How Far Should You Hit Your Driver – Uncover the Ideal Driver Distance

How far should I hit my driver? It is easy to understand when someone asks himself this question. I asked myself the same question when I first entered the golf game years ago. Knowing what I can do and what I should do helps me become better day by day.

It is undeniable that professionals always hit the ball longer than the other players, including us. Even when they play golf with wedges or drivers, their shots are straight and incredible to see. Some have natural talents, but some have to practice for a long time to gain these results.

If you are confused about what distance you should make with your driver and are searching for help, congratulations, you are in the right place. I will use all my experience and knowledge in golf to explain to you in detail below. Let’s roll on and explore more!

What Is the Right Distance to Hit Your Driver?

There are many factors that can affect your golf game. Driver distance is not the only one, but it is vital to get your notice from your first day on the course. I am pretty sure about that when I look at the golf ball manufacturing.

There must be a reason why many well-known brands produce a distance golf line and try to add more benefits about ball flight and speed in other lines.

It can be said that distance is not the only thing players need, but without it, a golf game does not have any meaning.

Before taking any further look, let me remind you about the fact that there is no specific answer for how far you should hit your driver. The more yards you can take with these longest clubs, the more benefits you can get in your games.

Statically, people report driver distance annually by gathering indexes from all kinds of players and then concluding in some comparison tables. For example, you can see the below distance chart of the golfwrx.com – one of the biggest forums about golf in the world:

	60	70	80	90	100	110	120	130	140
Driver (Total)	155	181	206	232	258	284	310	335	361
Driver (Carry)	144	168	192	216	240	264	288	312	336
3-Wood	130	152	174	195	217	239	260	282	304
5-Wood	123	144	164	185	205	226	246	267	288
Hybrid	121	141	161	181	201	221	241	261	281
3-Iron	114	133	151	170	189	208	227	246	265
4-Iron	109	127	145	163	181	199	218	236	254
5-Iron	104	121	139	156	173	191	208	225	243
6-Iron	98	114	131	147	163	180	196	212	229
7-Iron	92	108	123	138	154	169	184	200	215
8-Iron	86	100	114	129	143	157	171	186	200
9-Iron	79	93	106	119	132	145	159	172	185
PW	73	85	97	109	121	134	146	158	170

According to these indexes above, your swing speed is proportional to your driver’s distance. In other words, the more you swing, the more yards you can earn when using longer clubs.

If the chart of golfwrx.com is not particular enough, you can read the distance report of USGA instead. On twenty-six pages, there are two tables that need to be noticed. They are the driving statistics of male and female amateurs.

Handicap	<6	6-12	13-20	21+	Overall
Average Distance (Yards)	239.2 ± 2.7	219.8 ± 1.8	200.0 ± 2.5	176.6 ± 6.8	215.6 ± 1.4
Longest Drive (Yards)	335.3	317.0	321.3	266.5	335.3
Driver Usage (%)	84.5	88.6	89.3	96.7	88.2
No. Shots	207	499	375	60	1141

The driving statistics of male amateur golfers from USGA.org

Handicap	<6	6-12	13-20	21 – 28	29+	Overall
Average Distance (Yards)	196.7 ± 2.6	177.5 ± 1.3	155.0 ± 1.1	141.5 ± 1.0	119.8 ± 1.9	147.9 ± 0.7
Longest Drive (Yards)	261.5	254.2	255.6	227.1	207.1	261.5
Driver Usage (%)	97.4	96.1	97.1	98.0	94.8	96.9
No. Shots	76	356	819	937	325	2513

The driving statistics of female amateur golfers from USGA.org

These tables are built from the data from 2013 to 2019, and they are references and include the standard errors of averages. You can drive longer or shorter than anything indexes you can refer to, even these, and it does not mean you are a good or lousy golfer.

In my opinion, these statistics help you realize the relationship between driver distance and other factors in golf like swing speed and handicap digits. And of course, the more skills you get, the better results you can have.

How to Measure Driver Distance?

I mentioned some popular ways to measure distances in a golf game in the article How far should a beginner hit a golf ball. You can read it for more details and advice that can relate to the things you are concerned about.

In general, there are two ways to estimate the yards you can make with your longest clubs. They are manual and digital ones.

The manual way is using a pen and a notebook to write down your results after hitting the same golf ball with the same driver about five or ten times. Then the average of these times will be your final driver distance.

You can mark the longest and shortest scores to compare to the results next time to know if your game has improved or not.

The digital way to measure driver distance is using technologies like smartwatches, GPS devices, etc.

The results in digital ways are more reliable and accurate than using manual methods. You can use these to precisely know the target you should input in your routine and compare to yourself in the past or your buddies.

How to Improve Driver Distance?

I bet that no one wants to maintain the same driver distance, except that it is their best improvement. People always say: Practice makes perfect. And it needs time to promote from the bad to the good and from the good to the better.

Here are some ways that you can use to change your driver distance:

Final Thoughts

Distance is one of the essential factors in the game of golf. If you asked yourself: “How far should I hit my driver?” you may not want to miss my article. I provided you with all the reliable indexes and information above to help you shorten your searching time.

Do you agree or disagree with me? Do you have any other ideas about driver distance and how to improve it? Let’s share your thoughts with me by commenting below. And remember to share my article to discuss with your buddies.

Have a good game day!