Average Driver Distance: Pro & Amateur
The average driver distance for professional golfers in the 2024 season was 298 yards.
For a recreational player, the average driver distance for a male golfer is about 215 yards.
The average driving distance for an “average” female golfer is around 140 yards.
These figures are calculated using driving distance data from the USGA, additional data services, and average handicaps from the USGA.
How Far Pro Golfers Hit The Ball
PGA Tour
The average driver distance on the PGA Tour was 298 yards in the 2024 golf season.
That means on average a PGA Tour player will hit his driver 85 yards farther than the typical male golfer can.
Cameron Champ led the PGA Tour in average driving distance during the 2024 season, averaging 322.8 yards per drive off the tee.
Rory McIlroy came in a close second with an average drive of 320.2 yards.
LPGA Tour
The average driver distance on the LPGA Tour is 2024 was approximately 260 yards.
While female professional golfers might hit it shorter than their male professional counterparts, they still hit it considerably farther than your average golfer.
Natthakritta Vongtaveelap led the way in average driving distance at 290.61 yards in 2024.
Average Male Golfer
Skill level is the primary factor when looking at average driving distance.
The USGA broke driving distance into four handicap categories in its 2019 study: less than 6, 6 to 12, 13 to 20, and 21 and greater.
The difference in driving distance between the highest and lowest handicaps was nearly 63 yards, with the ‘less than six’ handicaps averaging 239.2 yards and the ’21 and greater’ handicaps averaging 176.6 yards.
Players with a handicap between six and 12 averaged 219.8 yards off the tee, while players with a handicap between 13 and 20 averaged right at 200 yards.
According to Arccos Golf, in 2021, the gap had shrunk significantly between the highest and lowest handicaps.
The players’ categories differed between the two studies but were close enough for comparison.
The best players – those with a handicap of five or lower – average 238 yards off the tee.
Meanwhile, the golfers with a handicap greater than 20 averaged 205 yards.
Average Driver Distance By Age
Age has a big impact on the average driving distance of a golfer.
As expected, younger golfers hit the ball farther than older players, though the decline is pretty minor until the player reaches his fifties.
Slower club head speed resulting from less flexibility certainly plays a role.
Players in their twenties average 243 yards off the tee.
Players in their thirties aren’t too far behind at 241 yards.
Players in their forties see a more significant decline in average distance, dropping to 232 yards.
Once a player hits his fifties, he has lost nearly 20 yards from the peak average, coming in at 224 yards.
From that point forward, declines of over 10 yards per decade occur, with the average dropping to 212 yards for players in their sixties and 196 yards for players 70 and older.
On average, a male golfer loses one yard of driving distance per year after he turns 40.
Female Golfers
Female golfers average less yardage off the tee than male golfers, but the trends are similar between gender when looking at driving distance by handicap.
A USGA study shows a difference of almost 77 yards between top amateur female golfers – those with a handicap of less than six – and those in the highest category, a handicap of 29 or higher.
The most skilled amateur female golfers are also the longest, averaging just under 200 yards in driving distance.
That average drops about 20 yards for every handicap threshold the USGA used until reaching the ’29 and higher’ category, which averages about 120 yards off the tee.
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