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Hitting the perfect shot in golf is ideal, although this isn’t necessarily done in just one way. Some golfers have a better driving game off the tee, while others boast a clean chipping game from the fairway.
Whatever techniques float your boat, it’s the drives that will set up your next shot. Hitting the perfect drive is extremely difficult, which is why in this article, we’ll be outlining the longest drives in PGA history post-ShotLink era, including who took the swing, when it occurred and what golf course it was at. We are using ShotLink data going back to 2003 since this enables the most accurate measurement of these drives. The Guinness Book of World Records only recognizes drives measured using ShotLink laser technology, so we are following their lead!
As clean and simple as it sounds, Dustin Johnson was setting up at the tee for a par 4 on hole 7 when playing in the TPC Boston. He’d confidently crush a 463-yard drive across a sliver of water to make the bend just tens of yards away from the green. Johnson’s confidence in his ability was rewarded with that shot, but that didn’t translate to a good overall score as he finished with a score of +4 on the day and would wind up 42nd in the tournament.
At the very start of the 2009 Texan Open PGA Tour event, Charley Hoffman would begin his very first hole at LaCantera with a crusher of a swing. Aside from the impressive yardage on this hit, fans were surprised to see Hoffman just step up and whack the ball an entire 467 yards without even warming up. The blustery weather may have given some wind assistance to Hoffman’s effort off the tee but it was still a blistering drive.
Back in 2003 in the third round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Jeff Sluman rocketed a drive 473 yards down the course. While Sluman wasn’t the most experienced or highest quality golfer out of the others participating in the tournament, he could still send a ball into space whenever he wanted. At 5 foot 8 he is the smallest golfer on our list too, but his stature didn’t stop him from becoming one of the biggest drivers on the Tour during his playing days.
Davis Love was well known to be one of the longest drivers of his time. In his 2004 Mercedes Championship performance, Love would take advantage of a downhill action of the steep plantation course fairway on hole #18. As a result, Love swung a 476-yarder, just edging out Sluman’s record by a mere 3 yards, pulling off an incredible feat that was recognized as the Guinness World Record, at least until that crown was snatched from Love in 2024…
The newest record-setter for longest drives in PGA history is none other than Max Homa. Homa on hole 7 of the 2024 Plantation Course would beat Davis Love III’s swing by exactly one yard, crushing a 477-yard drive to take home the cake. It wasn’t a stellar season for Max on the US PGA Tour, where he managed just three top-ten finishes and ended up in 46th place in the FedEx standings, but that drive certainly set him apart from the crowd. Homa does have form when it comes to hitting golf balls a long way though, as evidenced by his win in the 2019 Long Drive Comp.
There have been some fearsome hits which don’t make our list due to the lack of accurate measurement. The most famous of these is probably Carl Cooper’s 787-yard monster which he hit during the ’92 Texas Open. It should be noted that this drive was greatly assisted by a favorable downhill slope and an accommodating concrete cart patch, but the exact measurement remains in doubt due to the lack of technology at the time.
Mike Austin also hit the ball out of the park – so to speak – at the 1974 Seniors Open Championship. His drive went for an impressive 515 yards and was at one stage approved as the Guinness world record, but as it used unreliable manual measurements that honor has since transferred to Max Homa.
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.