The Complete Guide to How Far Should A Woman Hit A Driver

Few moments in golf match the satisfaction of catching a drive perfectly and watching it sail down the fairway.

Understanding what is a “good” drive distance for a woman is hard enough given how much more attention is focused on men’s distances in golf media and discussion.

While the quest for distance is universal in golf, women players often struggle even more to find reliable data about how their drives compare to their peers.

Fortunately, thanks to modern golf tech and statistical analysis, we can now address that balance and provide a comprehensive picture of average driver distances for women across different age groups, handicap categories, and swing speeds!

Golfing Focused Key Takeaways For Time Pressed Golfers

• The average female amateur drives the ball 178 yards (163 metres)
• Driver distance strongly correlates with handicap – scratch players average 230 yards (210 metres) while 30+ handicappers average 150 yards (137 metres)
• Age impacts distance, with a gradual decline starting in the 30s
• Swingspeed is the foundation of distance – the average female amateur’s swing speed is 70 mph compared to the LPGA Tour average of 96 mph.

Average Driving Distance by Handicap For Women

A golfer’s handicap provides the most reliable indicator of their overall ability, so it provides a great starting point for analyzing driving distances for female golfers.

And the correlation between lower handicaps and longer driving distances in women’s amateur golf is consistent and well proven just as it has been in the men’s game.

Comprehensive reports such as the USGA’s Distance Report, that tracked a couple of thousand female amateur golfers’ driving distances from 2013 to 2019, clearly show the link.

But with the advent of launch monitors and artificial intelligence systems like Arccos we now have access to even bigger data sets of average driver distances for women.

And according to Arccos’ analysis of millions of their users’ drives here’s how the average total driving distances by handicap breaks down for women golfers:

• 0.0 to 4.9 handicap: Average = 230 yards (210 metres)
• 5.0 to 9.9 handicap: Average = 216 yards (198 metres)
• 10.0 to 14.9 handicap: Average = 200 yards (183 metres)
• 15 to 19.9 handicap: Average = 184 yards (168 metres)
• 20 to 24.9 handicap: Average = 173 yards (158 metres)
• 25 to 29.9 handicap: Average = 158 yards (145 metres)
• 30+ handicap: Average = 150 yards (137 metres)

These numbers confirm the clear pattern initially highlighted in the USGA’s Annual Distance report – as driving distances increase handicaps tend to decrease.

Individual female amateurs can of course provide exceptions to these average driving distances.

Every regular golfer has at least one story of a higher handicapper who hits it further than their lower handicapped playing partners.

But given the volume of data gathered across both the USGA’s Annual Distance reports and Arccos millions of drives there is little to question the conclusion that the longer a woman amateur hits the ball off the tee the lower her handicap is likely to be.

Understanding Women’s Driving Distances by Age

While handicap offers one perspective on driving distance, age provides another important lens for comparison.

Many women find it more beneficial to compare their driving distances with peers in their age group, especially given how physical capabilities can change over time.

Modern shot tracking systems such as Arccos once again help to provide the relevant insights here and their detailed data analysis shows the following average driving distances by age for women golfers:

• 20 to 29 years: Average = 201 yards (184 metres)
• 30 to 39 years: Average = 194 yards (177 metres)
• 40 to 49 years: Average = 184 yards (168 metres)
• 50 to 59 years: Average = 169 yards (155 metres)

And these figures, based on millions of drives hit by Arccos’ women amateur users, mirror what they found when looking at average driving distances for men broken down by age.

That driving distances for women decrease as golfers get older beyond their 30th year.

It’s not all bad news however.

First the data shows that the decline is gradual.

Secondly golf manufacturers now use the latest equipment tech to offer multiple options designed specifically for women’s swing characteristics.

And this is helping many female amateur golfers to maintain a driving distance around the overall average of 178 yards or 163 metres for a lot of the time they play golf.

[Note – If you are interested in Arccos – Golf’s first artificial intelligence shot tracking platform – and getting an exact idea of how far you hit the ball so you choose the right club every time click here to get 15% off when you use our discount code – GOLFINGFOCUS15. Recognised by Golf Digest Editor’s awards 5 years running Arccos’ members improve by an average of 5 strokes in their first year of membership!]

The Swingspeed Factor In Women’s Driving Distances

Launch monitor technology has revolutionized our understanding of driving distance, revealing amongst other things, swingspeed (or clubhead speed) as the fundamental building block of distance.

For women amateur golfers, understanding the relationship between driver swingspeed and potential distance can therefore help set realistic expectations and goals.

But providing an answer for how far women golfers should drive the ball according to their swingspeed is not as easy as driving distance comparisons by age and handicap.

And that’s because unlike your handicap and age swingspeed is a ‘dynamic’ element that affects driving distance.

Each drive’s distance varies based on both swingspeed and angle of attack at impact – elements that combined determine the optimal combination of ball speed, launch angle and spin rate – the 3 key factors that determine driver distance.

In brief both your driver swingspeed and the quality of strike on the ball vary each drive and this impacts distance.

Based on extensive pro swingspeed research by Jaacob Bowden however – one of the leading experts on swingspeed training – we are able to estimate average women driving distances by their swingspeed.

And here’s what women golfers can typically expect in terms of total driving distance based on various swing speeds:

• 60 mph: 132 to 162 yards (121 to 148 metres)
• 70 mph: 154 to 189 yards (141 to 172 metres) – Average female amateur
• 75 mph: 165 to 202 yards (151 to 185 metres)
• 80 mph: 176 to 216 yards (161 to 197 metres)
• 85 mph: 187 to 230 yards (171 to 210 metres)
• 90 mph: 198 to 243 yards (181 to 222 metres)
• 95 mph: 209 to 256 yards (191 to 235 metres)
• 96 mph: 259.8 yards (237.8 metres) – LPGA Tour average
• 100 mph: 269 yards (246 metres) – Nelly Korda average
• 106 mph: 291 yards (266 metres) – Natthakritta Vongtaveelap – Longest LPGA average drive distance (2024)

The gap between the average female amateur’s swing speed (70 mph) and LPGA Tour professionals (96 mph) helps explain the significant difference in driving distances between these groups.

While LPGA pros typically average around 260 yards off the tee, the average driving distance for women golfers is only 178 yards by comparison according to Arccos.

That’s an enormous 82 yards of distance and the difference of 26 mph of driver swingspeed between these groups goes a long way to explaining it.

As Jacoob Bowden simply notes – “Simply put the more swing speed you have the farther you will hit the ball”!

Top tip: Driver swing speed is the key factor for determining a golfer’s ‘potential’ distance but ball speed created at impact is the biggest factor in how far a ball ‘actually’ carries. Find out more here about the single biggest factor in what determines driver distance!

Before You Go …

LPGA Tour players achieve remarkable efficiency with their driver swingspeeds, generating approximately 2.7 yards of distance per mph of clubhead speed, compared to the 2.3 yards per mph produced by your average amateur golfer.

And you can check out how far professional women golfers drive the ball on average with their high swingspeeds in our next article.

How Far Do Pro Women Golfers Drive The Ball? LPGA Vs LET

But while swing speed creates the foundation for distance, technique plays an equally crucial role.

And for many women amateur golfers it is not an easy thing to add driver swingspeed in order to gain more distance.

So to explore ways to optimize your driving performance by focusing on precision rather than power check out this article.

10 Ways to Get More Distance off The Tee With & Without Speed!

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
• Ideal Spin Rate and Launch Angle for Driver? That’s Personal!
• The FULL Guide To What Is A Good Ball Speed For A Driver (By Handicap + Age)
• 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
• Do Distance Balls Go Further? Marketing Matters
• Do All Golf Balls Go the Same Distance? Physics First
• What is Considered a Long Golf Course? The Long and Short of It
• How Do Pros Hit the Ball So Far? It’s Not About the Equipment!
• How Far Do Pro Golfers Hit Each Club?
• Driving Success – The Most Popular Driver On LPGA Tour