Launch It Like a Firework: 3 Driving Distance Insights You should See
With summer in full swing, and plenty of golfers chasing that extra spark off the tee, it feels like a good time to see how our own fireworks measure up. How far are we really hitting it? How often are we keeping it on the planet? And what happens to that big swing as the years roll by?
Here are three insights from the 2025 Arccos Driving Distance Report that might make you look twice before teeing it high and letting it fly.
1. Most Golfers Are Shorter Than They Think
Summer is a season for tall tales, and plenty of those stories start on the first tee. But Arccos data has a way of cutting through wishful thinking. Among men, the average driver distance is about 225 yards. For women, it is around 176 yards. That is quite a distance from the 280 yard hero shots that often get retold in the clubhouse.
Low handicap players do stretch things out. Men with a handicap below five average closer to 250 yards, while higher handicaps hover nearer 185 yards. Among women, lower handicaps can reach beyond 210 yards compared to about 140 for higher handicap players. It is a reminder that distance takes both skill and speed, and that on average most of us are shorter than we might like to believe.
2. Accuracy Improves With Age
There is a reassuring lesson in the data. As players get older, they tend to lose distance but gain control. According to Arccos, men in their seventies hit drives about 51 yards shorter on average than teenagers and young adults. Yet they find fairways far more often, hitting 56 percent of them compared to 39 percent for players in their twenties.
The same pattern holds for women. Those in their sixties see fairway accuracy climb to more than 62 percent, the highest of any age bracket. There is something comforting about that shift. Experience brings a better sense of how to keep the ball in play, even if it does not travel quite as far.
3. Longer is Not Always Better
Fireworks reward going big. Golf does not always do the same. The data shows that high handicap players who try to chase distance too aggressively often end up in trouble, missing fairways and adding penalty strokes. Across the Arccos sample, players with handicaps above 30 averaged the shortest drives and the lowest accuracy, hitting under 41 percent of fairways.
It suggests there is more freedom in a controlled tee shot than in trying to overpower the ball. The best players combine moderate distance with reliable accuracy, a pattern that holds true across skill levels and age groups. As you stand over your next drive, there is no shame in taking a smoother swing to keep your ball in play.
Golf has its own version of freedom. Few things feel as satisfying as stepping up, giving it a confident swing, and seeing the ball rocket down the centre like a perfectly aimed firework. For many golfers, that is about as close to a grand finale as it gets.
If you are curious to explore how your own numbers stack up, the full Arccos Driving Distance Report is ready to download. You can access the complete data and see how distance and accuracy trends break down across age, gender, and handicap.
