Opinion & Analysis
How much distance is lost with age?
There seems to be a steady progression of lost driving distance that comes with age, but I don’t recall ever seeing much actual information on the topic. My curiosity got the best of me, so one day I sat down and tried to figure it out.
I started by looking up the ages and driving distances of 440 players on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, Champions Tour, European Tour and European Senior Tour.
Here’s a breakdown of the averages I found in five-year increments, along with a calculation of their estimated average swing speeds based on the average Tour players driving distance efficiency being about 2.57 yard/mph.
If I break down the numbers in 10-year increments to decades, here’s what I found.
As expected, we see a decline in distance and club head speed over time. Below are a few points of interest.
- Pros in their 20’s, and more specifically in their late 20’s, hit the longest drives and swing the fastest.
- Pros on the main tours (i.e. non-senior tours) in their 30’s are around the tour average in both categories, meaning the guys in their 20s boost both averages and guys in their 40’s bring down the averages.
- There’s a really sharp decline in speed and distance around age 50. I wonder if there is something psychological at play here. As soon as golfers turn 50 and start playing the “senior” tours, they could start thinking of themselves as older and it could manifest in their play. Who knows.
Since the lowest club head speed for a competitive player on a tour for a player under 50 years old is usually around 104 mph, it makes sense that we don’t see as many guys in their 50s or 60s being competitive on the main tours. But does it have to be like that?
Trackman research shows that when a golfer goes from a 15 handicap to a +5 handicap, there is a correlation of about 1:1 of club head speed to handicap. That means that for every 1 mph increase in clubhead speed, you’ll see about a 1-shot drop in handicap. I suppose that it’s not too far of a stretch to say that as tour players lose club head speed and distance, it becomes more difficult for them to shoot lower scores and be competitive at the highest levels.
Still, there is only about a 10 mph club head speed difference between the guys in the 60-to-69 age category and the main tour average of about 113 mph. In my work as a Swing Speed Trainer, I can definitely tell you it’s possible to add 10 mph of speed to swing through swing speed training. Furthermore, I believe that age is largely a state of mind and if you are willing to put in some work, a great deal of physical capability can be maintained and even increased well in to the latter parts of life. As the saying goes, “use it or lose it.”
Related: Three ways to add distance to your drives
The video below of Sam Bright, Jr. is a fine example. It stands to reason that if a senior tour player in his 50s or 60s is still motivated and interested in playing one of the main tours, he could certainly do so with Swing Speed Training.
[youtube id=”iU4yAZobbfI” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Assuming the same regression happens at the amateur level, here’s what those numbers might look like for 14-to-15 handicappers who swing 93.4 mph and hit drives 214 yards when they’re 30-to-39. It could then be said that maintaining this handicap level could also become difficult with age.
To help combat potential distance and handicap loss with age, I refer you to another article I wrote called “Three ways to longer drives.” As George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.”
I say to you, get out there and play!
Opinion & Analysis
Brandel Chamblee PGA Championship Q&A: Rose’s huge McLaren risk, distracted LIV pros and why Aronimink suits the bombers
PGA Championship week is here, and Brandel Chamblee did not hold back in our latest discussion ahead of the season’s second major.
In our 2026 PGA Championship Q&A, golf’s leading analyst made the case that PIF pulling LIV’s funding has left its players competing in a state of confusion, called Justin Rose’s mid-season equipment switch a huge risk at 45, and explained why Aronimink will be a bombers’ delight this week.
Check out the full Q&A below.
Gianni: With the PIF confirming that they’re pulling funding from LIV at the end of the season, what impact do you expect that to have on the LIV players competing at the PGA Championship?
Brandel: I would imagine that they have all been thrown into a state of confusion, and will be distracted, not knowing where they are going to play next year and not knowing exactly their road back to either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. Or in Rahm’s case, being tied to a sinking ship for the next few years, likely playing for pennies on the dollar in events that no one cares about or watches.
I doubt this would put him in the best frame of mind to compete at his highest level. Keeping in mind, however, that majors are the only time that LIV disciples get to play in events that matter, so never disregard the motivation they have to prove to the world they are still relevant.
Gianni: Justin Rose switched to McLaren Golf equipment mid-season while playing some of the best golf of his career. What do you make of the change?
Brandel: I don’t really know what to make of Rose switching equipment. It seems a huge risk on his part, even though it is likely, in my opinion, that the clubs he’s playing are similar, if not the exact grinds, to what he was playing previously, with a McLaren stamp on them.
Having said that, at best, it is a distraction when he seemed to be as dialed in with his game as any 45-year-old could be and trending in the majors to perhaps do something that would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame. At worst, given the possibility that these clubs aren’t just duplicates of his old set stamped with McLaren on them, he’s made an equipment change that would take time, and 45-year-old athletes don’t have the time to do such things.
Gianni: Aronimink has only hosted a handful of professional events since it hosted the 1962 PGA Championship. What kind of test does it present, and does a course with less recent major championship history tend to level the playing field?
Brandel: Even though Aronimink has only hosted a handful of meaningful professional events, it has been fairly discerning in who can win there. When Keegan Bradley won the BMW Championship on the Donald Ross masterpiece in 2018, he was the 2nd best iron player on tour coming into that week. When Nick Watney won the AT&T at Aronimink in 2011, he was 2nd in strokes gained total coming into the week.
In 2020, Aronimink hosted the KPMG Championship, and Sei Young Kim won. On the LPGA that year, she was first in greens in regulation, putts per green in regulation, and scoring average on the way to being the LPGA player of the year. And then there is the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player, who eventually became just one of a few players to win the career grand slam on the way to winning 9 majors. It is a formidable test, and if it’s not softened by rain, it will bring out the best in the upper echelons of the game.
Gianni: Is there a specific hole at Aronimink that you think will do the most to decide the winner?
Brandel: The hardest hole at Aronimink in each of the three tour events that have been played there since 2010 has been the long par-3 8th hole, with the par-4 10th being the second hardest, so most of the carnage will happen around the turn, but with the par-5 16th offering opportunities for bold plays and the tough closing holes at 17 and 18, the finish is likely to be frenetic.
Gianni: The PGA Championship has always sat in the shadow of the other majors. What does the ideal PGA Championship look like in your eyes, and what would it take for it to carve out its own identity?
Brandel: The PGA Championship, to whatever degree it suffers from the comparison to the other three majors, is still counted just as much when adding them up at the end of one’s career. Almost 1/3 of Nicklaus’ major wins were the five PGA Championships he won. Walter Hagen won 11 majors, five of which were PGA Championships.
Tiger Woods twice in his career won back-to-back PGA Championships, and those four majors count just as much as the other 11 he won. The PGA may not have the prestige of the other three, but it carries the same weight. Having said that, I preferred the identity that it had as the last major of the year.
Gianni: You nailed your Masters picks. Rory won, Scottie finished solo second, and Morikawa surged to a tie for seventh. Who are your top 3 picks for the PGA Championship and why?
Brandel: I am not a huge fan of majors played on golf courses that have been shorn of most of the trees, although I understand some of the agronomic reasons for doing so and of course the ease with which it allows members to play after errant drives. However, at the highest level, it all but eliminates any strategy off the tee and turns professional golf into an even bigger slugfest. That means that it will likely be a bomber’s delight this week, but fortunately, Scottie Scheffler is long enough to play that game and straight enough to play it better than anyone else.
The major championships give us very few surprises anymore, going back to the beginning of 2012, so the last 57 majors played, the average world rank of the winners has been better than 15th in the world. So look at the highest ranked and longest drivers who are on form coming into the PGA Championship who also have great short games as the surrounds at Aronimink are very challenging. That’s Scottie Scheffler by a mile and then McIlroy and Cameron Young with a far bigger nod towards DeChambeau than I gave him at the Masters.
In this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, we dive into one of the most interesting flatstick releases of the year with a full review of the new TaylorMade SYSTM 2 putters. After spending time on the greens, I break down what makes this design stand out, where it performs, and why it has me completely torn between loving it and fighting it. If you are into feel, alignment, and consistency, this is one you will want to hear about.
We also take a look at some of the putters in play on the PGA Tour last week. From familiar favorites to a few surprising setups, there is always something to learn from what the best players in the world are rolling with under pressure.
To wrap things up, I walk through the process of building a set of JP Golf Prime irons paired with Baddazz Gold Series shafts. From component selection to performance goals, this is a deep dive into what goes into creating a unique custom set and why this combo has been so intriguing.
This year my 50th birthday. Gosh, where has the time gone?
As a teenager in rural Missouri, some of my junior high and high school years felt interminable. Graduation seemed light years away. But the older I get, the faster life seems to fly by.
I’m also increasingly aware of my mortality. My dad died recently. Earlier this year, a friend and fellow PGA of America professional and I were texting about our next catch-up. The next message I received was news of his unexpected passing at 48. Shortly after, a woman I dated in college succumbed to cancer at 51.
Certainly, one can share perspective at any age. Seniors help freshmen, veterans guide rookies. But reaching this milestone feels like as good a time as any to do one of those “what would I tell my younger self?” articles.
I’ve had a uniquely varied career in golf. I started as a 27-year-old, average-length-hitting, 14-handicap computer engineer and somehow managed to turn pro before running out of money, constantly bootstrapping my way forward. I’ve won qualifiers and set venue records in the World Long Drive Championships, finished fifth at the Speedgolf World Championships, coached all skill levels as a PGA of America professional, built industry-leading swing speed training programs for Swing Man Golf, helped advance the single-length iron market with Sterling Irons®, caddied on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, and played about 300 courses across 32 countries.
It’s been a ride, and I’ve gone both deep and wide.
So while I can consult and advise from a lot of angles, let me keep it to a few things I’d tell the average golfer who wants to improve.
1. Think About What You Want
Everyone has their own reason for picking up a golf club.
Oddly, as a professional athlete, I’m not internally driven by competition. That can be challenging, as the industry currently prioritizes and incentivizes competition over the love of the game.
For me, I love walking and being outdoors. Nature helps balance my energy. I prefer courses that are integrated into the natural beauty of their surroundings. I’m comfortable practicing alone. I’m a deep thinker, and I genuinely enjoy investigating the game, using data and intuition to unearth unique, often innovative insights. I’m fortunate to be strong and athletic, so I appreciate the chance to engage with my abilities. Traveling feels adventurous. I could go on.
You don’t have to overthink it like I do. For you, it might be as simple as hitting balls to escape work, hanging out with friends, and playing loosely with the rules and the score.
The point is to give yourself permission to play for your own reasons, and let that be enough.
But if improvement is your goal, thinking about your destination—and when you want to get there—is important, because it dictates the steps you need to take. When I set out to go from a 14-handicap to the PGA TOUR as quickly as possible, the steps I needed were very different from those of a working golfer trying to break 90 in six months. That’s also different from someone who just wants a few peaceful hours outside each week, away from work or family.
None of these goals are better than the others, but each requires a different plan that you can work backward from.
2. There Are Lots of Things That Can Work
One of the challenges of golf is that, although there are rules for playing, there aren’t clear, industry-wide standards for how to best play the game. There’s a lot of gray area.
You might hear a top coach or trainer insist that a certain move is the best way to swing or train. Then you dig a bit deeper and, much to your confusion and frustration, another respected coach or trainer says something completely different. I don’t think anyone is trying to confuse you—at least I hope not. It’s just where the industry is right now.
You have to be careful with advice from tournament pros, too. They might be great at scoring, but they’re also human and sometimes just as susceptible as amateurs to believing things that don’t really move the needle. Tour players might describe what they feel, but that’s not always what they’re actually doing when assessed with technology.
I recently ran a test on my YouTube channel (which connects to my GolfWRX article “How to use your hands in the golf swing for power and accuracy”), and, interestingly, two of the most commonly taught hand actions produced the worst results in the test.
Coaches can certainly help. If you find someone you connect with to help navigate, that’s great. But there are many ways to get the ball in the hole. In the current landscape, you may need to seek multiple opinions, think critically, and use your own intuition to discern what seems true and whose advice resonates with you.
I’d recommend seeking someone who is open-minded and always learning, because things constantly change. Absolutes like “correct” or “proper” should raise a red flag. AI can be useful, but it tends to confidently repeat popular advice, so proceed with caution.
3. Get Custom Fit
If you’re serious about becoming a better player, getting custom fit is hugely important. There’s no sense fighting your equipment if you don’t have to. Most better players get fit these days and, if they don’t, they’re usually skilled enough to work around clubs that aren’t ideal.
If you plan to play for a long time, it’s worth spending a little more upfront to get something that truly fits you and your game, rather than continually buying and discarding equipment.
Equipment rules haven’t really changed significantly since the early 2000s. To stay in business, manufacturers keep pushing those limits. If you pull a bunch of clubs and balls off the rack and test them, you’ll find differences. I’ve tested two new drivers and seen a 30-yard total distance gap. Usually, the issue isn’t bad equipment; it’s that the combination of components simply isn’t the best fit.
It’s like wearing a new pair of floppy clown shoes. Sure, they’re shoes—but you won’t sprint your best in them compared to track shoes that fit perfectly.
Be wary of what’s called custom fitting, too. Sometimes the term is used as a marketing strategy rather than an actual fitting. In some retail settings, fitters may be incentivized to steer you toward higher-priced components. That doesn’t automatically mean it’s not the best fit, but you should be aware of potential biases.
I learned a version of this lesson outside of golf. Years ago, I bought a tennis racquet at a big box store from a seemingly knowledgeable employee who thought it would suit me best. The racquet gave me tennis elbow, and I spent months recovering with rest and acupuncture. The next season, I invested more time and money to find what actually fit me, and I walked away with something amazing that I still play with years later.
So if you’re going to get fit, be smart about it.
Find someone you believe has deep knowledge—possibly with certifications, but not necessarily. Make sure there’s a wide inventory across many brands. Check recent reviews for the individual fitter if possible. Make sure you trust that the fitter has your best interests at heart. If they’re wearing a hat or shirt with a specific brand’s logo, proceed with caution. Unless you specifically want a certain brand or look, be wary of upsells, especially if two options perform nearly the same.
Also, while golf is called a sport of integrity, there’s a thread of manipulation in the industry. I once drafted an equipment article for an industry magazine, structured just like one of their previous popular stories, with matching word count and great photos. The assistant editor loved it; it was useful to readers and required little work on his part. But the editor-in-chief nixed the story. When I asked why, I was told it was because I wasn’t an advertiser. It turned out the article I’d modeled mine after was a paid ad cleverly disguised as editorial content.
I really dislike games, clickbait, and fear-based manipulation. I hope this changes, but golfers deserve to know it exists.
4. Distance and Strategy Matter
There’s a real relationship between how far you hit the ball and your scoring average, even at the PGA TOUR level.
I experienced this early in my pro career. I started as a power hitter, swinging in the high 120s and breaking 200 mph ball speed with a stock driver.
Back then, some instructors advised swinging at 80%, so I tried slowing down for more accuracy. That worked fine on shorter, tighter courses. But on longer setups, I was coming into greens with too much club, and par 5s stopped being
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Advanced French
Oct 14, 2019 at 11:17 pm
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Bob Hill
Sep 13, 2018 at 11:23 am
I manage a group of up to 40 golfers who are in their 60s, 70s, and 80, all of whom mention every round how short the hit the ball compared to 10-20 years ago. I would like to remind the better golfers who build courses, plan tee distance or even put the tee markers in their course at the start of play: players do not move to the seniors tees because they have lost 10 or 20 yards. They move to the senior tees because they have lot 30 to 40 yards off the the tee, and continue to lose as they age. So don’t put the senior tee marker 10 yards in front of the white tee; we consider that an insult.
Jim Hamilton
Apr 11, 2017 at 8:02 pm
In 2004, at 61 years old, I won my regional ReMax World Long Drive championship at 355 yards at Riverside in Indianapolis with a clubhead speed of 127 mph. I’m a physicist, and found that efficient long drive swings used both torso rotation and whole-body bending around, most typically, the solar plexus to swing the arms. Both motions generate speed without significant movement of the center of gravity of the body, but like a platform diver, or a falling cat, generate useful motion around the CG. I swung an SMT head on an Accuflex shaft… long-drive specialties. Fast-forward to today, at 74. i just started to play again after illness and am 25 pounds lighter. Clubhead speed is 112 with that same old driver and distance is about 280. With a more appropriate and modern driver and work on flexibility, 300 will come. Injury is the biggest distance loser, and tour pros are most vulnerable. Leading knee twist and lumbar vertebral damage are the result of powerful swings done for decades. My advice: learn to let your forward foot rotate (there is a special golf shoe that does it automatically) on the ground on your all-out drives, and use more lateral bend ( see Mike Dunaway’s DVD) and a little less pure torsion. It makes a big difference. I agree about low T and fast twitch muscles, but injuries are the biggest swing killers.
George Saalmann
Nov 3, 2016 at 9:17 pm
I am 76 & I took up golf at 60 by error. With a young family, it was important to bond with them while they were growing up. After my doctor recommended an operation to relieve my back pain, I went to our local driving range, every day for 18 moths. I would hit between 450-500 balls a day. I had blisters, bleeding hands and tore muscles in my back, till I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The golf pro called me a machine gun. Then one day, the Manager came over and said, “Could I please stop hitting over the safety net at the back as you are hitting the homes behind it”. My severe back pain stopped & I realized, I might be able to play golf.
Now at age 76 I still drive 227 metres. My back pain with regular & moderate exercise every day, Has gone. I have had 3 golf lessons, for a right hander. Which did not help, as being a left hander. However for reason, I play right handed golf. Having read, Ben Hogan’s book on golf has helped heaps.
Thanks for golf. the exercise & and cameraderie with my golf friends of same age..
That is when I started to realize .over wanted to operate on my spend time with them In m in th
Tom Horne
Oct 30, 2015 at 10:04 pm
I am 80 yrs. young and hit my drives up to 250 yds and 75% of my gaqmes in2015 were uner my age aqt Trickle Creek Golf Course on the blue tees.Love my Callaway clubs.
John
May 25, 2015 at 1:43 am
Great article.
At the 1988 PGA at Oaktree in Edmond Oklahoma, I was 33 years old. I had Contestant’s Family badges as I used to work for a club pro that had played his way into the tournament that year. Those badges gave me access to a PGA Tour operated hitting cage that could measure clubhead speed. I used a persimmon driver with a steel shaft that was provided by the PGA rep (Remember, the first titanium driver, the Big Bertha, didn’t hit the market until 1991). On a dozen swings, I averaged around 112 mph. One swing was 118 mph. The operator told me that my clubhead speed was in the top half of PGA pros. This didn’t really surprise me because at 33 years old, I was 6′ 1″ and a strong and limber 175 pounds. I was lucky enough to live a mile from the golf course and I started playing golf almost every day from the age of 12. I played to a four handicap, hit short irons into all the par fours, and was rarely out-driven.
Fast forward to 2015 and I am now 60 years old, 210 pounds, can’t touch my toes, and I rarely hit wedges to par fours anymore. My Clubhead speed now is in the 98-102 mph range and that’s with a titanium driver and the graphite shaft. I have one video of me swinging when I was 17 years old and I had just won a junior tournament. I compare that video to my current swing and all I can say is that I’m now watching a fat old man swing that appears to have nothing correct in his swing anymore.
I showed my young swing to the PGA pro at the club I belong to and he commented “nice swing, is that you?” He then agreed with me that until I lose 20 pounds and gain back some flexibility, my distance is just going to continue to drop. So, all I can say is that this article is spot on. Flexibility is the key to distance, not stength. If it was strength, Arnold Schwarzenegger would hit a ball 500 yards.
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Phil E
May 2, 2015 at 9:07 am
UPDATE: The GM at the course I play the most, laughed at me & explained that playing that much golf tears the little muscles in your shoulders akin to lifting weights. He said “Dude give your body a rest & you’ll be fine”. Turns out he was correct. Distance numbers on the course are more in line with what I’m used to.
robert coles
Apr 30, 2015 at 7:21 am
Turn 78 this yr [2015] 20 yrs ago played off 3. Now with rotator cuff injury + loss of prostate [less test.] have gone down to 200 yd max drive with roll. Struggling to stay close to 80 on 72 par course.
good putting and chipping is my only chance to stay in the game. Putting stats = 28 putts / round.
Swing speed is 85 but playing on kike grass courses well watered have taken its toll on length. Give me the good old days with no course watering [like they still do in UK] and couch fairways. I call course watering of golf course the American disease.
CJaenike
Jan 28, 2015 at 3:41 am
Significant drop off from 20s to 40s, while commonplace, is certainly not inevitable. I’ve followed the same (aggressive) workout regimen and level of activity throughout, and my club head speed at 46 (115 mph average, 116 max) is essentially the same as it was at 26 (115, 117 max). I’m average height and weight at 5’10”, 165#, btw. It’s all about putting in the fitness work.
Ron
Jan 19, 2015 at 11:49 am
Interesting article. I had not seen any attempt at this analysis before, although I have wondered about what to expect with age. After a several decades-long hiatus from golf, I started playing again at age 60, so don’t know how my distance changed over time. But I am longer now at 74 than I was as a college player (where I was not particularly long – or even straight) – and that has to be the gains in technology. I may have lost a few yards over this last decade, but not a lot. With a smooth tempo 90-94 mph driver speed, a center-hit still makes me pretty long for my age-group. (And my sense is that center-of-the-club-face is more important to distance then a few mph speed-gain if off-center.) All other things being equal, the 2+ yds per mph off the driver is a good measure to keep in mind – but center-hits are still key. My index is about 4.
bradford
Jan 29, 2015 at 11:21 am
If you’re hitting the middle of the club face, the new technology does very little. There’s a lot of “data” out there designed to sell clubs, but the fact is average driving distance on the pro level has only increased by ~20 yards (probably less) in the last 30 years, and most of that is due to the ball. The increase seen from amateurs is usually due to matching a more forgiving club to someone who makes poor or inconsistent contact. I play to an 8 or 9 and I still get a kick out of 20+ handicappers that believe they have a solid grasp on their driver distance. If they told me “I hit the ball between 190 and 250.” I’d believe that. Most will tell you they hit it “Ya know 270 on a good day…”, and that means one day in a simulator they hit that number one time-ever. Now it’s their “average”.
Lowell
Jan 13, 2015 at 5:37 pm
I believe that in order for this to hold true with regards to losing distance with age, the golfer must then use the same golf club for the entirety of his golf career. In seeing golfers actually adding distance is more to advancement in technology that has helped. So as a result you are finding those who have aged also picking up yardage. Now if they were to stick with the persimmon or steel head drivers of the past then I would be in total agreement. As for now, with lighter shafts that launch lower with a better launch angle, who knows, we might actually see another slight increase in distance in relation to age.
LY
Jan 8, 2015 at 1:29 pm
I’m almost 61 and have not lost much distance since the age of 50. What I do everyday is swing a 5lb. golf club 50 times a day. You would be surprised how much that helps with distance, strength and flexability.
Phil E
Apr 15, 2015 at 3:43 pm
I will be 61 in a few months, 5’2″ 120lbs. single digit golfer. Still very flexible. 5yrs ago: 101mph ss, 3yrs ago: 98mph ss. Just came from Dick’s for a regripping (played about 80 rounds 2014). While waiting used monitor (the real one, little metal box)> Was bummed. Avg. ss 90mph, carry distance 206, total 232 yds. Did hit a few 93-95mph 228 carry 250 total yds. Only a few years ago was 238 carry(max) 262total yds. 4/13/15 (mon.) played 40holes next day 26holes (riding). 4/15/15 went to Dick’s. Could fatigue have played a role? I stopped playing ice hockey (laced em up 6 times in the past year). Any thoughts, I’m bummed!
WarrenPeace
Jan 7, 2015 at 4:50 pm
Advice for all you aging older players- spend 80% of your practice time chipping and putting…..the great equalizer. Injuries will take their toll on you hitting too many range balls so shadow swing slow at home instead making the correct moves…you’ll be amazed how much more connected and better contact you will make on course without the wear and tear of whacking balls. I love hitting balls and practice honestly but the joints take a beating hitting 100-200 balls. Be smart about your body.
WarrenPeace
Jan 7, 2015 at 4:24 pm
These numbers are for regular old people that have given into the low T BS! Now days people are in better shape and have healthy active lifestyles that enable them to retain both strength and flexibility. I will be 60 in April and while I hit it about 240 in my competitive 20’s (persimmon and balata), and with the new equipment, I hit it 250-280 now. My friends who are 50-60 all hit it past me so I agree with Gary Player- it’s about moving, staying active and eating correctly. FYI- We all walk most rounds while the fat boys are riding the carts drinking their beer. That’s the difference.
Lancebp
Jan 7, 2015 at 3:33 pm
Something seems drastically wrong with some of these comments. I’m 65, I’ve played for 50 years. I was never a long hitter. In the persimmon era, 225 (carry and roll) was my standard. Today, at 65, I use a highly accurate radar unit, average about 97 mph and occasionally reach a legitimate 100. I have no question my clubhead speed at 65 is higher than it was at 40, and it’s not because I’m a walking miracle. I suppose 1 mph lost for every year after 50 might be true if you also get fatter, weaker and lazier every year after 50 too.
Golfraven
Jan 7, 2015 at 3:28 pm
things just go downhill when you turn 40. I better start my excercise routine like Gary Player otherwise I see no tomorrow. Maybe my Orange Whip will help me maintaining or gaining the extra MPH. However I think that length is not everything. you become a refined player with age just like good wine.
Jim
Jan 7, 2015 at 2:48 pm
Getting old simply “sucks.” In two months I’ll turn 65. At 63 I spent the summer fighting a kidney stone for two months ending in surgery. I only played three rounds the entire summer and they were all in May. The following summer I was astonished at how much eye-hand coordination I had lost. I suddenly couldn’t hit my Mizuno MP-32’s with any consistency and my 7-iron which was automatically dialed in at 150 yards was playing at least 10 yards shorter. Even my wedges were coming up short by at least a club. I don’t even want to talk about driver distance fading away.
My wife did buy me a new set of Titleist AP1’s as well as Ping G25 driver, 5-wood and 20 and 23-degree hybrids. I struggled through most of last summer getting used to my new game, but still enjoyed playing. My drives now average about 220. My longest drive in early September was 240, but that was a perfectly struck ball. And I am forgetting to mention that I now play optic yellow balls because I truly can’t see white balls any more (thanks to 20 years of staring at computer monitors for 12 hours a day).
I still love the game immensely and have found the Ping metals are keeping me in the fairway consistently. I also rely much more on my short game, especially putting, to keep me in the mid-80’s. And the young pups I play with, who are still in their 50’s, still demand that I play from the blues with them. I simply hit a lot more hybrids and 5-woods into the long Par-3’s now.
The same thing will likely happen to most of you reading this right now. You’ll get discouraged at first, learn to accept it and finally, if you truly love this great game as I do, you’ll adapt to reality and change your game and expectations so that you still love playing and practicing all summer long. As an old hockey player, golf is still the best game ever invented.
Golfraven
Jan 7, 2015 at 3:32 pm
The worst thing is when wifes start to buy improvement clubs for you. Length can only maintained through practice so no wonder you were short after short after a serious heath break.
Dana Upshaw
Jan 7, 2015 at 12:46 pm
It’s been my experience being a professional fitter for over 20 years that just about EVERYONE starts losing clubhead speed at the rate of 1mph per year at age 50. It’s just part of the natural slowing down process in everything we do. It’s a gradual process that is imperceptible in the short term, but the cumulative effect is great. As we age, we talk slower, we walk slower, we chew slower, we swing slower. And while 1mph doesn’t seem like a lot, 15 years down the road the cumulative effect is 15mph and a loss of 35-45 yards with a driver and 20-30 with an iron. Combined together, the second shot PW of yesteryear is now a 4-5 iron. In 20 years of watching my clientele age I’ve had ONE 68 year-old golfer who has maintained his clubhead speed and ONE 72 year-old golfer who actually gained 4mph. Everyone else has decayed at 1mph per year once over 50. Add in the effects of not-so-good impact conditions and misfit clubs and the yardage “rollback” can be severe enough to discourage the staunchest curmudgeon from playing as much as they’d desire. Unfortunately, for most folks that just the way it is and without significant dedication to strength and flexibility training and lessons they will never recapture the speed of their glory days.
JOEL GOODMAN
Jan 7, 2015 at 2:18 pm
I’LL BE 80 IN JULY AND HIT MY DRIVES 210-220 REGULARLY AND A 4 IRON IS MY 175 YD CLUB. MOST OF THE GUYS MY AGE CAN’T COME CLOSE TO ME BUT THE YOUNG STUDS FLY THEIR 7 IRONS PAST MY 4 IRON. IS THERE ANY REAL WAY I CAN RESUME MY YOUNGER DAYS PERFORMANCE, WHERE I WAS 30-40 YARDS LONGER?? I PLAY 5 DAYS A WEEK 52 WEEKS A YEAR. LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. NO STEROIDS, PLEASE…….
Bore
Jan 8, 2015 at 3:28 am
Pray.
Tom Kelly
Jan 8, 2015 at 9:52 pm
I think your comment “Combined together, the second shot PW of yesterday is now a 4-5 iron.” to be totally accurate. The data Jacob Bowden sites from the various tours is taken from the records of the best players in the world. Stronger lofts, longer clubs, more forgiving heads and wonderful balls have enabled older players to retain some of that lost distance. Those that disagree should get access to a Trackman and see what really is happening. There are a few lucky people with unusual genes that don’t lose speed. A very, very few lucky people…
talljohn777
Jan 7, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Flexibility is the number one reason for club head speed going down. If you can maintain flexibility your club head speed will not drop of dramatically.
Plane
Jan 7, 2015 at 3:46 am
We used to say, we lost 10 yards every 10 years! But that was with the old equipment before the giant headed drivers and super-duper balls came into play.
Amazing what technology can give us now.
Pingback: How Age Decreases Distance in Golf - The Golf Shop Online Blog - The Golf Shop Online Blog
Steve
Jan 6, 2015 at 1:30 pm
I remember as a kid we would take our top hand pinky off the grip and rest it on the butt. Essentially making the club longer. Hit it farther lose some accuracy. It does work try it. Never heard anyone mention it, but was common practice when I was young
Zak
Jan 6, 2015 at 2:04 am
So at 25 y/o I haven’t peaked with my distance yet? Nice to know!
David
Jan 5, 2015 at 11:48 pm
I still hit long drives at age 44. To me the biggest factors as we age would be how well we have taken care of our backs (or if we have sustained a back injury during our life) and maintaining flexibility as we age. Additionally, since some studies indicate that many men experience drops in testosterone levels as they age that may also be a contributing factor to loss in clubhead speed due to muscle atrophy and loss of overall strength.
Tom Kelly
Jan 5, 2015 at 9:48 pm
A wonderful article. At 71 I can still swing a 44.5″ driver 96 to 100 mph. At 49 I could swing a 43.5″ Dynamic shafted persimmon driver 106 to 110 mph and thought about trying to play on the senior tour. I blamed the loss of speed as I aged to injury and drugs related to cancer. The answer is much more simple. As ‘Archie Bunker’ suggests, the answer is going forward and for club events, to have more divisions in tournaments by age. And maybe we’d get more older players to continue to play competitive golf. Trying to play against 30 year old players who are hitting six clubs less at greens makes for a long day.
Rich
Jan 5, 2015 at 11:45 pm
Tom, I’m not saying that people don’t lose distance with age (I know I have) but since when has age and how far you hit have anything to do with what your score is? I play golf with a guy who is 10 years older than me (he’s early 50’s and I’m early 40’s) and he doesn’t come anywhere near me with the driver. His handicap is 3-4 shots less than mine and most weeks he would run rings around me because he manages HIS own game so well. He doesn’t hit the ball as well as me but he plays better golf. This is the essence of our game, not making sure I’m hitting it as far as the bloke I’m playing with. Golf is about the score, not now far you hit it.
christian
Jan 6, 2015 at 2:14 am
All else being equal, the longer player wins.
Rich
Jan 6, 2015 at 4:38 pm
Maybe, but you don’t win just because of your length. If the rest of your game is not in shape, length means nothing. If you can’t putt or manage your game, it doesn’t matter how far you hit it. Just ask Nicholas Colsarts or Alvaro Quiros. Very long bombers but not winning at the moment.
Regis
Jan 7, 2015 at 2:01 pm
Although some of your points are well taken the fact remains that all other things being equal (short game, putting, fundamentals remaining intact)if you lose 15%-20% of your distance as you age that driver wedge combo on that 320yds opening hole becomes driver/7 iron and it gets worse as the holes get longer. And forget going for any par 5 in two.
RG
Jan 7, 2015 at 4:58 am
Sounds good, but hard to prove. I think club and shot selection have a lot more to do with it.
Tom Kelly
Jan 6, 2015 at 8:00 pm
I agree that length isn’t the only thing. But, increasingly on the various tours, you see that the consistent money winners rank high on distance. You also see extremely good players try to make swing changes for more distance – Luke Donald certainly comes to mind. The story from 70 years ago about Sam Snead playing Paul Runyon in a PGA match play championship where Snead outhit Runyon by 50 yards but still lost supports your position. But Runyon’s are invisible today at all tour levels. As Christian says, all else being equal, the longer player wins.
Rich
Jan 6, 2015 at 9:56 pm
Fair enough but when is all else equal? Hardly ever if at all. I don’t understand this fascination, wait, infatuation people have with distance. Your point (along with Christians) might be more relevant on tour but in our world of social golf and club competitions, it means diddly squat. I guess I don’t think of tour pros as being relevant to me and the way I play (except for the entertainment of watching them play) because they play a game of golf that is unrecognisable to me. They are another universe.
Rich
Jan 6, 2015 at 11:07 pm
BTW, I think Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Graeme McDowell and Zach Johnson might have something to say about being invisible………….
other paul
Jan 5, 2015 at 9:44 pm
I just bought into Jaacobs speed swinging program and I am noticing a difference and its only been a week. Should get go 110MPH this month. Maybe more. Just hit 4 of my longest drives ever. Measured, 284,284,286,286. Goal is 310 a month from now. Want to average 290 or better.
Big Mike
Jan 5, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Turned 58 two days before Thanksgiving. SS has dropped from 112-114 to 104-109 or so. Still can hit the ball very well off the tee and last week hit a couple approaching 300. No doubt I’ve slowed but can still keep up with many guys younger than me. Started a new workout regimen on my birthday and am getting stronger, more flexible, etc.
Barney Adams
Jan 5, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Jaacob. You stop data at 69 yrs. those of us past 70 or god forbid 75. We dead?
Jaacob Bowden
Jan 5, 2015 at 11:05 pm
Haha, no, there just wasn’t really any data for Tour players at that age range. Would be curious to see, though.
Steve St Clair
Jan 5, 2015 at 7:35 pm
I love it when the young (read: less than 50) make statements about what the old can accomplish with more stretching and strengthening. I have yet to see any data that suggest that stretching and strengthening have any more beneficial effects for older golfers than for younger golfers.
Randy Dandy
Jan 5, 2015 at 6:31 pm
Is this another one of those foolish ideas brought on by Monty’s fallacies and misconceptions on the golf swing ? He is so far off in right field that dude
Martin
Jan 5, 2015 at 5:08 pm
Well you guys who are middle aged body builders are impressive.
I’m a middle aged 51 year old with bad knees and have gone from 105-108 in my 20’s and 30’s to low 90’s at 51.
A little over 10% drop in club head speed, but I make much better contact now with big drivers etc.
I suspect the article is correct, my knees would make me about 65 in dog years.
moses
Jan 5, 2015 at 4:10 pm
I got into weight lifting at the age of 36. Been doing it about 3-4 times a week and at the age of 50 I am much stronger now than when I was in my 20’s. I still swing around 110. Sam’s right. Age is just a number to a certain degree and it is what you make of it.
enrique
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:57 pm
I hit the ball much further at 46 than I did at 30 – and I’ve played golf since I was 18.
It’s all about health. My buddy is 61 years old and a 6’2″ lean workout freak. Runs and lifts regularly. He hits the ball a mile. He hits it further now than he did in his 40’s. We’ve had this conversation.
kev
Jan 5, 2015 at 4:57 pm
you both hit it further because of ball, shaft, and clubhead evolution.
enrique
Jan 5, 2015 at 9:15 pm
Not true. I still have my 983k that I break out sometimes. My club head speed is faster and I actually use stiffer shafts than I used to.
davepelz4
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:53 pm
You might need to change his name…it’s Sam Bryant Jr. as opposed to Sam Bright.
Mnmlist Golfr
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:35 pm
What about the introduction of 460cc drivers and multi layer golf balls?
Champions Tour players such as Fred Couples, Kenny Perry, Billy Andrade, etc were 20 yards longer in 2014 than they were in 1994.
Does the new technology more than make up for losing 10 mph of club head speed?
Jaacob Bowden
Jan 5, 2015 at 8:16 pm
Well, the thing is that although the Senior Tour players are benefiting from technology, the regular PGA TOUR players are too.
In comparing 1994 to 2014, the PGA TOUR player mean went up 27.9 yards from 261.8 to 289.7 (about 10.7%) and the Senior Tour players went up 18.3 yards from 254.6 to 272.9 (about 7.1%).
So for whatever reason it seems Senior Tour players as a whole are more worse off now than they were before despite the improvements in technology. Interesting.
Mnmlist Golfr
Jan 5, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Thanks for replaying, Jacob.
1994 PGA Tour players and 2014 PGA Tour players are (for the most) different cohorts.
If you’re talking about how much distance a player lose with age, then I think you need to look at the SAME players over time, not different players over time.
A 34 year old Fred Couples averaged 279.9 yds while 54 year old Fred Couples averaged 295.0.
A 33 year old Kenny Perry averaged 264.9 yds, while 53 year old Kenny Perry averaged 289.4.
A 30 year old Billy Andrade averaged 258.3 yds, while 50 year old Billy Andrade averaged 282.6.
I don’t think these three players are the anomalies either. I would say that the vast majority of current Champions Tour players are at least 15 yards longer than they were 20 years ago. Clearly these guys have not lost distance with age.
The dude
Jan 5, 2015 at 9:09 pm
Just look at CHS….that ends the conversation.
cdvilla
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:10 pm
At 45, I can’t just roll out of bed and expect to play decent golf. You definitely have to put in work to “maintain” and any strokes that I gain from here on out are going to be through efficiency as opposed to power.
Philip
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:08 pm
Myself, I am going in the opposite direction as I approach 50. A few years ago I was closer to mid 90’s and now I am approaching 115+ as my technique, flexibility, weight, and muscle strength all improve. Lucky I guess that I took a 30 year break from golf and sports after I hurt myself when quite young and haven’t had any recent injuries.
Archie Bunker
Jan 5, 2015 at 3:05 pm
There’s a cure for all that distance loss. It’s called the Senior Tees.
Larry Fox
Jan 8, 2015 at 12:12 pm
Great point Archie Bunker! But for that to work they have to leave their ego back at the Blue tee!
Pat
Jan 5, 2015 at 2:29 pm
It’s called Manopause, LOL. There is a sharp decrease in test production once a male hits 40. No test means no strength. No strength equals sharp decline in swing speed. I was doing long drive comps in Japan when I was in my mid 20’s. Swing speed was 133mph. I still workout and have a bodybuilding backround, but injuries and age have taken it’s toll. I can still swing 122mph, but it gets harder to maintain every year.
Tom Kelly
Jan 9, 2015 at 10:45 pm
It is not just testosterone. Fast twitch muscles at the bottom of the shoulder blade create ~80% of club speed. Flexibility and turn maintain speed, not create it. Fast twitch muscles age more rapidly than slow twitch, the reason why dash runners deteriorate more quickly than distance runners.