There’s just something about watching Tour pros launch drivers into orbit that gets the juices flowing. Despite 300 yards being close to average on the PGA Tour these days, we’re still in awe of the distance these guys can hit it.
Here are 10 drives we’ve seen over the last few years that would even make the players on the Long Drive circuit take notice.
4️⃣1️⃣0️⃣ yards.
? ? pic.twitter.com/zGIESE0Z1k
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 22, 2017
We get this list monster drive list started with pound for pound one of the longest hitters on Tour. Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy isn’t necessarily the tallest, but he packs one of the strongest punches with the big stick due to his uncanny ability to generate maximum fluid power.
This drive here came during the 2017 WGC-Dell Matchplay at Austin Country Club. Rory uncorked this bomb on the downhill par-5 12th hole that landed on the downslope of the fairway and skirted over the cart path narrowly missing a golf cart and came to rest a mere 410 yards away.
Bubba Watson – 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Bubba Watson crushed this monster drive during the third round of the 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The 16th hole at Firestone Country Club is a par-5 that measures 667-yards. Bubba had 243 left for his second, meaning this tape measure shot went 424 yards.
Dustin Johnson – 2017 Northern Trust Open
Dustin Johnson is no stranger to hitting it a long way. After all, he’s one of the most “athletic” guys on Tour. But this display is just silly. Facing off against Jordan Spieth in a sudden-death playoff at the Northern Trust Open earlier this year, DJ took a line no one even knew was possible, turning the long par-4 18th hole into a driver-flip wedge following this 341-yard bomb.
Jason Day – 2015 PGA Championship
Jason Day and Jordan Spieth were battling down the stretch of the 2015 PGA Championship with Spieth returning every punch Day threw his way. What changed the momentum, however, was Day’s drive on the par-5 11th hole at Whistling Straits.
Here’s how Spieth described the drive.
“I actually out loud turned to him and said ‘Holy s***,’” Spieth stated. “I yelled it over to him and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ And then he gave me a little bicep curl. And when he hit that shot and he had what looked like a wedge into the hole, I knew I was going to be playing uphill from there.”
Tiger Woods – 2017 Hero World Challenge
Tiger Woods was one of the most prolific drivers the game has ever seen, and at 41 years of age, the 14-time major champion turned back the clock at the 2017 Hero World Challenge. The 340-yard par-4 7th hole turned into a long par-3 for Woods who would go on to drain the eagle putt.
Louis Oosthuizen – 2013 Ballantine’s Championship
While this drive from Louis Oosthuizen got a little help from the cart path, it doesn’t make it any less impressive. This 500-yard “bomb” he hit during the 2013 Ballantine’s Championship in Korea is one of the longest we’ve ever seen. Unfortunuately, it doesn’t count in the record books since it didn’t hit the fairway.
Brooks Koepka – 2015 Memorial Tournament
U.S. Open Champion Brooks Koepka can pound it out there with the best of them. Here he is during the 2015 Memorial Tournament piping this 356-yard drive basically to the end of the fairway on the par-4 17th hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Rory McIlroy – 2014 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open
Rory belted this drive on the 13th hole at the 2014 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open onto the green 436 yards away! You know the drive is long when the camera has no idea where it landed and has to do a full pan to get it in view. Even the players who were lining up their putts looked impressed!
Justin Thomas – 2017 SBS Tournament of Champions
This Justin Thomas drive?
404 yards. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/HfozsYqrHx
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 8, 2017
Justin Thomas isn’t the biggest guy on Tour but he is certainly up there with the longest. At just 5’10” 145 lbs, Thomas generates an absurd amount of power. Check out this tape-measure 404-yard shot he smoked at the 2017 SBS Tournament of Champions in Kapalua.
Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson – 2017 WGC-Dell Matchplay
862 yards.
Two drives. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/2mE73xOtVw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 26, 2017
One long drive on a hole is impressive, but when two people squaring off both hit bombs down the middle, a golf clap may not do it justice. especially since combined these two powerhouses hit their drives 862 yards.