Who has hit the longest drive in golf?
Mike Dobbyn, a man famous in the world of long driving…it isn’t just about length either, he was able to keep it straight
How far was the longest drive in golf?
Dobbyn hit it over 550 yards (551 to be precise). That’s long enough to hit most par-5’s in 1 shot! Whilst it might not be a universally known term of golf but if Dobbyn was able to get a hole-in-one on a par-5 it’d be known as a Condor…
Where did the longest drive in golf take place?
Dobbyn hit the longest drive in golf at Wildhorse Golf Club in Nevada. With average temperatures in Nevada getting higher than 40 degrees in July it is safe to say that golf in the sun certainly helps you hit the ball further.
What about the rest of us, how can we hit the longest drive?
With the ever improving technology in clubs and golf balls, players are able to hit their drives further than ever and it is giving them a huge advantage compared to the rest of the field. Whether it is a different shaft, technique or simply swinging the club faster there are plenty of ways to hit a longer drive although many come at a cost of a loss of accuracy.
Want to hit the long ball? It is all down to numbers…
| Amateur | Tour Professional | Long Driver | |
| Swing Speed | 80mph | 115mph | 145mph |
| Carry (In Air) | 175 yards | 275 yards | 350 yards |
The faster you can swing it, the further the ball will go. 1mph faster equates to around another 3 yards in distance. The important thing to note is that for amateur golfers it isn’t a case of simply swinging it faster as their technique will act against their gains through off-center hits. In short a slightly slower swing out of the middle of the club will normally travel further than a faster swing not hit out of the middle. There are also other factors such as launch angle and roll which should be considered, a fast swing at a certain angle can increase backspin and potentially reduce both carry and roll.
Do they use standard golf equipment to hit the ball a long way?
Typically they use custom golf equipment with low lofts and shafts specifically designed for their game. Tour professionals will use equipment more similar to amateurs with akin in terms of loft and shaft flex.
Big-hitting Dustin Johnson is currently the longest driver of the ball this season averaging 318-yards whilst Charlie Beljan and Jason Day are close behind averaging 309-yards which brings us nicely to the longest drive ever recorded.
Now hitting the ball the furthest is serious business. There is an annual long drive competition where a select number of powerhouses will battle it out to claim the crown as the longest driver. South African’s Nico Grobbelaar hit the ball a whopping 506-yards in September 2012 but the man in the record books is Mike Dobbyn – a man famous in the world of long drivers.
In 2007, he was crowned the world long drive championship when he hit the ball 551 yards. Unfortunately we couldn’t find that particular shot but here is Mike in action…
[youtube width=”600″ height=”400″ video_id=”xN2HQ8hx-rQ”]Who has the longest drive on the PGA or European Tours?
Away from the fun and games of the longest drive competition where they don’t share the same etiquette there as they do on the golf course, there are a number of claims who has the longest drive on the PGA or European Tour.
On the European Tour, Nicolas Colsaerts is thought to hold the record when he bombed his tee shot 447-yards at the Wales Open last year on the par 5, 18th hole. It was five yards longer than India’s Shiv Kapur in the third round of the 2012 Madeira Open.
However, Louis Oosthuizen may have something to say about that. In 2013, his poor drive found the cart path and the ball just continued to roll. Legitimate or not, it was thought when the ball finally settled, it was about 500-yards away from the South African.
[youtube width=”600″ height=”400″ video_id=”QXq-ZTPpRQ4″]But the the overall winner goes to a chap called Carl Cooper. Back in 1992 on the PGA Tour in Texas, a 31-year-old journeyman hit the ball a staggering 787-yards. He was on the par-4, 456-yard third hole, and his drive caught the concrete running downhill cart path and took off.
Passed the fifth green, through the sixth tee, the ball found a unpaved maintenance road where it rolled a little bit more before coming to a stop behind the 12th green. His caddie determined the final distance although some believe it may have passed the 800-yard mark.
The smiles were soon eradicated when he had a 300-yard second shot to back towards the right green and ended up with a double-bogey.