Custom Club Fitter and Builder
Jimmy Walker decided to put in play at the Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour a shorter playing length driver of 42.50″s as he was 183rd in driving accuracy in 2016 on the PGA Tour.
The majority of golfers that are playing major brand drivers are playing 45″+ playing length. Are you in the fairway 75% of the time or better?
Golfers see this often in every foursome at least one or more members of the group are playing the incorrect tee box for their driver distance. The USGA and PGA came out with the “Tee It Forward” program in 2011.
There is a good chart on the link from USGA/PGA on what tee and distance of course you should use for your driver distance. Tee It Forward Guidelines
I am 85 mph driver club head speed and average 200 yards max. I should play 5400 yards not 6000. Not all courses have correct tee boxes for your driver distance. But these are proven good guidelines. They make the game faster and more enjoyable. To be able to drive the ball relatively accurately you need minimum 90 mph driver club head speed to play 3000 yard 9 hole 6000 yards 18 hole. Also one would need more center face impact to have good 1.3 – 1.4 smash factor which also means the majority of recreational players are playing to long of a driver playing length to make good center face impact. This all goes back to correct fitting of a driver. Golf is first a game of accuracy and then distance.
Jack Nicklaus is now 76.