30 vs 40 vs 50 vs 60: How Does Amateur Driving Distance Change With Age?
There is no doubt that age has a significant impact on average driving distance for amateur golfers, but just how far do 30, 40, 50 and 60-year-olds hit it?
As amateur golfers, we love to compare our performances on the course to others, whether that be handicap indexes, our best ever scores or how far we hit our drives.
I mean, let's face it, we all want to be the longest hitter among our playing partners.
Whether you are a bucket a day at the range kind of person, or someone who regularly uses the 10 best golf exercises to boost power, it's no secret that increasing your length off the tee will have a positive impact on your game - but how does age affect this?
In this article, I dive deep into the latest Shot Scope data to reveal how players in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s drive the golf ball on average...
How Does Age Affect Average Driving Distance For Amateurs?
According to Shot Scope, golfers aged between 30 and 39 drive the golf ball around 256 yards on average. This decade is actually the time where a golfer statistically drives the golf ball the furthest, marginally outperforming the 20s by two yards.
As we jump forward to golfers aged between 40 and 49, the downward trend in driving distance commences. This group of golfers drives the ball 252 yards on average, four yards shorter than the group of 30-somethings.
Golfers statistically drive the ball the furthest in their 30s
The 50 to 59 age group has a driving distance average of 243 yards, demonstrating a sharper decline to the curve than we have seen previously, losing around nine yards to the golfers in the age group that is slightly their junior.
The sharpest drop off in distance is found between the golfers aged 50 to 59 and the golfers aged 60 to 69, with a 13 yard decrease in average driving distance.
A golfer in their 60s hits the golf ball around 230 yards on average off the tee, which is interestingly still longer than golfers with a handicap index of 20 or higher (irrespective of their age).
Driving distance has a significant impact on handicap index, so working on finding those precious extra yards is crucial
What Drill Can I Use To Increase Power With Driver?
Our comprehensive guide to the 10 best golf drills includes some great advice on how to strike the ball better and achieve maximum distance, but this simple drill is one of my favourites as it doesn't take a lot of equipment or time to carry out.
The Towel Drill
Grab a towel and your golf bag. Hold the towel in your golf posture and swing it as you would a golf club. As your rotate through 'impact' you should whip the golf bag with the towel.
If you’re guilty of using your arms and hands only, and not your body, you will lose that stored energy early; the towel will be rather limp.
Try both and compare the sound of the towel hitting the bag. If you are doing it right, the sound will be a much crisper snap as you rotate fully into the finish position.
Remember, power is also lost when the arms collapse and there’s a lack of width in the swing – so bare this in mind when practicing this drill.
You could actually do this drill at home too, so you really have no excuse not to crush it off the tee this season.