How Far Should You Hit a Driver? FULL GUIDE By Age, Handicap & Swingspeed!

Human beings love to make and watch things fly.

And watching a golf ball soaring into the distance after a purely struck drive is no different.

Comparing how far you hit a driver is therefore a much enjoyed pastime among amateur golfers and thanks to modern golf technology we can now precisely analyze how your drives stack up against your peers.

As every golfer knows, however, the question of driving distance isn’t simple.

Golfing Focus has already looked what is a ‘good’ drive and what’s average but the fact that you can hit drives dramatically different distances within a single round shows how many factors affect our driving.

So in this post we take a deep dive into the data of regular male amateur drives to give you a complete picture of how your drives measure up according the big 3 categories of comparison – handicap, age and swingspeed!

Average Driving Distance by Handicap For Men

Your handicap is the clearest correlation of your golfing ability.

As a result it makes sense to start with comparing how driving distances between golfers of different handicaps stack up.

And according to Arccos‘ analysis of 180 million of their players’ drives the average ‘total’ driving distance by handicap categories for men is as follows:

• +0.1 or better – 252.1 yards (230.6 metres)
• 0.0 to 4.9 – 245.1 yards (224.2 metres)
• 5.0 to 9.9 – 234.1 yards (234.1 metres)
• 10.0 to 14.9 – 223 yards (203.9 metres)
• 15 to 19.9 – 211.4 yards (193.3 metres)
• 20 to 24.9 – 201 yards (183.8 metres)
• 25 to 29.9 – 193.7 yards (177.1 metres)
• 30 or more – 182.7 yards (167.1 metres)

Arccos, golf’s first Artificial Intelligence system, have been collecting the data on tens of millions of drives hit by regular amateurs since 2018.

And thanks to this concrete data we can clearly see the strong correlation between driving distance and handicap.

The United States Golfing Association (USGA) and the Royal & Ancient (R&A) – the game’s governing bodies – have also been tracking amateur driving distances all the way back to 1996.

And although not as comprehensive as Arccos’ their data set again confirms the consistent and historic correlation between lower handicaps and longer drives

Over the past 30 years there have been huge technical advances in the manufacture of golf equipment including drivers.

For example, the development of oversized drivers and multi-layered golf balls have resulted in both amateur and professional golfers hitting the ball ever increasing distances.

As the USGA’s Distance Report data highlights this has resulted in all categories of handicapped amateurs gaining distance with their drivers over recent decades.

This has allowed the highest handicapped groups to gain significant yards with the distance they hit their driver over the years.

But other handicap categories have also recorded distance gains therefore maintaining the overall gap in average driving distance between lower and higher handicapped golfers.

When it comes to breaking down driving distance by handicap however regular amateurs frequently point out the flaws in categorizing how far players hit their driver in this way.

There are always exceptions of course and we all know that high handicapper who outdrives everyone else once in a while.

Nevertheless the USGA’s Distance Reports’ correlation between higher average driving distances and lower handicapped golfers is clearly confirmed by Arccos’ up to date analysis of the millions of drives hit by their users.

Arccos data also confirms that the majority (67%) of ‘good’ players with a handicap of less than 5 average 240 yards (219.5 metres) or more off the tee.

This therefore shows that, although there are exceptions to the rule, lower handicapped players hit the ball further than higher handicapped ones and as a result the longer you drive the ball the more likely it is you will have a lower handicap.

Breaking Down Male Average Driving Distances by Age

While handicap gives us valuable insight into driving distance potential, age is another crucial factor that affects how far amateurs drive the ball.

Looking at the distance the average golfer hits a driver is all very well but as it becomes more difficult to maintain distance as you get older many golfers find it more helpful to compare themselves to peers in their age group.

And thankfully once again modern golf tech in the shape of Arccos and Shotscope data helps to provide the answers.

Here’s how the average driving distance numbers by age breakdown:

• 15 to 19 years: 229.5 yards (209.9 metres)
• 20 to 29 years: 236.1 yards (215.9 metres)
• 30 to 39 years: 233.5 yards (213.5 metres)
• 40 to 49 years: 224.5 yards (205.3 metres)
• 50 to 59 years: 215 yards (196.6 metres)
• 60 to 69 years: 201.4 yards (184.1 metres)
• 70 to 79 years: 185.4 yards (169.5 metres)

These numbers, calculated from countless millions of drives hit by Arccos golfers, give a great indicator of how the total driving distances of regular amateur male golfers decrease over time.

The positive news though is that the decline in distances is gradual and only accelerates as players head over the 60 year age mark.

And with modern equipment especially, many amateurs should be able to maintain driving distances close the overall average of 225 yards or 206 metres for a significant portion of their golfing life.

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Understanding How Far You Should Hit Your Driver Based on Swingspeed?

One of the key factors in golf over the past couple of decades especially has been the advance in golf tech.

Not only has this had an enormous impact on the drivers golfers now use, and how far they hit them, but also on the metrics players can now analyse their performance with.

And with the advent of fancy launch monitors from Trackman and Flightscope we now know one of the most reliable predictors of driving distance is swingspeed (or clubhead speed as it also called) and can easily measure it.

The ability to measure swingspeed and its impact on driving distance has therefore become an ever more important statistic in golf as fancy technical equipment like Trackman, Flightscope and Shotlink has allowed pros and regular amateurs to find out how far they should hit their driver based on their swingspeed.

Estimating how far you ‘should’ hit your driver according to your swingspeed however is not straight forward and not as simple as driving distance comparisons by age and handicap.

While your handicap and age are not ‘dynamic’ factors affecting how far you drive the ball, swingspeed is only one part of the equation alongside your ‘attack angle’ at impact that determines the optimal mix of the 3 key factors that determine driver distance – ball speed, launch angle and spin rate.

In short swingspeeds vary each drive you hit as does the quality of the strike on the ball and this impacts distance.

Jaacob Bowden, founder of Swing Man Golf and considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on swing speed training, has however been studying pro swingspeed data for years.

And based on his approach we can provide the following estimates as a guide for male amateurs for how far they can expect to hit their driver with their swing speed.

AVERAGE SWINGSPEED	AVERAGE TOTAL DRIVER DISTANCE	PLAYER
60 mph	132 to 162 yards (121 to 148 metres)
70 mph	154 to 189 yards (141 to 172 metres)
75 mph	165 to 202 yards (151 to 185 metres)
78 mph	172 to 211 yards (157 to 193 metres)	Average woman amateur
80 mph	176 to 216 yards (161 to 197 metres)
85 mph	176 to 216 yards (171 to 210 metres)
90 mph	198 to 243 yards (181 to 222 metres)
93.4 mph	205 to 252 yards (188 to 231 metres)	Average male amateur
95 mph	209 to 256 yards (191 to 235 metres)
96 mph	259.8 yards (237.8 metres)	LPGA Tour Average
100 mph	220 to 270 yards (201 to 247 metres)	Average scratch male amateur
106 mph	279.1 yards (255 metres)	Champions Tour Average
110 mph	242 to 297 yards (221 to 272 metres)
115 mph	253 to 310 yards (231 to 284 metres)
116 mph	300.2 yards (274.5 metres)	PGA Tour Average
120 mph	264 to 324 yards (241 to 296 metres)
130 mph	286 to 351 yards (262 to 321 metres)
132.2 mph	323.7 yards	Bryson DeChambeau
140+ mph	378+ yards (345+ metres)	World Long Drive Championship Competitors

A closer look at this data provides a couple of fascinating insights.

Firstly the pros hit the ball further than amateurs not only because they consistently achieve higher swing speeds but also because they have a higher ‘driving efficiency’.

In other words they strike the ball better and much more often around the sweetspot than regular amateur players.

This is most obviously shown when you compare the average male amateur with the average LPGA Tour pro.

While both have similar swingspeeds according to Trackman – 93.4 mph for the average male amateur vs. a 96 mph average on the LPGA Tour – the best women pros average a total driving distance with a driver of nearly 260 yards yards compared to 225 yards for the average man.

“How important is your average golf swing speed? It’s very important. Simply put the more swing speed you have the farther you’ll hit the ball.”

Jaacob Bowden, Senior Writer at GolfWRX, PGA of America Top 100 Most Popular Instructor.

That’s a whopping 35 yards with essentially the same driving swing speeds.

And the main reasons for this are swing technique and the quality of ball striking LPGA Tour pros achieve compared to regular male amateur players.

In technical terms this is because LPGA Tour players achieve a driving efficiency of around 2.7 yards (2.47 metres) per mph of clubhead speed compared to the 2.3 yards (2.1 metres) per mph the average male golfer achieves.

Given the variance in strike quality that regular amateurs hit the ball with their driver it therefore stands to reason that we can only calculate ‘ranges’ of driving distance for individual swingspeeds as it is not the only factor affecting distance.

But for those wanting direct benchmarks we can estimate the following average driving distances by swingspeed for male amateurs based on an average driving efficiency of 2.3 yards per mph:

• 60 mph: 138 yards (126 metres)
• 70 mph: 161 yards (147 metres)
• 75 mph: 172.5 yards (158 metres)
• 80 mph: 184 yards (168 metres)
• 85 mph: 195.5 yards (179 metres)
• 90 mph: 207 yards (189 metres)
• 95 mph: 218.5 yards (200 metres)
• 100 mph: 230 yards (210 metres)
• 105 mph: 241.5 yards (221 metres)
• 110 mph: 253 yards (231 metres)
• 115 mph: 264.5 yards (242 metres)
• 120 mph: 276 yards (252 metres)
• 130 mph: 299 yards (273 metres)

The second and key thing this data also tells us is that there is a direct correlation between driver swingspeed and the distance you hit the ball off the tee.

Want to increase how far you hit your driver and improvements to your swing technique, ball striking and equipment are only going to get you so far.

In simple terms therefore if you want to hit your drives a lot further you are going to need to gain more swing speed!

[Top tip: Improving your fitness and swing speed will make a huge difference to how far you hit the ball and has the potential to add 20 to 30 yards to drives and an extra club throughout the bag. If you want to know how you can achieve this check out two of the best ‘golf training’ programs that can get you there:

• The Stack System
• Fit for Golf (Use discount code GOLFINGFOCUS20 for 20% off annual subscriptions!)

Before You Go …

Given the importance of driver swing speed to distance check out our next article on average driver swingspeeds again broken down by age, handicap and so on to see how yours matches up.

Average Driver Swingspeeds? COMPLETE GUIDE By Age, Handicap Etc.

Or if you want to know more about how all the different factors that affect driving distance fit together check out this great article.

What Determines Driver Distance? Skill Triumphs Over All!

[Note – Just so you know, and we are upfront as an affiliate program participant, Golfing Focus, at no cost to you, earns from qualifying purchases made through links on this page.]

More top posts related to this topic:

• A Look At What Is a ‘Good’ Drive, What’s Bad and What’s Average
• Why Don’t Your Drives Go Far? Slow and Steady Loses the Race
• 10 Ways to Get More Distance off The Tee With & Without Speed!
• Ideal Spin Rate and Launch Angle for Driver? That’s Personal!
• How Far Should Your Ball Speed Go? 100mph All the Way to 210mph!
• How Far Should Your Driver Swingspeed Go? 60 to 120 mph Guide
• 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
• Are Driving Range Distances Accurate? Golf Balls are a Problem
• Should Beginners & High Handicappers Use a Driver? Yes & Yes
• How Far Should You Hit Your Wedges? Be Sure to Fill the Gaps!
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• Do All Golf Balls Go the Same Distance? Physics First
• What is Considered a Long Golf Course? The Long and Short of It
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