How come LPGA players don't hit the ball as far as their PGA counterparts?

[SQ Bimmer]

I am in the opinion that good core strength can help you hit the ball further, but believe me, I am not at all against the idea that form and control can also get the ball moving consistently far and straight. However, if strength had nothing to do with it, then wouldn't LPGA players have similar driving distances to PGA players and wouldn't women have the same rating/slope off the tees that men do?

[misty_mountainhop]

Who says strength has nothing to do with it? If strength had nothing to do with it, I would imagine LPGA players would do exactly as you say i.e. hit it the same distances as the PGA players.

Technique is important but you can't get away from the contribution of raw muscle power to shot distance.

[gibbous]

I would think that the average PGA player is bigger than the average LPGA player, so the wider swing arc would also give them an advantage in length.

[Chilli Dipper]

Ultimately, good mechanics can only go so far. It still takes strength and length to hit the ball great distances, and men have those qualities in abundance compared to women. Shorter players on the men's tour can make up for having a shorter swing arc with body-builder strength (see Ian Woosnam and any number of Korean pros), but women physiologically just can't bulk up that much.

Look at it this way. Corey Pavin is 5'9" and 155 pounds soaking wet; those vitals are comparable to a lot of female pros. His drives averaged 258.9 yards this year on the PGA Tour, dead last among players with enough rounds to be listed on the stat sheets. Pavin averaged a full ten yards per drive less than the next-shortest man on tour, Brian Gay (5'10", 155, and twice a winner in 2009). Even if he were playing with the women, Corey would have only managed 26th on the LPGA in driving distance this year. Gay would been fifth among the ladies, somewhere in between Suzann Petterson (268.4 yds.) and Sophie Gustafson (269.2 yds.).

[NormH3]

Corey Pavin is also 50 years old. I have to believe his swing speed has slowed down a bit.

[Chilli Dipper]

Corey Pavin is also 50 years old. I have to believe his swing speed has slowed down a bit.

Not really. His driving distance is up from his 254.9 yard average in 1995, when he won the U.S. Open. Granted, equipment has come a long way since then, so that average was good enough for 159th on tour that year.

[Chief Broom]

After playing with some women a few weeks ago I was forced to conclude that upper body strength does play a key role in distance/swingspeed. Women have core strenght and hip strenght in abundance, but where they fall dramatically behind men is upper body.

[golfdad]

well, doesn't it boil it down to the combination of swing speed and contact? so how far a person hits depends on how "hard" the ball is struck and how "well" the ball is struck.

assuming for a second that both tiger and annika strike equally "well", but tiger strikes much "harder" than annika, the distance covered by tiger is longer.

a not uncommon observation has been that someone "weaker" can often beat someone "stronger" in terms of score, because of superior attitude, mental toughness, short game, course management, etc... i highly doubt the top tier junior girls can bench press more than anyone here (men that is); however, i suspect longer drives by people on this board may not command a better game than those girls.

in addition, i think the generalization of men vs women is like comparing one fruit with another, not just limited to apples and oranges. even on this forum, male golfers run the gamut of different physical attributes and scoring ability and i highly doubt the two aspects correspond well.

one observation of mine comparing pga vs lpga players is that as a whole, men putt much better than women. i suspect the stats can back this up.

[deronsizemore]

Why is there not more women that can dunk a basketball? A lot of them are the same height as the men that can...

[Golf'nBiker]

Somewhere between PETTERSON and GUSTAPHSON wound't be a bad place to be! Strength, age do play a part in distance between men, OLD men and women. I dont kno what GULBIS' swing sped is, but she looks like she come'n out of her shoes, and I suspect COUPLES' distance is further than hers, but his swing speed may or probably isnt what it was back in his prime.

[lumpuckeroo]

The same reason that women don't run the 100 as fast as men, or long jump as far, or high jump as high. There is a physical difference, besides the obvious!

[sean_miller]

So the question is, "why don't women hit the golf ball as far as men?" Is that really a concern?

[iacas]

Here's my answer:

Because the LPGA is composed almost entirely of women.

[Rob]

They`re freaking women,and there is a difference.Duh!

[Elvisliveson]

Here's my answer:

HILARIOUS. I trust that you used the qualifier "almost" on account of Laura Davies?

[iacas]

HILARIOUS. I trust that you used the qualifier "almost" on account of Laura Davies?

Yeah, y'know. Plus there may be some Mianne Bagger types to come along.

[sean_miller]

Yeah, y'know. Plus there may be some Mianne Bagger types to come along.

Here's a classic shot of a long hitting golf Babe from the past.

They don't have to be "hot" to be on the LPGA tour, but they should at least be female.

[Lefty-Golfer]

Why is there not more women that can dunk a basketball? A lot of them are the same height as the men that can...

possibly because they are not as athletic as men are...just sayin.