pga tour longest average drive

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Longest Drives

The 10 longest drives in PGA Tour history measured by ShotLink

What's the longest drive in PGA Tour history? The answer to that depends on who you believe and what you count as a measured drive. There are actually three answers to that question, and one is Tiger Woods .

The longest drive in PGA Tour history, technically, is a 787-yard drive hit in the 1992 Texas Open by Carl Cooper. Cooper's tee shot on the par-4, 456-yard third hole hit a downward-sloping concrete cart path way right of the fairway and took off, ultimately going 787 yards and stopping behind the 12th green at Oak Hills Country Club. Cooper took another three shots to get back to the green, then two-putted for a double bogey.

Another longest drive in PGA Tour history is credited to Mike Austin, 64 years old at the time, who hit a 515-yard drive on Sept. 25, 1974 in the National Seniors Open Championship, the pre-cursor to the U.S. Senior Open. Austin hit the drive on a 450-yard par 4 at Desert Rose Golf Club in Las Vegas. The club was at 2,000 feet above sea level and the estimated wind on the hole that day was a 35mph helping wind.

The modern record in the non-cart-path division, however, belongs to Tiger Woods. Since 2000 in a limited capacity before being expanded in 2003 for all tournaments, the PGA Tour has used ShotLink to measure every shot hit on the PGA Tour, doing so with a laser-based system that offers precise measurement on every hole -- something not previously possible. Back in 2002, Woods hit the longest drive in PGA Tour history recorded by ShotLink, a 498-yard blast on the par-5 18th on the Plantation Course at Kapalua Resort in Hawaii during the Tournament of Champions. As it turns out, the 11 longest drives in PGA Tour history were hit on that hole, including 10 in that 2002 edition of the then-Mercedes Championships.

However, since we first published this post, the PGA Tour has revised the figures from the 2002 Mercedes, dropping 27 drives from that tournament off the official record. The official longest drive in PGA Tour history belongs to Max Homa , who hit a recorded 477-yard drive on the 525-yard par-4 seventh hole in the third round of the 2024 Sentry at Kapalua Resort's Plantation Course. That drive surpassed the record of Davis Love III, who hit a 476-yard drive on No. 18 at Kapalua's Plantation Course in the 2004 Mercedes Championship.

The longest recorded drive is Dustin Johnson 's 489-yard drive in the third day of match play in the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, but stats for the match-play event are unofficial and don't count toward historical rankings.

The 10 longest drives in PGA Tour history

• Tiger Woods -- 498 yards, 2002 Mercedes Champ, Round 2, No. 18 at Plantation Course at Kapalua (Unofficial)
• Dustin Johnson -- 489 yards, 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Round 3, No. 12 at Austin Country Club (Unofficial)
• Max Homa -- 477 yards, 2024 The Sentry, Round 3, No. 7 at Plantation Course at Kapalua
• Davis Love III -- 476 yards, 2004 Mercedes Champ, Round 4, No. 18 at Plantation Course at Kapalua
• Jeff Sluman -- 473 yards, 2003 Bob Hope Chrysl, Round 2, No. 14 at PGA West (Palmer)
• Charley Hoffman -- 467 yards, 2009 Texas Open, Round 3, No. 1 at LaCantera GC (Resort)
• Dustin Johnson -- 463 yards, 2011 Deutsche Bank, Round 4, No. 7 at TPC Boston
• Scott Stallings -- 460 yards, 2022 WM Phoenix Open, Round 12, No. 15 at TPC Scottsdale
• Justin Thomas -- 457 yards, 2019 WGC-Mexico Championship, Round 3, No. 10 at Club de Golf Chapultepec
• David Duval -- 454 yards, 2002 Bob Hope Chrysl, Round 5, No. 13 at PGA West (Palmer)
• Retief Goosen -- 452 yards, 2003 Mercedes Champ, Round 2, No. 18 at Plantation Course at Kapalua
• Craig Perks -- 451 yards, 2002 Buick Classic, Round 2, No. 12 at Westchester CC
• Gary Woodland -- 450 yards, 2012 Hyundai T of C, Round 1, No. 18 at Plantation Course at Kapalua
• Phil Mickelson -- 450 yards, 2013 WGC-Cadillac, Round 1, No. 17 at TPC Blue Monster at Doral
• Craig Perks -- 449 yards, 2002 Phoenix Open, Round 1, No. 13 at TPC Scottsdale

Kapalua's Plantation Course has given up the overwhelming number of 400-yard-plus drives in PGA Tour history. In the history of the PGA Tour's use of ShotLink through 2016, there had been 410 (was 437) drives of 400 or more yards dating back to Casey Martin being the first to do it in 2001. Of those 410 drives of 400 yards or more, 236 were at the Plantation Course. Another 56 have come at Firestone Country Club's South Course, home of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Another 41 came at LaCantera Country Club, former home to the Valero Texas Open. Three courses account for 330 of the 437 400-yard-plus drives in the PGA Tour's history of using ShotLink.

So, who has the most 400-yard-plus drives in the ShotLink era (through 2016)?

• 13 -- Dustin Johnson
• 12 -- Bubba Watson
• 11 -- Davis Love III
• 10 -- Ernie Els
• 9 -- Gary Woodland
• 9 -- Stuart Appleby
• 8 -- J.B. Holmes
• 8 -- Vijay Singh

And while Tiger Woods has the longest recorded drive in PGA Tour history with ShotLink, he has just six total 400-plus-yard drives in his PGA Tour career.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he talks about golf on various social platforms:

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See how the PGA Tour’s driving distance leaders have skyrocketed since 1980

Bryson DeChambeau, pictured above, is currently leading the PGA Tour in 2020 with 323 yards driven per shot on average.

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There’s nothing more captivating than being cooped up in front of your television, watching with listless anticipation as a golfer steps up to the tee and, with all their force, strikes the ball and sends it screaming into oblivion. The smack, whoosh, and fizz of the ball all merge into a beautifully synchronized chorus. GOLF.com has tracked the players, since 1980, who led the PGA Tour in driving distance — and picked out the most interesting storylines, most dominant runs, and most unusual tidbits.

1980: Dan Pohl, 274.3 yards

We begin our journey in 1980, with Dan Pohl, otherwise known as the “Pohlcat.”  Pohl led the tour in driving with a respectable 274.3-yard average and accruing over 51,000 yards driven. Pohl, unfortunately, would not pick up a win on Tour in 1980 — or ’81, when he led the Tour again in driving distance with 280.1 yards. However, the Pohlcat’s place in golf’s distance history can never be questioned. 

1981: Dan Pohl, 280.1

1982: bill calfee,  275.3, 1983: john mccomish, 277.3, 1984: bill glasson, 276.5, 1985: andy bean, 278.2, 1986: davis love iii, 285.7.

1987: John McComish, 283.9

1988: steve thomas, 284.6, 1989: ed humenik, 280.9, 1990: tom purtzer, 279.6, the decade of daly.

From 1980-1989, eight different golfers led the Tour in driving distance. From 1990-1999, there were only three — and for eight of those years, Daly was the top dog in the clubhouse. The enigmatic Daly — known for his long backswing, erratic play, and aversion to typical golf wardrobe selections — was truly groundbreaking in his driving distance accomplishments. In 1997, he was the first golfer ever to average more than 300 yards per drive — beating out a 22-year-old Tiger Woods, who finished with 294.8. Daly would last lead the Tour in distance driven in 2002, he continued to place near the top until 2007, where he posted a 312.9-yard average. There’s no question about it: John Daly is the king of driving distance.

An unbelievable John Daly shot once ‘freaked out’ a 13-year-old Tiger Woods

1991: John Daly, 288.9

1992: john daly, 283.4, 1993: john daly, 288.9, 1994: davis love iii, 283.8, 1995: john daly, 289, 1996: john daly, 288.8, 1997: john daly, 302.

1998: John Daly, 299.4

1999: john daly, 305.6, 2000: john daly, 301.4, 2001: john daly, 306.7, 2002: john daly, 306.8, kuehne unseats daly, in style.

John Daly had complete control over the title of the PGA Tour’s driving distance leader for eight consecutive years until Hank Kuenhe burst onto the scene. While Kuenhe’s best tournament finish in 2003 was T-2 at the Shell Houston Open, he completely blew the previous driving record out of the water. Kuehne averaged 321.4 yards, almost 15 more yards than the previous record (set by Daly in 2002). 

2003: Hank Kuehne, 321.4

2004: hank kuehne, 314.4, 2005: scott hend, 318.9, 2006: bubba watson, 319.6, 2007: bubba watson, 315.2, 2008: bubba watson, 315.1.

2009: Robert Garrigus – 312

2010: robert garrigus, 315.5, 2011: j.b holmes, 318.4, 2012: bubba watson, 315.5, 2013: luke list, 306.3, 2014: bubba watson, 314.3, 2015: dustin johnson, 317.7.

2016: J.B Holmes, 314.5

2017: rory mcilroy, 317.2, 2018: rory mcilroy, 319.7, 2019: cameron champ, 317.9, bryson’s dominance.

Since 2003, no golfer has been able to best Kuenhe’s illustrious record. Until Bryson DeChambeau in 2020. The five-time PGA Tour winner has undergone a highly publicized body transformation , gaining over 20 pounds in muscle in the past three months alone. As GOLF.com’s Kevin Cunningham noted, “the purpose of his body transformation is simple; DeChambeau is trying to get as strong as possible to hit a golf ball as far as possible.”

So far, it’s paying off. Not only is DeChambeau currently breaking the Tour record for distance driven — 323 yards — but he is consistently smashing the ball over 400 yards . However, most importantly, DeChambeau is winning; DeChambeau recently won the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a score of 23 under.

2020: Bryson DeChambeau, 323*

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Golfers with longest driving distance on PGA tour 2022

Professional golfers with the longest average driving distance on the pga tour in 2022 (in yards).

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The Longest Golf Drive Ever: Details Behind the Record Bomb

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If records are meant to be broken, nobody bothered alerting the PGA Tour’s big bombers. With constant advances in driver technology and an added emphasis on driving distance by today’s top professionals, it stands to reason that the world record for the longest drive ever hit on the PGA Tour would be in constant jeopardy.

On the contrary, the record 515-yard drive has stood for nearly 50 years. If you think that’s shocking, wait until you learn the details.

Longest Recorded PGA Tour Drive - 515 Yards

On Sept. 25, 1974, at the age of 64, Mike Austin rocketed a 515-yard drive on a 450 yard par-4 using a steel-shafted, 43.5-inch persimmon driver and balata ball while competing in the U.S. National Seniors Open Championship at Desert Rose Resort, Las Vegas. Weather and altitude played a role in Austin's 515-yard drive. Weather reports for the day report potential hot tailwinds of up to 35 mph. The Las Vegas course is at an altitude of over 2,000 feet above sea level. Despite these advantages, it is important to remember Austin was using a wooden club and a balata ball, both of which have been replaced by more technologically advanced equipment time and time again over the last several decades.

The closest drive at a PGA Tour event since then occurred in 2004 with much more modern equipment, Davis Love III's respectable 476 yarder at the Mercedes Championship.

Ideal Conditions

Austin took advantage of ideal conditions. To hit a drive 515 yards with any equipment requires some elements to fall in your favor.

The best conditions for the long ball are hot, dry areas. The air thickens in cooler temperatures, creating more resistance to ball flight. Playing at altitude also helps add distance as the thin air provides less resistance than air closer to sea level.

This leaves Las Vegas as an ideal place to set the record for the PGA Tour’s longest-ever drive. The average high temperature in Las Vegas in September is 96 degrees, with just one day of rain, on average, during the month. At approximately 2,030 feet above sea level, the altitude was also in Austin’s favor.

Austin's Unconventional Swing

Austin's secret, as he said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, is his use of physics. Austin applied his undergraduate degree in physics and his doctoral in kinesiology to his swing. The result, Austin said, was something you wouldn't see PGA pros emulate today because his swing relied more on the uniformity of muscle movement rather than raw strength and power. It's also worth noting that despite his impressive drive, he still recorded a bogey on the hole.

Other Long Drive Records

Austin’s long drive has stood atop the record books for nearly five decades, but other golfers have etched their names on some different driving-distance records.

Longest Driving Average

Bryson DeChambeau holds the record for the longest average drive distance in a PGA Tour season, at 322.1 yards during the 2019-20 season.

Longest Hole-in-One on the PGA Tour

The longest hole-in-one in PGA Tour history measured 332 yards when Andrew Magee aced the Par-4 17th hole at TPC Scottsdale in the first round of the 2001 Phoenix Open on January 25, 2001.

An Otherworldly Drive - 1 Million Miles

If you want to be literal about the longest drive ever recorded, you'd have to give it to American astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, although he did have an unfair advantage. Using a six-iron, Lopez-Alegria struck a ball one-handed while tethered to the International Space Station in 2004. NASA predicts the ball will fly approximately 1 million miles before disintegrating into Earth's atmosphere.

Resources Guinness World Records

Image: iShootPhotosLLC/E+ via Getty Images

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2023 pga tour in review: rory mcilroy was pga tour’s longest driver; who joined him in top 10 top 10 shortest.

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Rory McIlroy was the PGA Tour’s longest driver in 2022-23 after leading the circuit in average driving distance. It was the first time McIlroy had led the Tour in that category since 2018, when he averaged 319.7 yards per drive. Cameron Champ and Bryson DeChambeau had each led the Tour for two seasons since.

No, this isn’t the top 10 in SI’s pro golf ranking, but rather here are the 10 longest players on the PGA Tour during the 2022-23 season – and the shortest, too:

AVERAGE DRIVING DISTANCE LEADERS 1. Rory McIlroy, 326.3 yards 2. Peter Kuest, 321.7 yards 3. Brandon Matthews, 321.3 yards 4. Cameron Champ, 317.9 yards 5. Nicolai Højgaard, 317.7 yards 6. Ludvig Åberg, 317.1 yards 7. Cameron Young, 315.7 yards 8. Byeong Hun An, 315.6 yards 9. Vincent Norrman, 314.2 yards 10. Matti Schmid, 314.1 yards

AVERAGE DRIVING DISTANCE (SHORTEST 10) 1. Brian Stuard, 271.5 yards 2. David Lingmerth, 278.5 yards 3. William McGirt, 280 yards 4. Zac Blair, 281.6 yards 5. Brendon Todd, 282 yards 6. Austin Cook, 282.3 yards 7. Ryan Armour, 283.6 yards 8. Paul Haley II, 284.1 yards 9. Aaron Baddeley, 284.5 yards 10. Andrew Putnam, 284.7 yards

Scoring Average

Birdie Average

Driving Distance

SG: Approach the Green

Greens in Regulation Percentage

SG: Putting

PGA TOUR Player Stats 2024

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• EVNTS : Tournaments played
• RNDS : Rounds played
• CUTS : Cuts made
• TOP10 : Top 10 finishes
• WINS : Wins
• SCORE : Scoring average per round
• DDIS : Driving distance (in yards)
• DACC : Driving accuracy %
• GIR : Greens In Regulation %
• PUTTS : Putts per hole
• SAND : Save Percentage
• BIRDS : Birdies per round
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How driving distance has changed over the past 40 years on the PGA Tour

In 1997, John Daly became the first golfer on the PGA Tour to average more than 300 yards per drive. That year, he was more than 30 yards longer than the average Tour player.

Now, 21 years later, the entire PGA Tour averages 295.3 yards off the tee — the longest average ever. By the way that stat has been increasing over the past five years, don’t be surprised to see the Tour’s average break the 300 mark by 2024.

In 1980 (the first year that the PGA Tour’s driving distance stats are available), Dan Pohl led the field while averaging 274.3 yards per drive. The Tour average was a meek 256.89 yards.

RELATED: 15 longest drives on the PGA Tour since 2010

Since then, the average driving distance has steadily increased, rocketing upwards in the ‘90s and early 2000s. For 13 years — from 1994 until 2006 — the average increased every year, which is the longest such string since 1980. During that stretch, Daly led the Tour off the tee eight years in a row.

While the progress has cooled off some since the mid-2000s, the average driving distance has increased every year since 2013 and is currently at its all-time high.

MORE: You might not be able to crush driver like Dustin Johnson, but you absolutely can get more distance off the tee. Here's how.

For reference, this is what the PGA Tour says about its method for recording this stat: "The average number of yards per measured drive. These drives are measured on two holes per round. Care is taken to select two holes which face in opposite directions to counteract the effect of wind. Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not."

Here’s the average driving distance and overall leader for every year since 1980:

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a]:underline [&>a]:text-team-secondary"> Rory McIlroy had the longest average driving distance in 2022-23, at 326.3 yards.

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How Far PGA Tour Players Carry Their Drives

What's the average carry of a PGA Tour player's drive, and how might that change in the future?

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The driving distance debate is one that stubbornly refuses to go away… although that’s something governing bodies the USGA and The R&A are probably hoping will change within a few years.

That’s because they have confirmed golf ball rollback plans that will see driving distances reduced at every level of the game, starting in 2028 in the professional game and from 2030 elsewhere. But how far do PGA Tour players currently carry their drives, and how will the changes affect the numbers?

Carry distance is an important stat to know, but why? Well, it’s one thing to know how far your drives have travelled after the ball has come to a stop, but if you’re weighing up potential problems ahead from the tee box, such as water, bunkers or rough, carry distance is the priority.

According to figures released by Trackman, which also show how far PGA Tour players hit every club in the bag , players on the circuit carry their drives an average 275 yards. 

That's over nine yards more than in 2007, when the PGA Tour began keeping carry distance records. Back then, the average carry distance was 265.7 yards. As with driving distances on the PGA Tour , that has increased over the years, but it won't stay on that trajectory indefinitely, because of the changes coming in 2028. 

That will see the game’s longest hitters lose between 13 and 15 yards of their total driving distance. However, the average elite male player will not be as affected and can expect a reduction of between nine and 11 yards. Naturally, this will have an effect on carry distance, too. 

Of course, the very longest hitters and average elite players are all part of the overall Trackman average, but it’s probably safe to assume that the average carry distance after the rollback will be around 10 yards shorter, or approximately 265 yards - in other words, somewhere close to the 2007 level.

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But what about the biggest hitter? After all, the further a player drives the ball, the more distance he will lose after the rollback. According to the PGA Tour website, Rory McIlroy , a key figure who supports the change , is at the top of the list for the 2022/23 season with an average driving distance of 326.3 yards.

Rory McIlroy supports the golf ball rollback plan

Let’s say that average comes down by the top figure given by the governing bodies once the change comes in – 15 yards. That will reduce his average driving distance to 311.3 yards, or a 4.5% hit.

McIlroy’s average carry distance for the same season is 307.4 yards and 4.5% of that is 13.8 yards. That means his carry distance could come down to around 293.6 yards after the rollback.

How Far PGA Tour Players Carry Their Driver

• Club speed (mph): 113
• Attack angle (deg): -1.3
• Ball speed (mph): 167
• Smash factor: 1.48
• Launch angle (deg): 10.9
• Spin rate (rpm): 2686
• Max height (yards): 32
• Land angle (deg): 38
• Carry (yards): 275

Numbers: Trackman

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories. 

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game. 

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course. 

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

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Top 10 LONGEST DRIVES of season so far: PGA Tour vs LIV Golf 2023

Check out the biggest hits of the season so far on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, as well as the drivers each of them has used. 

The golf ball is going further than ever before (at least right now until golf's governing bodies take further action) and that is reflected none better than on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf this season. 

Many of the biggest hits on both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have been used with clubs that feature heavily in our Best Golf Drivers guide for 2023.

The PGA Tour has the edge in the driving distance battle, but more as a result of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, which plays just shy of 8,000 feet above sea level. 

Only one drive in the top 10 longest on the PGA Tour this season has come outside of the TOC courtesy of England's Harry Hall at the Texas Open. 

To keep things a little fairer up against those on LIV Golf , we have also provided the top 10 biggest hits on the PGA Tour outside of the TOC. 

Rory McIlroy , who tops the driving distance charts right now with a 326.2 yards average, features in that one with his TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Driver . 

Let's crunch the numbers, and check out the drivers each player used in the process. 

Here's the top 10 biggest hits on the PGA Tour so far this season: 

Here's the top 10 biggest hits on the PGA Tour outside of the Tournament of Champions:

Here's the top 10 biggest hits on LIV Golf so far this season: 

Funny, I don’t remember hitting any cart paths! — Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) May 31, 2023

What's your longest ever drive? Share your biggest hit with us over on the GolfMagic social media channels. 

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