Why being a short hitter isn’t such a bad thing after all

No golfer dreams of hitting the ball short. Distance, for pros and recreational golfers alike, is hugely important. That’s not to discount accuracy entirely. You need to keep the ball in play, which is its own challenge.

Richie Hunt, a PGA Tour statistician who has worked with a number of Tour professionals, recently calculated the maximum angle of clubface error you can commit yet still land the ball in a 50-yard-wide fairway, depending on average driving distance (see table). A deeper look at the data shows that the farther you pound it, the less room for clubface error allowed.

In fact, according to Hunt, your drives will dart approximately one yard farther offline for every extra 15 yards you carry the ball. So in your quest to add yards, be careful what you wish for — or work on face control as much as you do speed.