If you’re confused about the ‘Distance Report’ debate, here’s the skinny: One party believes the golf balls are going too far, thereby making historic golf courses (and scoring records) obsolete, while the other side thinks it’s all being overblown.
In 2003, the average drive was 285.9. In 2017, it stood at 292.5 – an increase of 6.6 yards or about a foot per year.
The PGA Tour and golf equipment makers are on the side of doing nothing. The historians and course designers are on the side of something needs to be done now (i.e. new golf balls). The USGA and R&A are sort of in between.
However, as Ian Poulter notes in his post you can’t analyze the topline numbers without looking at the details. If you compare say the top 50 players in the world today versus 2003, it’s night and day in terms of swing speed and technique, along with overall size and strength (and youth).
Players in that time period had to rely more on raw strength, whereas today, they all have access to all the science, conditioning, technology, and analytics to perfect their golf swing.
For example the LPGA has gained only 3 yards in 15 years, because the female golfer has generally stayed the same size, if not smaller with the influx of Asian players.
