Dustin Johnson is a freak of nature. Standing at 6’4″ tall and 190 lbs., DJ is the ideal modern golfer.
His size, strength and athletic ability have allowed him to become the top-ranked player in the world and the winner of 19 PGA Tour events, including a major championship, since he turned pro 11 years ago.
At 34 years of age, DJ has played the vast majority of his life with technologically advanced equipment, which has aided him in his professional success. So how would Johnson do if he had to play with the equipment of yesteryear a la Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player?
We got an idea of how his talent translates across generations on Wednesday when DJ, the Golden Bear and the Black Knight met up for a range session at The Bear’s Club in Florida.
Cool experience today at Bears Club. @jacknicklaus and @garyplayer wanted to see @DJohnsonPGA hit Jack’s old 1 iron and Persimmon driver. pic.twitter.com/eX0joF4AgQ
— Dustin Johnson Golf School (@DJGolfSchool) August 29, 2018
Persimmon went 290 and iron went 232.
— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) August 29, 2018
Per DJ’s follow-up tweet, he hit the persimmon driver 290 yards and the 1-iron 232. For comparison’s sake, the driving distance leader on the PGA Tour in 1980 — the first year they kept such stats — was Dan Pohl, who averaged 274.3 off the tee. Nicklaus, at age 40 in 1980, averaged 269.0 yards.
