"But while equipment advances are nominal at the pro level, there are still gains to be had by the rest of us choppers."

E. Michael Johnson belts out another howler of a Golf World equipment column with his jubilation at the news of driving distance going down. It's fascinating how his normally even-keeled weekly roundout of what guys have in the bag becomes so emotional on the subject of distance.

After listing the driving distance number, he reports this vital news:

Scoring also is stable.

Whew! That's a relief. Especially since the number is jigged around with more than...oh I better not say.

Though the scoring average of 70.83 marks the first time it has dipped below 71, over the last five years the average on the PGA Tour has been 71.03, and over the past 10 years 71.10. From 1988 to 1997 it was 71.17. So the last 10 years have seen an improvement of a quarter-stroke per four rounds over the previous 10. Hardly cause for concern.

Because after all it's such an unadjusted number!

I know, I know. Courses are longer, pins are in insane positions, etc., etc. So? Pro golf is not a game. It is a sport. As such, it should be difficult, and the achievements of those playing it for a living are far superior to those of us who don't. The only courses that need to be lengthened are the 55 used for PGA Tour events. Any other venue doing so is just wasting open space.

Oh that'll really happen. Can those PGA Tour courses bill the manufacturers for the expense incurred?

I didn't think so.

Hey, and now a word from our sponsors...

But while equipment advances are nominal at the pro level, there are still gains to be had by the rest of us choppers. How much? Find a launch monitor that not only spits out launch conditions, but also reveals the optimum given your current swing speed. Odds are there's more than 20 yards you're not getting. Isn't that the only statistic you should be interested in?

Shop 'til ya drop!

2007 PGA Tour Final Driving Distance Numbers

Typed too soon. Two weeks ago I pointed out that the driving distance average was finally going to top the 290 mark, but as that lovely state is prone to do, Florida messed things up.

The final 2007 PGA Tour driving distance average landed at 289.1, compared to 2006's 289.3.

In 2007, 18 players averaged over 300 yards, while 20 players averaged over 300 in 2006.

This season saw 26 drives over 400 yards and, courtesy of the stat gurus in Ponte Vedra, we know there were 1748 of 350 yards or longer.

In 2006, there were 30 over-400 tee shots and 2,183 drives of 350 or more.

Now before our friends at the USGA start patting themselves on the back, let's remember a few things.

The premise of a U-groove ban says that players will throttle back to hit more fairways because V-grooves won't save them from the rough. But if their driving distance average is flat lining, it's hard to make the case that this is really necessary. But there's still that pesky Statement of Principles authored when the guys were 10 yards shorter on average, though one probley, they also had U-grooves back in 2002. Why weren't guys flogging it back then?

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Two Weeks To Go Edition

Last time we checked during week 20, the boys were clearly working out less because the PGA Tour driving distance average dropped to a pathetic 284.7 average, nearly 5 yards off last year's final average.

It had nothing to do with the wet and cold encountered early in the year. Nope. No way. 

But I'm glad to report that the cardio work and the flax cream massages helped bump the PGA Tour driving distance average to exactly 290 with two weeks to go. 

Though I must say the boys have lost their strength when it comes to 400-yard+ drives. Only 26 this year, compared to 30 400-yarders or more in 2006. Still time to act though!

As for players averaging over 300 yards, 2006 saw 21 do that while in 2007, a measly 23 are over the 300 average barrier, with four others just on the verge of breaking the 300 barrier.

In a few weeks we'll have the final word on drives over 350 yards, but right now it looks like they are on track to beat last year's total of 2,183. 

See, the numbers are once again down like USGA President Walter Driver says!

What does all of this mean?

Why, the USGA/R&A inaction has worked. By continuing to study the ball for another year while having machines test grooves using wet newspaper clippings to determine that grooves are in fact the real problem, our governing bodies have fixed the problem that they said did not exist.

With driving distances not leveling off and an 11-yard pick up since 2002 when they said there must not be any "further significant increases", golf courses can keep bearing the brunt of the costs associated with increases that are not happening while the gov bods can keep giving the impression they are acting on behalf of the game.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour gets to spend a lot of money and annoying time testing for performance enhancing drug use instead. Oh the rest of us will have to go shopping for conforming v-grooved irons and wedges.

Update: 2007 PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Week 20

A few readers have wondered why this site no longer offers weekly driving distance updates. Frankly, sheer laziness drove the decision. Though my lazy attitude stems from a sixth sense that the governing bodies are so remarkably impotent and prone to spin that tracking the numbers is pointless.

One reader inquired as to why the numbers were down this year and how they compared to 2006 after twenty weeks of PGA Tour play.

Well at this point last year, the Tour average was 289.2 yards and 920 drives of 350 yards or more had been struck.

2007's are down significantly: 284.7 yards and 785 drives of 350 yards or more.

There have been 17 drives over 400 yards, the same total as 2006 at this point.

Eight players are averaging over 300 yards in 2007 (18 at this point last year).

Bubba Watson was leading at 321.2 yards last year, and leads again in 2007 at 314.7 yards off the tee.

While many conclusions can be drawn from this data--narrowed fairways have finally strangled the life out of the game or soggy conditions continue to slow things down--I believe there is little doubt that the players are simply working out less!

Yes, the vaunted workout programs we've heard about must not be what they used to be.

After all, we heard that the distance spike since 1999 was not caused by the ball or forgiving launch-monitor fit drivers. No, it was those superathletes like Tim Herron and Jeff Quinney and their Jack LaLanne workout programs.

So now that the numbers have dropped, I suppose no one will dare suggest that the equipment isn't as good as it was in 2005? Or that perhaps guys were actually using illegal drivers a few years ago? 

No, they're just slacking in the weight room. And you know what that means? No need for performance enhancing drug testing!

Though I do promise to check the numbers more regularly since last week's AT&T Classic caused a 1-yard spike in the average and tacked on 130 drives of 350 yards or more.

PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Week 1, 2007

If you look at last year's inaugural driving distance watch, you'll see that not much has changed at Kapalua. In other words, you'll want to ask again, "which holes are you measuring on?!"

In 2007's event won by Vijay Singh, the field averaged 254.9 (exactly the same as 2006).

There were 335 drives at 350 yards or longer  (238 last year) and 12 drives over 400 yards.