Long Drive Champion Reveals Staggering Yardages At Altitude

Kyle Berkshire took a trip to altitude and ripped off some outrageous distances going through his bag at over 5,000 feet

Kyle Berkshire hits some outrageous distances at altitude
(Image credit: Getty Images / Instagram: kyleberkshire)
Paul Higham
By
published

We all know long drive champion Kyle Berkshire can send it out there - but watching him going through the bag up at altitude still raised eyebrows at just how far each club goes.

In a video posted on Instagram in September, which was recently reposted on X, Berkshire runs through his clubs while playing at an altitude of 5,000 feet.

The three-time World Long Drive Championship winner puts on a clinic on a picturesque range just as the sun is setting, with numbers even top pros can only dream about.

Even from the very start, with a lob wedge in hand, Berkshire sends it just over 135 yards with a club head speed of just over 105mph and ball speed of 102mph.

That 105mph club speed is a huge standout here, as the average PGA Tour pro in 2024 could only get up to that sort of speed with a hybrid - with it being out of reach with any iron.

And in comparison to the PGA Tour averages released by Trackman in May 2024, Berkshire is streets ahead - even in his pitching wedge which he flies an outrageous 197 yards. The PGA Tour average is 142.

Yes, it's only hitting on a range, and yes, it's at a great altitude but the distances and speed on show are nevertheless hugely impressive.

A post shared by Kyle Berkshire (@kyleberkshire)

A photo posted by on

The 200-yard mark is breached with a 9-iron (205.6), while a 6-iron gets Berkshire over 250 yards (262.4) pretty comfortably and a 4-iron covers 300 yards (302) with an absolute bullet from the long drive master.

We have the rare sight of a 1-iron being striped as Berkshire sends it just over 320 yards with 134.1mph club speed and 186.1mph ball speed far outdoing what the average PGA Tour pro manages with a driver (115mph club, 171mph ball).

And the big dog, the one we all want to see, comes out last as darkness falls, so arguably not the best conditions for long driving.

But still, Berkshire winds up and unleashes a drive with 363.2 yards of carry and a 399.2-yard total, carrying a ferocious 144.8mph club speed and 215.9 ball speed.

Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

Latest