News
USGA, R&A 2018 Driving Distance Report finds 1.7-yard average increase in distance across all tours
Released today, the USGA/R&A’s 2018 Annual Driving Distance Report analyzes driving-distance data from the seven men’s and women’s pro golf tours worldwide (PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour, Web.com Tour, PGA Tour Champions, Japan Golf Tour, and Ladies’ European Tour).
The fourth edition of the report found “driving distances on these seven tours increased by an average of 1.7 yards, beyond the previous year’s gain of more than 3 yards.”
Traditionally, driving distance is measured on two holes at each event. Across the seven tours, this equals more than 200,000 shots.
On the PGA Tour, the report found an increase of 3.6 yards on the holes where official driving distance was measured and a 1.8-yard uptick when all tee shots were factored in.
In accordance with the 2002 Joint Statement of Principles, the USGA and R&A stated their “commitment to ensure that skill is the dominant element of success throughout the game,” and pledged to keep close tabs on driving distance figures in professional golf.
According to the organizations, the 2018 report will be evaluated alongside data gathered in the Distance Insights project, which was launched in May of 2018.
Those involved with the project are expected to deliver an update during the first quarter of 2019.
I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear
OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.
LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break
Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.
Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.
On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.
On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.
On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.
PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home
Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.
On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.
Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?
Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.
Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?
PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates
Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.
Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.
Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.
Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.
Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.
General Albums
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX
7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Greg V
Jan 30, 2019 at 1:38 pm
From the data, the LPGA has not gotten longer, while the Web.com Tour and PGA tour have.
My conclusion, the very longest players can benefit from higher COR and lower spin driver heads; the ladies do not. Most of the rest of us do not, as well.
I say bring back the COR for elite players – the same group that has to abide by the groove rule.
Jack Nash
Jan 30, 2019 at 1:46 pm
Good points for sure. I would like more if they got results from the Top 100 PGA pros. Many there bombthe ball. That could skew the number a lot higher I think.
~j~
Jan 30, 2019 at 11:50 am
I have a solution. Unlevel tee boxes for the pros. Not like the crap we pedestrians play on, but let’s see Brooks hit a drive off a 10* sloped tee box.
Travis Goodspeed
Jan 30, 2019 at 11:31 am
Why don’t they just say the longest club in your back can be no more than 43” with no less than 12* loft and regulate face hotness CT/COR and be done with it? The long hitters would still be long, the short hitters still short, but you can shave off 40y across the board of everyone’s distance.
Jack Nash
Jan 30, 2019 at 1:50 pm
Dammed if you do Dammed if you don’t. The ball makers come after you or the club makers. So what the ruling bodies do is sit on the fence. I would like to see the shaft length shortened. That’s a good idea like you said. As for loft they can bend that lower, and they do it now.
appletree
Jan 30, 2019 at 11:13 am
IMO. It seems that much time and expense has gone into gathering all this data. Curiously, how does this data help a mid-handicap senior golfer like me? Scheiss’ comment as noted above hits the nail on the head for a very high percentage of the every day golfers. We can move forward a tee block or two. Work on our flexibility and fitness and our golf skills in general. These stats are not going to help us shoot lower scores or have more fun with our sport. So why go to this effort.
Shallowface
Jan 30, 2019 at 9:42 am
Mark Twain may not have said it, but he certainly popularized it.
“There are three kinds of lies. Lies, damned lies and statistics.”
The dude
Jan 29, 2019 at 8:24 pm
Its because of Trump!…
Brian
Jan 29, 2019 at 6:22 pm
Good thing no forum members are on any of the tours it would have been a 50yd increase.
Tartan Golf Travel
Jan 29, 2019 at 5:46 pm
This is mostly because of the natural aging out of older shorter hitters and the rise of younger bigger stronger players.
Greg V
Jan 29, 2019 at 7:23 pm
That is an astute remark. But the fact remains, the young guns are too powerful for most of the courses that they play.
Tartan Golf Travel
Jan 29, 2019 at 7:33 pm
I don’t disagree but that just means what we need bifurcation. I belong to several clubs both in the states and in Scotland and I’m sure they all have one thing in common with the place you play…… every single member got a year older. The tour is getting younger. 99.9999% of the golfing population does not play the game they play. The ball and the clubs don’t need to be dialed back, the courses don’t need to be changed. The tours need their own set of rules if they are worried about distance. I’m a scratch player and I’ll turn 50 this year but I don’t hit it as far as I did when I was 20 or even 40 despite the gains that TaylorMade and the like have promised (lol).
Greg V
Jan 30, 2019 at 2:09 pm
I agree with bifurcation. There are so many older courses – a real treasure for the game – which are outmoded by modern equipment. Since the older courses are on the best properties, play to around 6500 yards or a bit more, doesn’t it make sense to shrink the modern game to fit the older courses. Not the other way around.
Love to see a US Open at Merion with COR reduced for drivers, and a ball that goes shorter. Same with Pebble Beach.
Tartan Golf Travel
Jan 30, 2019 at 7:02 pm
Agreed. The game absolutely needs bifurcation.
Tom
Jan 29, 2019 at 5:20 pm
Uncle Rico added 40 yards per drive in 2018! Now he can hit it over that there mountain.
Scheiss
Jan 30, 2019 at 10:15 am
No need for bifurcation.
The older members at our club, and I mean the older guys into their 60s and 70s and 80s have moved forward tees, sometimes a couple of tees, and some of them even play the same tees as their wives.
So just move forward a tee.