PGA Tour players are longer off the tee than ever, thanks to advances in driver and golf ball technology, as well improved training regimens and course conditioning. That means the longest drivers and hitters on the PGA Tour are longer than ever, too. And it also means that being one of the shortest drivers on the PGA Tour means that you're still hitting the golf ball pretty far.
So, who are the 10 longest and the 10 shortest drivers on the PGA Tour?
10 longest drivers on the PGA Tour
- J.B. Holmes -- 314.5 yards
- Dustin Johnson -- 313.6 yards
- Tony Finau -- 312.2 yards
- Bubba Watson -- 310.6 yards
- Andrew Loupe -- 309.3 yards
- Jason Kokrak -- 307.4 yards
- Luke List -- 306.9 yards
- Hudson Swafford -- 306.9 yards
- Rory McIlroy -- 306.8 yards
- Gary Woodland -- 306.1 yards
10 shortest drivers on the PGA Tour
- Colt Knost -- 269.7 yards
- David Toms -- 269.7 yards
- Jon Curran -- 271.9 yards
- Mark Wilson -- 274.7 yards
- Zac Blair -- 275.3 yards
- K.J. Choi -- 275.3 yards
- Jason Bohn -- 276.3 yards
- Abraham Ancer -- 276.4 yards
- Billy Hurley III -- 277.7 yards
- Brian Stuard -- 277.7 yards
We looked at the data from the 2015-16 PGA Tour season for the driving distance statistic to get these figures. The PGA Tour bases these numbers on the measured distance from drives hit on two holes in every PGA Tour round. These are holes on which players overwhelmingly hit driver, so they give the best idea of how far any PGA Tour player hits their driver (as compared to another stat that measures all non-par-3 tee shots, including holes where a longer player might use an iron or fairway wood).
These figures tell you something: You don't necessarily have to be long to win on the PGA Tour. Billy Hurley, the T-9 shortest player on the PGA Tour in 2015-16, won the Quicken Loans National at Congressional C.C.'s Blue Course, one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour.
Then again, Dustin Johnson, Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy all won on the PGA Tour in 2015-16, with Johnson and McIlroy doing so multiple times. Being long helps a lot, if you can keep it in play.
