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All golfers are well aware that starting a hole with a nice drive is the perfect way to set up your future shots as you close in on the hole. While most prefer to hit it nice and straight, others prefer to launch it off the tee as hard as they can. Players must maintain the perfect balance between power and technique to pull off a pristine swing, effectively improving their overall score on the scorecard.
In this article, we’ll take a look at five of the longest drivers on the Pro tour in recent years. This will include a list of golfers with the longest pro tour drives on average in history, rather than one-off longest drives. It gives us a way to gauge the most consistent long drivers on the PGA and LIV Tours over the past 20 years.
Starting the list of longest drivers on the Pro Tour is widely recognized as Bubba Watson. Watson led the pro tour in highest average yards per drive on five separate occasions in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, and most recently in 2014. However, his record of 319.6 yards average per drive in 2006 is what puts him on this list, as he wasn’t quite able to replicate that extra 4 yards from 2006. Still, 319 yards is enough to send you close to the green on most holes, so most golfers would be lucky to hit it this far consistently.
Rory Mcllroy is no stranger to setting records and he takes the number four spot for longest drivers on the pro tour in PGA history. Just barely edging out Watson by 0.1 yards on average in his 2018 performance, Mcllroy was the furthest driver for a short period of 2017-2018 where he dominated the swing charts. At only 35 years old, Mcllroy should be able to keep attempting to break his records, but only time will tell.
Tied for second place with 321.4 average yards hit off the tee is Hank Kuehne, setting his record back in 2003. Much like Rory Mcllroy, Kuehne was the driving leader in average yards for two years in a row from 2003-2004, although he’d achieve his heights in 2003. Over his 11 years on the PGA Tour, Kuehne’s best finishes were ties for second at both the 2003 Shell Houston Open and the 2005 John Deere Classic. Back ailments limited his ability to push on to the next level but his achievements did merit inclusion in the Texas Hall of Fame.
Along with Hank Kuehne’s record of 321.4 yards per drive on average is Cameron Champ. With such precise yardage in question, he and Hank Kuehne are both top contenders for the number two spot of longest drivers on the Pro Tour. Unlike many other drivers, Champ managed to achieve 317.9 on average in 2019 before beating his record in 2022 with 321.4 yards. He is the most recent golfer to participate in a Pro Tour and achieve this high of an average yardage off the tee, making him one of the longest drivers on the Pro Tour in golf history.
Just before Cameron Champ set his own incredible average yard record, Bryson DeChambeaue set the record in 2021 for the highest average yards gained off the drive in Pro Tour history with 323.7 yards on average. In 2020 Bryson DeChambeau struck 322.1 yards on average per drive, before surpassing that amount in 2021 with 323.7 yards per drive. These are incredible numbers: if any golfer could consistently drive over 320 yards toward the hole, they’re set for under par almost every time.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.