A Look At What Is a ‘Good’ Drive, What’s Bad and What’s Average

Nothing seems to get golfers quite as exercised as driving distance.

How far a ‘good’ drive in golf is deemed to be and how you measure up against your peers is a frequent topic of discussion in the golfing world.

So let’s start with the definitive answer based on the most comprehensive golf shot analysis ever conducted by Arccos, golf’s first Artificial Intelligence system.

• For male amateur golfers any drive over 225 yards (206 metres) is a ‘good’ drive as it is above average.
• A ‘good’ drive for a women amateur is over 178.1 yards or 162.9 metres.
• Only 0.1% of all amateurs drive the ball over 300 yards (274 metres).

Given these stats are from Arccos’ study of 180 million drives their users recorded on par 4s and par 5s you would think the debate on how far is a ‘good’ drive would end there.

If only it were that simple though!

Say to some amateur golfers that they their driving distance is only average and you’ll get a response that borders on fury followed by an immediate run down of the longest drives they’ve ever hit.

So let’s get into the numbers in detail to prove once and for all what is actually a long drive!

The Definition of a ‘Good’ Drive for Male Amateurs

Knowing how far you should hit your driver and whether the distance you are getting is ‘good’ or bad depends on a lot of things.

What one golfer considers to be a respectable driving distance can clearly be very different to what another player thinks is a ‘good’ drive.

And spend much time on YouTube and you would be forgiven for becoming convinced that the vast majority of regular amateur golfers hit the ball further than 300 yards on average!

But thanks to Arccos’ crunching the numbers of tens of millions of drives hit by regular amateurs since 2018 we now have a very clear data on how common different driving distances are and if a driving distance of 140 yards all the way through to 300+ yards is a bad, good or long drive.

And to ensure statistical accuracy they limit the impact of exceptionally good and especially bad shots by calculating the median distance (i.e. the midpoint) all their users hit their driver.

So here’s how male amateur golfer’s stack up:

• Any drive over 225 yards (205.7 metres) is a ‘good’ drive as it is above average.
• Almost 25% of amateurs drive the ball 200 yards (182.9 metres) or less.
• A golfer driving over 241 yards (220.4 metres) hits the ball longer than 75% of his peers
• 15.5% hit drives 250 yards (228.6 metres) or longer
• A player hitting over 258 yards (235.9 metres) is in the top 10%
• Any drives over 267 yards (244.1 metres) are achieved by only 5%
• 3.9% drive 270 yards or longer (246.9 metres)
• 1.5% hit the ball 280 yards or longer (256 metres)
• 0.5% have a driving distance of 290 yards (265.2 metres) or longer
• Only 0.1% drive the ball 300 yards (274.2 metres) or more.

[Editor’s note: If you’re interested in getting an exact idea of how far you hit the ball so you can choose the right club every time, Arccos offers 15% off with the discount code GOLFINGFOCUS15. Arccos members improve by an average of 5 strokes in their first year of membership!]

What is Average Driving Distance for a Female Golfer?

Women golfers naturally don’t hit the ball as far as men so what is a ‘good’ drive distance for a woman needs to be assessed differently.

While Arccos doesn’t make available the same percentile driving distance stats for female golfers but still provide excellent data on average driving distances for female golfers.

And based again on their analysis of millions of shots here’s what we know about women’s driving distances:

• Any drive over 178.1 yards (162.9 metres) is a ‘good’ drive distance for a woman as it is above average.
• Single figure handicap female players in their 20s and 30s on average hit ‘good’ drives measured against ALL amateur golfers.
• Women golfers in their 40s with a handicap of less than 5 also drive the ball longer than the average male amateur.

How far do you hit your own ‘good’ drives? Let us know in the comments!

While comparing female and male amateur golfers in terms of driving distance isn’t particularly important, there’s a fascinating insight here.

The fact that the majority of single-figure female amateur golfers are hitting ‘good’ drives across all comparative scales highlights a key factor when it comes to drive yardages

And that factor is skill.

Your skill level has the single biggest influence and impact on how far you drive the ball and we delve deeper into the numbers on this topic in our post of what determines driver distance?

So for anyone wondering where they measure up on the ‘good’ driving distance stakes the stats are very clear on what will help you get up the rankings!

Reality vs. Social Media Perception

So what’s the key message from all of this?

It’s mainly that real-world data often differs significantly from what you might see on social media and that you shouldn’t be hard on yourself if you’re not smashing 300 yard drives.

Hitting the ball a long way is not very common among regular amateurs.

So if you are a male amateur driving the ball a bit over 200 yards (183 metres) or a women hitting it over 160 yards (146 metres) you are well within the middle of the pack!

Before You Go ..

These stats look at driving distance for ALL men and women golfer and therefore only allow a limited peer to peer comparison.

Golfers compare driving distances with each other by all sorts of different metrics.

So check out our next articles to find out how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ your driving distances are based on further comparisons of age, handicap, swingspeeds and more!

How Far Should You Hit A Driver? FULL GUIDE By Age, Handicap Etc.

Average Driver Swingspeeds? COMPLETE GUIDE by Age, Handicap etc.

Or if you want to compare your driving distance to the best players in the world on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours check this post out!

How Far Do Pro Golfers Hit Each Club?

Other top articles related to this topic:

• Why Don’t Your Drives Go Far? Slow and Steady Loses the Race
• What Determines Driver Distance? Skill Triumphs Over All!
• 10 Ways to Get More Distance off The Tee With & Without Speed!
• The FULL Guide To What Is A Good Ball Speed For A Driver (By Handicap + Age)
• 60 To 140 MPH Swing Speed Driver Distances – FULL Guide (With Charts + Calculator)
• Ideal Spin Rate and Launch Angle for Driver? That’s Personal!
• What Should Your Driver Attack Angle Be? Try Not to Be Negative
• How Much Does Driver Loft Affect Distance? Loft is Dynamic Too!
• Where is the Sweet Spot on the Driver Face? Take the High Road
• How Far Does a 3 Wood vs 5 Wood Go? Tee and Approach Shots!
• How Far Should I Hit My Hybrids? 2 vs 3 vs 4 Hybrid Distances
• How Far Should I Hit My Irons? By Handicap, Age & Swingspeed
• How Far Should You Hit Your Wedges? Be Sure to Fill the Gaps!
• Going The Distance? How Far Should Beginners Hit A Golf Ball?
• Do All Golf Balls Go the Same Distance? Physics First
• Are Driving Range Distances Accurate? Golf Balls are a Problem
• What is Considered a Long Golf Course? The Long and Short of It