How Far Do Pro Golfers Hit Each Club? A 2022 Guide

When you watch the PGA Tour or any major championship on TV it is hard not to notice how far pro golfers hit the ball.

Their drives seem to always go miles and I don’t know about you but I’m always checking myself to think whether I indeed heard the commentator correctly that they are actually hitting that high an iron for that 200+ yard approach shot.

So just to confirm what we are indeed up against we took a detailed look at just how far the top pros are hitting their clubs.

On average pros drive the ball a total of 296.6 yards (yds) according to official PGA Shotlink data. They hit a 3-wood an average carry distance of 249 yds, a 5-wood 235 yds and 3-hybrids 230 yds. 3-irons average 217 yds, 4-irons 208 yds, 5-irons 199 yds, 6-irons 188 yds, 7-irons 177 yds, 8-irons 164 yds and 9-irons 153 yds.

These high-level numbers of course don’t always tell the whole story as the pros like us are faced with an infinite variety of golf shots which don’t always mean they are hitting each club as far as they possibly can for every shot.

But if you take the averages over a season you are going to get more than a good idea of how far the pros are hitting each club.

What is fascinating also though as you dig more into the figures is the distance control options the best players in the world have with almost every club in their bag!

How Far Do Pros Hit Their Driver and Woods?

When it comes to talking about distance in golf the easiest and most obvious place to start is of course always with the longest club in the golf bag – the driver.

And as it is highly unlikely even the best pros in the world never want to hit their driver as far as they can so it is clearly the club we are going to get the best idea of the maximum distance they hit the ball.

So how far do pros drive?

PGA Tour players hit their driver a ‘total’ of 296.6 yards on average with a ‘carry’ distance of 284.3 yards according to official 2022 Shotlink data. The longest player hits it 320 yards on average and the longest recorded drive in 2022 is 460 yards. On the LPGA Tour the top pros hit their driver an average of 257.7 yards.

CLUB	AVERAGE TOTAL DISTANCE (PGA Tour)	AVERAGE CARRY DISTANCE (PGA Tour)
Driver	296.6 yards	284.3 yards
3-wood	–	249 yards
5-wood	–	235 yards
Hybrid	–	230 yards

When it comes to how far the pros hit a 3 wood and the other longer clubs in the bag including their hybrids the distance analysis gets a bit more complicated because clearly the pros are starting to use these clubs for a wider variety type of shots than they do for their driver.

The pros, like the rest of us, will be hitting a driver as far as they can 99% of the time but when it comes to their 3-wood, 5-wood and hybrids they can be using those clubs off the tee and for approach shots and will not always be aiming for their maximum yardage with those clubs.

The best distance comparison we have for those clubs is therefore the ‘carry distance’. In other words the distance from where they hit the ball to the point of impact on the ground.

On average PGA Tour pros hit a 3-wood a ‘carry’ distance of 249 yards. By comparison a 5-wood carries 235 yards and hit a 3 hybrid, which measures from 19º to 21º, an average carry distance of 230 yards. On the LPGA Tour the top women pros carry a 3-wood 195 yards, a 5-wood 185 yards and a 7-wood 174 yards on average.

For those of you interested in how these averages compare to individual pros we have listed in the table below the average ‘stock’ carry yardages for a selection of the top pros when it comes to how far they hit their driver.

PLAYER	DRIVER (Average Total distance)	DRIVER (Average Carry Distance)
Bryson DeChambeau	323.7 yards	318.6 yards
Justin Thomas	303.9 yards	289.1 yards
Brooks Koepka	310.7 yards	293.6 yards
Dustin Johnson	312.9 yards	299.9 yards
Rory McIlroy	319.3 yards	311.7 yards
Jon Rahm	309 yards	293.8 yards
Matthew Wolff	315.9 yards	303.1 yards
Bubba Watson	304.6 yards	289.5 yards
Collin Morikawa	295.2 yards	281.7 yards
Rickie Fowler	297 yards	289.9 yards
Sergio Garcia	309.4 yards	296.5 yards
Ann Van Dam (Longest LPGA Tour)	290.8 yards	268 yards
Tiger Woods	303.6 yards	291.9 yards

In the following table the list shows how far a selection of PGA and LPGA Tour pros hit their 3-wood, 5-wood and hybrid clubs.

PLAYER	3-WOOD (Avg. carry distance)	5-WOOD (Avg. carry distance)	HYBRID (Avg. carry distance)
Bryson DeChambeau	295 yards	–	275 yards (4H)
Justin Thomas	275 yards	250 yards	–
Brooks Koepka	275 yards	–	–
Dustin Johnson	282 yards	267 yards	–
Rory McIlroy	293 yards	273 yards	–
Jon Rahm	–	–	–
Matthew Wolff	280 yards	–	–
Bubba Watson	270 yards	–	–
Rickie Fowler	260 yards	–	230 yards (3H)
Sergio Garcia	270 yards	250 yards	–
Ann Van Dam (Longest LPGA Tour)	253 yards	235 yards	–
Tiger Woods	275 yards	255 yards	–

[Note – If you are interested in what drivers and fairway woods the top 100 PGA Tour players are using check out the in-depth analysis we have done here.]

How Far Do Pros Hit Their Irons? Remember to Take Stock

Looking at how far pros hit their irons is a much easier task these days due to all the tracking technology that exists however it still does not make it an exact science.

And that is for the simple reason that pros will hit all manner of a variety of different shots with their irons, especially for their approach shots, and as such, they will hit the same iron a variety of different distances.

A look at Brooks Koepka’s yardage book below gives us a great insight into this and highlights how many types of shots pros can play with their irons.

For example for a 170 yard shot into the green a quick glance at his iron yardages shows he could decide to play either a three-quarter 8-iron or try to hit a 9-iron as far as he can – his ‘max’ distance for that club.

When you account for factors such as wind, elevation, ground conditions and also the context in which the shot is being played Koepka, like all the pros, has a number of options for each iron shot which makes the question of how far he hits each iron a bit more complex than at first you may think.

However the pros have what is called a ‘stock’ yardage for their irons, which equates essentially to the average distance they will hit a full shot with each iron swinging normally.

When we compare these ‘stock yardages’ for irons between the pros we get a consistent view of yardage which we can accurately compare across the players.

On average PGA pros hit a 3-iron a ‘carry’ distance – the distance from strike to point of ground impact – of 217 yards. They hit 4-irons 208 yards and 5-irons 199 yards on average. For 6-irons the average is 188 yards, for 7-irons it is 177 yards and 8-irons, 9-irons and pitching wedges go 164, 153 and 141 yards respectively.

CLUB	AVERAGE CARRY DISTANCE (PGA Tour)	AVERAGE CARRY DISTANCE (LPGA Tour)
3-iron	217 yards	–
4-iron	208 yards	169 yards
5-iron	199 yards	161 yards
6-iron	188 yards	152 yards
7-iron	177 yards	141 yards
8-iron	164 yards	130 yards
9-iron	153 yards	119 yards
PW	141 yards	107 yards

Different pros however clearly hit their irons different distances but in the table below we have listed the ‘stock yardages’ of some of the top pros, including Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau, to let you see how they compare against the average.

And when it comes to how far Tiger Woods, arguably the greatest iron player of all time, hits his irons?

Tiger hits his 3-iron a ‘carry’ distance of 240 yards on average while his 4-iron goes 225 yards and 5-iron 210 yards. When it comes to his mid-irons he hits his 6-iron and 7-iron 195 and 180 yards. As for his short irons his 8-iron yardage is 165, he hits his 9-iron 150 yards and his pitching wedge 135 yards on average.

PLAYER	2-iron (yards)	3-iron (yards)	4-iron (yards)	5-iron (yards)	6-iron (yards)	7-iron (yards)	8-iron (yards)	9-iron (yards)	PW (yards)
Bryson DeChambeau	–	–	255	235	220	205	190	175	160
Justin Thomas	–	–	228	212	200	185	172	160	142
Brooks Koepka	–	250	230	218	205	194	178	166	148
Dustin Johnson	261	–	236	225	212	200	186	172	158
Rory McIlroy	–	–	240	219	207	192	175	163	148
Matthew Wolff	250	–	235	220	205	195	180	170	155
Bubba Watson	255	–	232	220	207	195	180	165	148
Rickie Fowler	–	–	215	200	185	170	160	145	133
Sergio Garcia	–	235	220	205	192	178	166	156	138
Ann Van Dam (Longest LPGA Tour)	–	–	208	195	182	170	158	146	134
Tiger Woods	–	240	225	210	195	180	165	150	135

How Far Do Pros Hit Their Wedges

When it comes to looking at how far the pros hit their wedges the stock yardage they hit each club is again obviously only one of the multiple yardages they can hit the most versatile clubs in any player’s golf bag.

As we can again see from Brooks Koepka’s yardage book above he has 5 different yardages listed for each of his specialist wedges which highlights just how much distance control the best golfers in the world can exert with their wedges.

Another added complication when it comes to comparing the distances that the pros hit their wedges is the differing lofts each of them often carries for seemingly the same club.

For example while one pro’s ‘gap wedge’ may be 50º another may choose 53 or even 54º for that same ‘gap wedge’ club and with such a difference in lofts it becomes very difficult to compare with any meaning how far the pros hit the same-named wedge.

Assuming however the pros are hitting ‘standard’ lofted pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges we found the following stock distances for how far the pros hit them.

As a whole PGA pros hit their pitching wedge an average carry distance of 141 yards. They hit 52º gap wedges a stock carry distance of between 126 and 135 yards and carry 56º sand wedges an average distance of 119 to 124 yards. Standard 60º lob wedges meanwhile carry 95 to 105 yards on average.

While these yardages will give you a general guide as to how far pros hit their wedges it is important to remember how particular all the pros are about these clubs especially.

It is vital for them to know exactly how far they hit their wedges with a variety of different types of shots because feel is so important from those short distances, especially at the top level of the game, where a yard or two can make the difference between winning or losing a tournament.

That is why you will find some pros’ wedges measured up to 0.5º or even 0.25º when listed and it is also likely that some of the actual strengths of the wedge lofts they use may in reality be stronger (i.e. a lower loft) or a touch weaker (i.e. a higher loft) than the actual degree loft number shown on their club.

To help however answer the question as well as we can the table below shows the varying distances some of the top pros, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, are hitting their wedges, together with the degrees of loft their clubs are listed at.

PLAYER	PITCHING WEDGE	GAP WEDGE	SAND WEDGE	LOB WEDGE
Bryson DeChambeau	160 yards	145 yards (47º)	127 yards (53º)	110 yards (58º)
Justin Thomas	142 yards	126 yards (52.5º)	112 yards (57º)	100 yards (60.5º)
Brooks Koepka	148 yards	130 yards (52º)	119 yards (56º)	105 yards (60º)
Dustin Johnson	158 yards	–	135 yards (54º)	118 yards (60º)
Rory McIlroy	148 yards	–	115 yards (54º)	106 yards (58º)
Matthew Wolff	155 yards	135 yards (51º)	125 yards (55º)	105 yards (62º)
Bubba Watson	148 yards	135 yards (52º)	124 yards (56º)	95 yards (60º)
Rickie Fowler	133 yards	120 yards (51º)	105 yards (55º)	85 yards (59º)
Sergio Garcia	138 yards	126 yards (52º)	108 yards (58º)	–
Tiger Woods	135 yards	–	120 yards (56º)	100 yards (60º)

Before you go …

While it is great to find out how far the top players are hitting the ball it is even better to know the reasons why they achieve the huge distances they get.

Is it simply down to the fact that they have access to the latest and best equipment or is it something else?

Read our next article 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 drives!

How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far?

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