Girls Driving Distances

[Kcct82]

After hitting puberty, aim for tour average ?

[tiger1873]

I know numbers for girls very well from having a daughter this age for a 12 year the average probably swings about 75 mph maybe 80 on a good day if they have a good technique. The faster girls are swinging in the 90's and even upper 90's to 100 mph easy. Those numbers are also with a trackman not those cheap launch monitors you see on social media.

Most girls will not make 90 mph so if a 12 year is above that they are extremely fast. Most of the top ranked juniors at 12 are no where near 90 mph.

For girls though driving distance is not the end to all end because the courses are not super long like you see the boys playing. Advantage yes but if they can drive 220-230 yards which many can they will be just fine for junior and even college LPGA is another matter.

I see lots of parents with very small girls who may do well in junior tournaments at 11-13 but the kids will never have the speed to dominate professionally. Some the girls even have been very successful but it obvious if you ever talk to coaches who teach LPGA players they have no interest in them. Even a lot college coaches readily will admit that most players don't have the speed needed to turn pro.

[Golfingdawg19]

The girls in college on average have swing speeds in the high 80’s. The longest ones are around 95. This comes from an instructor who teaches a top college player. My daughter played with a D1 player last week and she hit her driver 240. She told us that she was average as far as length goes and the long girls hit it 260-270. So based on that, there aren’t many 12 year olds swinging it anywhere near high 80’s. The average 12 year old girl is probably around 80mph. Tons of people over-inflate how far their kid hits it. On another note, who cares how far you hit it if you are chipping out of the woods all day. Bottom line is the score on the card and not how far you hit it.

[chrissdc]

I think 240 is above average long for D1 women. 260-270 is looong for LPGA and college players.

This is for average conditions on flat ground.

LPGA courses while not tricked up, generally run firm. Same as PGA tour events as for firmness.

[tiger1873]

Yes 240 is longer then most college girls. The bigger issue is how are we determining the average drive and on what hole.

Even in the LPGA I believe they rely on firm fairways and some roll to help them out. The reality is carry matters much more then roll. Without roll a lot girls distances would be much shorter.

[mbh922]

If we are saying average for 9 year old girls I’d say 125ish. Again that’s average. Longer 150.

[heavy_hitter]

I would disagree with this. 125ish is really short for a 9 year old girl. Probably correlate to a 7 year old average. @darter79 ???

[JuniorGolfParent]

I just noticed that the entire group of finalists in the DCP last year in the Girls 7-9 division only had girl drive it significantly more than 155 yards.

[MB19]

Last week we played with one of the top 9U girls in FL, and she was consistently 155-160 off the tee. She missed the Alternate cut at '19 Regionals for DCP finals by less-than 10 points. Next tournament there is a possibility we are paired with the Regional '19 7-9 DCP Champ, and supposedly she hits longer, so it will be interesting to compare elite vs elite in consecutive weeks. Even better, if we are paired with both and get to watch a clinic.

The most impressive part about that girl's drives was how air-tight her mechanics were off the tee (and chipping, and putting...). Minimal physical effort, maximum distance.

[heavy_hitter]

I wouldn't put too much stock in the DCP results. Age group is 7-9 so you are assuming that most of them are 9. The other assumption is that they are competitive golfers. My personal opinion is that while a few are competitive golfers, several are not. The boy's 12-13 division average drive was longer than the 14-15 average drive for 2019. Something with conditions caused this. 14-15 year old boy's are driving the ball 260 plus and none of them got it out there that far.

[JuniorGolfParent]

Ok

I also have a daughter who just turned 8 and plays in Local Tour events (and will be at Worlds this summer). We have yet to play with anyone in the 8-9 age group who averages 150. I'm sure there are plenty out there, we just haven't played with any.

Doesn't mean it's a fact, just another data point.

[MB19]

I'm very interested in what you will see at Worlds, and I hope you share that experience with us.

The top 5 or 6 FL 8-9 girls, I suspect, all average 150 or slightly better off the tee. One is the daughter of an ex-NHL All-Star who could crank a 102 mph slap shot.

[wildcatden]

All junior golf "average driving distance" for girls (and boys) = the one time they popped one way out there on hard ground with a strong tailwind.

[darter79]

At worlds in 8 you will see 140 -175 at times, if you can't good luck on those 220 yard par 4s with hybrids in your hand hitting it 125. This is our last season and 8-9 and in Texas in our local these girls smash it. Our first season a girl hit it 165, again this will be different from location to location but at 9 125 is way the hell off. I'd say 140 for sure. My daughter is 9 she played in a few regionals worlds each year a few different locals and STPGA events not sure at age 9 or 8 for that matter do you see 125. 125 would be very short at age 9, and 8 for that matter.

[tiger1873]

Going off DCP is a joke. The setup especially for the younger kids can make a big difference. I seen extra wide markers for kids so the long hitter do well and I seen narrow marker with hills and sand bunkers that if hit will send it out of bounds every time.

when it comes to you kids and locals to win in driving points sometimes the best strategy is to just hit a iron shot.

DCP has little skill and a lot luck.

[mbh922]

125 maybe 130 average for 9 yo girls. Not saying average of top 5 girls in California, Tx, and Florida - that I’m sure is higher. But countrywide I’ll stick to those number. There is always the statistical anomaly, but driver distances at every age seem to be a little (or a lot) over exaggerated.

[heavy_hitter]

It is about perspective and what you consider competitive. As far as competitive, 140 a minimum off the tee in that age group. Darters girl is like 170 as a 9. Hybrid will never beat wedge in competition.

[mbh922]

I was answering the initial question what we think are the averages and then exceptional. Now if this is changing comparison to what distances need to be in order to be competitive that’s a different data set. Then I’d agree with your distance above.

[fallbrookgolf]

darter, are the distances mentioned in your post carry only or total? Thanks!

[GoDeacs]

My daughter will be 8 in a week and carries it about 130 and total distance is around 145-150. Swing speed is about 63 mph. A few of the girls she plays with are a little longer.

[Kcct82]

One of the top 8 year old girls in CA (Local, state, regional, and FCG national champ) hits about 140 total. My kid plays 9 holes with her every week so I know her distance really well.

[heavy_hitter]

The perspective would be from where you are from as well. Juniors playing USKG in certain markets like South/Central Florida, Texas, California, North Carolina will see a difference than someone playing in Minnesota. 125 is really short for a 9 year old no matter what. Right around 150 is going to be average. Exceptional would be 160 and above.

[mbh922]

Those distances are impressive. I will say where I live averages aren’t anywhere near 150 yards for 9yo girls. Do you think at that age and in your warmer climates kids are specializing in golf only at such young ages?

[heavy_hitter]

I don't think Specializing or climate has anything to do with it. My daughter did dance and tennis until she was 12. The first time she swung a club she was 220 off the tee as a 12 year old. Didn't know where it was going, but she could hit it that far.

Golfingdawg who posted those numbers has a daughter that plays. I have met them several times and drove to Georgia during Covid to play with them. His daughter is not one of the long knockers and he is posting the 150 as the average. She is a very good player and when she catches up in physical maturity will be even better. She can't control her genetics.

I don't think those kids or parents know they are short so they don't understand that they need to get longer to really compete.

As a 12 year old at USKG World's my son was paired with the worst player in the field in the practice round. The kid was from Mississippi and was the local champion. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Brothers and Sisters were all there. Every one of them including the kid thought he was going to win because he was the local tour USKG Champion from Mississippi. He was a really nice kid and the parents were great. However, the kid couldn't drive the ball 200 off the tee and had never broke 90. I don't even think that they knew the winner was going to be under par. Poor kid shot 100 every day and was last place in the tournament. Perspective. The kid had no business being there. There were kids that shot in the 70's in our local tours and got left at home.

[mbh922]

Very interesting perspective. I learned a long time (from my mediocre sports experience) no matter how good you think you are there are always people out there significantly better.

just curious if the average girl at 9 is hitting it 150. What do you think is average for a 9yo boy (not to hijack the thread) just interested in how much further you think the boys are hitting it at same ages. Seems you have a broader perspective in a more competitive environment.

[heavy_hitter]

The average 9 year old boy is going to be around 180ish.

[MB19]

My son absolutely hates that he can't out-drive his big sister, in spite of assurances to him that it will certainly happen at some point.

Upon being told that doing push-ups will help his cause, he's now a little more enthusiastic about doing them :)

[JuniorGolfParent]

The average score for 8-9 Girls for 9 hole US Kids Local events is around 50. FL and CA are close to that figure as well.

That's from 1500 yards, with par 4s ranging from 130 to 180 yards. While I have seen longer hitters drive the green, I don't think the typical 9yo girl is anywhere close to doing so, which would be the case if the average was 150. If I had to guess I would say the average is closer to 130-140 at most.

I think maybe the average 9yo boy in US Kids Local events probably hits it close to 150. Their par 4s are 180-220, and again I think only the longest hitters are reaching the greens with their tee shot. As a sanity check, only 1 out of 10 DCP finalist for Boys 7-9 hit it significantly longer than 180.

[darter79]

Average is 50 for FL and CA not buying that at all. This spring in that division we had two scores of 50 or more one was a new kid never played before. The the fall maybe 4 scores that high again a few were new kids. The locals for girls 8/9 are NOT averaging 50 at least not where I'm at. The winner the first two events was under par, last even was only +1. Last place in those upper 40's agin a few over 50 who just show up most case. I can tell you the shortest par 4 that been set up is 150-160. Haven't seen a 130 par 4 at girls 8. At our local they average around 180, unless is a course where the setup is 3x3x3. Again for reference mine is 9 and been in this division for two years. While some other tours play a shorter par 4 setup we are not that lucky. But our tour have two kids who are top 25 finishes each year at worlds and last year sent 4 kids in that age group.

Not sure where your average data is coming from and I'm not that bored to average local scores but the average is no where near 50. Not even close perhaps some areas you can say that but not TX, FL, CA for sure. Most winning scores in those ares are under or around even. I wouldn't use DCP as a reference for jack in terms of distance. One of the kids at DCP who hit is short on DCP hits it near 150+ now. She is 9. Two swings under TV pressure yeah I'm not using that metric. I get my area might be longer than most but not as short as you think not in TX not CA, not FL not regionals and not worlds. If your girl drives it 125 at worlds at 9 she will be left in the dust. If she drives it 125 don't bother showing up because then you're not breaking 45. Facts.

[heavy_hitter]

No way and I have a lot of time on my hands this morning.

Winter California Bay Area Tour there are a total of 50 scores with the highest being 53. The average is 43.04.