Tiger Woods has changed the landscape of golf more than any other player in the history of the game. His fame transcends the sport and he has inspired new generations of youngsters to take up the game. Tiger changed the way top-level golf was played and approached. The importance of strength and fitness came to the fore and his wide arc and clubhead speed had coaches around the world altering their approach to instruction. The modern “power game” evolved from Tiger Woods.
Woods is renowned as a hugely powerful player, with the ability to hit the “long ball.” Even recently, despite his various injury struggles, Tiger is still sending it out over 300 yards. At the Genesis Invitational earlier this year, the 47-year-old was outdriving playing partner Justin Thomas – That got the older man into a bit of trouble when a “prank” he played (involving a tampon) came in for some criticism.
Back in his prime though, Tiger was one of the very longest hitters in world golf. When he turned professional in 1996, only John Daly was longer on the PGA Tour. But, in those days, the top driving distance averages were a little lower than they are today. Tiger was ranked 2nd in driving distance in 1997 with an average of 294.8 yards. He ranked no worse than 12th for the next 10 seasons but it wasn’t until 2004 that he first averaged more than 300 yards from the tee (301.9).
Tiger’s best season for driving distance was 2005 when he averaged an impressive 316.1 yards on the PGA Tour. Only Scott Hend of Australia averaged more that season.
An average of all Tiger Woods’ annual driving averages on the PGA Tour (for the seasons he has played between 1997 and 2022) comes out at 299.2 yards.
He has averaged over 300 yards for a season seven times, most recently in the 2021/22 season, albeit that was a season in which he only played three events.
In 2000, Tiger won nine times in 20 starts on the PGA Tour and that included three majors. 2000 could then be considered the absolute pinnacle of Tiger’s “prime.” For that season, he returned a driving distance average of 298 yards.
“Tiger-Proofing”
Courses became longer and tougher because of Tiger Woods’…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…