Lou Stagner's Newsletter #47

How Far Should You Hit Your Driver?

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How often will a 15 index make double bogey or worse on a 425 yard par 4?

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How Far “Should” You Hit Your Driver?

Today’s issue is about the MOST popular question I get. The question often goes something like this:

“Hey Lou, I am a 12 index and I average 235 yards with my driver. Am I short or long compared to other 12 index players?”

Over the last year, I have probably received this question 400+ times! We golfers are definitely interested in distance.

The Arccos golf database is nearing 900 million total shots. When it comes to the distance that amateur players hit the ball, this dataset is the ultimate source of info. (use code DATALOU15 to save 15%).

The chart below shows the median distance with driver by handicap index. This is at the player level and only includes those players with 300+ tee shots with driver in a calendar year.

My Thoughts

For all of those that have reached out with this question, the chart above should give you a good idea where the “typical” player is at your skill level. As you can see there is a very strong relationship between how far you hit the ball and your handicap index. As an FYI, at each skill level, younger players tend to be a little longer and older players tend to be a little shorter.

See you next week!

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    Have a great week!

Lou Stagner

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