Uncovering How Far Pros Hit Their Woods and Hybrids

While we most often hear about their monster drives off the tee, how far pros hit their fairway woods and hybrids is just as impressive.

According to Trackman, which tracks nearly every shot during PGA Tour events, the average carry distance pros hit 3 wood is 249 yards or 228 metres.

By comparison PGA Tour pros hit a 5-wood 236 yards (216 metres) on average, while they average 231 yards (211 metres) with a 15º to 18º hybrid.

These distances of course exclude LIV Tour pros but knowing how far Tour pros hit a 3-wood, 5-wood or even 7-wood or 3 to 4 hybrid is revealing.

However, it does not tell the whole story.

And that’s because of these clubs’:

1. Differing Lofts: Individual pros use varying different lofts for these clubs
2. Versatility: Fairway woods and hybrids are used for a variety of shots, including off the tee and approach shots.

The pros, like the rest of us, will be hitting a driver as far as possible the vast majority of the time for example.

But when it comes to their 3-wood, 5-wood and hybrids they will not always be aiming for their maximum yardage with those clubs.

This makes analyzing pro fairway wood and hybrid distances a bit more complicated than simply looking at how far they hit their driver.

But it also means that understanding these distances can be more relevant to your own game!

Golfing Focused Takeaways For Time Pressed Golfers

• The average PGA Tour pro ‘carry’ distances are:
  • 3-wood: 249 yards (228 metres)
  • 5-wood: 236 yards (216 metres)
  • Hybrid (15º-18º): 231 yards (211 metres)
• Differing fairway wood and hybrid lofts inevitably play a role in the distance differences among Tour pros
• ‘Distance gaps’ between these clubs, in addition to carry yardages, are critical to pros longer club choices as is ball flight, land angles and spin rates.

how far do pros hit a 3-wood?

The 3-wood has long been a staple in pro golfer’s bags and in Golfing Focus’ latest analysis exploring the woods PGA pros use we found 97% of the top 100 carry one.

And according to the latest data from Trackman here’s how the numbers break down when it comes to how far the pros hit 3-woods on average.

• Carry distance: 249 yards (228 metres)
• Club speed: 110 mph
• Ball speed: 162 mph
• Smash factor: 1.47
• Launch angle: 9.3º
• Spin rate: 3663
• Attack angle: -2.3º
• Land angle: 44º

These ‘averages’ however don’t tell the complete picture.

The longest hitters in the world generate even more impressive distances when needed and of course the lofts on individual’s players ‘3-woods’ can be quite different.

For instance, Rickie Fowler’s Cobra Aerojet LS 3-wood is lofted at 13.5º, whereas 2024 USPGA and British Open champion Xander Schauffele opts for a 16.5º Callaway 3-wood.

3º of loft can clearly make a big difference when it comes to how far a pro hits his 3-wood.

And that’s before we consider clubs like Bryson DeChambeau’s 9.5 degree ‘mini driver’ which he classes as his ‘3-wood’ – stronger lofted than Schauffele’s driver!

‘Carry’ distance – the distance from where the ball is hit to the point of impact on the ground – is the best distance comparison when it comes how far pros hit 3-woods and other fairway woods and hybrids.

But just bear this in mind when you look at the Trackman averages and the following numbers for how far a selection of PGA Tour and LIV Tours hit their 3-woods.

They are not necessarily the same lofts and as we’ll discuss later their reason for choosing the 3-wood they do will not all be about the max distance then can hit it!

TOUR PRO	3-WOOD Average CARRY distance	3-WOOD LOFT
Scottie Scheffler	270 yards (247 metres)	14.25º
Justin Thomas	275 yards (251 metres)	15º
Brooks Koepka	275 yards (251 metres)	16.5º
Dustin Johnson	282 yards (258 metres)	16.5º
Rory McIlroy	295 yards (270 metres)	15º
Jon Rahm	273 yards (250 metres)	16º
Jordan Speith	275 yards (251 metres)	15º
Collin Morikawa	271 yards (248 metres)	14º
Xander Schauffele	280 yards (256 metres)	16.5º
Tiger Woods	270 yards (247 metres)	15º
Bryson DeChambeau	305 yards (279 metres)
Rickie Fowler	285 yards (261 metres)	13.5º
Viktor Hovland	268 yards (245 metres)	16.5º
Joaquin Niemann	280 yards (256 metres)

How far do pros hit 5-wood & 7 Wood?

A trend our analysis of the woods the PGA Tour pros use has identified has been an increasing use of higher lofted fairway woods like a 5-wood, 7-wood and even a 9-wood on occasion.

20% out of the top 100 PGA Tour pros use a 5-wood.

And that number rises to 37% when you include players who carry a 5-wood as part of a wider set of clubs for use when course conditions dictate.

Only 12% of this elite group always choose to use a 7-wood but 22% take a 7-wood around with them on Tour again as part of a larger set of clubs.

And thanks to Trackman we also have the following numbers for how far they hit 5-wood.

• Carry distance: 236 yards (216 metres)
• Club speed: 106 mph
• Ball speed: 156 mph
• Smash factor: 1.47
• Launch angle: 9.7º
• Spin rate: 4322
• Attack angle: -2.5º
• Land angle: 48º

There is no comparable data unfortunately for how far Tour pros hit 7-wood but Chilean star Joaquin Niemann carries his 20.5º 7-wood a distance of 240 yards as an example.

Ludvig Åberg by comparison managed to hit his own 7-wood an astonishing 292 yards at the US Open at Pinehurst in 2024.

Given his caddie Joe Skovron’s face in this video after this shot however it’s doubtful that you would say that distance is Aberg’s ‘stock’ 7-wood yardage.

Nevertheless this example helps to highlight the greater variety of distances the Tour pros hit fairway woods compared to driver and why distance is not the only factor that determines their choice of longer clubs.

Once again for reference though here’s the detail on the distances a selection of top pros hit a 5-wood.

TOUR PRO	5-WOOD Average CARRY distance	5-WOOD LOFT
Justin Thomas	250 yards (229 metres)	19.5º
Rory McIlroy	270 yards (247 metres)	18º
Jon Rahm	256 yards (234 metres)	18º
Collin Morikawa	253 yards (231 metres)	18º
Tommy Fleetwood	260 yards (238 metres)	18º
Tiger Woods	255 yards (233 metres)	19º
Bryson DeChambeau	290 yards (265 metres)	13º
Rickie Fowler	240 yards (219 metres)	18.5º

how far do pros hit Hybrids?

Hybrid clubs have revolutionized the game at all levels, and pros are no exception.

They have provided an alternative for all standards of golfer struggling to hit long irons consistently well and close to 1/3 of the top 100 PGA Tour pros carry one.

The Trackman data for ‘hybrid’ average distances on the PGA Tour are:

• Carry distance: 231 yards (211 metres)
• Club speed: 102 mph
• Ball speed: 149 mph
• Smash factor: 1.47
• Launch angle: 10.2º
• Spin rate: 4587
• Attack angle: -2.4º
• Land angle: 49º

Once again though it’s important we pay attention to lofts here as Trackman lists this carry distance average for hybrids of between 15º and 18º.

How far pros hit a 3-hybrid with a strong loft of 19º will of course be potentially very different from how far they hit a 4-hybrid with a weaker 24º loft.

Unfortunately however comprehensive data is scarce when it comes to how far pros hit hybrids.

Major champions Jordan Spieth (Titeist TSi2 21º 4H) and Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist TSR2 21º 4H) are notable hybrid users on Tour but we their stock hybrid yardages are hard to find.

We do know though that Xander Schauffele’s ‘carry’ yardage with his 19.7º 3-hybrid is 255 yards.

But once again, as with fairway woods, a focus only on the distances Tour pros hit their hybrids leads us to missing out on valuable lessons.

The distance gaps they fill are equally as crucial for modern course management!

What This Means for Your Game

For 99% of amateur golfers, reaching these distances is unrealistic.

And whilst it’s always fun at how far pros hit their woods and hybrids what matters most is understanding:

• How they end up choosing the lofts of these clubs, and
• How they achieve these distances.

The overall ‘carry’ distance the pros hit these clubs is of course important to them but the distance ‘gaps’ and ‘overlaps’ between any woods and hybrids they use is of equal concern.

Too big a distance between gap between a 3-wood and 3-hybrid for example and even the top pros will find themselves constrained when they get to the course.

The ‘ball flight’ (in key part determined by ‘launch angle’) any of these clubs deliver is also critical to these players.

As is the land angle and spin rate that helps the pros stop the ball more quickly on long approach shots into very fast Tour greens.

Their negative ‘attack angles’ with these clubs – meaning they hit down on the ball – provides another lesson to many amateurs.

Large numbers of regular golfers by comparison typically try to ‘help’ the ball into the air with such low lofted clubs when they should be aiming hit down slightly to create the optimal launch conditions as the Tour pros do.

So the next time you look at how far Rory McIlroy hits his 3-wood or Jordan Spieth hits his trusty 4-hybrid remember there’s more to learn from those distances than just the headline number!

Before you go …

For the complete guide to how far pros hit the ball across all the major tours read this.

And for full details of the fairway woods and hybrids the top 100 PGA Tour pros are using check out these posts.

Exploring The Fairway Woods PGA Tour Pros Use

Hybrid Power: The Most Used Hybrids On The PGA Tour

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