PGA Tour Driving Distance Watch, Final

The PGA Tour kindly provided the final numbers on driving distance average, though I'm not really sure why their number is always slightly lower than the average that you can compute using the same numbers online.

Anyhow, I had the final number at 289.5 yards, they are officially going with 289.3.

In 2006, there were 2,183 drives of 350 yards or longer.  There were 2059 in 2005.

20 players averaged over 300 yards, down from 26 last year (problem solved!).

30 drives of 400 yards or longer were struck in 2006. There were 18 400-yard+ drives in 2005.

The conclusion? Well we already know that the USGA President says distance has been flat or declining the last few years, but with the 2002 average at 279.8, we've seen nearly a 10-yard increase since the USGA drew the line.  Expect a press release soon touting the positive effects of tighter regulation.

Oh, and that ban on those evil U-grooves! Though I must say, if they go that route, it's going to be fun to watch that play out.