There was a time, not too long ago in fact, when everyone was talking about how far Tiger Woods was hitting the ball every week.
A new generation of players – one that he helped to inspire – have now passed Woods in the average driving distance category.
The ‘Big Cat’ is by no means short, even after all the injuries that he's suffered and the many surgeries that his body has had to endure.
However, gone are the days when one man dominates long driving off the tee, as Woods frequently used to do at his athletic best.
The modern game is packed full of players – not just your Bryson DeChambeaus and Rory McIlroys – who average well over 300 yards.
A combination of factors have seen the PGA Tour average increase by approximately 30 yards since the turn of the century, the two main reasons being modern technology and greater athleticism.
Tiger Woods at his explosive best
When Woods was is his pomp, there were not as many players spending time in the gym working hard to increase their clubhead speed.
Today, if you’ve not got yourself a gym routine, you’re likely to be putting yourself at a significant disadvantage, so far as driving distance is concerned.
Back to Woods’ heyday, though, and what an explosive player he was. True, he’d sometimes lose a bit of accuracy (Goddammit, Tiger!), but more often than not he’d make extremely light work of the par 5s.
There were one or two players who could match him, such as John Daly, but not many who could do so over the course of a season – and he had an extra gear if he needed it.
So, when we say Woods was long, just how impressive was the 15-time Major winner off the tee?
What Is Tiger Woods’ Longest Drive?
Tiger Woods hitting a drive at the 2002 Mercedes Championship on the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii
Let’s start with his longest ever drive on the PGA Tour – which is a monster 498 yards, achieved at the Mercedes Championship in January 2002.
It’s worth noting that this bomb came on the 18th of the Plantation Course in Hawaii, a hole that features a large downslope. Find that slope, which he did, and players can get a lot of run.
For context, Woods was one of 19 players to hit the ball over 450 yards on that hole during the tournament that week. Still, it goes down as his longest ever drive on the PGA Tour.
The 18th hole on the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, where Tiger Woods hit a 498-yard drive in 2002
Driving Averages (Rank) & Season’s Longest (all yards)
Tiger Woods unleashes a drive at Augusta in 2005, a year when he averaged 316.1 yards off the tee
For a clearer picture of how far Tiger Woods has hit the ball during his career on the PGA Tour, here are the 15-time Major winner’s driving averages since 1997 (taken from pgatour.com).
Next to his averages, you can see a few more big ones, including another two that exceeded 400 yards.
No doubt some of these drives would have been down to a tailwind, the odd slope and perhaps even the odd fortuitous bounce on a cart path.
Most of the time, however, it was pure strength and timing that made Woods one of the longest drivers of his generation.
- 1997, 294.8 (2nd), 361
- 1998, 296.3 (2nd), 366
- 1999, 293.1 (3rd), 355
- 2000, 298.0 (2nd), 384
- 2001, 296.6 (3rd), 363
- 2002, 293.3 (6th), 498
- 2003, 299.5 (11th), 396
- 2004, 301.9 (9th), 425
- 2005, 316.1 (2nd), 408
- 2006, 306.4 (6th), 394
- 2007, 302.4 (12th), 386
- 2008, 294.3 (not known), 369
- 2009, 298.4 (21st), 370
- 2010, 295.8 (not known), 366
- 2011, 293.7 (not known), 358
- 2012, 297.4 (32nd), 387
- 2013, 293.2 (49th), 379
- 2013-14, 294.9 (not known), 363
- 2014-15, 300.2 (not known), 359
- 2016-17, 299.3 (not known), 322
- 2017-18, 303.6 (32nd), 398
- 2018-19, 296.8 (not known), 375
- 2020-21, 290.3 (not known), 372
