Several of my colleagues joined golf clubs when we emerged from the first lockdown last summer so we’ve been swapping stories of our best holes (and nightmare ones too) over lunch, however recently we got onto the topic of range finders – laser vs GPS. I reminded them of a former colleague who once said to me, “Range finders are all very well, but they only help if you consistently hit the same distance with your clubs!” I think she was implying that my golf was far from consistent!!!
Apparently most club golfers over-estimate how far they hit each club. I suppose we all remember the best shot we’ve hit with a particular club and recall how far that was, and then keep that figure in our heads. Of course, most of the time our shots are shorter. When we hear commentators discussing the fantastic lengths of the drives of pros such as Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, we reckon that we’re underachieving, but how do we compare to the average club golfer?
Golf Monthly reckons that a long drive for a man is considered to be some 280-300 yards but the magazine is quick to point out that in reality golfers aren’t getting anywhere near that figure, in fact it claims that driving distance figures from the R&A and USGA’s Distance Report (2018) show that the average hit by an amateur male club golfer was 215 yards. Here are some statistics from the report:
What about female golfers? The Distance Report concluded that the average hit by a woman was 148 yards. Here are the stats for women:
Surprised? They are shorter than I expected, so maybe I’m better than I thought!?! Of course, a good drive is great – but it’s what you do with your second shot that matters!!!