It doesn’t matter if you are a +2 or a 22, every time you step onto the tee there is a belief you are just a few seconds away from a 300 yard drive which splits the fairway.
The harsh reality is, a 300 yard drive for most of us is like a 2 on a par-5, we know they exist but have never seen or produced one.
We’ve decided to take a look at the prodigious hitters on the PGA and European Tour, with averages all exceeding 300 yards it is safe to say that they are having more than their fair share of Weetabix before stepping onto the first tee.
PGA TOUR
1. Luke List (USA)
Driving Distance Average: 306.3 yards – which would only be good enough for seventh on the European Tour.
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Money List: 175th ($264,401) – Tiger Woods finished first on last season’s Money List with $8,553,439 in the bank but ranks a lowly 49th in driving distance with an average of just 293.2 yards. I think I’d take 13.1 yards off the tee for an extra $8,289,038.
2. Dustin Johnson (USA)
DD Av: 305.8 yards – which is unsurprising for a player who has finished in the Tour’s top five in driving distance in each of the past five years.
Money List: 19th ($2,963,214) – Length… check. Accuracy… not so much. While Dustin can certainly let rip with the driver, he’s had some issues this season with keeping it on the short stuff (ranking 171st for driver accuracy on the PGA Tour). On the other hand, Mark Wilson was the straightest driver on Tour last year and earned $913,000. I guess sometimes length pays.
3. Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL)
DD Av: 305.7 yards – is a lower return from the Belgian, who led the European tour with a whopping 318.3 yard average off the tee last season.
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Money List: 114th ($720,164) – Not a bad return from the Ryder Cup star in his short foray on the PGA Tour.
4. Gary Woodland (USA)
DD Av: 303.8 yards – The two-time PGA Tour winner burst into the top five length-getters for 2013 after finishing 18th on last year’s list with a slightly inferior 301.6 yard average.
Money List: 37th ($1,915,732) – While his driving stats remained similar from 2012-2013, a distinct improvement with the putter (178th to 83rd) was the catalyst behind Woodland’s rise from 134th to 37th on the Money List.
5. Bubba Watson (USA)
DD Av: 303.7 yards – it would be a shock not to find Bubba on this list, but it is however the first time in almost a decade the booming lefty has finished worst than second. His stats are down from the monstrous 315.5 yards he averaged off the tee in 2012.
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Money List: 44th ($1,759,276) – Predictably, Bubba is not the most accurate driver of the golf ball – he was 126th on tour this year in driving accuracy. It’s likely he’s not worried about finding the fairway though, because, in short, he doesn’t need to be. With his outrageous 300+ yard driving average and his aptitude with the rest of the clubs in his bag, it’s easy to see why the big American has been in the top ten for greens in regulation for the past three years.
EUROPEAN TOUR
1. Brooks Koepka (USA)
Driving Distance Average – 318.2 yards which would’ve only ranked second in 2012 with Nicolas Colsaerts beating that mark by a whole 0.1 yards in claiming last year’s title.
Money List: 113th (217,762 euros) – Henrik Stenson is currently topping the European Tour Money List with an impressive total of 2,118,961 euros. Stenson is famed for being long with his driver as well but will find himself a little further back with a paltry average of just 302 yards.
2. Scott Hend (AUS)
DD Av: 317.6 yards – which places the Aussie in second spot for the second year running, having averaged 313 yards with the long stick last season.
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Money List: 147th (114,045 euros) – Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell may drive the ball some some 40 yards less than Hend, but this year he’s earned 1.5 million euro more than the Aussie. I think I know which list I’d rather sit second on.
3. Charl Schwartzel (RSA)
DD Av: 310.5 yards – the South African hit a longer ball in 2013 compared to his Masters-winning year in 2011, adding some 13 yards to his average drive length.
Money List: 16th (964,246 euros) – A longer drive isn’t the only thing going Charl’s way in 2013. A tidy paycheck on the European circuit, coupled with a salary of more than $2.2m on the PGA circuit, should ensure there’ll be a few nice gifts under the Schwartzel Christmas tree.
4. Alvaro Quiros (ESP)
DD Av: 309.5 yards – renowned for his ability to whack a golf ball, the six-foot-three Spaniard has topped the European Tour driving stats in four of the last six years.
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Money List: 102nd (256,761 euros) – you don’t have to always hit them straight off the tee to score low, as evidenced by Alvaro’s top-six finish on the 2011 Tour where he only hit 51.2 per cent (189th) of fairways. Though, it certainly helps.
5. Peter Uihlein (USA)
DD Av: 307.6 yards – the Tour rookie from the US may feature in fifth on the European list, but can still boast a longer ball than his PGA counterparts.
Money List: 20th (1,057,810 euros) – not only can he can drive for show, but a million-plus payday in his debut year on Tour, proves this kid from Massachutes can putt for dough too.
Stats Correct as of 24/10/13