How Far Do Golfers Really Hit Drives

"I hit my drives 270 yards."

Hah! Maybe once, with the wind behind you, on a rock-hard fairway, when the ball bounced off a cart path and a squirrel advanced it an extra 10 yards. On no subject are golfers, especially male golfers, more deluded than on the distance they hit their drives.

Here are the brutal facts, accumulated by Dave Pelz over several years of monitoring thousands of players at amateur tournaments. He used the same ShotLink equipment used by the PGA Tour to determine that, in 2020, the world’s best players averaged 291 yards off the tee. Male amateurs who play to a 30 handicap average drives of 166 yards; 20-handicappers average 183 yards; 10-handicappers average 214 yards; scratch amateurs average 235 yards. So, be realistic.