How far should a 70-year-old hit a golf ball?

About 190 yards with the driver, carry plus roll, if you are an average man over 70.

That number comes from the Arccos 2025 Driving Distance Report, which measured 6.5 million driver shots on par 4s and par 5s from 25,000 golfers during 2024. Men over 70 were the shortest age group at 190 yards; men aged 15 to 19 were the longest at 241.6; all men averaged 224.7. Women in their 60s averaged 160 yards, and the report did not break out women over 70.

Two things make the number less gloomy than it looks. The same data shows accuracy improving with age: men in their 70s hit 56 percent of fairways, the best of any age group, against 39 percent for men in their 20s. And distance varies at least as much by handicap as by age in that sample. Men with handicaps of 0 to 4 averaged 250 yards; 30-plus handicaps averaged 184.

The ball can help at the margins. See our senior ball guide for which models hold distance at slower speeds.