2019 Golf Performance Average Baselines — How You Compare to Amateur & Pro Golfers

For many golfers, one of the biggest goals, and challenges, is to improve overall yardage. However, while a high-tech launch monitor can provide you with accurate data, you still need something to measure up against. After all, what is a “good” golf drive? And how does your average golf drive compare against other amateurs, or against the top pros?

At Foresight Sports, we’re all about getting into the data, so we’ve crunched the numbers and compiled some golf club distance charts for players of all handicaps and abilities. We’ve also analyzed what separates the amateurs from the professionals, in terms of the average golf score, which might give you some good pointers if you’re not hitting the numbers you want.

Reading the Data

The first thing to realize, of course, is that everyone’s different. The average golf drive for a 70-year-old man, for example, is generally going to be shorter than that of a 30-year-old, even if the older player is more technically skilled. That’s why for each club we’ve focused on a yardage range instead of a single value. A younger player with a handicap of 5 or thereabouts should be getting close to the higher end of the range, while an older player or one with a handicap of 20 or over will be closer to the lower end.

The Average Amateur

• Driver

Male: 200 – 260yds, Female: 140 – 200yds

• 3 Wood

Male: 180 – 235yds, Female: 120 – 185yds

• 5 Wood

Male: 170 – 210yds, Female: 105 – 170yds

• 3-Iron

Male: 155 – 200yds, Female: 95 – 155yds

• 4-Iron

Male: 145 – 185yds, Female: 85 – 145yds

• 5-Iron

Male: 135 – 175yds, Female: 80 – 135yds

• 6-Iron

Male: 125 – 165yds, Female: 70 – 125yds

• 7-Iron

Male: 115 – 155yds, Female: 65 – 115yds

• 8-Iron

Male: 105 – 145yds, Female: 60 – 110yds

• 9-Iron

Male: 95 – 130yds, Female: 55 – 95yds

Other Clubs

When you get to the short game, you’ll be controlling your swing strength a lot more and won’t usually be aiming for maximum yardage. This makes the average distance of the wedges highly variable. However, as a rule of thumb, a full swing with a pitching wedge should get between 80 and 120 yards for an amateur male and 50 to 85 for a female golfer, while a full swing with a sand wedge will reach 60 to 95 and 40 to 65, respectively, for males and females.

For hybrid clubs, the average distance will be the same for the equivalent number iron. A 3-hybrid, for example, should go the same distance as a 3-iron.

PGA and LPGA Tour Professionals

With constant training, conditioning, and competitive play, PGA and LPGA tour professionals are naturally in a class of their own. Their average golf club distance is approximately:

• Driver

Male: 285yds, Female: 245yds

• 3 Wood

Male: 260yds, Female: 220yds

• 5 Wood

Male: 245yds, Female: 200yds

• 3-Iron

Male: 225yds, Female: 185yds

• 4-Iron

Male: 215yds, Female: 180yds

• 5-Iron

Male: 200yds, Female: 170yds

• 6-Iron

Male: 185yds, Female: 160yds

• 7-Iron

Male: 170yds, Female: 145yds

• 8-Iron

Male: 160yds, Female: 135yds

• 9-Iron

Male: 150yds, Female: 125yds

What Is the Longest Golf Drive Ever Recorded?

Big hitters just seem to love hole 16 at Firestone Country Club, one of the longest par fives on the PGA Tour. It’s where many monster drives happen on tour, although the longest drive recorded on the PGA Tour since 2010—463 yards—was hit by Dustin Johnson at TPC Boston.

The longest drive of all time, though, belongs to Mike Austin, who hit 515 yards all the way back in 1974. Despite all the new club technology, we have a feeling that record’s going to stand for quite some time.

What Are Pros Doing That I’m Not?

It’s simple: They live and breathe the game. They train every day, play every day, and flex those driver muscles every day. This means they’re not only strong, but their impacts are incredibly precise, and they’re able to convert much more of their club head speed into ball speed. In other words, they’re more efficient at hitting the ball.

Know Your Game Inside and Out

The thing about hitting for distance is that it only gets you halfway there. What’s even more important than your average golf drive is your accuracy. A short hitter with full control over their ball will beat a big hitter with no accuracy, every time.

In other words, it doesn’t matter if you’re hitting short, as long as you know where your ball’s ending up. If you know your own game and have the right tools that will teach you about yourself, you’ll improve every single day.

Train with the equipment that gives you deeper knowledge into your own game. Contact us today to find out about our range of stunningly accurate launch monitors.