Max Homa, Justin Rose post PGA Tour's biggest 2026 driving gains

By Staff Writer

September 1, 2026

3 min read

Caddyshack01 / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Key takeaways

The PGA Tour's 2026 driving distance average reached a record 306.2 yards, up 3.4 yards from 302.8 in 2025.
121 players averaged 300 or more yards off the tee in 2026, compared with 27 a decade ago.
Aldrich Potgieter and Rory McIlroy became the first players to average more than 330 yards in a season.
Max Homa added almost 11 yards to his average drive, the largest gain on Tour.
Justin Rose, 46, gained nine yards to post his longest season average ever.

The PGA Tour's 2026 season closed with its highest driving-distance average on record, and Max Homa and Justin Rose made the steepest individual gains off the tee, according to a Golfweek analysis of the season's numbers.

How far is the PGA Tour hitting it now?

The tour-wide average climbed to 306.2 yards in 2026, up from 302.8 the previous season. A decade ago the average sat at 290 yards, with only 27 players topping 300 yards for the season; in 2026, 121 players cleared that mark. Two players, Aldrich Potgieter and Rory McIlroy, averaged more than 330 yards, the first time anyone has cracked that threshold over a full season. J.B. Holmes led the tour a decade ago at 314.5 yards, a figure that would have ranked just 24th in 2026.

Who improved the most off the tee?

Homa's average drive grew by nearly 11 yards, paired with a clubhead speed jump from 118.92 mph to 121.03 mph. Rose, who turned 46 in July, added nine yards to average just under 311 for the season, breaking the previous career-high season average he set in 2014-15. In 2013, the year he won the U.S. Open, Rose averaged 296.6 yards.

Player	What improved	Result
Max Homa	Driving distance, +11 yards	Clubhead speed 118.92 to 121.03 mph (52nd to 27th)
Justin Rose	Driving distance, +9 yards	Averaged just under 311 yards, a career-best season
Min Woo Lee	Strokes gained off the tee, +0.351	Jumped from 105th to 26th in the category

Strokes gained off the tee, a measure of tee-shot performance relative to the field, told a similar story elsewhere in the pack. Nick Dunlap and Brian Campbell remained below-average drivers but climbed out of the tour's bottom tier, while Gary Woodland and Doug Ghim went from solid to elite in the category. Kristoffer Ventura posted one of the tour's largest strokes-gained-off-the-tee improvements but managed only three top-10 finishes and slipped to 104th in the FedEx Cup standings, held back by his iron and wedge play.

A tour that averaged 290 yards a decade ago now sends 121 players past 300.

The distance trend is part of why the USGA and R&A are moving to mandate distance-reducing golf balls at the elite level starting in 2030, even as it has rewarded players like Homa and Rose for adding speed and yardage during a season when they were also trying to win tournaments and keep their tour cards.

Frequently asked questions

What was the PGA Tour's average driving distance in 2026?

The tour-wide average was 306.2 yards, up 3.4 yards from 302.8 in 2025 and a record for the tour.

Who gained the most driving distance on the PGA Tour in 2026?

Max Homa posted the largest gain, adding nearly 11 yards to his average drive along with a clubhead-speed increase.

How many PGA Tour players average over 300 yards off the tee?

121 players averaged 300 yards or more in 2026, compared with 27 players a decade ago.

Why is the USGA changing golf ball rules over distance?

The USGA and R&A plan to mandate distance-reducing golf balls at the elite level starting in 2030, citing continued distance gains like those seen in the 2026 season.