Average Driver Distance by Age

Like most golfers out there, you’re probably wondering how you stack up against people in your age group. In this article, we’re going to show you the distances most golfers hit with their drivers.

In general, you’ll find that those in their twenties and thirties hit the ball the farthest. Distances will gradually decrease as you age. This likely happens because your swing speed isn’t as quick as it once was. 

To figure out the average driver distance by age, we researched and collected data about various distances. The average is then recorded across each age group.

Average Driver Distance: Key Factors

The golf distance charts you’ll see below were created with key factors in mind that can affect how far you hit with a driver. Of course, the main factor is swing speed since both Smash Factor, and ball speed are associated with the swing speed.

However, while swing speed is very important, it is not the only factor. A quality hit off the middle of the clubface and a good swing play a significant role in how far the ball will go. You may be wondering, though, what is Smash Factor? It’s understandable if you’re unsure what it means since it’s a relatively new term. It wasn’t being used even five years ago.

Smash Factor is where your ball speed is divided by club speed. This calculation then relates to the amount of energy transferred from the clubhead to the golf ball. The higher the Smash Factor, the better the energy transfer. For example, a ball speed with a speed of 120 miles per hour and a swing speed of 80 miles per hour, your Smash Factor would be 1.5.

Other smaller factors that have an effect on distance are:

• The club lofts
• Weather

We would like to mention that the golf club distance charts you’ll see below are based on averages, not the best distances.

Of course, all of us can have an incredible drive when everything clicks into place, but this doesn’t happen very often! These figures are subjective, but they can give us a guideline for reference.

Average Driver Distance By Age

The standard driving distance for golfers is 217-223 yards, but the range can be anywhere from 194 yards to 241 yards. Golfers in their twenties usually have the longest distances. Distances tend to lessen the older you get.

Again, since all of this is subjective, your drive may be longer or shorter than this. The numbers in the table below are average numbers across a variety of golfers. Here is the outcome:

Golfers in their twenties typically have the quickest swing speeds, which causes their average distances to be higher. It’s normal when you get older for your swing speed to decrease. With that being said, there are golfers that are older who have incredible swing speeds.

If you can achieve a drive that’s around 220 yards, it’s safe to say that you’re average. Anything lower than 210 yards is considered below average, and anything more than 230 yards is considered above average.

Averages Based On Handicap

In the last section, we talked about the average driver distance by age but did you know that we can narrow these numbers down even more based on handicap? For those who don’t know, the term handicap refers to your average score for eighteen holes. A ten handicap golfer will shoot around 82 or a little bit worse on a par 72 golf course. A scratch player will shoot around par on average.

The average driving distance for a player with a five handicap or smaller is 248-253 yards. You may be thinking, “that’s kind of low for a good player.” However, it’s a pretty realistic number for a non-professional. If you hit the ball the average distance, you’re not that far away from the average distance of a scratch golfer.

The average driving distance for a player with a handicap between five and ten is 230-235 yards. If you can achieve this number it means you’re getting closer to the average distance for all players. This should make you feel better, the golfers you’re on par with are quite good.

The average driving distance for a golfer with a handicap between ten and nineteen is 213-218 yards. This is less than the average distance for all ages but don’t let that get you down. You’re still able to get some decent scores.

The average driving distance for a golfer with a handicap between nineteen and twenty-eight is 194-199 yards. This is a little bit on the lower side, but that’s okay! We can almost guarantee that you have a lot of curve in your shots. Focus on improving this, and your distance will definitely get better. 

The average driving distance for a golfer with a handicap above twenty-eight is 175-180 yards. If this is what you’re getting, you have some work ahead of you. If you’re in this category, you’re probably a beginner, but that’s okay. Don’t forget, practice makes perfect.

How You Can Better Your Distances

The good news is there are things you can do to try and improve your distances. All of them may not work for you, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

The first thing we’d recommend doing is practicing keeping your shots as straight as possible. We know, easier said than done, but we promise it’s worth it! Once you realize how much you can increase the distance of your ball when your shot doesn’t have a curve, you’ll understand where we’re coming from.

You should check where you make contact with the clubface. Are you hitting too much toward the heel or toe, or are you hitting the sweet spot?

If you aren’t hitting the sweet spot, the ball is most likely not going straight. Hitting the ball as straight as you can will give you more distance. You can check this by putting some masking tape on the ball and taking a shot. This will show you where you’re hitting the ball. If you see that you’re not hitting the center of the face, work on that. Gaining the ability to consistently hit the center of the face will add quite a bit of distance.

The next thing you can do is make sure you’re keeping your lead arm straight, and your right elbow tucked in. This applies to both the first part of the downswing and the backswing. If your elbow flares out, it can cause you to slice the ball.

The last thing you can do is make sure you’re using the right golf ball for you. This may seem minuscule, but it has a lot more of an impact than you would think. Most people use whatever ball they can find, which is understandable but, unfortunately, not ideal. This could really be hurting your game.

Golf balls are made differently. Some were created for slow-paced swing speeds, while others are for faster-paced swing speeds. For average golfers playing with a ball that’s easy to compress and flies straight is extremely important.