I’ve just read about Kyle Berkshire hitting a ball that travelled nearly 580 yards in 2023. The long drive champions of today are the longest hitters of all time and nobody in the history of the game could compete with them.
They train specifically to get more power in their swings rather than to shoot low scores on the golf course. Although, most are highly capable of doing that too.
For the purposes of this article, which is going to involve a good amount of speculation and artistic license anyway, I’m going to exclude the long drive specialists. I’m going to focus on those who have hit the ball huge distances in elite level tournament golf.
It’s extremely difficult to make comparisons between different generations in sport. There are so many variables to consider. It’s always going to involve a high level of conjecture. But it’s fun to have a go, so let’s have a go…
When it comes to golf and long driving, you must think firstly of the equipment available – it’s changed beyond belief over the last 100 years. Then you have to think of the technique the top players of each age employed (it has evolved over the decades and is now as good as it’s ever been.)
Then you have agronomy, and the improving surfaces players have contended over. Finally, and this is a big one, you have fitness. Today’s players rely on the gym and health foods, players of the early 20th century relied on booze and ciggies.
Today’s top players hit the ball further than any who have gone before. The stats demonstrate that. Currently, Aldrich Potgieter leads driving distance on the PGA Tour with an average of 326 yards. Rory McIlroy is well up there each season. He topped the stats in 2022/23, also with 326 yards.
Bryson DeChambeau is another who demonstrates how the modern pro can shift it further than those of previous generations.
These players use all the factors listed above to hit the ball incredible distances – Technique, equipment, agronomy and fitness.
Right, so the longest hitters of all time (at a top competitive pro level) are basically, Bryson, Rory and a few other mega-bombers currently hammering it around the top circuits.
But what if we took the biggest bombers of every generation, beamed them to 2025, gave them modern equipment, trained them up to be as fit as boxers, taught them the optimum modern technique and let them fire down pristine fairways. Who would hit it the furthest?
The contenders
First of all, the runners and riders...
From the way back when, I’d beam up Ted Ray – The Jerseyman was a true powerhouse. He entertained the crowds with his huge hitting, even if it was a little erratic at times.
Then, from the mid 20th Century, you’d have to go with “Slammin’” Sam Snead, who was one of the most athletic players ever with one of the sweetest swings. And then maybe Arnold Palmer with his Popeye-like forearms and ferocious, slashing action.
The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, was a mighty hitter, famous for outhitting even Palmer. Then, Tom Weiskopf, with his long levers, could shift the ball significant distances.
Greg Norman was the longest hitter through the 1980s and then it was John Daly through the 1990s. I’ll go with Bubba Watson from the 2000s who regularly averaged over the 315-yard mark with his unorthodox technique.
Right, we’ve got Ted Ray, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, John Daly and Bubba Watson… Representing the modern players, I’m going to say Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. I know others can match or even best them, but they are the longest at the very top level…
Let’s throw Tiger Woods into the mix as well because he could hit the ball absolutely miles when the occasion demanded or allowed.
For the purposes of this hypothetical experiment, all of them have been on the same fitness programme, have received the same instruction, been given the same equipment and will play the same courses. Who is longest?
I think Ted Ray would probably be first to falter as the change from hickory shafts and the Haskell ball would simply be too much to deal with. His famous sway would creep back in, and he’d start losing it to the right.
I think Palmer and Weiskopf wouldn’t quite make the grade as Nicklaus was the longest of that generation and would surely remain so with modern equipment and training.
Greg Norman was surpassed by Long John Daly and I think the Wild Thing would have been longer than both Tiger and Bubba if he had stayed a bit fitter.
I think the contest comes down to John Daly versus Rory and Bryson… Bryson probably has the ability to hit it further on the range – he’s proven himself in long drive contests. But on the course, Rory will often outhit him.
But John Daly, with that huge overswing and the incredible power he’s astounded golf fans with since bursting onto the scene in the PGA at Crooked Stick in 1991, gets the nod from me.
He topped the driving distance ranking on the PGA Tour in 1991 and, save for 1994, he did so every season until 2002. From 1999 to 2002 he was the only man on the circuit to average over 300 yards from the tee.
Standing at 5ft 11 inches, Daly was immensely strong at his peak, and he possessed a huge amount of flexibility, allowing him to complete a ridiculous shoulder turn and take the club back until it’s pointing straight down at the ground, past his left ear..
For all his failings, there’s no denying that John Daly has changed the way golf is played, or that he inspired a younger generation of players to “Grip it and Rip it.”
I think it would be a close-run thing between Daly and Rory, but I reckon with modern equipment and a proper fitness and training regime, Long John Daly would be the longest hitter of all time. If a fit version of him from the early 1990s was transported to 2025 and he managed to behave himself, I think he’d top the rankings…
