Distance gains over the years: Anything but epic

[300_Straight]

^ That's a good point because he carries most of his drives 314 lol.

[Dave230]

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.

 

Fair point but you also have to take into account very wet conditions, up a hill, into the wind etc. On a wet day into the wind, even DJ might only hit it 280.

[rawdog]

Here, read the report for yourselves. It's quite transparent.

 

http://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Equipment/2016%20Distance%20Report.pdf

 

I was always under the impression a lot of non-driver shots skewed the data, but it really doesn't. Driver usage hasn't changed much over time. If anything, it's crept UP on the measured "Driver" holes.

 

Further, it appears launch conditions are definitely improving! Ball speed up 2mph and Spin down 300rpm.

[Bubb]

I wonder if Dustin Johnson's driver % is higher or lower than 95.4% on the measured holes. He could well be hitting driver on only 80% of the time on measured holes, which makes his 314 yard average low by comparison if the field is using driver on 95.4% of the measured holes.

[micha]

I guess the data speaks for itself but this isn't passing the eyeball test for me. Lots of young guys on tour now hitting it farther than i remember 5 or 10 years ago. Seems like every year the Tour picks up a few Jon Rahm's and loses a few shorter knockers to the Champions tour.

[heavy_hitter]

Go to a Junior Tournament and you will see better 11 year olds hitting it 230+. It is crazy.

[xflex]

When you pick up a steel shafted driver made of a dead tree and hit it on a LM 15 yards short of your high tech space ship you start to feel like you've been buying snake oil for the last 10 years.