The year-end driving stats from the PGA Tour have verified what most of us already know.
The players out there keep hitting it farther.
At the end of 2017, the average driving distance on the PGA Tour increased by 2.1 yards over the same number from 2016.
At the end of 2018, that number nearly doubled — it went from 292.1 to 296.1.
A total of 14 players averaged 310 yards or longer. Sixty players topped the 300-yard mark.
Is it equipment, the ball or stronger, more athletic players? It’s a combination of all three.
Jack Nicklaus began the discussion back in the 90s that the golf ball would start getting out-of-hand as far as the distance it would fly. He was right.
Today, they’re engineering the dimples to keep the ball in the air longer and still have it pass USGA velocity tests.
Those 2018 stats didn’t include the new monster on tour — Cameron Champ. Champ will set new distance marks this season — his ball speed clocks in excess of 190 miles per hour — a new and higher bar.
