Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC by 1.0
It doesn’t matter whether you are a 28-handicapper or a multiple Major winner, there isn’t a golfer on the planet who doesn’t have the obsession of chasing distance and hitting their drives further.
But there have been some amazing distances posted over the years and we take a look at the six longest drives in PGA history.
6. Max Homa (477 yards, 7th hole at the Plantation Course, Kapalua, Hawaii, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2023)
Kapalua is known as a paradise for big hitters, witnessing some of the longest drives in professional golf history so far.
Max Homa added his name to that list by hitting one of the biggest drives of his career and also of PGA history in 2023 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
The shot came on the 7th hole at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, as Homa’s tee shot sailed an incredible 477 yards.
The slope went downhill from the position the ball landed, and with the help of the wind blowing towards the shot direction, the ball kept rolling and stopped just shy of the green.
Homa’s 477-yard drive was the longest one recorded on the PGA Tour that season.
5. Dustin Johnson (489 yards, 12th hole at Austin Country Club, Texas at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in 2018)
There are few better sights in the game than seeing Dustin Johnson crack one off the tee, but it is just a shame that no video footage exists of his longest drive to witness the glory.
Johnson was not enjoying a great defence of his WGC Match Play title in 2018. He lost all of his group matches, but the highlight came in his match against Kevin Kisner.
Fortunately the shot tracker was on hand to record Johnson’s tee shot on the 12th at Austin Country Club, which surpassed Kisner’s effort by an amazing 139 yards.
So an official record does exist of the mammoth hit and, unfortunately for Johnson, so does the match score. He lost 4&3.
4. Tiger Woods (498 yards, 18th hole at the Plantation Course, Kapalua, Hawaii at the Mercedes Championship in 2002)
Official records for longest drives came in on the PGA Tour in 2004 after technological developments and that meant a host of thumps from the 2002 Mercedes Championship (now the Tournament of Champions) were expunged from the records.
The wide-open undulating 18th at the Plantation always lends itself to a drive that trundles down to the greenside, particularly with the aid of a Pacific breeze. It’s a free-for-all for sluggers.
But we couldn’t have this list of the legendary drives without including the 15-time Major winner.
Here’s to you, sir.
3. Louis Oosthuizen (500 yards, 1st hole at Blackstone Golf Club, Incheon, South Korea at the Ballantines Championship in 2013)
We all know the most nerve-wracking shot of any round of golf is the first one, but what if you hit it 500 yards?
That happened to former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen at the Ballantines eight years ago after he missed the fairway to the right.
His ball caught a downhill cart path and bouncing and rolling along for a minute and a half before resting against a kerb.
And then after all that, he still got a free drop!
However, he still had to be content with a par five and went on to post a round of 71.
2. Mike Austin (515 yards, 14th hole at Winterwood Golf Club, Las Vegas, Nevada at the National Seniors Open Championship in 1974)
According to the Guinness Book of Records, this is the longest drive in golf competition ever. It is all the more impressive because it was hit by a 64-year-old with a Persimmon driver about the size of a modern seven-wood.
Mike Austin benefitted from a 27mph tailwind in Las Vegas but it was still an almighty crack.
Ironically, Austin’s shot went down on a 455-yard hold, so while it was smashed almost out of sight, it wasn’t exactly the ideal outcome.
1. Carl Cooper (787 yards, 3rd hole at Oak Hills Golf Club, San Antonio, Texas at the Texas Open in 1992)
However, Austin’s effort looks like a 60 per cent sand wedge compared to Carl Cooper’s hole to remember at the 1992 Texas Open.
When the 31-year-old journeyman pro stood on the 456-yard par four, he could not have imagined he would have ended up more than 300 yards out of position.
He was supposed to be playing the third at Oak Hills but his drive landed on a cart path, careered past the green, the fifth green, the sixth tee and eventually came to rest behind the 12th green after being slowed by straying onto a maintenance path.
Almost needing a taxi to get back into play, it was no surprise that Cooper ended with a double bogey. But then, despite never having posted a top-ten finish in a PGA Tour event, he had earned his place in golfing history.
At the opposite end of the golfing spectrum, why not check out our list of the Five Worst Putts in the History of Golf? They are enough to warm the heart of the highest handicapper out there!
