The longest drive in a PGA Tour Event (and in golf history for that matter) is 515 yards. Yes you read that correctly. 515 yards. The unbelievable feat was accomplished at Winterwood Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada by a man named Michael Austin. The Guiness World Record drive came at the Par 4 14th at the Winterwood Golf Course in 1974. The Course is now known as the Desert Rose Golf Course.
Michael Austin was 64 at the time of the longest drive in a PGA Tour Event. The event was the US National Senior Open. Austin used a 43.5″ Steel-Shafted Persimmon Wood Driver and Balata Golf Ball. It was estimated that his ball speed was in the vicinity of 150 mph which is astronomical. At age 64 it seems unreal!
Who is Michael Austin?
Michael Austin was an English-American professional golfer. He was also a kinesiology expert that specializes in driving the golf ball a long ways. Go figure! He was a jack of all trades kinda guy. He acted in Hollywood, had several degrees, a PhD, and was a renowned golf teacher. From Steve Pratt’s Hit it Longer.com:
“He is considered by some to be the Leonardo Da Vinci of golf.”
The Mike Austin Swing
I’ll let the experts at Hit it Longer.com explain what the Mike Austin Swing is:
“The Mike Austin method promotes a swinging spine and a full release of the clubhead, from a precisely measured address position. This gives a superior weight shift, a greater control of the plane and blade, and much greater clubhead speed. The result is more energy transfer into the back of the ball for more distance with less effort. Also, because of a much longer flat spot through the impact zone and less changing of the face angle, you will hit the ball straighter and dead solid more often than any other technique.
The Mike Austin method feels natural and is easy to learn. Most golfers see dramatic results in little time.”
A video of the swing is probably helpful as well! Shout out to Swing Man Golf for the video. It doesn’t look like much but obviously it got the job done. I mean 515 yards is just ridiculous. Tiger’s longest drive ever, though unbelievable, was still almost 20 yards short of Mr. Austin’s record.
Related: Longest Golf Hole in the World
Another interesting fact is that the 14th hole was only 455 yards. Austin overshot the green by almost 70 yards! Even though there are some big drivers on tour today it is no mistake that this record has stood since 1974. I don’t think the record longest drive in a PGA Tour event will go down any time soon!
