Shot-tracking know-how firm Arccos Golf has launched the most recent version of its annual Driving Distance Report, providing an in depth snapshot of how far newbie golfers actually hit the ball — and the outcomes might shock loads of weekend gamers.
Now in its eighth yr, the 2026 report attracts on information from greater than 5 million rounds performed throughout 2025 and analyses almost 10 million driver tee photographs. It additionally kinds a part of a a lot bigger database constructed by Arccos, which now contains greater than 1.5 billion photographs recorded throughout 25 million rounds in over 160 international locations.
One of many clearest takeaways is that newbie driving distance has barely modified during the last eight years. In response to the report, common driving distance for male golfers has shifted by lower than one yard since 2018, whereas girls’s common distances stay inside 4 yards of their unique benchmark.
For golfers satisfied that everybody is instantly bombing it miles farther than earlier than, the numbers counsel in any other case.
The place the report turns into particularly fascinating is in what occurs after the drive.
Amongst lower-handicap gamers — these taking part in off scratch to 4.9 — 88 per cent of driver tee photographs keep in play. However as handicaps rise, the price of inaccuracy grows sharply. Golfers with handicaps of 30 or extra discover themselves in a penalty or restoration state of affairs on 45% of all drives. In easy phrases, almost half of their tee photographs instantly create hassle.
The info additionally challenges a standard assumption about age. Youthful golfers might hit it farther, however older golfers are likely to hit it straighter. Fairway hit percentages rise steadily over time, bettering by 18 share factors for males and 17 for girls between their 20s and 70s.
Maybe extra vital is the discovering that talent stage issues greater than age in terms of distance. Amongst males, there’s a placing 63-yard hole in common driving distance between elite amateurs and gamers with handicaps above 30. An analogous sample seems within the girls’s sport too.
The report additionally highlights the function of taking part in circumstances. At elevations above 5,000 ft, a 10-handicap golfer positive factors a mean of 19.2 yards off the tee in contrast with sea-level golf.
“Higher information results in higher selections, in each a part of the sport,” mentioned Sal Syed, CEO of Arccos, which produces a variety of shot-tracking gadgets, together with the brand new Arccos Air. “Our aim is to verify golfers, coaches, and the business as an entire have elite-level intelligence on how golf is definitely performed. That’s what eight years of real-world information, at this scale, makes potential.”
You may learn the complete Driving Distance Report report without cost at https://bit.ly/4n9dd93
