• The Clubhouse

  • Golf Digest and Game Golf - Amateur Median Driving Distances

So how do YOU stack up from actual statistics from world wide amateur golfers using Game Golf? I like the way Golf Digest reported on the median distances off the tee broken down by both the handicaps of the players and by age brackets. There is also a stat in the text that the average golfer hits the fairway less than 50% of the time (I'd like to see that broken down by handicaps and ages too - I suspect there is a correlation to distance.)

Anyway, it is an interesting short read and I'm a little longer off the tee than those in my handicap bracket (10-19) and quite a bit longer than those in my age bracket (60+) but I'm a young 63 year old 😉

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/how-far-do-average-golfers-really-hit-it-new-distance-data-will-surprise-you?mbid=social_facebook

Are any of you tracking your stats with Game Golf? I received a set as a gift and returned it to the person that gave it to me with an apology that it was just too much hassle to learn it and make it a habit to use on the course. He then suggested I just use the free app and that was also kind of a pain in the ass. Until it becomes 'routine' and a part of your game, I thought it was going to be a big distraction to me.

It works however and is high tech so I do not question the numbers used by Golf Digest, at all.

My Distance is above average for both cap and age. From my Garmin I average about 225. I was humbling when I got the Garmin. Honestly thought I was further.

I think these articles are really interesting. It's been said a thousand times, but very few people know how far they actually hit it. When is the last time you saw one of your buddies fly a green (without hitting it on the equator)? For most, it's rare.

One of my friends who is an avid golfer used the Game Golf classic for quite awhile. He's tracked tons of rounds and the information is provides is pretty awesome. He knows if he misses, how short he can expect to be, the distance from the rare, 100% pure shot and everything in between. I had a copy of his stats but lost it. I know he hits his 5 iron 181 yards - I did find that graph. He plays anywhere from a 0-2 handicap. Watched him hit a hole in one last year. 180 yards with a 5 iron. 🙂

Game Golf Classic is on sale at Walmart online for $90 through a 3rd party.

I wish that they would have had >70, > 80 Stat for us super seniors. I know I've lost considerably more in last two or three years, but still average driving close to or better than 200 , I hope anyway. My usual playing partner is my age, but more fit, and much better lifetime golfer and we're tit for tat distance wise. Iron distances are so loft dependant that with the big disparity between different sets, even in my herd, how could you know. My iron distance can change plus or minus 15 yds easily by hooding or opening club face too, but having said that, my usual 135 yd club is #7, 32* Ping Rapture v2 graphite. I'm in their average, even for 60s players , but from what i see in the players at my course, i kinda doubt it.

That made me feel a lot better. I am almost 59 years old, and my handicap is between 10 and 19; chart says 211 to 219, and that's about where I live. My best drives are in the 240 range and my worst ones (that are online) are probably around 200 or so. Lately it's been so wet around here that drives are plugging or sitting about a foot away from a large pitch mark in the fairway. Using my Golf Buddy I can get a precise measurement of my carry distance. On so-so drives I am carrying it about 198 and on good ones, about 210 or so.

So when the fairways are dry I get a little roll-out, which leads to my usual distances. Not great, but apparently not that bad, either.