What is Driving Distance?
Average drive length in yards, measured on two holes per round chosen to face opposite wind directions.
Measured drives only, not every tee shot.
How it's calculated
Driving statistics come from the tour's own measurement. Distance is recorded on designated holes chosen to balance wind direction, so it reflects normal driving rather than downwind bombs; accuracy and fairway-miss figures are recorded on every drive. OTIS restates the published season figures rather than deriving its own.
How to read it
Higher is longer. Because it is measured on holes chosen to balance wind, it is a fairer comparison between players than raw average drive length.
What it doesn't say
Distance and accuracy trade against each other, and neither alone says whether a player drives the ball well — that is what strokes gained off the tee is for. Fairway percentage in particular is a blunt instrument: it counts a ball one foot into the rough the same as one in the trees, which is precisely why the distance-from-fairway-edge figure exists alongside it. Course setup also moves these numbers year to year.
OTIS tracks this stat across 15 PGA Tour seasons — see it for every player, or read how the numbers are sourced in the methodology.