Collin Morikawa is one of the best golfers on the planet, but he isn’t particularly long off the tee. Instead, he relies on a combination of driving accuracy, exceptional iron play and the ability to execute under pressure.
In this post, we review Morikawa’s driving distance and driving accuracy stats. Let’s get stuck in.
Table of Contents
Collin Morikawa Driving Distance PGA Tour
| Year | Driving Distance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 297.3 | 101 |
| 2021 | 295.2 | 112 |
| 2020 | 297.3 | 97 |
As you can see from the table above, Morikawa has yet to crack an average driving distance 300 yards in his relatively short PGA tour career.
He has placed inside the top 100 in driving distance only once, that being his breakout season in 2020, when he ranked 97th.
Across his first 3 seasons as a professional, Morikawa has an average driving distance of 296.6 yards. This means that there are other pros that can literally hit the ball anywhere from 20-40 yards further than him, depending on the course conditions.
Collin Morikawa Driving Distance European Tour
| Year | Driving Distance | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 293.84 | 128 |
In his only recorded season on the European Tour (DP World Tour), Morikawa ranked 128th in driving distance.
Interestingly, Morikawa also became the first American to win the DP World Tour Championship in 2021. This was largely due to his victory at the British Open and winning the final event of the season, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Both of these victories prove that driving distance can be an overrated statistic when measuring the ability of a professional golfer.
Collin Morikawa Driving Accuracy PGA Tour
| Year | Fairways Hit | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 71.43% | 8 |
| 2021 | 69.60% | 10 |
| 2020 | 65.54% | 31 |
Analysis of Morikawa's Driving Distance
Morikawa is proof that you can become one of the best golfers on the planet, with an average driving distance of less than 300 yards
To put this into context, Collin Morikawa’s highest world ranking at this point in time is No.2. The only person standing in his way is Jon Rahm. However, Morikawa has more majors than Rahm, and it is very plausible for him to take the No.1 spot in 2022 if he plays better than Rahm this season.
The point is Morikawa’s average driving distance proves that you don’t need to be exceptionally long in order to compete on the PGA tour. You can collect big victories and majors with a clubhead speed of approximately 113 mph. Jordan Spieth is another golfer that proves this to be true.
Morikawa's Driving Distance Is Worse Than Average
In most years, Morikawa ranks outside the top 100 in driving distance on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. That effectively means that his distance off the tee is actually worse than average when compared to other elite professionals.
Morikawa's Stellar Iron Play Makes Up For His Lack of Distance off the Tee
The best part of Morikawa’s game is his iron play, followed closely by driving accuracy. In essence, Morikawa lands on the fairway the vast majority of the time.
If Morikawa has an iron in his hands and he’s playing off the fairway, it’s almost a given that he will hit it pretty darn close to the hole. It’s Morikawa’s combination of driving accuracy, greens in regulation and proximity to the hole that make him so deadly.
It is also worth mentioning that Morikawa has become a much better putter, especially since changing to the claw grip. During the 4th round of the British Open in 2021, Morikawa’s putting was the very definition of bankable. He shot a bogey-free 66, making a number of clutch par putts along the way.
Morikawa's Clubhead Speed Is About 114 mph
For most of the seasons that Morikawa has played on the PGA tour, his clubhead speed has been in the region 113-114 mph. Again, this makes Morikawa the very definition of average by PGA Tour standards.
Final Thoughts
It should be pretty clear that Collin Morikawa is actually a short hitter by professional standards. It is reasonable to assume that he will continue to live outside the top 100 in terms of driving distance on the PGA tour.
Despite this minor weakness to his game, it’s pretty clear that Morikawa is phenomenally talented in every other department, except for putting inside 5 foot, which can be shaky at times.
