driving distanCe
going uP

remember when everyone was up in arms about the mind-boggling distances players on the pga tour were driving the ball? well, that conversation may be starting up again, and soon. through the wells fargo championship driving distance on the tour stands at 286 yards—an increase of 4. 6 yards over the same period last year and an average increase of 3.25 yards over the same period for the prior four seasons. this is notable because distance has essentially been flat for the past six years. the question, however, is this: is it a true upward trend or a statistical anomaly? although some players claim conditions this year are drier and fairways firmer, jeff overton points to the continuing influx of physically strong players. “there’s more young, good talent coming out,” said overton. “tiger raised that bar years ago. people are just working out more, and that means more guys coming out who are hitting it farther.” in 2002 the usga and r&a issued a joint statement of principles that included this language: “the r&a and the usga believe that any further significant increases in hitting distances at the highest level are undesirable. … should such a situation of meaningful increases in distances arise, the r&a and the usga would feel it immediately necessary to seek ways of protecting the game.” a boost of 4. 6 yards through 20 events might not constitute “ meaningful” just yet. but this trend—and what the governing bodies think of it—certainly bears watching. —E. Michael Johnson