New Study Says Amateur Players Are Losing Distance Off The Tee

There’s been no shortage of debate revolving around the supposed panic over increases in golf shot distance. The USGA and R&A would love a ball rollback to “protect” the classic layouts. Except, what of us amateur weekend warriors who yearn for extra yardage?

Sorry, it isn’t happening for those who need it the most. GolfDigest.com’s Mike Statchura explains that a new study by Arrcos GPS shows that (other than the very best players) most golfers are losing D off the T.

According to the study of Arccos users’ driving habits since 2015, driving distance across all age groups and all handicaps is at best flat and in many cases declining. In short, and perhaps not surprisingly, the data suggests that the only distance problem for the more than 99 percent of golfers who are not getting paid to play is a lack of it.

Arccos recently examined driving-distance data from 2015-2018 and the trend showed no real increases in driving distance for average golfers over that timeline. The Arccos data shows the average drive for the average golfer so far is 217.1 yards in 2018, down from the 220.6 yards in 2015. At best the number is flat when you compare full-year data: The average for 2017 was 220.0 yards.

That data does not entirely surprise Nick Clearwater, who is the vice president of instruction for Golftec, the chain of nearly 200 worldwide golf instruction and club-fitting studios that has provided more than seven million lessons. Average golfers are using ill-fitted clubs and, well, swinging like a tour player is not easy. He said most average golfers mishit the ball, especially with the driver, adding loft and creating too much spin. That’s inefficient energy transfer.

“The average golfer uses too much spin loft with all of their clubs, so increases in tech still show minimal improvement in the quality of the shot,” he said. “The shots still start to the right, spin too much and are mishit.

“There is not much equipment/ball can help with. Also, as much as clubhead tech has improved, shafts are getting lighter and longer from the OEMs and the consistency of the strike is compromised as a result.”

According to Arccos’ research, the average change across all amateur age groups (20s to 70s) in driving distance was a loss of 4.1 yards from 2015-’18.

And, as evidenced below, only the best players saw an increase–and even their distances dropped since last year.

Thus, quit fretting about distance. The average scores–even for the pros–hasn’t significantly improved since the prime of Byron Nelson. We enjoy watching Tour players smash shots incredible distances. And we enjoy the opportunity to hit our shots as far as possible. So, get some lessons, get custom fit and have at it.