Distance gains over the years: Anything but epic

http://www.golfchann...negligible-2003

Interesting stuff. This is in-line with my prevailing personal feeling that increasing my distance over the years has had way more to with improving my swing mechanics than the equipment.

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

Athleticism is a factor BECAUSE of the equipment allows a much harder/faster swing. Swing that hard with old ball and driver and any slight miss will be off the course.

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

 

Athleticism is a factor BECAUSE of the equipment allows a much harder/faster swing. Swing that hard with old ball and driver and any slight miss will be off the course.

This is a valid point and Tiger talks about this factor in his interview with Peter Dawson. Newer technology allows people to swing harder and not be so concerned that you're making contact with the center of the club face. But he was comparing persimmon heads to 460 CC heads. That was a huge change in tech, but how big of a change in tech has it been going from the first Ti/oversized heads to now?

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

It's due to launch monitors and dialing in the right combo.

We'll never truly know until they start measuring all drives hit with only a driver. Is that a tough thing to keep track of? Sure, it may be? But with all of the tech available today it'll be here before you know it.

Taylormade has given me 17 yards every single year. I don't understand what these pros are doing wrong.

Could it also be more people hitting fairway woods off the tee?

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

 

Athleticism is a factor BECAUSE of the equipment allows a much harder/faster swing. Swing that hard with old ball and driver and any slight miss will be off the course.

Absolutely guys can swing fearlessly with newer equipment. I honestly think the old days of tour players swinging at 80% to keep it in play are long gone. Rory looks like he swings 95-100% most of the time with driver. Day goes hard at it too.

Taylormade has given me 17 yards every single year. I don't understand what these pros are doing wrong.

Used to be every 6 months :tongue:

Driving distances have stayed the same since the time the USGA limited the size of heads to 460 cc? I'm shocked.

If you look just under the magic 300 yard marker, there are 70 players above 295 yards average drive this year so far, compared to 27 in 2003.

I feel that the likes of Daly and Kuehne skewed the data a little with crazy distance back then.

T Mag would say different.

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

This is true. Also, they spend lots of time on swing analysis and equipment matching to achieve the maximum distance for their swing speed. That's something they never did in the Nicklaus era.

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

 

This is true. Also, they spend lots of time on swing analysis and equipment matching to achieve the maximum distance for their swing speed. That's something they never did in the Nicklaus era.

The PGA tour has been favoring long hitters at least since the last significant increase, when the ball changed. Not sure that was a good thing, but it's all in the past. I don't think it is really athleticism or working out as commonly thought of that has resulting in more of the field catching up with John Daly. It's the equipment allowing a different set of priorities. Look at Rory, he hit it just as long when he was a short, skinny little kid as he does now, all cut up and bulging.

Long hitters provide a lot of entertainment value, even for those who are not really interested in golf. It is better if those long hitters can hit a wedge. No wonder the tour has encouraged distance in course choices and setups.

Not to long ago Golf Digest had an article stating that the average golfer drives the ball about 215 yards. More than 20 years ago it was around 200. Heck, that's not even the 17 more yards one OEM promised a few years ago.

pros has more players in the 290 yard range than ever before while amateurs haven't changed theirs much if any.

the difference from 1990 is astounding and the main reason is technology and for many, hitting the gym.

It's distance on misses across the face that has been epic

Well I have found REAL distance since the late 80's .. 5 times !

Drivers were:

TM Burner vs old persimmon models Powerbilt and Slazengers and MacGregors I had (ahh the sound of blasting a balata with wood) .. 10-15 yards

Bridgestone Whopper 1991 ... another 5 yards

R510tp .. 10 yards .. some of these drives went freakshow long, it's like it has a hot spot

Prov1 BALL .. .10 yards

Ping Rapture V1 ... a little longer than 510 but more forgiving for me. Easier to hitting really high carrying draws (my preferred shape)

TM M2 ... don't get me started .. consistently long, less hooky. Could be I finally got the perfect shaft. 3 times a round you get crazy long drives with it. It would be nigh impossible to pry this from my bag

I've been back to courses I played almost 30 years ago .. and I can't believe where my drives end up nowadays

The numbers in the article show that average driving distance hasn't gained significant ground ... but there are 3x as many players averaging over 300 yds than previous. By that measure, the distance gains are significant. Much higher % of players over 300 yds now vs the baseline year for measurements in the article.

 

Maybe that has more to do with athleticism than the equipment...

 

Athleticism is a factor BECAUSE of the equipment allows a much harder/faster swing. Swing that hard with old ball and driver and any slight miss will be off the course.

Absolutely guys can swing fearlessly with newer equipment. I honestly think the old days of tour players swinging at 80% to keep it in play are long gone. Rory looks like he swings 95-100% most of the time with driver. Day goes hard at it too.

No player swung 80%. They may have "felt like" they were swinging 80% but it was more likely 95.

Once manufacturers got to the 460cc and .83 COR limit, the gains came from attention to nutrition and fitness and being properly dialed for their equipment.

Equipment has helped the weekend hacks like me more than the tour pro's that hit it square.

I posted a similar thread not too long ago. Something just doesn't add up tho. I haven't read the entire article but I wonder if the USGA is not comparing apples to apples. The tour used to only average a couple driving distance holes per round. Typically they were holes where they thought a high percentage of players would use a driver. Now with shot link we measure EVERY drive. There's no doubt a lot of guys are using 3 woods and driving irons on a large number of holes currently. Was that factored in at all?

The distance gains from 1996-2004 were really amazing.

In 1996, there were no players hitting it over 290 yards. In 2000, it was only Daly and Woods. In 2004, it was 72 players. So within four years, you'd nearly half the tour hitting it almost like Woods only a few years earlier. For there to be a similar improvement today, you'd have to have 72 players with a 310+ yard average, which is hard to imagine. But maybe it's going that way.

The distance gains from 1996-2004 were really amazing.

 

In 1996, there were no players hitting it over 290 yards. In 2000, it was only Daly and Woods. In 2004, it was 72 players. So within four years, you'd nearly half the tour hitting it almost like Woods only a few years earlier. For there to be a similar improvement today, you'd have to have 72 players with a 310+ yard average, which is hard to imagine. But maybe it's going that way.

Those years it was actually beneficial to buy a new driver almost every year. Drivers got a little bigger every year.

I say it all the time but the Titleist 905R is as good as anything Titleist has made over the past 10 years. The Aldila NV shafts were really good too. If I was the head of a golf company I'd be dumping most of my money into headcover design.

I see people implying the golf ball was different back in 2003. We were using ProV1s. They've been around forever.

The distance gains from 1996-2004 were really amazing.

 

In 1996, there were no players hitting it over 290 yards. In 2000, it was only Daly and Woods. In 2004, it was 72 players. So within four years, you'd nearly half the tour hitting it almost like Woods only a few years earlier. For there to be a similar improvement today, you'd have to have 72 players with a 310+ yard average, which is hard to imagine. But maybe it's going that way.

 

Those years it was actually beneficial to buy a new driver almost every year. Drivers got a little bigger every year.

 

I say it all the time but the Titleist 905R is as good as anything Titleist has made over the past 10 years. The Aldila NV shafts were really good too. If I was the head of a golf company I'd be dumping most of my money into headcover design.

 

I see people implying the golf ball was different back in 2003. We were using ProV1s. They've been around forever.

ProV1 came out on tour in 2000. Like the post above says, in 2000 only Tiger and Daly were over 290yds but by 2004 it was 72 guys.

The ball was definitely a factor.

ProV1 came out on tour in 2000. Like the post above says, in 2000 only Tiger and Daly were over 290yds but by 2004 it was 72 guys.

 

The ball was definitely a factor.

You're not understanding me. The article says distance gains have been negligible since 2003. In 2003 we were already using the ProV1 and the X. I'm not arguing that there weren't massive technological advancements made prior to that time, there clearly were. That was back when drivers got bigger every year. For example, Tiger was still using a steel shaft in his driver in 2000. But from 2003 on, probably more like 2005 on because not every manufacturer had made a 460cc head by 2003, the technological advancements have been minimal with the exception of adjustability.

The ball, graphite shafts, can't miss heads and maybe better lawn mowers all played a role. Being able to dial in equipment to optimize spin helps a great deal. Back in the day if you were a high ball hitter who spun it a lot (me) you couldn't just fix that in an hour with a different ball, shaft and head combo. I will say this...at age 53 I can hit it at least 25 yards on average farther than I could at age 22. At 22 I was the longest amateur in my area by a long shot. Neither fitness, increased athleticism nor technique can account for that.

I just looked it up and apparently Dustin Johnson is averaging 314 yards off the tee for the 2016-2017 season. How many times have we seen on TV where he's hit one 340, 350, or 360? How many sub-300 yard drives would he need to bring his average down to 314 when he seems to hit it 340+ with some regularity?

With a driver? On PGA Tour fairways? I have to believe that a lot of the measured shots which comprise the 314 average include fairway woods. Otherwise, he's hitting a bunch of 275 yard drives with his driver that no one notices.

Makes me question this data.