2022, Maria Fassi, records ball speeds of 156mph on average.

While these numbers are well short of their male counterparts they show the best women pros are equally focused on distance and driving up their ball speed numbers.

And given the similarity in swing speeds also between the average male golfer and LPGA Tour pros it would often serve regular players far better to see what they can learn from the top pros on the LPGA Tour versus the PGA Tour.

While the average male amateur averages around 219 yards with their driver LPGA Tour pros average a total driver distance of 257 yards with an almost identical club/swingspeed.

That’s an enormous difference of 38 yards and is evidenced clearly by the better ball speeds the top women pros achieve based on their superior ball striking compared to regular amateurs.

So if you’re a regular male amateur player and looking at ball speeds you should probably be comparing yourself against the ball speeds produced by LPGA Tour pros, a selection of whose speeds are detailed on the table below.

More great articles related to this topic:

How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far? It’s Not About the Equipment!
How Often Do Pros Hit Driver? Not As Much As You Think!
How Far Do Pro Golfers Hit Each Club?
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Golf Swing Speed Chart: Averages By Age, Skill, and More

Swing speed charts can tell you the average speeds by age, skill, gender, and more. You can also compare how club head speeds compare to distance.

As a PGA-certified golf coach, I know I am not alone in being a numbers and statistics geek. Many of my students are hungry to compare their numbers with their favorite pro golfers using charts, graphs, and other visual representations.

Many swing speed charts exist today. Some break down clubhead and ball speed by a golfer’s handicap, gender, age, years playing, and many other areas. What many may find surprising by some of the data is that most golfers do not swing as fast as they think nor hit the ball as far as they claim to.

My goal in this article is to share all of the latest information and statistics regarding swing speed in golf. I’ll also share other related information, such as the distance at which golfers hit the ball. Other information relevant to this topic will be shared as well.

Here is a breakdown of what you can find if you read on:

Average Swing Speed By Age and Gender
Average Swing Speed By Handicap
Average PGA TOUR Club Head Speeds and Distances
PGA TOUR Average Club Head Speeds and Carry Distance Per Club
Average LPGA TOUR Club Head Speeds and Distances
LPGA TOUR Average Club Head Speeds and Carry Distance Per Club
The Fastest Swingers In Golf

Tips To Improve Your Swing Speed

So get ready, and make sure to buckle up. Things are going to get fast!

Average Swing Speed Chart By Age and Gender

Average swing speed chart by handicap, pga tour fastest 10 driver swing speed averages.

PGA TOUR Slowest 10 Driver Swing Speed Averages

Fast Swing Speed Does Not Always Equal Longer Drives

Swing speed and driving distance matters, but you can win without them, pga tour average clubhead speed and carry distance per club, lpga tour fastest 10 driver distance averages, lpga tour average clubhead speed and carry distance per club, the fastest swing speeds in golf, traditional tips for getting faster swing speeds, non-traditional tips for getting faster swing speeds, what is the mach 3 speed training system, final thoughts.

golf swing speed chart by age gender skill

*Estimates due to a lack of participants in this age and gender group

** The data in the chart was compiled from a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) study conducted in 2019.

Club head swing speed contributes to the distance a golfer can hit a golf ball. Countless factors contribute to how fast a golfer can swing, such as age, flexibility, strength, gender, and the efficiency of their swing mechanics.

The first factor I wanted to chart concerning swing speed is age and gender. The following chart represents the average swing speeds with a driver for several different age groups and by male and female golfers within them.

Age significantly affects how much clubhead speed a golfer can produce on average. Here is the main observation about swing speed versus age and gender:

As you age, swing speed generally gets slower

However, as you can see from the chart, age does not necessarily have to slow you down completely. Some golfers in the 50 – 59 and 60+ age groups can still swing significantly fast. It all depends on how flexible someone can stay as they age.

Check this out: What Are the Golf Club Distances for Each Club? (Charts for All Skill Levels)

*Data from PGATour.com as of 7/9/23

**Data from PGATour.com as of 7/9/23

Average swing speeds by handicap data from TrackMan

Let’s look at average swing speeds by handicap level for male golfers.

A golfer’s playing ability and how efficiently they swings the club also directly impact how fast their swing speed is. When golfers understand how the swing is supposed to work and can execute those fundamentals correctly, the result is a much more efficient swing. That efficient swing will lead to an increase in swing speed.

Read on: What Driver Loft Should You Use? (Full Chart Based On Swing Speed)

Average PGA TOUR Club Head Speeds

PGA TOUR professionals are among the best golfers in the world, so many golfers look to them as guides to playing the game correctly.

Note: Even though these speeds happened on a specific date in 2024, they’re still applicable today since swing speeds don’t rise significantly over time.

*Compiled through Rocket Mortgage Classic, 7/2/23

Tour Pro Golfer Average Swing Speed – 115.24
Tour Pro Golfer Average Driving Distance – 299.40

PGA TOUR Slowest 10 Driver Swing Speed Averages

*All data from PGATour.com

**Compiled through Rocket Mortgage Classic, 7/2/23

As you may have noticed, some of the PGA TOUR pros in the top 20 in swing speed with the driver are outside the top 20 in average driver distance. This is because of a stat called Smash Factor, which measures the efficiency of a swing.

Smash Factor is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. Additionally, where the ball comes in contact with the clubface matters quite a bit as well.

Here are some examples of players with fast swing speeds who are outside the top 20 in driving distance.

Of those short knockers in the bottom 10 on the PGA TOUR this season in swing speed, and many of whom are very near the bottom in driving distance, all but two have a PGA TOUR victory on their resume.

*Data compiled from TrackMan’s 2017 PGA TOUR Data Points

I use data from TrackMan all the time with my students as a reference for what peak performance stats look like.

Above, I have pulled out the club head speed and carry distances for each club, on average, on the PGA TOUR.

TrackMan notes that these AVERAGE stats from 2017 have mostly stayed the same over the last six years. The top players on the PGA TOUR have gotten faster and carry the ball longer, but, on average, the chart above still holds close to today’s average.

Average LPGA TOUR Club Head Speeds

The LPGA does not keep data on swing speed. However, the average swing speed with the driver hovers around 95 mph, per TrackMan. As we noticed in the statistics above for the PGA TOUR, there is somewhat of a correlation between swing speed and driver distance, but not necessarily always.

The current top drivers on the LPGA Tour shake out as follows:

Driving Distance Averages from LPGATour.com

Swing Speed Estimates Via TrackMan

Data compiled through 7/9/23

As noted previously, TrackMan is a go-to source for swing and club data for many coaches and players. I use data from TrackMan with my students all the time. For my female students, as well as slower-swinging male students, one of my go-to charts is TrackMan’s 2017 LPGA TOUR Data Points .

Compiled data from TrackMan

As noted previously, TrackMan notes that these AVERAGE stats from 2017 have mostly stayed the same over the last six years. The top players on the LPGA TOUR have gotten faster and carry the ball longer, but, on average, the chart above still holds close to today’s average.

In 2012, Ryan Winther set the world record for swing speed at 167 mph, and that swing produced a ball speed of 225 mph.

Recent long-drive phenom, Kyle Berkshire, has come close to Winther’s record, recording a swing speed of 160. Berkshire does however have the highest ball speed ever recorded at 236.8 mph… Say What?!?

More from Golf Span: The 10 Best Drivers for Slow Swing Speed

Swing speed and distance have become one of the most talked about topics in the game over recent years. It seems that everyone in golf has a need for speed! There is no denying that swing speed is a hot topic in golf.

Golfers are always looking for tips and tricks to improve their swing speed. I will break down my tips for you in two different ways. The first is the more traditional ways we, as instructors and coaches, point students toward when working on improving their swing speed.

The second will come from my friend, Michael Romatowski, founder and creator of the revolutionary Mach 3 Golf Speed Training System. Mike’s system is really helping 1,000’s of golfers get faster with their swing.

Some of the more traditional tips for golfers to help them increase their swing speed include the following:

Train Your Body to Get Faster- If you can increase your flexibility and mobility, reaching faster swing speeds will be more realistic. How a golfer moves their body, in terms of how much they can rotate their hips and upper torso, will play a big part in their production of swing speed. Getting yourself into the habit of stretching your body regularly will help your ability to swing faster.
Equipment can make a difference- Having the right equipment for you can make a big difference in your ability to swing faster. Some of the critical things you need to consider in terms of equipment include:
The overall weight of the club- The lighter the club, the faster you can swing it. That is straight-up science, folks.
The type of shaft you use- The shaft matters in golf. From the length, to the flex, and where the kick-point is, all of these things equate to your ability to swing at your maximum speed.
The head of the club- Golf equipment technology has made massive gains over the last two decades. The clubheads on today’s drivers can offer maximum forgiveness and create a “trampoline effect” with the ball coming off the face. Test different drivers, and you may be surprised at what gains you can make by simply having the right club.

I have recently become a massive fan of a speed training program called the Mack 3 Golf Speed Training System . It was developed by Michael Romatowski. Mike is a multi-certified personal trainer, golf fitness expert, and post-rehab exercise specialist. I have spent a lot of time talking with Mike recently; he was a recent guest on my Quite Please Golf Podcast. You can listen to that episode here.

Mach 3 is a year-round speed training protocol that has produced an average gain in clubhead speed for program participants of 11.5 miles per hour. The tools used in Mach 3 are dynamic and unique, allowing golfers to experience the sensation of “Speed Out in Front,” which is the hallmark of Mach 3.

Some of the critical points of Mach 3 that I like include:

It’s Open To All – The Mach 3 program is for golfers of all ages, genders, and playing abilities.
It’s Fun & Safe – Workouts are fun, non-exhausting, safe, and athletic in nature.
It’s Accessible to All – Speed training workouts can be held indoors or outdoors.
It’s Optimized – Train for golf without “bulking up” and using natural golf body motions.

The overarching theme of Mach 3 is the “Speed out in front” concept. “Speed out in front” means that a golfer needs to become much more target-oriented when swinging. Anything after impact and up to the end of your swing is “out in front.”

Because the golf swing is such a fast movement, taking roughly only 1.25 seconds, it is essential to think in your mind to be a few steps ahead. Golfers often think of the ball and impact with the ball as the finish line when, in reality, it is only the mid-way point. If you focus on the ball as the ultimate goal, you will move slower into it at impact.

Mach 3 trains golfers to think of the finish line of the swing as being the top of your finish. You become hyper-focused on the target, the finish of the swing, and getting all of your energy, momentum, and speed “out in front” and past the point where the ball is at impact…well past it.

Mach 3 will help any and all golfers that give this concept a try. As mentioned earlier, program participants’ average gain in clubhead speed is around 11.5 miles per hour. That is significant!

If you’re a golfer seeking to improve your game, understanding the insights a golf swing speed chart can provide is invaluable. These charts break down swing speeds by various factors such as age, gender, and skill level, offering a wealth of data that helps golfers understand where they stand. My extensive experience as a golf coach has shown me that these statistics are crucial for those aiming to improve their performance. Surprisingly, many golfers discover they don’t swing as fast or hit as far as they initially thought.

The charts reveal that factors like age, gender, and skill level profoundly impact your swing speed and, subsequently, your driving distance. However, it’s important to note that age doesn’t necessarily have to slow you down. Many golfers in the 50 – 59 and 60+ age brackets can still generate impressive swing speeds, particularly if they maintain good flexibility and employ proper swing mechanics.

To boost your swing speed, you can rely on tried-and-true methods and cutting-edge techniques. On the traditional side, improving your body’s flexibility and selecting the right equipment can make a significant difference. For instance, lighter clubs and the right shaft type can notably increase your swing speed. On the innovative front, training systems like the Mach 3 Golf Speed Training System have helped thousands of golfers achieve faster swings by focusing on functional training tailored to golf performance.

To wrap up, a golf swing speed chart is an essential tool for anyone serious about upgrading their golf game. Combining this data with top tips for improving your swing speed can set you on the path to becoming a more formidable golfer. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to fine-tune your skills, a strategic approach backed by sound data can help you reach new heights in your golf career. Stay tuned for the latest updates and trends in golf statistics and training techniques.

More from me on Golf Span: How to Increase Swing Speed: 10 Tips

Brendon Elliott

Brendon is Class A PGA Professional and founded Little Linksters, LLC, and its nonprofit arm, the Little Linksters Association for Junior Golf Development. He won 25+ prestigious industry honors, including the 2017 PGA National Youth Player Development Award. He graduated from the PGA of America Management Program and has a handicap index of 7.8.

He has played golf for over 40 years and currently plays twice a month at the Eagle Dunes Golf Club near Sorrento, Florida. He loves Srixon clubs and plays a ZX5 driver with Z 585 irons. He's written over 60 articles on GolfSpan and specializes in sharing tips to improve your golf game. You can connect with Brendon at LinkedIn , X , IG , FB , his website , or [email protected] .

Best score : 69
Favorite driver : Srixon ZX5
Favorite ball : Srixon Z Star
Favorite food at the turn : Turkey and cheese on white
Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott Bombs Away: The Longest Drives in Golf History
Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott 10 Longest Drives in PGA Tour History
Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott Are Refurbished Golf Balls Any Good?
Brendon Elliott https://www.golfspan.com/author/brendon-elliott Masters Ticket Prices in 2024: What I Pay as a PGA Pro

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Factors Affecting Average Ball Speed On The PGA Tour | Techniques, Players, And Impact

Jose roberts.

January 5, 2024

Discover the key factors that affect average ball speed on the PGA Tour, from clubhead speed to launch angle and spin rate. Learn techniques to boost ball speed and how it impacts scoring for professionals.

Factors Affecting Average Ball Speed on the PGA Tour

Clubhead speed.

When it comes to generating high ball speeds on the PGA Tour, clubhead speed plays a crucial role. Clubhead speed refers to the velocity at which the clubhead is moving just before it strikes the ball. The faster the clubhead speed, the greater the potential for increased ball speed. Players with higher clubhead speeds are able to generate more power and transfer it to the ball, resulting in greater distance and improved performance.

To achieve higher clubhead speeds, professional golfers undergo rigorous training and conditioning programs. They focus on building strength and flexibility in their swing muscles, which allows them to generate more speed and power. Additionally, they work on refining their swing mechanics to ensure maximum efficiency and optimal transfer of energy from the body to the clubhead.

Smash Factor

Another factor that significantly affects average ball speed on the PGA Tour is the smash factor. Smash factor is a measure of how efficiently the energy from the clubhead is transferred to the ball upon impact. It is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. A higher smash factor indicates a more efficient transfer of energy, resulting in increased ball speed.

Professional golfers strive to achieve high smash factors by honing their swing technique and optimizing their equipment. They work closely with club manufacturers to find the perfect combination of clubhead design, shaft flex, and loft that maximizes their smash factor. By fine-tuning these variables, they can achieve greater ball speed and enhance their overall performance on the course.

Launch Angle

The launch angle is yet another critical factor that influences average ball speed on the PGA Tour. It refers to the angle at which the ball takes off from the clubface. The optimal launch angle varies depending on the player’s swing characteristics and the desired shot shape. However, in general, a higher launch angle tends to result in greater carry distance and overall ball speed.

Professional golfers work with their coaches and use advanced launch monitors to analyze their launch angles and make necessary adjustments. They experiment with different clubhead lofts, shafts, and swing techniques to find the ideal launch angle for maximum performance. By optimizing their launch angle, they can achieve greater distance and accuracy off the tee.

Spin rate is a crucial factor that affects both ball flight and average ball speed on the PGA Tour. It refers to the amount of backspin or topspin that the ball has after being struck by the clubhead. The right amount of spin can help players achieve the desired trajectory, maximize carry distance, and control the ball’s behavior upon landing.

Professional golfers pay close attention to their spin rates and work on finding the optimal balance. By adjusting their launch conditions, such as clubface angle, attack angle, and swing path, they can manipulate the spin rate to their advantage. Additionally, equipment plays a vital role in spin control, with players selecting the right combination of ball and club to achieve the desired spin characteristics.

(Note: The remaining sections of the provided headings have not been included in this response to avoid repetition and maintain context. Please refer to the “reference” for further information on the importance of average ball speed, techniques to improve it, notable players, average ball speed records, and its impact on scoring on the PGA Tour.)

Importance of Average Ball Speed on the PGA Tour

Increased distance.

When it comes to professional golf, average ball speed is a crucial factor that can greatly impact a player’s performance on the PGA Tour. One of the key benefits of having a high average ball speed is the increased distance it offers. The faster the ball speed, the farther the ball will travel through the air, allowing players to reach longer distances off the tee and approach shots. This can be a game-changer in terms of gaining an advantage over competitors and setting up more favorable positions for subsequent shots.

Better Accuracy

While distance is important, accuracy is equally vital in golf. Interestingly, having a higher average ball speed can also contribute to better accuracy. When a player consistently achieves high ball speeds, it indicates that they have good control over their swing and are striking the ball more consistently. This can lead to improved shot accuracy, as the ball is more likely to land closer to the intended target. Players with higher ball speeds are often able to hit their shots with a flatter trajectory, reducing the influence of wind and other external factors, resulting in greater precision.

Competitive Advantage

In the highly competitive world of professional golf, even the smallest advantage can make a significant difference. This is where average ball speed can provide players with a competitive edge. When a golfer consistently achieves high ball speeds, they have the potential to outperform their competitors in terms of distance and accuracy. This can lead to more birdie opportunities, lower scores, and an overall better chance of success on the PGA Tour.

Having a higher average ball speed allows players to tackle longer and more challenging holes with greater ease. They can reach the green in fewer shots, giving them a better chance at birdies or even eagles. This not only boosts their score but also adds to their confidence and momentum on the course.

Furthermore, a higher average ball speed allows players to navigate hazards and obstacles more effectively. They have the ability to carry over water hazards or avoid bunkers that may otherwise come into play. By minimizing the risk of errant shots, players can maintain control over their game and avoid unnecessary penalties.

In addition to distance and accuracy, a higher average ball speed can provide players with a mental advantage over their competitors. When a player consistently achieves high ball speeds, they develop a sense of confidence in their abilities. This confidence can translate into a more aggressive and assertive playing style, allowing them to take calculated risks and attempt shots that others may shy away from. This mental fortitude can be a game-changer when it comes to performing under pressure and rising to the top of the leaderboard.

Please note that the following H3 sub-sections were not covered in this section and will be addressed in later sections: –

For more information on these topics, please refer to the corresponding sections in the reference provided.

Techniques to Improve Average Ball Speed on the PGA Tour

Improving average ball speed is crucial for professional golfers on the PGA Tour. It can give them a competitive edge by increasing their distance off the tee, enhancing accuracy, and ultimately improving their overall performance. In this section, we will explore three key techniques that can help players boost their average ball speed: strength and conditioning training, proper swing mechanics, and equipment optimization.

Strength and Conditioning Training

One of the most effective ways for PGA Tour players to improve their average ball speed is through strength and conditioning training. Golf might not be as physically demanding as other sports, but having a strong and fit body can make a significant difference in generating power and speed on the course.

Strength training exercises such as weightlifting, resistance training, and plyometrics can help golfers develop the necessary muscles to generate more clubhead speed. By focusing on exercises that target the core, hips, and upper body, players can enhance their rotational power, which directly translates into increased ball speed.

Conditioning training, on the other hand, focuses on building endurance and stamina. This is important for maintaining consistent swing speed throughout the round, especially during the latter stages when fatigue can set in. Cardiovascular exercises like running, cycling, or swimming can improve players’ overall fitness levels and help them sustain their maximum ball speed throughout the tournament.

In addition to traditional strength and conditioning exercises, many PGA Tour players also incorporate golf-specific workouts into their training routines. These workouts often involve functional movements that mimic the actions and positions required in a golf swing. By training the body to move efficiently and with power, golfers can optimize their ball speed and performance on the course.

Proper Swing Mechanics

While physical conditioning is essential, having proper swing mechanics is equally crucial for improving average ball speed. Golfers need to have a technically sound swing that maximizes their ability to generate power and speed at impact.

One key aspect of proper swing mechanics is the sequencing of body movements. The kinetic chain, which involves the sequential transfer of energy from the ground up through the body, is vital for generating maximum clubhead speed. Golfers need to learn how to initiate the downswing with their lower body, followed by a rotational movement of the hips, torso, and arms. This coordinated movement allows for the efficient transfer of energy to the clubhead, resulting in increased ball speed.

Another important factor in swing mechanics is the angle of attack. Golfers should aim to strike the ball on a slight upward angle to optimize launch conditions and reduce spin. This can be achieved by positioning the ball slightly forward in the stance and ensuring a shallow angle of attack at impact. By doing so, players can maximize their carry distance and achieve a more optimal ball flight.

To refine their swing mechanics, many PGA Tour players work closely with swing coaches or use video analysis to identify any flaws or inefficiencies in their technique. By making the necessary adjustments and practicing with proper mechanics, players can unlock their potential for higher ball speeds.

Equipment Optimization

In addition to physical training and proper swing mechanics, optimizing equipment can also contribute to improved average ball speed on the PGA Tour. Golf clubs, especially drivers, play a significant role in generating distance and ball speed.

One key aspect of equipment optimization is selecting the right shaft. A shaft with the appropriate flex and weight can help players generate more clubhead speed and maximize their potential for ball speed. PGA Tour players often undergo custom fitting sessions where their swing characteristics are analyzed to determine the optimal shaft specifications for their game.

The clubhead design and technology also play a vital role in ball speed. Manufacturers continuously innovate and develop drivers with larger sweet spots, improved aerodynamics, and optimized weight distribution to maximize ball speed and forgiveness on off-center hits. PGA Tour players often work closely with equipment manufacturers to ensure their clubs are tailored to their specific needs and swing characteristics.

Additionally, the golf ball itself can impact average ball speed. PGA Tour players typically use high-performance golf balls designed for maximum distance and control. These balls are engineered with advanced materials and construction techniques to optimize ball speed, spin, and overall performance.

Notable Players with High Average Ball Speed on the PGA Tour

When it comes to generating impressive ball speeds on the PGA Tour, there are a few standout players who consistently top the charts. Let’s take a closer look at three notable players known for their high average ball speeds: Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Champ.

Bryson DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau has made quite a name for himself in the world of golf, and his average ball speed is a testament to his incredible power. Known for his unique approach to the game, DeChambeau has pushed the boundaries of what is possible with his swing. His ball speeds regularly reach impressive levels, consistently surpassing the 190 mph mark.

DeChambeau’s dedication to strength and conditioning training has played a significant role in his ability to generate such high ball speeds. He has transformed his physique and added muscle mass, allowing him to generate tremendous power through his swing. Additionally, his meticulous approach to equipment optimization has contributed to his ability to squeeze every ounce of distance out of his shots.

Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson is another player who consistently produces high average ball speeds on the PGA Tour. With a smooth and effortless swing, Johnson effortlessly generates impressive distance off the tee. His ball speeds often exceed 185 mph, showcasing his ability to maximize power without sacrificing control.

One of the key factors behind Johnson’s impressive ball speeds is his excellent clubhead speed. By maintaining a high clubhead speed throughout his swing, Johnson is able to transfer maximum energy to the ball, resulting in incredible speed off the clubface. His proper swing mechanics, combined with his natural athleticism, contribute to his ability to consistently generate high ball speeds.

Cameron Champ

Cameron Champ is a rising star on the PGA Tour known for his exceptional ball speed. With an average ball speed well over 190 mph, Champ is one of the longest hitters in professional golf. His ability to generate such high speeds is a result of a combination of factors, including his strength and conditioning training and proper swing mechanics.

Champ’s explosive power comes from his strength training regimen, which focuses on building explosive strength and core stability. This allows him to unleash incredible power through his swing, resulting in jaw-dropping ball speeds. Additionally, his precise swing mechanics ensure that he optimizes his energy transfer from the clubhead to the ball, maximizing his distance off the tee.

In summary, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, and Cameron Champ are three notable players on the PGA Tour who consistently produce high average ball speeds. Their dedication to strength and conditioning training, proper swing mechanics, and equipment optimization have all played a crucial role in their ability to generate impressive distance off the tee. As the game of golf continues to evolve, these players serve as inspirations for aspiring golfers looking to maximize their ball speed and distance.

Average Ball Speed Records on the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is home to some of the most powerful and skilled golfers in the world. One of the key metrics used to measure their performance is average ball speed. This refers to the speed at which the golf ball leaves the clubface after impact. Over the years, there have been remarkable records set in terms of ball speed, showcasing the incredible athleticism and talent of these professional golfers.

Fastest Recorded Ball Speeds

When it comes to ball speed on the PGA Tour, there are a few names that immediately come to mind. One of the most impressive records in this category belongs to Bryson DeChambeau. Known for his unique approach to the game and dedication to optimizing his performance, DeChambeau has consistently achieved remarkable ball speeds. In fact, he holds the record for the fastest recorded ball speed on the PGA Tour, clocking in at an astonishing 211 miles per hour.

Dustin Johnson is another golfer who has showcased exceptional ball speed throughout his career. With his powerful swing and athletic ability, Johnson has consistently ranked among the top players in terms of ball speed. His ability to generate incredible clubhead speed translates into impressive ball speeds, allowing him to compete at the highest level.

Cameron Champ is a rising star on the PGA Tour who has made a name for himself with his extraordinary ball speed. Champ’s athleticism and strength contribute to his ability to generate immense power, resulting in impressive ball speeds. As he continues to develop his game, it will be exciting to see how his ball speed records progress.

Evolution of Average Ball Speeds

Over the years, there has been a noticeable evolution in average ball speeds on the PGA Tour. Advancements in technology, training methods, and the physical conditioning of golfers have all played a role in pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of ball speed.

Gone are the days when golfers relied solely on their natural talent and skill to achieve high ball speeds . Today, players have access to cutting-edge equipment that is designed to maximize distance and optimize launch conditions. The combination of advanced clubhead technology and golf ball design has allowed players to achieve greater ball speeds than ever before.

In addition to equipment advancements, golfers have also embraced strength and conditioning training as a way to enhance their performance. By building strength and improving their physical fitness, golfers are able to generate more power and increase their average ball speeds. This focus on physical conditioning has become an integral part of a golfer’s training regimen, contributing to the overall evolution of ball speeds on the PGA Tour.

As the game of golf continues to evolve, so too will average ball speeds. Golfers will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, striving to achieve even greater distances off the tee. With advancements in technology and a greater understanding of the impact of factors such as clubhead speed, smash factor, launch angle, and spin rate, we can expect to see average ball speeds on the PGA Tour reach new heights.

Impact of Average Ball Speed on Scoring on the PGA Tour

When it comes to the game of golf, many factors play a crucial role in determining a player’s success on the PGA Tour. One such factor is the average ball speed, which can have a significant impact on a player’s scoring average, birdie opportunities, and performance on par 5s. In this section, we will explore how average ball speed influences these aspects of the game and why it is so important for professional golfers to focus on improving their ball speed.

Lower Scoring Average

Having a higher average ball speed can contribute to a lower scoring average for players on the PGA Tour. This is because a higher ball speed allows players to hit the ball farther, giving them shorter approach shots into the greens. With shorter approach shots, players have a better chance of hitting the ball closer to the hole, increasing their chances of making birdies or saving par.

Players with high ball speeds can also take advantage of shorter clubs for their approach shots, which provides them with more control and precision. This increased accuracy can lead to more greens in regulation, giving players more opportunities to make birdies and avoid costly mistakes.

Increased Birdie Opportunities

Average ball speed is directly correlated to the distance a player can hit the ball off the tee. Players with higher ball speeds have the advantage of being able to reach par 5s in two shots, giving them a better chance at making birdies or even eagles. The ability to reach these longer holes in fewer shots can be a game-changer and can significantly impact a player’s overall score.

Furthermore, a high ball speed allows players to hit shorter approach shots into par 4s, which can also increase their chances of making birdies. By having a shorter distance to the hole, players can be more aggressive with their shots and have a better chance of sinking those crucial putts for birdie.

Improved Performance on Par 5s

Par 5s are often considered the scoring holes on the PGA Tour, and average ball speed plays a pivotal role in a player’s performance on these holes. With a higher ball speed, players can hit the ball farther off the tee, giving them a better chance at reaching the green in two shots. This puts them in a prime position for a birdie or even an eagle opportunity.

In addition to the advantage off the tee, a higher ball speed also allows players to hit shorter approach shots into par 5s. This means they can be more aggressive with their shots, aiming for the pin and increasing their chances of making birdies. By maximizing their average ball speed, players can gain a significant competitive advantage on these scoring holes and improve their overall performance on the PGA Tour.

In conclusion, the impact of average ball speed on scoring on the PGA Tour cannot be understated. It directly influences a player’s scoring average, increases their birdie opportunities, and improves their performance on par 5s. By focusing on improving their ball speed through strength and conditioning training, proper swing mechanics, and equipment optimization, professional golfers can enhance their chances of success on the tour. So next time you watch a PGA Tour event, pay attention to the players’ average ball speed and see how it affects their scoring and overall performance.

Average Driving Distance By Handicap

https://www.SwingManGolf.com

Trackman® research also shows that there is a direct correlation between your club head speed and your handicap (and thus scoring).

This chart illustrates the direct correlation between average golf swing speed and handicap or scoring

How Fast Is An Amateur’s Average Golf Swing Speed?

Regarding male amateurs, since 2005, the United States Golf Association (USGA) reports that the average handicap has been between 14 and 15. Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN) shows similar numbers of 15.3 handicap in 2003 and 14.3 handicap in 2012.

For these average male golfers, Trackman® statistics report the average club head speed at this 14-15-handicap level is about 93.4 mph…yielding an average total distance of 214 yards per drive. That makes the average male amateur driving efficiency to be 2.29 yards per mph of club head speed.

We estimate the average amateur women run in the region of 78 mph and 167-yard drives. Some women we’ve seen are in the mid to high 40s.

How Fast Is A Tour Player’s Average Golf Swing Speed?

Since 2007, the PGA TOUR has been tracking golf swing speeds of all of its players, also using Trackman®.

As you can see at the end of the 2022-2023 PGA TOUR season, the tour average runs about 115.80 mph and they hit about 299.9 yards/drive, which means their driving efficiency is about 2.61 yards/drive. This is much better than the average 14-15 –handicap golfer who comes in at 2.29 yards/drive. If you think about it, this makes sense because professionals hit the ball more consistently around the sweet spot.

Tom Stickney has done some impact testing for GolfWRX. Here’s what a tour player’s striking pattern looked like after about 10 shots.

tour players striking pattern after 10 shots

Compare that to the impact dispersion after only 5 shots from the 15-handicap golfer he tested.

amateur players striking pattern after 10 shots

As you can see, striking the ball consistently solid will help get you more distance out of your club head speed and improve your driving efficiency. If the average amateur had the same 2.61 yards/mph driving efficiency as the average PGA TOUR player, he would average 245 yards/drive instead of only 214 yards/drive.

That means the average amateur could pick up over 30 yards simply from more consistent strikes.

2022-2023 PGA TOUR Player Swing Speed Chart – The Slowest Swingers

Anyway, here is a selection of the swing speeds for the 2021-2022 season for some of the slowest PGA TOUR Players. These guys are definitely at a disadvantage on tour speed-wise.

If only they knew it didn’t have to be that way!

2022-2023 PGA TOUR Player Swing Speed Chart – The Average Swingers

Next are the guys who are considered to be in the middle of the pack as far as swing speed goes on the PGA TOUR. These guys aren’t hurting for speed, but they could definitely use more.

2022-2023 PGA TOUR Player Swing Speed Chart – The Fast Swingers

Lastly are the guys with the fastest speeds. These guys definitely swing fast by PGA TOUR standards. But as we’ll see in a moment, they are actually still quite slow relative to the competitors in the World Long Drive Championships.

Interestingly, the 2020-2021 season was the first time on the PGA TOUR that a player averaged over 130 mph.

Bryson DeChambeau made a lot of news during COVID-19 by putting on an estimated 40 pounds of fat and muscle weight to gain that swing speed. It worked, but as I wrote about over at GOLFWRX , you don’t need to put on that much weight to gain that much speed. In fact, you can put on more speed in less time without putting on anywhere near that kind of weight.

That’s part of what we do here at Swing Man Golf with what’s available in All-Access .

START NOW WITH ALL-ACCESS

2008 European Tour Player Swing Speed Chart

At the moment, the European Tour (now the DP World Tour) doesn’t post average club head speeds for the tour. However, we did come across a document from a single event in 2008 containing the swing speed of each player in the field. We’re not sure which hole or event these were measured with using Flightscope, but the numbers were interesting.

Here are several notable players.

The event average was 111 mph, which is more or less what we saw on the PGA TOUR in the same year.

In 2023, the median player on the DP World Tour averaged 301.08 off the tee. If we assume that they have the same efficiency of PGA TOUR players at 2.62 yards/drive, that would put their 2022 average swing speed at 114.92. That increase from 111 to 115 correlates similarly to the increase that the PGA TOUR made over the same time period since 2008.

Wilco Nienaber led the DP World’s Tour’s driving distance category at 332.10 yards/drive. If we assume his driving efficiency is also 2.61 yard/mph like the PGA TOUR average, that would put Wilco’s on-course average swing speed at 127.24 mph.

For purposes of our swing speed data research, would you mind telling us a little about yourself?

We will keep this information private. We’ll also send you some free follow-up info via email, which you can easily opt-out of at the bottom of the message if you decide it’s not for you.

How fast are LPGA Tour players?

A Trackman chart I have from 2011 shows that LPGA tour players averaged 246 yards/drive with 139 mph ball speed. Assuming 1.5 smash factor, that’s 2.66 yards/mph, far more efficient than the PGA TOUR’s 2.61 yards/mph. That seemed about right as the LPGA Tour mean driving distance as reported by the tour in 2011 was 248.02 yard/drive.

In 2023, the LPGA tour mean was 256.75 yards/drive. Somehow, driving distance Is about 9 yards farther now. Have club head speeds gone up? Is equipment fitting better? Have the players become more efficient? Are course conditions different? I don’t know exactly what is causing the difference, but something has changed.

When Annika Sorenstam was invited to play in the PGA TOUR’s 2003 Bank of America Colonial tournament, she averaged almost 270 yards/drive that year. The PGA TOUR average that year was 285.9 yards/drive and Annika was long enough to be ahead of the PGA TOUR’s 189th ranked Corey Pavin at 268.9 yards/drive and Loren Roberts at 265.9 yards/drive. She nearly made the cut and even beat some of the men in the field. It would have been interesting to know how well she would have done had she been even just a few mph faster with her swing speed…which is certainly doable.

The shortest player on the PGA TOUR in 2023 was Brian Stuard at 271.5 yards/dive. There were 10 LPGA players over that mark…Mel Reid, Madalene Sagstrom, Emily Kristine Pederson, Yuka Saso, Bailey Tardy, Maria Fassi, Yan Liu, Bianca Danganan, Xiaowen Yin, and Polly Mack.

However, only two PGA TOUR players were under 280.0, David Lingmerth at 278.5 and Brian Stuard. Going by David Lingmerth, only Polly Mack was long enough to be on the PGA TOUR distance-wise.

Polly Mack is conceivably as fast as some male professional golfers. However, her 2023 scoring average of 72.30 from the much shorter tees of the LPGA would not be good enough to match the 70.49 scoring average of the 125th ranked player (the highest ranked player to still retain full playing privileges) on the PGA TOUR, who also play from farther distances. She has the distance…she just has other gaps in her game.

2023 LPGA Swing Speed Chart

Since we have to make some guesses about LPGA Tour swing speed data, here is what LPGA Tour numbers might look like assuming both the 2011 reported Trackman efficiency of 2.66 yards/mph versus 2.73 yard/mph, which assumes no increase in club head speed but factoring in the increased 2023 tour driving distance mean of 256.75 yards/drive.

It’s our belief that LPGA Tour players could actually be competitive on men’s professional tours provided they work on getting faster through a swing speed training like we have here at Swing Man Golf through All-Access.

How fast are the swing speeds at the World Long Drive Championships?

That means that a typical long driver is over 20 mph faster than the average PGA TOUR player from that period…and over 10 mph faster than some of the tour’s fastest swingers like Cameron Champ, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, etc.

Historically, no player on the PGA TOUR would stand a chance of winning (or even being competitive) at the World Long Drive Championships…not until 2021 when Bryson DeChambeau was invited to compete at the 2021 PLDA World Championships and finished in the Final 8.

The event was a limited field event due to COVID-19. However, Bryson’s fastest ball speed during competition that I recall seeing was 219 mph, which would put his club head speed on that swing at 146 mph.

In 2022, Bryson finished 2nd.

As we’ll see below, that’s fast enough to win the entire World Long Drive Championships.

He also added more fat and muscle weight and worked far harder than necessary to increase his swing speed. That’s a story I already wrote about for GolfWRX.com .

Let’s look at how fast a typical Final-8 long driver can historically swing.

Swing Speed Chart for the World Long Drive Championships – Final-8 Competitor

Swing speed chart for the final-8 competitors world long drive championships.

Here are some average speeds of a few individual Final-8 competitors.

Realistically, to win the World Long Drive Championships, you have historically needed to be swinging in the mid-140s. The average champion was about 146 mph based on 7 champions from 2009-2017.

A champion long driver would easily drive it 50 yards past a guy like Bubba Watson. In fact, this actually happened in Hawaii in 2011 ahead of the PGA TOUR event when Jamie Sadlowski hit drives at Kapalua in Maui against Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, and Robert Garrigus. It wasn’t even close.

Occasionally, you’d see guys get in to the Final-8 at the World Championships that average in the 130s. Typically when that happened, they were better fit for their equipment, they were more mentally strong, they took better advantage of wind conditions, and things like that. As you can see, it was very difficult to win swinging in the 130s, though.

If memory serves, Carl Wolter won the 2011 World Championships in the high 130s. That year there were very strong tail winds and Carl presumably hit a better wind ball (usually higher and with more spin) than two other champions he beat head-to-head, Jamie Sadlowski and Joe Miller…both of whom have swung 150 mph in competition.

Unfortunately, full data since then isn’t available in the same way due to inconsistencies in who was owning and hosting the world championships (Ex. Long Drivers of America, Comcast, PLDA, GF Sports and Entertainment)r, but the various winners of those years since (2017 – Justin James, 2018 – Maurice Allen, 2019 Kyle Berkshire, 2020 – No World Championship, 2021 – Kyle Berkshire, 2022 – Martin Borgmeier, 2023 Kyle Berkshire) have all achieved speeds over 150 mph at the World Championships.

However, as mentioned, long drive swing speed seem to be trending upwards.

In 2023, World Long Drive reported a World Long Drive Championship group average ball speed for the Final 16 of 215.7 mph, with Kyle Berkshire at the top with 226.2 mph. Assuming 1.5 smash factor, that’d be averaging 143.8 mph and 150.8 mph of swing speed, respectively.

Also, through 2023, in training, 8 hitters had broken the 230-mph ball speed mark, when the previous record mark had been 227 mph for years, with 3 over 240 mph. To get 230 mph ball speed, you need at least 153 mph swing speed. To break 240 mph, it’s a minimum of 160 mph.

As far as I know, Sam Attanasio has the current ball speed training swing at 243.0 mph, which would necessitate at least 162 mph of club head speed. Seb Waddell has a training swing on a Trackman® at 169.6 mph swing speed.

Let me know if these get broken and I can update what is here.

At the Senior (Over 45 years old) level, in 2012 a Senior division Final-8 competitor averaged 131 mph with a peak of 137 mph. Two-time Senior World Champion “Fast” Eddie Fernandes (2018 & 2022) has previously achieved 156 mph of club head speed and 228 mph of ball speed.

Even the “old” guys can bomb it past any PGA TOUR player.

So, as you can see, the more swing speed you have, in general the farther you will drive the ball…and as I’ve shown, more distance also makes it easier to shoot lower scores.

Can you Increase Your Average Golf Swing Speed?

Aside from improving your technique and getting fit for your equipment, despite what many golfers (even pros like Tiger) believe, yes, you can actually train to increase your swing speed…at any age!

Just consider a long drive guy like Bobby Wilson. At the age of 53, he could swing over 12 mph faster than the PGA TOUR’s “long hitting” Bubba Watson.

Also note that just because you are fit does not mean you are fast. Camilo Villegas was arguably more “fit” than John Daly, but John could swing faster. Granted, some of this is due to John’s technique, equipment, etc…but the point is that although fitness certainly has its place in golf and life, for distance and application towards becoming a better player…it’s more about being fast than fit.

Swing Man Golf Helps You Increase Your Average Golf Swing Speed!

Rapidly and drastically unleash your power and play consistently with a steady and reliable game with Swing Man Golfs All-Access …featuring effective and easy-to-understand world class golf instruction paired with our expertise in long drive and our pioneering golf fitness swing speed training programs for amateurs and pros alike.

Swing Man Golf is a 2021 Golf Fitness Association of America Award Winner for it's work in golf fitness and swing speed training

Certification is also available for motivated PGA pros and fitness trainers.

We’ve got junior golfers from 12 years old to men on up in to their 80s with handicaps ranging from pro to 30+ who add an average of 12-16 mph (30-40 yards) of driver swing speed in their first month of basic training. Believe it or not, we’ve even had several golfers who were willing to do the work that gained over 30 and 40 mph (that’s not a typo) over the course of a few months.

One of these golfers was 58 years old!

How Far PGA Tour Players Hit Every Club In The Bag

The latest Trackman data has revealed the average distances and speeds from shots hit on the PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy hits a tee shot at the 2023 BMW Championship on the PGA Tour

In this age of ultra-long hitters and ever-increasing technology among the golf-equipment sector, the distances and speeds in the professional game continue to go one way - up.

It is not quite the same among the amateur population , however, with Arccos data via the USGA and R&A in March 2022 revealing that the average male golfer - with a handicap - hits their total drive around 215 yards , a number that has remained relatively consistent over the past five years. Meanwhile, in the women's game, the average total driving distance for players of all abilities is just shy of 148 yards.

But numbers released by Trackman show that PGA Tour professionals are sending it a long way past that, as you would expect. The average carry distance for a PGA Tour pro with a driver in hand is 275 yards, while the average PGA Tour total driving distance was 299.9 yards in 2023.

Their club speed is usually around 113mph with a driver and the resulting ball speed averages 167mph, reaching a max height of just 32 yards off the ground.

Despite a 32-yard drop-off between driver and 3-wood, in regard to carry, PGA Tour players are still averaging 243 yards with the latter and bettering the average distance your leading amateur can manage with the big dog.

From 3-wood down, between 9-13 yards of carry is lost as you move through the bag. Using a variety of hybrid clubs with head angles of between 15 and 18 degrees, the median distance for PGA Tour players to carry that particular tool is 225 yards.

The average shot hit with a 4-iron on the PGA Tour carries 203 yards as a result of 96mph club-head speed and 137mph ball speed, and as the club becomes shorter, so do the numbers.

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When looking at the 7-iron, the total carry distance on the PGA Tour is 172 yards thanks to 90mph club speed and 120mph ball speed. PGA Tour players strike their shortest club - the pitching wedge - around 136 yards (carry), according to the Trackman data.

Rory McIlroy holds his finish on a drive

Rory McIlroy is the longest average driver on the PGA Tour and is known for his high ball-flight

HOW FAR PGA TOUR PLAYERS HIT EVERY CLUB IN THE BAG

Data: Trackman, 2022

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. An improving golfer who still classes himself as ‘one of the worst players on the Golf Monthly team’, Jonny enjoys playing as much as he can and is hoping to reach his Handicap goal of 18 at some stage. He attended both the 150th and 151st Opens and is keen to make it an annual pilgrimage.

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How to Maximize your golf swing speed for maximum performance

golf swing speed through impact with golfer hitting ball

How Do I Increase Golf Swing Speed?

In the world of golf, where precision and power coexist, one crucial element stands out—your golf swing speed. Golf swing speed can take your game to new distances, no pun intended.

We’ll explain the details of golf swing speed and how understanding it can be a game-changer for beginner and seasoned golfers.

As an avid golfer, swing speed is a fascinating, ever-changing topic. With new developments in golf club and golf ball technology, distance is always a topic of interest in golf. So, how can maximum golf swing speeds be achieved?

Golf swing speed can be increased by continuously working on strength and conditioning, swing mechanics, and correctly fitting golf clubs. However, we must understand what swing is before increasing our swing speeds.

Understanding golf swing speed, what is golf swing speed.

In its simplest form, golf swing speed measures how fast your clubhead moves during the swing. It’s a fundamental metric that can significantly impact your performance on the course. To put it in perspective, it’s like the RPMs of your golf game. The greater the RPM, the faster your vehicle goes.

Like a vehicle, the greater the clubhead speed, the greater the ball speed. Higher ball speed leads to greater carry distance. Also, like a vehicle, club head speed is measured in miles per hour (mph). For instance, the average swing speed of a male amateur golfer of all ages is 94 mph. Conversely, the average swing speed for PGA tour players is 115.20 mph.

Factors Influencing Golf Swing Speed

Your clubhead speed isn’t static; several vital factors, such as age, strength, and technique, influence it. Swing speeds, particularly driver swing speed, resemble a bell curve. As a junior golfer, the average speed will be lower. As you become an adult in your 20s and 30s, your average swing speeds are at their highest. As you get older, the swing speeds begin to decline over time slowly. Below are some (certainly not all) factors affecting average swing speed.

Body Strength and Fitness

Your body plays a pivotal role in generating speed. A solid and fit body can generate more power, translating into higher swing speeds. Today’s Golfers place a strong emphasis on physical fitness. One of the first professional golfers to do such was Tiger Woods.

Tiger changed the landscape for physical fitness and playing golf. Tiger started a trend in fitness that has only grown and has branched off into other avenues specifically for golfing fitness, such as TPI, Joey D Golf, and many others. These programs offer swing speed training and have a proven speed training system for the average golfer and the PGA tour player.

Strength and fitness are essential in golf today; PGA tournaments now have workout trailers for players to work out at each event. Engaging in golf-specific fitness routines and speed training can help you maximize your potential.

Swing Technique

Your technique is another major determinant of your swing speed. Proper mechanics and grip strength can help you optimize your speed while maintaining control and accuracy. Think of it as the finesse behind the force. How you move your body and handle your golf club during a swing directly impacts the speed at which the clubhead travels through the air and makes contact with the ball.

Every aspect of your swing plays a role in determining your swing speed. A balanced and coordinated swing and proper weight transfer generate more speed. How your hips open up and use the ground as a power force plays significant roles in club speed.

It’s not just about raw power but finesse, timing, and technique, all coming together for a faster swing speed.

Flexibility

Flexibility is often underestimated in golf. Golf flexibility might sound like doing yoga on the fairway, but it’s essential. A supple body allows for a more extensive range of motion, enabling you to generate higher clubhead speed.

See, flexibility is how easily your body can move and stretch. And when it comes to golf swing speed, being flexible is like having hidden power.

When your body can move freely and your muscles aren’t tight, it helps you swing the golf club faster. Think of it like a rubber band – it won’t stretch very far if it’s too stiff. But an excellent, stretchy rubber band can go a long way. So, stretching and keeping your body flexible can help you swing the club faster and hit the golf ball farther.

Age can be a big player in your golf club swing speed. As we grow older, our bodies change, affecting how fast we swing that club. When we’re young, like in our 20s and 30s, our bodies are usually more flexible and energetic. That means we can swing the club faster and hit the golf ball longer distances. But as we get older, like in our 50s and beyond, our muscles might weaken, and our joints might not move as quickly. Our swing speed might slow down.

But here’s the cool part – age isn’t the only thing that matters. You can keep your swing speed up by staying active and exercising to keep your muscles and joints in good shape. So, while age can play a role in golf swing speed, you can stay in the game by staying fit and enjoying golf for many years to come!

Importance of Golf Swing Speed

Go lf swing speed is like the turbo boost button for your golf game. It’s all about how fast you can swing your club when teeing off. Another critical topic is the ever-growing list of the most used golf terms. Why is this important? Let’s explore three exciting reasons:

Increased Distance

One of the most noticeable benefits of a higher golf swing speed is increased distance off the tee.

Imagine your golf ball as a rocket and your swing speed as the rocket’s engine. The faster the engine, the farther the missile goes. Well, the same principle applies to golf. When you swing faster, the ball travels longer distances.

Studies show that for every 1 mile per hour (mph) increase in your swing speed, you can gain up to 2.5 yards in distance. That means you could gain ten extra yards if you add four mph to your swing! Want to see how your swing speed stacks up?

Improved Accuracy

You might think swinging faster means losing control, but that’s not always true. Picture a race car driver. They can go super fast yet stay on track. In golf, the right swing speed can boost your accuracy.

Contrary to popular opinion, a higher swing speed can also improve accuracy. When you have better control over your speed and technique, you can place the ball precisely where you want it.

When you control your swing speed and technique, you can place the ball exactly where you want it. It’s like aiming a sand wedge from 100 yards instead of three wood from 250 yards.

Club Selection

Choosing the right club is like picking the right tool for a job. You wouldn’t use a hammer to screw in a lightbulb, would you? Well, the same goes for golf clubs. Your swing speed determines which club you should use.

Here’s a simple rule: the faster your swing, the more distance you can cover. So, if you’re a speedster, you might need clubs that can handle the distance. But if you’re more of a steady cruiser, different clubs might suit you better. To simplify, golf club distance charts can guide you in choosing the right club for your swing speed.

Golf swing speed is your secret weapon for success on the golf course. It can make your shots fly farther, land more accurately, and help you pick the perfect club for each situation.

Golf swing speed is the secret that can transform your golf game from ordinary to extraordinary. We’ll explore the tools and techniques to help you increase club head speed.

How to Measure Your Golf Swing Speed

Using a launch monitor.

Launch Monitors are like magic machines for golfers. They’re devices that precisely measure your clubhead speed and other numerical metrics. A launch monitor can be used inside or outside, providing immediate, real-time data when you hit the ball.

Statistical data, which we often use, can significantly benefit the average golfer and the PGA tour player. Launch monitors can also use shot tracer technology, thus providing instantaneous video feedback of your swing.

Here’s how you can use them:

Find a Launch Monitor : You can usually find one at your local golf course or practice range. Some popular brands include TrackMan, FlightScope, and GCQuad. Other popular brands that you can personally purchase and are more budget-friendly include the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor, Garmin Approach, and the Swing Caddie SC4. I use the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor .

Set Up : Turn on the device, position yourself in the designated area, and calibrate the launch monitor. Set up is easy and takes only a couple of minutes.

Swing Away : Take your best swing; the launch monitor will do the rest. It’ll measure your swing speed and provide other valuable data, like ball speed, launch angle, and smash factor.

Our recommendation for a starting launch monitor is the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor.

At Swingcrafters, we highly recommend the use of a launch monitor. It will help new golfers understand how far they hit each club in the bag while permitting seasoned players to fine-tune their game.

Golf Simulators

Indoor golf simulators have gained significant popularity in recent years, offering golf enthusiasts a unique and convenient way to practice their game regardless of weather conditions or location.

They are pretty expensive and do take up a decent amount of room in your basement or outdoor space. However, they are worth the price as they will improve your club head speed and golf game overall.

Below are some of the advantages and disadvantages of golf simulators.

Accessibility- Can play day or night, snow or rain
Controlled and comfortable Environment
Versatility and access to golf courses you Could never play
Valuable statistical data on every shot.
You can make data-based improvements to your game
Provides launch angle, spin rates, carry distance, total distance, attack angles, etc.

Disadvantages

High cost (Low Budget $3,000 to $5,000)
Only partially replicates playing an actual golf course
Lack of authenticity
Takes up a decent amount of space

Golf Swing Speed Charts

The following charts provide numerical data that has been collected over the years. Data was collected from the PGA Tour , Trackman Golf , and Par4Success.

The charts demonstrate various swing speeds by handicap, age, and PGA Tour swing speed statistics at the professional level.

Golf Swing Speed Chart By Age

The chart below shows the average swing speed by age.

Statistical Data Provided By Par4Success.com

Golf Swing Speed Chart By Handicap

The chart below demonstrates the average male and female amateur golfer’s swing speed based on their handicap. To learn more about a handicap, check out our article on handicaps in golf.

PGA Tour Swing Speed Chart By Tour Average

The chart below tracks the average PGA tour swing speed over the last 17 seasons. As you can see by the chart, there has been a nearly three-mile-per-hour increase in the average PGA tour player’s swing speed.

The latest average for the 2022/2023 season was a whopping 115.20 MPH.

Average Driving Distance and PGA Tour Average Distance

The following chart provides statistical data showing the correlation between club head speed and driver carry distance. The second chart will demonstrate the average PGA Tour driving distance in yards over the last twenty years.

Average Driver Carry Distance By Swing Speed

This chart shows the relation of swing speed to total carry distance in yards with a driver.

PGA Tour Average Driving Distance

This chart demonstrates the PGA Tour average driving distance over the last twenty years.

Tips for Increasing Golf Swing Speed

Now that we know what swing speed is and what the average golf swing speed is, these are the three tips that will have you achieving maximum speed in your swing and greater driving distance.

Strength and Conditioning

You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to improve your swing speed. Simple exercise and flexibility movements can make a big difference. Some of our favorites are:

Lunges With Rotation

Single Leg Deadlift

Squat with Medicine Ball Rotations

Medicine Ball Sit-Up Rotation

Stretching/Flexibility

Shoulder Stretch

Standing Forward Bend

Standing Quad Stretch

Hip Flexor and Psoas Stretch

Hip and Lower Back Stretch

These are just a few of the exercises and movements our team uses frequently in the gym. For more workouts and programs, check out Joey D Golf or TPI .

Swing Mechanics and Golf Instruction

Your swing technique matters more than you might think. Proper swing mechanics and hand position at impact play a significant role in speed within the golf swing. Your swing must be at the highest speed before impact when you hit the ball. This will directly impact the carry distances of all clubs in your golf bag.

Below are ways to improve your average golf swing speed.

And here is another great video

Golf instruction is a surefire way to improve your average club head speed. Working with a PGA Golf Professional will help you obtain more swing speed, and with proper speed training, you will swing faster in no time. Driver distance will improve as well as your driving efficiency. Many golfers take lessons, but rarely do you see a golfer taking lessons to get more speed, regardless of skill level.

Create your personal swing speed chart to track your progress in increasing your average club head speed.

Custom Club Fitting

Getting properly fit golf clubs is crucial for increasing speed and overall performance on the golf course. One of the main reasons for this importance lies in the relationship between club specifications and the golfer’s unique biomechanics.

An adequately certified club fitter takes this into account.

Golfer’s height

Wrist-to-floor measurement

Swing Tempo

When these factors align with the club’s length, shaft, shaft flex, and clubhead design, it optimizes the golfer’s ability to generate maximum clubhead speed.

According to True Spec Golf , the shaft flex you need is based on your clubhead speed. Here is a quick breakdown:

X-stiff – This is the range where most high-level players fall. If you’re swinging the driver above 105 mph, it might be time to get some X-stiff shafts in your set.
Stiff – If you’re between 97 and 104 mph with the driver, you need a stiff flex.
Regular – This is where most recreational golfers fall. Regular flex will be best for you if you’re between 84 and 96 mph.
Senior – Slower swingers fall into this category. Between 72 and 83 mph signifies you need to be hitting senior flex.
Ladies – Not all women’s golfers fall into this category. This range will be for anyone with a swing speed slower than 72 mph.

A club that is too long or stiff can hinder a golfer’s swing, reducing power and control. Conversely, a club that is too short or flexible can lose distance and accuracy. Therefore, club fitting is crucial in unlocking a golfer’s full potential and achieving more incredible club head speeds.

Additionally, properly fit clubs can enhance a golfer’s confidence and consistency on the course. When a golfer has trust in their equipment, they are more likely to make an aggressive and controlled swing, which can translate into increased clubhead speed.

The right club length and shaft flex can also help with shot dispersion, reducing the likelihood of wayward shots and penalties.

As swing speed increases with a well-fit club, so does the potential for greater distance off the tee and better approaches to the green. Ultimately, getting correctly fit clubs is not just about swing speed but improving overall performance, making the game more enjoyable, and helping golfers reach their full potential.

Golf Swing Speed Conclusion

Golf swing speed is your newfound secret weapon for shortening the course. More club head speed will increase carry distance, accuracy, and performance. Now that you can measure and enhance your club head speeds, it’s time to see how your average swing speeds improve.

Track the average distance your ball goes with each club. Over time, and with continued practice on the driving range improving your speed training, you can create your personal swing speed chart and track your improvement over time.

Remember, golf is a journey, and increasing your average swing speed is one of the exciting stops. Watching your average driving distance improve will boost your confidence and lower your scores. Having shorter shots into the green increases the chances of getting closer to the hole, leading to better scores and more fun.

How far would golf's legends drive the ball using modern equipment?

In a fourball match at the 2016 Ryder Cup, 6-foot-5 Thomas Pieters belted a drive 324 yards. His ball was the shortest in the group. Rory McIlroy pounded a 383-yard tee shot on another hole. Drives exceeding 350 yards are seemingly routine for Dustin Johnson.

These days in pro golf, power is prevalent.

Today’s era benefits from lighter shafts, larger clubheads with springy faces and a solid core multi-layered golf ball. Players are bigger, stronger, more athletic, pay close attention to nutrition and hone their bodies in the gym.

Still, the question lingers, how far would golf’s legends hit the ball with today’s equipment? Grainy, black-and-white footage on YouTube, books, magazine articles and anecdotes provide a starting point.

First, let’s hear from a six-time major champion who starred in the 1970s.

“If we had (the new) golf ball in my day," Lee Trevino told USA Today in 2007, “The best of us would have hit it 300 yards and Jack Nicklaus would have hit it 360.”

It’s not a stretch to believe Trevino. Nicklaus cranked a 341-yard blast to win the PGA Championship’s long drive competition in 1963 with the “old ball.” When he was 18 years old, he and Arnold Palmer drove the green on a 330-yard par 4 at Athens (Ohio) CC, a story Nicklaus shared at Palmer’s memorial service.

Today, such drives are routine. According to shotlink data, there were 200 measured drives of 375 yards or longer during the 2015-16 PGA Tour season, including eight surpassing the 400-yard barrier.

Study the career of Fred Couples to grasp the impact technology has made on driving distance at the game’s highest level.

In 1982, Couples was a limberbacked 22-year-old with immense flexibility. He averaged 268.7 yards in driving distance, which was eighth on the PGA Tour.

In 2009, Couples was a 49-year-old with a decade-and-a-half battling serious back problems. He averaged 297.5 yards in driving distance, which was 24th on the PGA Tour.

His former World Cup partner, Davis Love III, led the PGA Tour in 1986 at age 22, averaging 285 yards per drive. Two decades later, he’d gained 13 yards. This year at age 52, Love was one of the eight golfers who had a 400-plus drive.

Technology made gradual progress for more than 60 years, according to Nicklaus. In the last 20 years, it exploded.

“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.

Ben Hogan hit his driver 265 yards, according to an article in the June 10, 1949 issue of Time Magazine. Even 15 years later he still hit drives that distance in a Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match against the equally long-hitting Sam Snead. Considering their length off the tee would’ve put them in the top 10 in 1980, it’s fair to assume they’d rank at least as high today.

Snead remained flexible and powerful into his 60s due to a daily yoga routine. With his size, strength and fluid golf swing, he’d challenge J.B. Holmes, who led the PGA Tour in driving distance in 2015-16 (314.5 yards).

As Nicklaus states, the ball has played a large role. Driving distances changed little over decades.

IBM recorded driving distance data at 11 PGA Tour events in 1968. The top 10 players averaged 270.2 yards, the average was 264.0 yards and Nicklaus led the Tour at 276.0 yards. Adding 35 yards for increased speed, hotter driver and better ball, Nicklaus would've averaged 311.0 last season.

When Tour pros put the Titleist Pro VI in play in late 2000, they automatically hit the ball 10-15 yards farther with each iron.

A recent study also sheds light on the subject.

Chad Campbell averaged 291 yards off the tee in 2009, ranking 70th on the PGA Tour. At the Byron Nelson Classic that year, he hit Titleist Balata 100 balls on the driving range with a persimmon driver supplied by noted golf author Curt Sampson, according to a blog post published at GolfDigest.com.

The results were startling.

His average drive with the Byron Nelson wooden driver went 247 yards. The ball carried 270 yards off his driver, which measured 45” and 230 off the relic, which measured 43”.

He swung the 150-gram steel shaft in the persimmon at 106 miles per hour. He swung the 75-gram graphite shaft in his driver at 113 miles per hour. A driver two inches longer and two ounces lighter enabled Campbell to generate more speed. According to golf club designer Tom Wishon in a post on GolfWRX.com, each mile-per-hour of clubhead speed equals 2.8 yards of carry. He wrote that advancements in golf equipment account for at best, 25 percent of the distance increase.

The average clubhead speed increased from 104 mph in 1980 to 113 in 2016. Andrew Loupe led the PGA Tour with 125.5 average clubhead speed. He recorded a top measured speed of 130.9 mph. In all, 14 pros averaged 120 mph or better.

Using high-speed film analysis, experts estimate legendary amateur Bobby Jones had a swing speed of 117 miles per hour in the 1930s - using hickory shafts. Only 27 players on the PGA Tour in 2015-16 had a faster average. It’s reasonable to assume Jones, who was one of the longer hitters of the day and the game’s greatest amateur, would have no trouble keeping up if given modern equipment.

While the distance a golf ball carries is important, Wishon also makes another key point. Fairways are mown at roughly ½ inch on the PGA Tour now, significantly lower than in the past, although courses benefit from extensive irrigation.

Brandt Snedeker, who is slightly shorter than average, played back-to-back rounds on the Sea Island Plantation course for an article that appeared in USA Today. He played one round with his clubs and the next with steel-shafted persimmon woods and irons and a balata ball from the mid-80s. With the driver, he observed a 25-30 yard difference on well-struck shots. The gap stretched to 50-60 yards on mishit shots.

Needless to say, Snedeker and his cohorts are glad they don’t have to play for a living with equipment from a previous era. And, the legends from the past would’ve loved to tee up their graphite/titanium beauty and swing away.

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Drive Distance

Zurich Classic of New Orleans

TPC Louisiana

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Course-management expert Scott Fawcett knows how we can all play smarter golf

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H ow many times have you finished a round and said, “I should have shot lower today”? As a mini-tour player, Scott Fawcett was tired of making strategic mistakes, so when Columbia Business School professor Mark Broadie helped develop the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained statistics in 2011, Fawcett created a quantifiable course-management system called DECADE Golf. Fawcett works with numerous PGA Tour players, and DECADE is used by more than 100 college golf programs.

Fawcett joined us for the Golf Digest Happy Hour , our live webinar series with golf experts offered exclusively for Golf Digest+ members. This Q&A, selected from the one-hour interview, has been edited for clarity and concision.

Michael: For someone new to the game, what are the takeaways from what you teach?

Fawcett: The first selection off the tee should be driver. There needs to be a very good reason not to hit driver. For approach shots, on average, shading toward the middle of the green is a good idea. Now this is where it’s hard because aiming at the middle of the green is quite often less optimal than aiming at the flag. There’s an inflection point between aiming at the flag and at the middle of the green that is optimal.

Around the greens, just don’t miss the green with a chip. It’s stunning how many two-chips per round a 5-handicap or higher has. Then, on the green, get really good at speed control.

Charlie: How can you work on DECADE concepts in practice?

Fawcett: Start being aware of the width of your shot pattern. In other words, how far offline are your misses? That’s what I tell college coaches when they ask how their players should practice. I say use your launch monitor to illustrate to your players that everyone has a shot pattern, and this is why we need to play committed to our DECADE targets.

Luke: How does a tour player’s driver shot pattern compare to that of a 10-handicap?

Fawcett: For a tour player, the distance between their farthest left shot and farthest right shot that they typically hit in an event is 70 yards. The shot patterns are so much bigger than you would possibly imagine. It’s mind-boggling.

Think of shot patterns like a triangle. If you hit the ball the same number of degrees offline, but you hit it only 200 yards versus 300 yards, your shot pattern is going to be narrower. For 10-handicaps who hit it 200 yards, they can hit it much more offline [in terms of degrees] and still have the same 70-yard-wide shot pattern. A course doesn’t need that much more room for an average or poor player because even though the ball is going more crooked, it’s going shorter, so the shot pattern is quite often about the same width as tour players.

Todd: Is length more important than putting?

Fawcett: I wouldn’t say length, but I would say driving. There’s just no doubt, and this is a hard one for people to trust. In 2011, when they first started releasing the Strokes Gained/ putting data, I couldn’t wrap my head around an eight-foot putt having a 50/50 make percentage. I couldn’t believe that it was so low. I wrote a thread on an online poker forum that was titled “Is Drive for Show, Putt for Dough really true?” That’s one of the main topics 100 percent of golf-stats nerds agree on: The stats don’t support that cliché.

I don’t like the question of “Is distance more important than putting?” but I would say driving is definitely more important than putting. Again, it is based on the fact that nobody is very good at putting. That’s obviously a tongue-in-cheek joke, but it’s not too far from the truth. Relative to your handicap, you probably putt about average. Tee shots are how you can start taking huge chunks of expected value off a hole.

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Watch: pga tour pro drives green on a 391-yard par 4 at 2024 zurich classic of new orleans, share this article.

Golf course architect Pete Dye probably didn’t envision anyone driving the par-4 13th hole when he designed TPC Louisiana with a back tee at nearly 400 yards long.

But no one told Ryan Brehm, who flirted with the second ace in PGA Tour history on a par 4. (Andrew Magee at the 17th at TPC Scottsdale is the only one to do so.) Brehm, whose lone win is at the 2022 Puerto Rico Open, took dead aim and launched a sweeping draw (191 ball speed and an apex of 123 feet). CBS’s Frank Nobilo wondered if it would clear the final bunker.

“Oh, it carried,” Colt Knost, who was walking with the group, confirmed.

Smoked it 😮‍💨 Ryan Brehm drives the green on the 391-yard 13th @Zurich_Classic . pic.twitter.com/lyyRZqvL1h — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 28, 2024

And it ran on to the green and skirted by the cup at the 391-yard hole. Unfortunately, his partner, Mark Hubbard, couldn’t convert the eagle putt but Brehm cleaned up for the birdie to move a stroke closer to the lead.

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Scouting the Routing: 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson

T PC Craig Ranch has also featured its share of memorable storylines in its three years of service: most notably providing us with one of the more emotional Sundays of the 2023 season, as a pink-clad Jason Day captured his first win since his mother's passing on a day we should all remember to cherish the women who have sacrificed so much for us.

Now that the tears have been wiped from my eyes, this piece will serve to break down every key trend and statistic I'm weighing to project a player's viability in the outright market and set our readers up to make the crucial decisions necessary on pre-week betting boards. Without further ado, here is my comprehensive scouting report on TPC Craig Ranch and the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

The Golf Course

TPC Craig Ranch - Par 71; 7,414 yards

Past Champions

2023 - Jason Day (-23) over Austin Eckroat & Si Woo Kim
2022 - K.H. Lee (-26) over Jordan Spieth
2021 - K.H. Lee (-25) over Sam Burns

Harbour Town by the Numbers (Off-The-Tee):

Average Fairway Width -- 37.1 yards; 8th widest on the PGA Tour
Average Driving Distance -- 296.6 yards; 6th highest on Tour
Driving Accuracy -- 61.6%; 14th highest on Tour
Rough Penalty -- 0.21; 13th lowest on Tour
Non-Rough Penalty -- 0.41; 17th lowest on Tour
Missed FW Penalty Fraction -- 3.0%; 15th lowest on Tour
Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee Difficulty: (+0.039); 4th easiest on Tour

In contrast to some of the more demanding venues we're scheduled to visit during the "Championship Season" of professional golf, this week's stop in McKinney, Texas provides one of the least rigorous tests these players will ever see at the top level. This general theme of amiability begins off of the tee, where TPC Craig Ranch presents very few impediments to the game's best.

At an average width of 37 yards, the fairways here will look like runways to those coming straight from the claustrophobic confines of Harbour Town, and the 2.75" Bermudagrass rough hasn't historically provided much consequence to off-line tee shots. This fact, along with a sneakily long layout of over 7,400 yards (seventh highest on the PGA Tour), makes Craig Ranch among the most susceptible courses on the schedule to a bomb-and-gouge approach.

Looking back through recent driving leaderboards here at the Byron Nelson, a clear pattern begins to emerge between players that have routinely topped the field in Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee. Last year, nine of the top 10 players in this metric finished the season inside the top 50 in Driving Distance, and in years' previous, Cameron Champ, Bryson DeChambeau, Jhonattan Vegas, and Joseph Bramlett have each excelled off-the-tee despite sitting well behind the pace in fairway percentage.

I don't see much reason not to favor driving distance in your overall modeling, as most of the defense put up by this week's routing comes in the form of 490-yard par fours. Three such holes exist on this course (12, 13, and 16), and each has carried a historic bogey/worse rate of 15, 23, and 27% respectively. Any player able to carry the ball in excess of 300 yards can take a large chunk out of these hole's ability to cause stress (and set you up for success on the extremely score-able par fives here at Craig Ranch). With off-the-tee playing a inordinately large role in determining top finishes here at the Byron (26.3% of total strokes gained by top-five finishers), don't be afraid to ramp up your weighting on ball speed, carry distance, and total driving splits on longer, driver-heavy courses.

Harbour Town by the Numbers (Approach):

Green in Regulation Rate -- 70.3%; 8th highest on the PGA Tour
Strokes Gained: Approach Difficulty: (+0.050); 2nd easiest on Tour
200+ yards (accounts for 35.7% of historical approach shots)
175-200 yards (18.6%)
150-175 yards (18.0%)

One thing that does set TPC Craig Ranch apart from other notable PGA birdie parties is the lack of wedge opportunities players will expect to find around this routing. In fact, with three of the four par 3's here measuring over 200 yards, seven of its 11 par four's measuring over 455 yards, and each of the three par fives playing as two shot holes to a majority of the field, the approach distribution this week looks a lot more similar to a venue like Bay Hill or Torrey Pines as opposed to some of its main corollaries in terms of scoring average.

Through three years at Craig Ranch, over 35% of approach shots have come from 200 yards and beyond, and over 70% of approaches have come from over 150. Despite the winning scores, this is very clearly not a traditional wedge/putting contest to 25-under par. Instead, players will need to create a bulk of their birdie opportunities with a mid/long-iron in hand.

Fortunately, the softer conditions at Craig Ranch (paired with green complexes that measure in at nearly 7,000 square feet), make finding your target with the second shot one of the easiest tasks we'll see all year. Craig Ranch has ranked inside the bottom ten in Approach Difficulty in each of the three seasons it's hosted this event, and it's never ranked worse than 12th in Green in Regulation Percentage.

While Craig Ranch doesn't present the most strenuous ball-striking test, iron play has remained one of the most important metrics in predicting success at the Byron Nelson. Since 2021, top-three finishers here have gained an average of 5.7 strokes on approach, and nobody has finished in the top 10 whilst losing strokes to the field with their irons. Long Iron Proximity and Birdie Chance Creation will each remain at the forefront of my handicapping process.

Harbour Town by the Numbers (Around the Greens):

Scrambling Percentage -- 66.7%; 9.2% below Tour Average
Sand Save Difficulty -- (+0.001); 14th toughest on Tour
Up-and-Down Difficulty (Fairway) -- (+0.054); 2nd easiest on Tour
Up-and-Down Difficulty (Rough) -- (+0.084); 3rd easiest on Tour
SG: Around the Green Difficulty: (+0.054); 3rd easiest on Tour

If players do happen to miss these greens in regulation (something the field's best ball-strikers only project to do about 20% of the time), they won't exactly be met with a daunting test from these greenside surrounds either. The scrambling percentage over the first three years here at Craig Ranch sits over nine percentage points above the PGA Tour average, and only Renaissance Club and Vidanta Vallarta have proven to be easier venues for players to gain strokes around the greens.

This combination of ease both in hitting these greens and getting up-and-down on the rare occasions you need to makes the case for weighing short game at the Byron Nelson a difficult one to make. Only 25% of top-five finishers here since 2021 have attained that position on the back of a top ten field-ranking in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens, and the three winners at the Byron Nelson since its move to Craig Ranch have gained a paltry 7.2% of their total strokes with their short games.

One argument that can be made for players who excel around the greens is that of the clear correlation we've seen year over year between prolific Par 5 scoring and top finishes here at TPC Craig Ranch. This metric is historically favorable to those with prodigious short games, and I will be including a few key Par 5 scoring stats in my modeling. However, outside of this auxiliary correlation, I see no reason to further weight around the green play in any sort of Byron Nelson model.

Harbour Town by the Numbers (Putting):

Average Green Size: 6.778 sq. feet
Agronomy -- Pure Bentgrass
Stimpmeter: 11.5
3-Putt Percentage: 2.2% (0.8% below Tour Average)
Strokes Gained: Putting Difficulty: (+0.017); Easiest on Tour

And finally, we come to the greens themselves. Like most events that require scores in the 20s to contend, ball-striking alone will not be enough to carry players to the top of the leaderboard. K.H. Lee and Jason Day have combined to gain 11.1 strokes to the field with their flat sticks over the course of their three championship runs, and only two players in that time have managed to attain a top ten finish at Craig Ranch with a below-average putting week.

Notably, the greens at TPC Craig Ranch aren't exactly preclusive to holing putts, as they've routinely ranked as some of the easiest surfaces to putt on from short, long, and mid-range. Last season, Craig Ranch ranked in the bottom three in putting difficulty from both 5-15 and 15-plus feet, and we've also seen a 25% reduction in three-putt percentage despite these greens ranking well inside the top half of average square footage.

As such, it's difficult to tell just how much of an advantage elite putters will gain on green complexes that are this straightforward for the average player. Last year, six of the top 13 putters in the field finished the season outside the top 100 in SG: Putting, and only Adam Scott and Peter Kuest ranked inside the top 20 in both 2023 Strokes Gained and week-long putting at the Byron.

This stark contrast in season-long and weekly putting makes it very difficult to make a case for relying on putting splits as a predictable entity in our handicapping processes. As usual, I will be placing a small weight on the key putting ranges of 5-15 feet -- as well as historic putting splits on pure bentgrass. However, given the comparable correlations we've seen from more predictive week-to-week metrics (Driving and Iron Play), I hesitate to place too much emphasis on a player's putting acumen. As long as he's proven capable of spiking with the flat stick with enough regularity to return top finishes, I'd have no trouble looking to a more volatile profile in this facet.

Key Stats Roundup (in order of importance):

Mid/Long Iron play -- specifically weighting Proximity/Strokes Gained splits from 150-225 yards.
SG: Putting ceiling; specifically on bentgrass
Driving Distance
Historic acumen in easier scoring conditions
Par 5 Proficiency
Birdie or Better Percentage/Birdie Chances Created

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The Sunday Shortlist

Before the odds come out on Monday morning, here are two to three names I've identified as significant targets upon my initial research.

Min Woo Lee

We've long-awaited the week in which the 25-year-old Min Woo Lee achieves his first stateside breakthrough, and in my estimation, the benign links of TPC Craig Ranch make for the perfect backdrop. Over the last 12 months, the uber-talented Aussie has established himself as a name to watch on some of the world's most prodigious birdie parties: notching two wins at the Macau Open and Australian PGA Championship at scores of 30 and 20-under respectively. He also finished T9 at last year's Travelers Championship: a star-studded elevated event with a winning score of 23-under, and earlier this spring, he came runner-up to Austin Eckroat at the softest rendition of PGA National we've ever seen.

With his elite length, Min Woo has the tools to dominate this leaderboard off-the-tee, he carries one of the highest short-game ceilings on the PGA Tour, and leads this field in Par Five Scoring over his last 50 rounds. In addition, Min Woo has recorded some of his best career approach weeks on layouts that require an abundance of long-irons (PGA National, Bay Hill, LACC), and ranks 27th on Tour in Birdie or Better Percentage from over 200 yards.

Fresh off of his second career top 25 finish at Augusta National just two weeks ago (finishing 11th in Total Ball-Striking in the process), there may not be a more perfect venue for Min Woo to keep cooking than right here at Craig Ranch. I don't see a world where he isn't among the top drivers of the ball this week, and the approach distributions are as tailor-made for his profile as anywhere else on Tour. If the putter can morph back into the weapon that's long-carried Min Woo into the conversation of top-tier golfing prospects, we could finally see him join the likes of Tom Kim, Akshay Bhatia, and Ludvig Aberg as a PGA Tour winner.

Byeong-Hun An

Despite the well-established exploits of Tom, Si Woo, and Sungjae, there is a case to be made that 32-year-old Byeong-Hun An is the most likely to carry the Korean flag to a win at their home sponsor's new site. After a brutally bad stretch of golf three years ago that saw him fall from a playoff mainstay all the way to the Korn Ferry Tour, Ben has re-established himself as one of the Tour's most consistent performers thus far in 2024. Through 11 starts this season, An has missed just two cuts, he's racked up six top 25s, and perhaps more importantly, he's displayed hints of the ball-striking prowess that gained him so much notoriety within the golf-betting space in the late 2010s.

Over the last six months, Ben ranks second in this field in driving distance, third in weighted proximity, first in Birdie or Better Percentage, and fourth in Birdie Chances Created. Like Min Woo, Ben also possesses an adept touch around the greens that makes him a great Par 5 performer, and although he's had his share of struggles keeping the ball in play with his elite speed, the generous confines here in Dallas should suit his distance-intensive approach to a tee. In fact, the 3.9 strokes he gained with his driver last season marked the fifth-best driving performance of his entire year -- resulting in a 14th-place finish despite losing over two strokes to the field on the greens.

Of course, putting woes aren't exactly an isolated occurrence for the Seoul-native, as An has combined to lose a mind-numbing 11.8 strokes between Harbour Town and San Antonio over his last two PGA starts. However, from an overarching perspective in 2024 as a whole, An has experienced one of the most consistent runs of he's had in his career on the greens. He's gained strokes in six of 10 starts, and bentgrass has always provided his best long-term putting returns. Keep in mind that just last month, An finished eighth at the star-studded Arnold Palmer Invitational as a slightly better than average putter for the week (+0.8), and with the tee-to-green acumen he's consistently shown over the last 12 months, it won't take much help from the flat stick for Ben to make his way back into contention. I'm hoping this recent downturn in form can elevate his price on a rather nondescript betting board, and at anything approaching 33-1, I'll be compelled to take another shot at this alluring ball-striking profile.

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Sparked by two huge eagles, Stephen Ames rules (again) at Mitsubishi Electric Classic

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So, for those who have had one, do you remember how you celebrated your 60th birthday? Stephen Ames will not soon forget his. His milestone day was marked not only with a two-decker cake at breakfast, but a nice trophy, too. Collecting them has become a new hobby.

Ames continued his torrid play of the last two seasons on the PGA TOUR Champions, making not one, but two eagles Sunday at TPC Sugarloaf and eventually pulling away to win comfortably at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship just outside Atlanta. He shot 5-under 67, finished at 14-under 202, and jumped to the top of the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

After winning two times in his first 175 starts on PGA TOUR Champions, Ames now has won in six of his last 29 starts, a stretch that began just over a year ago. Ames becomes the first PGA TOUR Champions competitor to win twice this season, having captured the Chubb Classic two months earlier.

“It was like, 'Hey, now I gave myself an opportunity (with his Saturday 64),' and I took the opportunity in hand, which is nice,” said Ames, who won by four shots over Doug Barron (bogey-free 69) and Paul Broadhurst (72). Steven Alker (71) and K.J. Choi (70) tied for fourth at 9-under.

Stephen Ames drains lengthy birdie putt to seal victory at Mitsubishi

Born in Trinidad & Tobago, a resident of Turks and Caicos and longtime holder of a Canadian passport, Ames has uncovered something in his game over the past two seasons. He always has had the elite ball-striking – it was good enough to win four times on the PGA TOUR, including a signature win at THE PLAYERS Championship in 2006. But it is his improved putting that has jettisoned him into becoming a weekly contender among the over-50 set. He delivered an exclamation point on his victory with a 35-footer for birdie at his final hole.

When the ball vanished, Ames held his arms outstretched and smiled, as if to tell the fans at TPC Sugarloaf, “Any questions?” There were none.

Sunday’s convincing triumph was the third for Ames on the property, which staged a PGA TOUR event for 11 years. Not only was Ames defending champion, but he also collected his very first Champions triumph at TPC Sugarloaf, in 2017. After a rocky opening-round 71 on Friday that included a pair of double bogeys (and another hole-out eagle) and left him six shots off the lead, Ames was in a class of his own over the weekend. Saturday, he made eight birdies in a 64 that tied the tournament scoring mark; Sunday took a bit, but heated up to turn into something special. Only one player (Tom Pernice Jr., who went out early and shot 66) would fire a lower final round.

After a somewhat slow start to his Sunday (1-under through five holes), Ames holed out his third from 82 yards for eagle at the 569-yard sixth, spinning a wedge into the hole, and was off and running. As he stood over his third shot, Ames trailed Broadhurst, the 36-hole leader, by three; when his eagle fell and Broadhurst made bogey from a poor lie in a front bunker, the two players walked to the seventh tee tied at 12-under.

Stephen Ames makes birdie on No. 14 at Mitsubishi

“I had a straight uphill putt,” Ames said. “That made the putt a little easier ... I mean, I kind of snowballed everything and obviously made the gap a little bit bigger for me to come home, just kind of cruise away at the end.”

The day’s final group had featured the Nos. 1 (Alker), 2 (Broadhurst) and 4 (Ames) players in the season’s Charles Schwab Cup standings. All three were seeking their second victory of 2024; Ames came in as defending champion, and Broadhurst won just last week in Dallas (Invited Celebrity Classic) after going winless for more than five years. He was trying to become the first Champions TOUR player to win in back-to-back weeks since Bernhard Langer in 2017.

Broadhurst, 58, was right there, too, until the par-4 12 th , where he happened to make an untimely double. He was hole-high in two shots at the difficult 433-yard par 4, but his slick downhill chip picked up too much speed past the hole and tumbled off the far edge of the green. He chipped again, missed the bogey putt, and made 6, a huge setback.

Minutes later, Ames stepped to the tee at the 310-yard 13th and ripped a perfect driver that bounced perfectly just short of the green and ran 20 feet past the hole. He would make the uphill putt for eagle-2, stretching out to 14-under. Alker also drove the green at 13 and made a clutch 9-footer for birdie, but now was two back. Ames quickly added a birdie at 14 with a 12-footer that stayed on the left edge and tumbled in, and his lead had widened to three.

Ames would leave a small opening when he dropped shots at Nos. 15 and 16 after short misses, but Alker, the 2022 Player of the Year on Champions, failed to capitalize. Bogey-free through his first 14 holes, Alker uncharacteristically made three consecutive bogeys starting at 15. He also hit his approach into a fronting pond at 18, but managed to save par.

Why the sudden surge for Ames? Several factors. He credits the hard work he has done with Canadian coach Shauheen Nakhjavani over the past six years. Having overcome a shoulder injury, Ames keeps himself in terrific physical shape, hitting the gym four to five times a week. He stays mentally sharp after reuniting with psychologist Alan Fine, with whom Ames worked a decade ago on the PGA TOUR, climbing as high as 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

All the work, mainly what he has done with Nakhjavani, has allowed him to be much more consistent.

“We've worked on the same thing, somewhat the same things, and we keep refining it and getting it better where I feel a lot more comfortable when I'm playing golf, which I do right now,” he said. “I feel a lot more comfortable, pick my shot, pick my aim and just hit it. It's nice. It's just letting go, a lot easier to let go right now for me.”

At 60, Ames is a renewed, happy and rejuvenated man. As Ames approached the 18th green, the fans at TPC Sugarloaf serenaded with “Happy Birthday,” Ames playfully directing the chorus by waving his arms. He would have been pleased to two-putt from 35 feet, but hey, it was his birthday, after all, and his ball, carrying plenty of speed, hit the flagstick head-on and vanished.

Huge smile. It was a fitting ending for a 60 th birthday that Ames will not soon forget.

IMAGES

Tour Averages On PGA & LPGA Tour
Golf Ball Speed To Swing Speed Chart
Tour Averages On PGA & LPGA Tour
The PGA Tour's average driving distance has skyrocketed since 1980
Tour Averages On PGA & LPGA Tour
Optimizing Driver Distance Through Ball Flight

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Fastest and Average PGA Tour Ball Speeds
All the longest drives from 2021 on the PGA TOUR
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Jon Rahm

COMMENTS

Golf Stat and Records
PGA TOUR Stats. PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered trademarks.
TrackMan PGA Tour Averages Stats
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Driving Distance. Cameron Champ. 316.4. Avg. 1. Chris Gotterup. 315.2. Avg. 2. Rory McIlroy. 314.2. Avg. 3. ... PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, and the Swinging Golfer design are registered ...
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The average driver ball speed on the PGA Tour is 172.72mph according to the latest Shotlink stats. This represents a 0.86mph rise on the Tour average of 171.86mph at the end of the 2022 season and is 7.36mph more than the 165.36mph PGA Tour average recorded in 2007 when Shotlink began to track this metric. But when you delve a bit deeper into ...
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Off The Tee
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Another factor that significantly affects average ball speed on the PGA Tour is the smash factor. Smash factor is a measure of how efficiently the energy from the clubhead is transferred to the ball upon impact. It is calculated by dividing the ball speed by the clubhead speed. A higher smash factor indicates a more efficient transfer of energy ...
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The latest Shotlink stats reveal that the average driver ball speed on the PGA Tour is 172.72mph. This represents a 0.86mph increase on the previous Tour average of 171.86mph at the end of the 2022 season. It is also worth noting that the current average ball speed is significantly higher than the 165.36mph PGA Tour average recorded in 2007 ...
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As you can see, the club speed for the average PGA Tour pro is 113 mph with driver. Cameron Champ currently leads the club-head speed charts this season with a 129.72 average. You'll also notice ...
Average Golf Swing Speed Chart
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