Valspar! PGA Tour Driving Distance Is Up Even More!

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I'm sure someone who doesn't want to deal with the headache will blame Innisbrook's new turf or the wind or the presence of more physios on tour, but the PGA Tour driving distance average that was already showing a nice spike in 2016 (as reported by GolfDigest.com's Mike Stachura post-Doral), is well ahead of where it has been around the Valspar in recent years (2.4 yards now vs. 1.6 a week ago).

Cara Robinson and I discussed today on Morning Drive, and while most of you know I've felt the damage was done long ago in the form of golf course renovation, trickery and the game just taking up too much time and real estate. Perhaps one more significant spike might prompt regulatory action. Only if you take the Joint Statement seriously.

Here are the numbers post Valspar from crack researcher Kevin Ryan who noticed the even bigger increase than what Stachura discovered post-Doral. I'm assuming in recent years Innisbrook has eaten into the average. Either way, Morning Drive ran this graphic:

Long way to go in the season, I know, but a fine start toward the governing bodies and pro tours having to explain how this has tangible benefits for the pro game. Or golf in general.

Of course, Feherty's fix would be a nice solution for pro golf while still letting hackers get what they want. But it might involve the dreaded "b" word.