Driving Distance by Handicap: Average Drive for Every Level From 0 to 30
A scratch golfer drives it about 60 yards past a 20 handicap, but a 5 and a 10 hit it almost the same distance. Here is the average drive by handicap from 0 to 30, with the rest of the stat line next to it.
Driving distance by handicap runs from 285 yards with driver for a scratch golfer to 225 for a 20 handicap and 204 for a 25. A 5 handicap averages 261 yards and a 10 handicap 259, so those two levels hit it almost exactly the same distance.
That’s a 60-yard gap between scratch and 20. Fairways hit barely changes over the same range, so off the tee, distance is the clearest difference between low and high handicaps.
Driving distance by handicap: the table
| Handicap | Average drive (driver) | Behind scratch | Left on a 420-yard par 4 | Typical score | SG off the tee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch (0) | 285 yds | 0 yds | 135 yds | 74–76 | -0.8 |
| 5 | 261 yds | 24 yds | 159 yds | 79–81 | -1.4 |
| 10 | 259 yds | 26 yds | 161 yds | 84–87 | -2.0 |
| 15 | 239 yds | 46 yds | 181 yds | 90–92 | -2.7 |
| 20 | 225 yds | 60 yds | 195 yds | 95–98 | -3.4 |
| 25 | 204 yds | 81 yds | 216 yds | 100–103 | -4.2 |
| 30 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 105–108 | -5.0 |
Distances are Shot Scope’s “performance average” driver figures, which leave out a player’s unusually long and short drives. The 0, 5 and 10 numbers come from the table in its scratch golfer benchmarks, and the 20 and 25 numbers from its 20 handicap and 25 handicap pages. The 15 figure is from the 20 handicap page, which puts a 15 14 yards ahead of a 20. Shot Scope’s own 15 handicap page gives the gaps differently, so treat that row as approximate. There is no 30 handicap page, so that row stays blank.
The 420-yard column takes the drive off the hole length, which is how Shot Scope works out the first three rows. Scores come from our average score by handicap table, and strokes gained off the tee (per round, against a PGA Tour baseline) from the Broadie-based benchmarks for every handicap.
Why these numbers look long
If 259 yards for a 10 handicap sounds high, it’s because of how it’s measured. Shot Scope counts driver shots only and drops the outliers at both ends. The USGA and Arccos all-golfer figures in how much driving distance really matters for amateurs put a scratch golfer around 250 yards and a 15 handicap around 215, and the average male amateur near 220. Both sets have the same shape. They just measure different things, so compare your own drive against one source and don’t mix them.
What’s normal: reading the distance curve
From 5 to 10, distance doesn’t move. Shot Scope has the two levels 2 yards apart. Fairways hit is flat too, at 51% and 50%. Yet a 10 loses 0.6 more strokes off the tee each round. Penalties are the likely reason: a 10 averages 1.62 penalty strokes a round against 0.91 for a 5, a gap of 0.71.
The two big steps are at each end. Scratch to 5 is 24 yards, and 20 to 25 is 21 yards. In between, the curve drops about 20 yards from 10 to 15 and 14 from 15 to 20.
Distance shows up in the next club. On Shot Scope’s 420-yard par 4, a scratch golfer has a pitching wedge in, a 5 a 7 iron and a 10 a 6 iron. A 20 handicap is close to 200 yards out, and a 25 is still over 215 away after a good drive. On that same hole, Shot Scope has the scratch golfer hitting the green 58% of the time, the 5 handicap 37% and the 10 handicap 27%.
Driving distance and the full stat profile by handicap
Driving distance is one line in a stat profile. Here is the rest of it.
| Handicap | Score | Drive | GIR | Fairways | Putts | Up and down | Penalties | SG off the tee | SG approach | SG around the green | SG putting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch (0) | 74–76 | 285 yds | 62% | 50% | 30.5 | 54% | 0.56 | -0.8 | -1.5 | -0.5 | -0.4 |
| 5 | 79–81 | 261 yds | 46% | 51% | 31.5 | 47% | 0.91 | -1.4 | -3.0 | -1.0 | -0.8 |
| 10 | 84–87 | 259 yds | 35% | 50% | 32.5 | 39% | 1.62 | -2.0 | -4.5 | -1.5 | -1.2 |
| 15 | 90–92 | 239 yds | 23% | 47% | 33.5 | 34% | 2.45 | -2.7 | -6.0 | -2.0 | -1.5 |
| 20 | 95–98 | 225 yds | 16% | 45% | 34.5 | 31% | 3.03 | -3.4 | -7.5 | -2.5 | -1.8 |
| 25 | 100–103 | 204 yds | 9% | 50% | 35.5 | 25% | 4.67 | -4.2 | -9.0 | -3.0 | -2.2 |
| 30 | 105–108 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | -5.0 | -10.5 | -3.5 | -2.5 |
Sources by column:
- Drive: the Shot Scope pages linked above.
- GIR: our greens in regulation by handicap table, from Shot Scope’s amateur data.
- Fairways hit: our fairways hit by handicap table, from the same Shot Scope pages.
- Putts: our putting average by handicap, which stops at 25.
- Up and down: inside 50 yards, from our scrambling percentage by handicap table.
- Penalties: our penalty strokes per round by handicap table, from Shot Scope’s amateur benchmarks.
- Strokes gained: Mark Broadie’s research, per round against a PGA Tour baseline.
Read the drive column next to fairways. From scratch to 20, the drive drops 60 yards and fairways hit drops 5 points. Then read it next to SG approach, which drops 6 strokes over the same range. Part of that approach gap is the longer club the shorter drive leaves.
Where driving distance shows up in strokes gained
Strokes gained off the tee doesn’t count yards. It compares where your drive finished, distance and lie included, with where an average tee shot would have left you. A 285-yard drive on a 420-yard hole leaves 135 yards, and a 225-yard drive leaves 195. Strokes gained charges that difference to the drive, not to the approach that follows.
So a scratch golfer’s 2.6-stroke edge off the tee over a 20 handicap is mostly yards and penalties, since the two hit about the same number of fairways. The rest of the yardage cost lands in approach, where the longer club misses more greens, as the 420-yard hole above shows. Mark Broadie found that distance is worth more than accuracy for tour players, and we look at how far that holds for amateurs in driving distance vs driving accuracy.
To see what 30 extra yards are worth on one of your holes, enter two drives at different distances in the strokes gained calculator and compare them.
How to read your driving distance against your handicap
Use your typical drive with driver, not your best one. Leave out the topped and mishit shots, the same way Shot Scope does. Then find your handicap row:
- Distance above your row, SG off the tee at or below it: length isn’t the problem. Look at penalties and misses that leave no shot at the green.
- Distance below your row, SG off the tee at or above it: you’re giving up yards but keeping the ball in play. The cost shows up in approach, from longer clubs.
- Both at your row: you’re a typical driver of the ball for your level. The 5 to 10 gap shows that matching the next level’s distance doesn’t guarantee its score.
For one level in full detail, see what a 5 handicap, 10 handicap, 15 handicap, 20 handicap, 25 handicap or 30 handicap shoots.
Your driving distance against your handicap
The table describes a typical golfer at each level. Your own row might look nothing like it. One 15 handicap drives it 270 yards and loses three balls a round. Another hits it 215 and never leaves the property. Both shoot 91, and an average drive figure alone won’t tell you which one you are.
Log 3 rounds and golfity shows your numbers against your handicap.
