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2026 Arccos Driving Distance Report:
What the Numbers Say

Each year, Arccos (DATALOU15 saves 15%) publishes the largest distance report in amateur golf. This is not driving range data. It is not speculation. It is millions of on-course shots from tens of thousands of golfers.

The Arccos 2026 Driving Distance Report is now available and it provides all the detail on how far amateur golfers are hitting it off the tee, and how that varies by age, gender, handicap.

Before we get into the data, here is how the it was collected. The 2026 edition is based on a random sample of more than 37,000 golfers, each with a minimum of 100 driver tee shots taken during verified rounds. In total, the sample includes 9,723,986 on-course driver tee shots hit on par 4s and par 5s. Shots with other clubs (and par 3 tee shots) were not included. The driving distance is TOTAL YARDS (carry plus roll).

That is roughly 50% more golfers and almost 50% more tee shots than last year's report. The dataset keeps getting bigger, and the picture keeps getting clearer.

Here is what the numbers tell us.

Distance is Still Flat

For all the talk about distance gains in amateur golf, the data continues to say... not really.

In 2018, male players averaged 224.0 yards off the tee. In 2025, that number is 224.1. There is some wobbling in the data year-to-year, but overall, it’s essentially flat. For female players, the average went from 179.2 in 2018 to 175.7 in 2025.

Distance Declines With Age

This is no surprise, but there is a strong relationship between age and driving distance. The older we get, the shorter we tend to get.

A male player in their twenties with a 0 to 4.9 handicap averages 263 yards off the tee. By their seventies, that same profile drops to 209 yards. That is a 54-yard difference. Female low-handicap players show a similar pattern, going from 244 yards in their twenties to 184 in their sixties.

Across all skill levels, the trend holds. Distance goes down with age.

Accuracy Appears to Improve With Age, But There's More to It

At first glance, older players look more accurate. But that accuracy comes with a qualifier.

Low-handicap male players in their twenties hit 42 percent of fairways. By their seventies, that number rises to 60 percent.

This doesn’t mean they hit the ball straighter… hitting it shorter is a BIG contributor to hitting more fairways. Shorter shots produce smaller dispersions, which leads to more fairways. The gain in accuracy is more about physics.

This shows how average driving distance and fairway percent move in opposite directions as players get older.

Wayward Drives

This table shows how often players are hitting driver into a penalty or recovery situation. The lower the handicap, the more likely they are to keep the ball in play.

Players with a 0 to 4.9 handicap hit only 12 percent of drives into recovery or penalty situations. Players with a 30+ handicap hit 45.1 percent. Nearly one out of every two tee shots leads to a problem.

This is where scorecards go to die... Not in the rough, but in re-loading, punching out, or taking drops.

Women's Data

For women, the gap from scratch to 30+ handicap is 75 yards across all ages. That is even bigger than the 63-yard gap on the men's side.

Key Takeaways

Distance still matters. Always has, always will. Shorter hitters often look more accurate, but that is physics, not technique. Do not get hung up on fairways hit. Focus on keeping the ball in play. The biggest opportunity for improvement is reducing penalty and recovery situations.

As we age, we all tend to lose distance. I would encourage you to look into strength and mobility training as well as overspeed training to help fight off that distance loss. Your scores will thank you for that!

Download the Full Report

The full 32-page 2026 Edition of the Arccos Annual Driving Distance Report, including data visualizations and analysis by age, gender, handicap, and elevation, is available free here.

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