You'll discover it's more than just a golf lesson. See below the make percentage for an average golfer from varying distances. The shot must not originate from on or around the green and the shot must end on or around the green, defined as around 30 yards of the edge of the green. Leaderboard Watch News FedExCup Schedule Players Stats Golfbet More PGA TOUR PGA TOUR Champions Korn Ferry Tour PGA TOUR Canada PGA TOUR Latinoamrica LPGA TOUR DP World Tour PGA TOUR University. See how you compare to the average PGA Tour pro. Proximity to the hole is measured by the average distance the ball comes to rest Make % Obee, October 6, 2020 in Instruction & Academy. The Ping iBlade irons used by Louis Oosthuizen are player-ish in shape but with an ultra-thin face that brings plenty of heat. The PGA Tour average is 29 putts per round with the best putter averaging 27.76 putts per round and the worst 30.36. Whats your go-to club for approach shots? From the 11-30 feet distance amateur players are 7-times more likely to three putt than a PGA Tour Player. Old habits die hard, but using putts per round instead of strokes gained putting is like driving a horse and buggy when a car is parked out front. I know met theboomer that'invented' the internet. See how your carrynumbers compare to the world's best on the PGA Tour in the table below, starting with the driver and moving down to the pitching wedge. The importance of putting in the game of golf is drilled into the mind of all players from the moment they take it up and its easy to see why. I am not suggesting longer rough for the recreational player on the contrary, Im for lowering the rough to speed up rounds for the casual golfer but for Tour players, this is where there needs to be some sort of bifurcation. Here are Tour Pros proximity stats. WATCH: The MOST BRUTAL lip out for a hole-in-one on the PGA Tour! Percentage of greens hit in regulation. Srixon ZX Utility 19 UST Recoil 95x. Pros breaking 70 will only take 28 putts a round. I want to see that curve graphed. [Editors note If you want to know what golf stats are the best to keep track of and which of the traditional ones are actually misleading check out our post on the best 10 stats to keep track of here.]. You Need to Get Into the Grooves, 10 Best Golf Stats to Keep Track of. To me these 2 numbers are my personal critical yardages meaning target yardage that I assume to get close. Their bunker shots and chips (only available since the early 2000s) finish a little closer 4 to 6 inches to the hole, and they have almost one fewer putt a round. Subscribe to our newsletter and get access to special offers & free giveaways. Gambling problem? The average Driving Distance rank for these players is 42nd, and only four of the top 20 in driving distance on tour last season a tournament. As we've turned the page on 2020 and get ready for another year of PGA Tour golf, our GolfChannel.com writers answer some of the biggest questions for 2021. Can you have this done by 8:00am tomorrow? Any steps toward curbing the distance boom in golf will have to wait a little longer. ", Rory McIlroy nearly FACE PLANTS the cup after taking tumble at Bay Hill, Pro golfer announces ONLYFANS collaboration, Tiger Woods set to miss out on millions as PGA Tour overhaul popularity contest. At the WGC-Mexico Championship, played in Mexico City at an elevation of 7,500 feet above sea level, the golf ball flies much farther because of the elevation change. SELECT YEAR. Yet in recent years, the most vocal proponents of those aged claims have become like town criers blaring out a skein of royal proclamations while ringing a mournful bell. Fascinating stuff, courtesy of Scott Fawcett and Lou Stagner. He's ninth on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season in SG: approach, 10th in SG: off-the-tee, first in SG: tee-to-green, ninth in proximity from 175-200 yards, and fifth in par-5 scoring. There is an additional calculation done on the pro tours to give a final strokes gained putting figure, which is based on an assessment of how easy or hard the greens are on a particular day, but the basics of the measurement are based on the individuals putting benchmark as explained above. PGA Tour pros know this answer immediately. Now thats fine for the pros I hear you say but what about the average amateur player who doesnt have the time or tools to work out their putting benchmark and measure how far each putt they hit every round is. Titleist T200 3i Thump 90-X And while theyre at it, if they would raise the green heights, almost every significant problem in this game could be ameliorated if not eliminated. The data suggests that golfers should lay up as close as possible, and the logical extension of that is that they should also dedicate a big portion of practice time to wedge play. But, it's one of us humans writing the story, we promise. Doing so allows for a high trajectory with low spin, which maximizes both carry and rollout. WebPGA The Genesis Invitational. Is that what causes some of the surprising data points? 34 putts or less per round must therefore be judged good putting for the average golfer. Course: Bay Hill Club & Lodge. From over 20 feet they will on average only make 15% of them in other words they are only, in reality, holing those putts once in nearly 7 attempts! Hold down your CTRL key (or command for a MAC) and hit the + sign one or more times. Titleist 917F3 15* VA Composite Drago 75-X Saudi law complicates Tour's counter against LIV, Super for stars, but not all happy with Tour plans, Key pillars of Tour's 'Designated Event Model', Cut Line: Rahm real No. Even at 175 averaging a 25 footer when hitting the green seems nuts. Search for fun things to do in your area led by PGA Professionals. I am simply highlighting it to show that you should not look at the average number of putts you take in a round as the true arbiter of how you are putting. The average PGA Tour player doesn't hit their driver as far as Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau or Cameron Champ. Thin faces can produce challenges in the area of sound and feel, but Ping addressed that need with an elastomer insert that supports the face from the heel to the toe area. Based on tour players putting and scrambling stats he proposes adding 22.5 to the number which results from dividing the number of greens in regulation you have hit by 2. Started Thursday at 03:24 PM, By Proximity to the computer require read this chart past 40? 2" AVERAGE DISTANCE TO THE PIN ON APPROACH FROM 60-80 YARDS 0-5 handicap: 41.38 feet 6-10 handicap: 45.20 feet 11-15 handicap: 50.49 feet 16-20 handicap: 55.21 yards 20+ handicap: 62.43 feet, AVERAGE DISTANCE TO THE PIN ON APPROACH FROM100-120 YARDS 0-5 handicap: 48.82 feet 6-10 handicap: 54.56 feet 11-15 handicap: 61.85 feet 16-20 handicap: 70.76 feet 20+ handicap: 83.46 feet. Good scoring is still possible without a lot of 1 putt holes but there is absolutely no way you will score well with a lot of three putts. Dont be surprised to see the Tours average actually break 300 yards by 2024. He said that any regulated reductions would be eventually, if not quickly, recouped by the innovations of the many highly motivated equipment engineers. Percentage of fairways (intermediate rough, fringe, and greens also count as fairway) hit on Par 4s and 5s. 2023 J. Rahm 2022 J. Niemann 2021 M. Homa 2020 A. Scott 2019 J. Holmes 2018 B. Watson 2017 D. Johnson 2016 B. Watson 2015 J. Hahn 2014 B. Watson 2013 J. Merrick 2012 B. Haas 2011 A. Baddeley 2010 S. Stricker. I recently talked to an entrepreneurial equipment engineer, whose job is to both anticipate which way the winds will blow regarding such solutions and to, within those stipulated parameters, squeeze every yard and mph out the shaft, club head and ball. Then look at that clubs Smart Distance and voila, thats your target layup zone. Upload or insert images from URL. ", Quiet Please! By signing up, you agree to the This is the site where we share everything we've learned. WebTop 10 Finished | Scoring Average | Greens Percentage | Scrambling. And the simple reason the average golfer with a handicap of over 15 will 3 putt between 3-4 times every round (that is almost 6 times more than the average PGA tour player) is because they leave their first putt too far away from the hole. Location: Orlando, Florida. The PGA TOUR continues its Florida Swing at Bay Hill Club & Lodge to play the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational this week. Titleist TSi2 16.5* 4w- Tensei Blue - 65s, Titleist TSi2 3H (18*),4H (21*)- TenseiBlue65sAdams Idea Tech V4 5H, 6H, 7H ProLaunch Blue 75 HY x-stiff Terms of Service I would say they aren't generally trying to leave themselves in those positions, so it could be awkward shots where they can't get the spin needed. In fact, the entire PGA Tour's average is almost at the 300 yard mark. With no equipment to point a wagging finger at, the track world applauds the athlete. Others will guess a range. Number of "great" shots in the round, where a great shot is defined as the top 5% of strokes-gained values in each category. CBS Sports has all of those statistics and more for the PGA Tour. And if it goes in then it is a bonus rather than being their primary intention. Then came 2020 and Bryson DeChambeau. Thanks OBEE, this needs to be pinned both the Equipment and the Instruction side LOL. Using the massive Arccos database that incorporates more than100 million shots from nearly two million rounds, we split golfers into handicap brackets and analyzed each groups proximity to the hole on approach shots from two yardage buckets: 60-80 yards and 100-120 yards. Golf Channel, All Rights Reserved. Special Select Squareback 2 w/ SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0. EmperorPenguin wow I would not have guessed you were a gen-x er - you are pretty good at this inteweb stuff. WebThe PGA Tour Average Proximity (the average distance the ball is hit to from a certain location) from 20 yards, from a fairway lie is 6 feet. (3): Titleist T-MB; (4-9): Titleist 718 MB; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM7, Saying hes always been a blade guy, Chesson Hadley uses Titleists 718 MB blade bookended with the companys 718 T-MB 3-iron and Vokey SM7 pitching wedge. Your previous content has been restored. Some will know precisely what number they prefer. As a general rule a total of between 31 and 34 putts per round is good putting. These correlations were between r = -.38 and r = -.49 for Champions Tour members, but only between r = -.00 and r = -.12 for PGA Tour members. Which begs the question: With the target date for the next Distance Insight Report in March, will solutions to the obvious conclusions be forthcoming? Guess it depends on how often one chunks or skulls partial wedge shots. As weve seen it really depends on how long your putts are and how many greens you have hit. Makes mewonder what the stats would look like if tour players aimed at the middle of every green. Since 1980, when the PGA Tour started keeping statistics, through the 2020 season, the average Tour drive has grown from 256.5 to 296.4 yards a gain of 39.9 yards or 15%. 2023 So what chance does the average golfer have of making that 2nd putt of about 9 feet if the pros cant do it half the time? The PGA TOUR continues its Florida Swing at Bay Hill Club & Lodge to play the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational this week. Drives are measured to the point at which they come to rest regardless of whether they are in the fairway or not.". NIGHT MODE. If they two putt from the same distance on the second hole they lose 0.5 strokes. However, they still hit the ball farther than most of you, even the shortest knockers, including the guys who struggle to drive the ball 270 yards. In fact, the delta between a hit fairway and a missed fairway on the PGA Tour today is 0.3 shots when the rough is just 2inches thick. 4.5 Baths. Fabian Gomez was ninth in 2015 and Daniel Berger was T-5 and T-7 respectively, in his back-to-back victories in 2016 and 2017. King LTDx 14.5 - Aldila RIP Beta 80 S @ 43" The majority likely wouldnt be sure. Fairway - Yards Rough - Yards Sand - Yards Fairway - Meters Rough - Meters This year's 295.3 yard average is the second longest ever (second only to 2020s average of 296.4 yards). Cobra SZ - Rogue 60s To break 90 you will need to take only 34 putts a round while to break 80 takes 32 putts per round. Don't knows. While the progress has cooled off some since the mid-2000s, the average driving distance has increased every year since 2013. $1,690,000. Length: Par 72; measuring 7,466 yards on average. This statistic will still not give you a good representation of how good your putting is from different distances as strokes gained putting does but it will give a better representation of pure putting performance during your round than the total number of putts in your round. Rough: Bermuda-grass over-seeded with Perennial Rye-grass Sub70- 649mbs-PW-6 ,639CBs-5-4 PX 6.0 Rifles The biggest difference would be putting, almost every week. It's not like there are duffers out there to fill the field. When it comes to driving distance on the LPGA Tour, it too has dramatically changed. Now - bear in mind the PGA tour players are playing tough courses with pins cut tight to the edges, so from 180, they might well be aiming it 20 feet away from the hole. It's almost universally agreed that the way to maximize distance off the tee with a driver is to hit up on the ball. This event typically does not draw the names as it has this While on the PGA Tour the pros average 2-putt range is 35 feet in other words only when putts reach a length of 35 feet will pros start 3 putting more than they 1 putt the average 2-putt range for the average golfer with a handicap of between 15-19 reduces to just 16 feet. Putt, swing, and slice with some of the biggest names in golf as you travel to various real and fantasy courses in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. In short, they are restating the arguments of old, but pouring gasoline on the fire with sustainability claims. Just because you see professionals holing a bunch of putts on the highlights reel does not necessarily mean they are all great putters or indeed are aiming to hole every putt! And that is the number of times you three putt. But on average, PGA tour players hit down on the ball with their driver. i get this doesn't follow the pga tour motto of 'these guys are good', but wish the tv crew would run an early round sunday lowlight package of all Ft. 81335 National Dr, La Quinta, CA 92253. WebThe golfer used for this simulation was defined to represent an average PGA TOUR player. They are better on the greens than the player who hits a lot of great iron shots closer to the hole, and therefore makes more putts, but you cant tell that by simply looking at the total number of putts in the round. Total Driving (2022-23 PGA TOUR season) Keith Mitchell 26 (15 11) Shane Lowry 45 (32 13) Scottie Scheffler 56 (28 28) Collin Morikawa comes undone, Jon Rahm roars home, Xander Schauffele exits early and Augusta National extends a welcome invite. THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, DISTRIBUTED, TRANSMITTED, CACHED OR OTHERWISE USED, EXCEPT WITH THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. 2023 DISCOVERY GOLF, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, PGA Tour stats: The top 5 players in proximity to the hole and the irons they use. Check out our review of Professor Broadies great book here.]. GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, Tuesday at 04:47 PM, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 20, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 13, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 6, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, January 31, By Paste as plain text instead, Shots deemed to be layups or punch outs are excluded, Shots deemed to be chip outs are excluded. Location: Orlando, Florida. The Tour average GIRs in 2017 was 11.68 per round. Add That Little Extra Limited also participates in other affiliate programs with FlexOffers, CJ, Svorn and other sites and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies (again at no cost to you). It's interesting data! WebDISTANCE (FEET) PGA TOUR ONE PUTT PERCENTAGE: PGA TOUR 3 PUTT PERCENTAGE: PGA TOUR AVERAGE NO. These are small, very pleasing and feel really good.. So it still does, and always will, remain a critical component of the game and taking fewer putts, particularly 3-putts, will lower your score and sometimes quite significantly. Titleist TSi3 10* TPO 1K 60-TX Rough: Bermuda-grass over-seeded with Perennial Rye-grass To state the obvious, the increase in distance is a multi-pronged equation. For several years Titleists CB iron was little more than a pretty piece of metal on the end of a shaft, technologically speaking. They miss the green 1 out of 10 times from 40 yards; . Mark Sweeney, the founder of AimPoint Golf, teacher of five world #1 ranked players and named one of golfs Top Innovators by Golf Digest Magazine, proposes a rough and ready formula to answer the question Did I putt well today or not?. How Far Should You Hit Your Wedges? The strokes-gained cutoffs by category are OTT: -0.4, APP: -0.5, ARG: -0.6, PUTT: -0.5. Go to the range and map out your 50%-100% distances with every club. WebPGA The Genesis Invitational. If they are 40 - 60 yards out, it likely means that they have missed a GIR and they are trying to hit it close to get up and down to save par. WebIn Gee Chun, Lizette Salas and Mariah Stackhouse have been recognized as the 2023 Velocity Global Impact Award finalists for their impact on growing the game of golf. The center of gravity was moved closer to the center of the face for more consistent ball speed (something that helps keep the dispersion on approaches tight), and tungsten weighting was used to boost performance on off-center hits. It never made sense to me when I was a beginner a long time ago, and it makes even less sense now since there is some hard data around this. USE OF AND/OR REGISTRATION ON ANY PORTION OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OURVISITOR AGREEMENT(UPDATED 1/6/23),PRIVACY AND COOKIES NOTICE(UPDATED 1/4/23) ANDCALIFORNIA PRIVACY NOTICE. Speed much more than line matters on these occasions and aiming to get your first putt within a 2-3 feet imaginary circle around the hole is ideal. On 10/7/2020 at 5:01 PM, Ri_Redneck said: Please put and questions or comments here, Please put any questions or comments here, Please put any questions of comments here, Proximity to the Hole from Various Distances, PING G400 Max - Atmos Tour Spec Red - 65s, Titleist TSi2 3H (18*),4H (21*)- TenseiBlue65s, Adams Idea Tech V4 5H, 6H, 7H ProLaunch Blue 75 HY x-stiff, Titleist TSi2 21* 7WD MCA Diamana GT 80TX, MIURA TC-201 4-6 MCA MMT-105TX, MIURA MB-101 7-P . Furthermore, that this added length strains resources and causes undue economic and environmental burdens. No kidding. OGIO launches All Elements Silencer Cart Bags, PXG Apparel Spring 2023 Collection - FIRST LOOK, PowaKaddy pushing boundaries with 2023 trolley lineup, "I cut someone for less" Golf fans divided over etiquette of college player, Consumer spending by UK golfers increases to 5.1 billion, PING ChipR Review: the secret to improving your short game woes, FootJoy Pro SL 2022 Golf Shoes Review: The ultimate spikeless model. (4): Titleist 718 CB; (5-PW): Titleist 718 MB. This site is owned and operated by Add That Little Extra Limited, a private limited company whose registered office is in London, UK. Fringes are no longer counted (we used to count them). Callaways latest iteration of its X Forged iron drew upon inspiration from its X Forged in 2013. Privacy Policy. Graeme Hay is the owner of GolfingFocus.com. ENTER NOW! Theres only about a 7-foot difference in proximity to the hole from the farther distance. Percentage of around-the-green shots from 50 yards and in that were holed out in 2 strokes or less. His current irons feature three weight screws on the toe and the new version has only two. Curious if it follows my hypothesis that it is around 170-180 yards on the long end and 120 on the short end. From more than 30 feet the difference between average players and tour pros is much less. The second player also hits all 18 greens in regulation but is within 10 feet of the hole for every birdie putt and as a result makes 6 birdies. Madness. From 60 yards, 1.5 out of 10. We wanted to find the yardagemostpeople should try to navigate toward when laying up on a par-5 or punching out on a par-4. We do not need the ball to fly shorter and nor do we need the clock to be rolled-back on equipment, just to make more relevant a few holes or a few courses in the golf world. CTRL/command and - to get back to where you were. So, we wanted to give you an idea of how far is far and how short is short among PGA Tour players. Nicolai Cetti is a specialist in the Short Game of golf, and he helps players of all levels achieve their goals in this specific area of the game. Nate Lashley will look to end a nearly four-year winless drought on the PGA Tour as the betting favorite for the Puerto Rico Open. Practice, practice, practice. jarediogolf ", Tiger Woods to Jack Nicklaus: "I'm NOT going to do that! We also occasionally include links to products and services from merchants of our choice. Cobra Speedzone 10.5 HZRDUS Yellow HC @ 46 One hits all 18 greens in regulation and 2 putts every green but none of his first putts was from closer than 30 feet. WebProximity to the pin of all shots hit from locations other than fairway or intermediate rough from a distance greater than 50 yards and less than 225 yards. What can we learn from Jordan Spieth's new pre-shot routine on the PGA Tour? Post a Pic of Your Latest Purchase. Taylormade Stealth Plus 9* Ventus Black 6X. However, to assess whether you are putting well or not compared to your peers you should not now simply compare the number of putts you take per round to these averages. If we then consider how many putts per round you should have for your handicap or to break key scoring barriers the table below lists the averages. I know for one that GolfMagic Equipment Editor Alex Lodge, who plays off a low single-figure handicap, can hit the below numbers for fun - so some of you guys and girls out there may also be in the same boat. NOW AVAILABLE: GolfWRX G/Fore Hats and Holderness & Bourne Polos! Ping Glide Forged, 48, 52, 56, 60, DGS300. Fascinating stuff, courtesy of Scott Fawcett and Lou Stagner. Ping G410 LST 3 wood Diamana Thump x Russell Henley pays tribute to PHONE REMINDER as he leads Wyndham Championship. By With Arccos, golfers can automatically track stats on the course and use that information gathered to shoot lower scores. Proximity to the pin of all shots hit from the fairway (par 3s tee shots included) or intermediate rough from a distance greater than 50 yards. show us these guys are human. Pasted as rich text. TV Does Not Tell the Story, What Is the Best Practice Putting Mat? And there is one simple reason for this it is the easiest putting stat to measure. From 15 yards away (which is 45 feet), 4% of the time they wind up outside 45 feet. PUTTS: 2: 99%: 0%: 1.01: 3: 96%: 0.1%: dreaded 3-putts start to happen more often to drive that average up over the regulation at just over 16 feet from the hole while for the PGA Tour pros the average 2-putt range is Since then, the average driving distance has steadily increased, rocketing upwards in the 90s and early 2000s. Get it as close as you can without putting trouble into play. Measuring the number of putts you take in any given round is a statistic that has been used by golfers for a long time to assess their putting performance. This would mean if you hit 8 greens your target putts per round number would be 26.5 or (8 / 2) + 22.5. His 2019-20 before-and-after pictures would, if he were alive, send Charles Darwin back to the Galapagos Islands. I think the other thing is we all get so used to watching the golf on the TV that we only ever see the highlights from the guys playing well that week. Copyright 1996 - It's also why Scott talks a lot about how it's much easier to avoid making bogeys than it is to make birdies. Start with Major Mistaks. Proximity to the pin of all shots hit from locations other than fairway or intermediate rough from a distance greater than 50 yards and less than 225 yards. 5 Testers Needed! With Arccos, amateurs can do the same. Titleist Vokey SM8 Raw 52-08F/56-10S/60-04L PX 6.5/6.0/6.0 Heres the average driving distance and overall leader for every year since 1980. When it comes to any question in relation to golf clubs these days it feels like the solution seems most of the time to be the same - go and get fitted. And the reason the number of putts you have taken in a round is not the best stat for measuring whether you have putted well on any given day is that it takes no account of the distance you have hit your putts from or the number of greens in regulation you hit. The system automatically records and analyzes all of a golfers stats, uses Artificial Intelligence to show a personalized strategy for every shot and leverages advanced analytics to inform practice regimens. 4 Beds. Over that same time span, the world record for the 100 meters has dropped from 9.95 seconds to Usain Bolts blistering 9.58 seconds a 3.7% improvement. Distance off the tee is never necessarily a disadvantage, but the actual driving distance is 16% lower than the average TOUR course at only 282.5 yards. This put him near the bottom of the pack. Every situation -- off the tee, from the fairway or rough -- is different. Talk about an accelerant. Lets take an example of two players playing together. Rory McIlroy defends lambasted aspect of PGA, DPWT alliance: "It's brilliant! NIGHT MODE. Thats because the past three winners at TPC Southwind all ranked among the top 10 in that stat for the week. Callaway Rogue Max LS 9.0/Tensei Blue 55R. Add all that up and its easy to see where the 2.03 shots of improvement come from and where it doesnt. Since 1980, when the PGA Tour started keeping statistics, through the 2020 season, the average Tour drive has grown from 256.5 to 296.4 yards a gain of 39.9 "I wasn't interested in making every putt I put myself in a position so I wouldn't three-putt. Hadley recently told Golf Digest: I like the look and shape of them. For instance, players now hit just 2.4 more greens over the course of 72 holes than they did in 1980, despite being almost as accurate (Tour driving accuracy average in 1980 was 62.55%, and in 2020 it was 60.22%) and 40 yards longer off the tee. A players two best scores on each weeks Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, over 38 regular season tournaments on the PGA TOUR and 30 on the LPGA Tour with CBS Sports and Golf Channel as official broadcast partners, are tabulated to make up the final standings. However, moving back in yardage dramatically changes the proximity to the hole for the higher handicap players. In formula terms this equates to the following: Good number of putts = (GIR divided by 2) plus 22.5 OR (GIR / 2) + 22.5. APPLY NOW: Cleveland Frontline Elite Putters! This gives each player what is called their putting benchmark. Shotscope has found that the average distance the average 20 handicapper leaves their first putt away from the hole is almost 9ft. If youre looking for a hint as to who might win this weeks FedEx St. Jude Classic, consider the five players at the top of this PGA Tour stat: proximity to the hole. But the 100 meters is only about speed, whereas in golf, speed, which is to say distance, is only one element that contributes to a score. Every player is different, with a different swing, a different angle of attack, different swing speeds and more. If and thats a big if missing a fairway comes with a commensurate penalty to what missing a fairway meant decades ago. The average score over the last 40 years has dropped from 72.59 to 70.56 2.03 shots or a 2.7% improvement. The biggest difference would be putting, almost every week. Never mind that the average handicap has dropped more than two shots in the last 30 years and those amateurs are some 17 to 18 yards longer, on average, and, one would presume, having more fun than ever. Whilst the tour average has remained relatively stable over the last five years (252 vs 256 yards) weve seen impressive increases at the top. It's almost universally agreed that the way to maximize distance off the tee with a driver is to hit up on the ball.