Champions Tour Club Distances – Lets Take Stock!
When we talk about how far pro golfers hit each club it’s usually the PGA and LIV Tour players grabbing the headlines.
But what about Champions Tour club distances and how far senior tour players over 50 years of age hit the ball?
Champions Tour players hit the following average ‘carry’ distances with each club according to available data:
- Driver – 279.1 yards (255 metres)
- 4-iron – 202 yards (185 metres)
- 5-iron – 190 yards (174 metres)
- 6-iron – 178 yards (163 metres)
- 7-iron – 166 yards (152 metres)
- 8-iron – 155 yards (142 metres)
- 9-iron – 144 yards (132 metres)
- Pitching wedge – 129 yards (117 metres)
- 50º Gap wedge – 124 yards (113 metres)
- 56º Sand wedge – 107 yards (98 metres)
- 60º Lob wedge – 94 yards (86 metres)
While Champions Tour pros may not reach the 300+ yard average driving distances seen on the PGA Tour, they still clearly hit the ball distances that the vast majority of amateurs would take in a heartbeat.
Which is hardly a surprise given the senior Tour showcases some of golf’s most experienced and longstanding champion golfers including Bernhard Langer, Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington.
These yardages prove that, with the right technique great club distances remain achievable even with age.
After all Phil Mickelson was still able to win the USPGA only a few years back at Kiawah Island at the age of 50 to become the oldest major champion in history.
So in the remainder of this post we’ll take a closer look at Champions Tour club distances throughout the bag and look at how the stats for different ages of senior Tour players stack up against each other.
How Far Do They Drive On The Champions Tour?
Trackman recently published their updated distance averages for how far the top PGA and LPGA Tour pros hit the ball.
Unfortunately there is are no equivalent Champions Tour Trackman numbers but there is official Shotlink data available to tell us the average driving distance on the senior tour. And it is clear Champions Tour players can still generate an impressive driving distance yardage.
The average driving distance on the senior Tour is 279.1 yards according to the latest Shotlink data.
The longest hitter, Padraig Harrington drives it 308.2 yards on average and the longest recorded drive in 2024 was an incredible 416 yard hit from Ryan Jansa at the Sanford International tournament.
Here’s a snapshot of driving distances for a few of the standout players on the Champions Tour.
| PLAYER | AGE | AVERAGE TOTAL DRIVING DISTANCE |
| Steven Alker | 53 | 285 yards (261 metres) |
| Stephen Ames | 60 | 287.9 yards (263 metres) |
| Stewart Cink | 51 | 304.7 yards (279 metres) |
| Ernie Els | 55 | 291 yards (266 metres) |
| Retief Goosen | 55 | 293.9 yards (269 metres) |
| Padraig Harrington | 53 | 308.2 yards (282 metres) |
| Bernhard Langer | 67 | 275.5 yards (263 metres) |
| Rocco Mediate | 61 | 261.8 yards (252 metres) |
| Tim O’Neal | 52 | 297.4 yards (272 metres) |
| Vijay Singh | 61 | 289.9 yards (266 metres) |
Source: Champions Tour Shotlink
These are evidently impressive driving distances showcasing that senior tour players can still generate substantial power off the tee.
Padraig Harrington, the longest driver currently on the Champions Tour currently for example would find himself in the top 40 drivers for distance on the main PGA Tour.
It is also incredible to watch senior players like Fred Couples still driving the ball 285 yards at the age of 65 in a recent video while it remains hugely impressive that Vijay Singh maintains a driver distance of almost 290 yards in his sixty second year.
Distance isn’t everything of course as has been most recently yet again proven by the evergreen Bernhard Langer.
Langer, who now holds the record for the most Champions Tour victories, won the 2024 season ending Charles Schwab Championship.
And this at the age of 67 and despite sitting only 50th on the driving distance charts on the Champions Tour.
Distance is definitely an advantage in modern golf and age is definitely a factor in how far players hit the ball. But as Langer’s fairytale story shows a lack of driving distance compared to your peers can be overcome!
When it came to fairway woods and hybrids the data set available was unfortunately too small to determine any meaningful distance averages.
The information Golfing Focus found on a select number of senior pros showed they hit a 3-wood an average carry distance of 259 yds, a 5-wood 243 yards and 3-hybrids 226 yds.
Given these distances however put the Champions Tour pros ahead of the distance averages Trackman lists on the PGA Tour for these clubs it is doubtful that the distances we highlight for these clubs in the stock yardages for the select players below are replicated across the Champions Tour field.
How Far Do Senior Tour Players Hit their Irons?
The data available on Champions Tour club distances is not as extensive as it is on either the PGA or LPGA Tours.
And while Golfing Focus’ deep dive into the topic only threw up a small handful of Champions Tour players information on fairway wood and and hybrid distances to produce our estimate averages cited above there was more data accessible when it came to assessing how far senior Tour players hit their irons.
That still does not make the task of comparing how far Champions Tour pros hit their irons straight forward.
And that’s for the simple reason that players of all standards use their irons for a wide range of shots meaning that they may hit the same iron different distances based on the situation they are faced with.
Factors like wind, elevation, ground conditions, and shot context all influence how far a particular iron will go and each senior pro has multiple options for how they approach a shot with each iron, adding layers of complexity to understanding their distances.
However Champions Tour pros, like all top players, rely on “stock yardages” for their irons. And a stock yardage represents the average distance a player can hit each iron with a full, standard swing.
When we look at these stock yardages for the irons of different Senior Tour players, we then get a clearer picture of their iron distances, making it easier to make direct comparisons between them.
| PLAYER | AGE | 3-iron (yards) | 4-iron (yards) | 5-iron (yards) | 6-iron (yards) | 7-iron (yards) | 8-iron (yards) | 9-iron (yards) | PW (yards) |
| Steven Alker | 53 | – | 212 | 197 | 186 | 173 | 163 | 149 | 135 |
| Stephen Ames | 60 | 220 | 212 | 200 | 190 | 175 | 160 | 150 | 138 |
| Stewart Cink | 51 | – | 228 | 215 | 200 | 186 | 173 | 159 | 145 |
| Fred Couples | 65 | – | – | – | – | 170 | 160 | 150 | 130 |
| Ernie Els | 55 | – | 215 | 205 | 190 | 180 | 165 | 150 | 135 |
| Retief Goosen | 55 | – | 213 | 202 | 186 | 175 | 164 | 153 | 137 |
| Padraig Harrington | 53 | – | 228 | 212 | 198 | 184 | 172 | 159 | 143 |
| Rocco Mediate | 61 | 195 | 185 | 175 | 165 | 155 | 145 | 135 | 122 |
| Tim O’Neal | 52 | – | 210 | 195 | 185 | 175 | 165 | 155 | 135 |
And based on the iron distances of these standout Champions Tour pros together with others we uncovered the following iron distances.
On average the leading Senior Tour players hit a 4-iron a ‘carry’ distance – the distance from strike to point of ground impact – of 202 yards.
They hit 5-irons 190 yards, 6-irons 178 yards and 7-irons 166 yards on average.
For 8-irons the average is 155 yards, for 9-irons it is 144 yards while for pitching wedges the average is 129 yards.
The stock averages of the leading senior pros above therefore show them to be among the longer hitters on the Champions Tour and not far off the iron distances the PGA and LIV Tour pros.
Given the senior Tour however also includes pros playing well into their 60’s it is inevitable that the overall averages are noticeably less than on the main Tours.
Irrespective it seems clear that Champions Tour pros continue to hit their irons a long way.
And certainly by comparison to the regular amateur golfer and how far they hit their irons!
What is also obvious when looking at the topic of senior Tour distances is that the incredible distance control that they will have shown throughout their careers on the main Tours prior to their transition to the Senior Tour never leaves them.
When we took a look recently at a video of two-time winner of the season-long Champions Tour Charles Swab Cup Steven Alker as an example it showed him estimating his iron distances prior to hitting shots with a 52º wedge, 9-iron, 7-iron and 5-iron.
He states his target is ” … always to be within 1 or 2 yards …” of his stock yardages and over the course of ten shots he was never outside 4 yards of the yardage he called prior to hitting his shot!
So even as their iron distances dip gradually with age from their time on the PGA Tour the ability of the Senior Tour pros to control iron distance within a yard or three clearly remains steady!
How Far Do Champions Tour Pros Hit Their Wedges?
Wedges are the most versatile clubs in a golfer’s bag and the best senior pros are hugely adept at using them to handle the various situations they inevitably encounter close to the greens.
Different players also use different combinations and lofts of pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges.
This makes the question of how far Champions Tour pros hit their wedges more complex as players vary swing strengths and wedge choices to achieve multiple different yardages with each wedge.
However we if again focus in on ‘stock yardages’ here’s how far the top senior players hit the shortest clubs in the bag.
| WEDGE | AVERAGE CHAMPIONS TOUR CARRY DISTANCE |
| 50º Gap Wedge | 124 yards (113 metres) |
| 52º Gap Wedge | 119 yards (109 metres) |
| 54º Gap Wedge | 113 yards (103 metres) |
| 56º Sand Wedge | 107 yards (98 metres) |
| 58º Sand Wedge | 99 yards (91 metres) |
| 60º Lob Wedge | 94 yards (86 metres) |
| 62º Lob Wedge | 80 yards (73 metres) |
Champions Tour pros might not be able as a general rule to continue to quite match the huge distances PGA Tour players hit the ball but their distance control is as highly refined reflecting a skill developed over decades at the top of the game.
They are therefore able to hit different wedges of varying lofts the same distance depending on what the circumstances require.
Nevertheless these wedge yardages give a general guide as to how far Champions Tour pros hit their wedges and are the ‘stock’ average yardages they will base club decisions for wedge shots in and around those critical short distances from the green where a yard or two can make all the difference!
Before You Go …
If your distance numbers don’t match up to the top Champions Tour pros read our next post to discover the real reasons the pros hit the ball as far as they do, and how you can potentially add 20 to 30 yards to your own drives!
How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far?
Or go to the complete guide for how far pros hit the ball across the major tours.
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