This video needs to be updated

Well, everyone seems to have forgotten a man from the 1960s named George Bayer. Bayer was a mountain of a man who was the game's longest hitter back then, routinely hitting drivers of 350+ yards with far less technology, wood-headed drivers, and much slower conditions than what is used today. Bayer was not very successful on the PGA Tour, so he's largely forgotten about, but all things considered, I believe George Bayer is the longest hitter of the golf ball the PGA has ever had, even longer than John Daly in his prime.

***** I remember Bayer, and I believe you're right. Further proof that distance isn't the most important factor. Nicklaus was not only long; he was in the fairway most of the time. I used to live near Muirfield, and would go and watch the practice rounds; it cost about $10 and it was more fun than the tournament with the pros fooling around and trying different things. Watched Nicklaus in a practice round one day; he was 60 at the time but was still hitting an iron into the uphill, 505 yard 15th hole. Still the best, imho.

Remember that Nicklaus reached the par-5 18th hole at Pebble Beach in 2 on his final U.S. Open hole in the second round of the 2000 U.S. Open. And Nicklaus never tried to go for that green in two, though he always had the firepower to do so. (Failing to try to go for that green may have cost him the a chance to win the 1977 PGA Championship at Pebble Beach, which Lanny Wadkins won in a playoff over Gene Littler, with Nicklaus finishing one shot out of the playoff.) And to add to your point about how straight Nicklaus often hit it. In the 1965 Masters film, which I have but can't upload due to copyright, Chris Schenkel, who narrated that film, referred to Nicklaus as the "longest, straight driver" in the history of the game. And yes, there is one, and only one that can be considered the best ever, and that is Jack Nicklaus. And what sets him apart is not just the 18 majors (and 19 runner-ups in majors, which many overlook), but the caliber of the players he had to go against, and the sheer number of legendary players he had to go up against, which are simply too many to mention.

***** Yes, Nicklaus is the GOAT, but he is not the longest hitter of all time. That is what this video is about. Long? Yes. LongEST? Definitely not.

No, but's he's up there, especially the heavier version of Nicklaus from the 1960s. As I said, I believe George Bayer was the longest hitter in the history of the game, especially when you consider the equipment he played with in the 1950s and 60s, because he was hitting it as far as the guys now do with far better technology and equipment. However, I do think that Nicklaus was the longest straight driver in the history of the game.

...my sentiments exactly my brother. Made me giggle when I heard it.

And that was with a Wood Wood.

I played in a Jr golf tournament championship through the Titleist tour in the 90s. I was fortunate enough to play at TPC Sawgrass for our end of the year championship during a practice round, my fav golfer ever, Couples, played hole 16 with my group. He was so amazing taking time with us, and it made me love golf even more.

@@littlebucks912 fantastic to hear, what an experience and it's no surprise he is a great guy tbh!

@QenaitheCustodianGuard I was thrilled to birdie in front of Couples playing hole 16. However, I was so glad that he didn't see me hit the little bunker on 17, causing me to bogey.

Jack Nicklaus would be ridiculous

Greg Norman said in a recent interview that he'd be hitting it 340 today no worries. I don't doubt it.

Jack won the 1963 PGA Long Drive contest at 341 yards with the old persimmon woods and balls of the day. At the 1966 Open Championship in admittedly favourable wind and course conditions, Jack hit the 530 yd par 5 17th in 2 shots...with a 3 and 5 iron.

agree

It's crazy how far Nicklaus used to hit with the old equipment. He once drove through the back of the green on the par 4 18th at St. Andrews when he won the Open. The balls they were using at the time were rubbish too, I remember as a kid using those old Dunlop 65 balls that were popular in the 1960's and 1970's. They went nowhere compared to modern golf balls.

Era for era Jim Dent should be ranked #1 yet he isn't even in the top ten in this video.

Dude I didn't know you were golf fan. That's awesome!

Hey Kyle

Damn Straight!!!

good list but Daly at nr 1 and Jack at nr 2 would have been perfect

Effortless power by far .

Haha so relatable 😂

same here but 200 yards to the right

i have the same problem but with my putter :)

.

I hit it 250, 100 straight, 50 to the right, and then a 100 back

An they never even mentioned Mike Austin either.

I went to the big PGA tour event at Torrey Pines San Diego in 2011. watched many 'name' players tee off the 1st and 10th tee on North course; Dustin Johnson,Bubba,Mickleson,BooWeekly,etc. when they each hit there was just polite clapping. then Daly (who had slimmed down to his best ever shape) walked up and slammed one 360 yards right down the middle. Crowd goes Crazy!

When you say anywhere near like other pros, what does that mean? Do you mean time,weights or certain practice program?. Before Daly broke onto the scene and won a major out of nowhere, im sure he dedicated as much time and effort into his game just for the sake he was hungry and broke. For years now after making tons of money,he loves to gamble drink and chase women. He may do things different in the last 20 years but he got where he got by being dedicated and putting tons of effort into that game.

Kimberly Challancin you’re right where are they

Kimberly Challancin the video is from 2012

Yup ur right

Yes nobody smashes it like rory McIlroy!

Kimberly Challancin thing is there is no such thing as all time... until the end of time

Sounded like a damn whip

In no particular order

I agree.I've seen most these players on the list drive the ball and Tiger is a gun off the tee especially young Tiger.The more older he got the less he relied on his long range instead opted to work more on keeping the drive on the fairway.

+amanda lambert Tiger's fastest swing vs JD's fastest swing, Tiger is faster IMO. Thing about Tiger is that he never maxed out on any of his swings. I bet in his prime he could swing upwards of 135 mph if he really went at it, not like he'd ever need to though.

+Clay Miller You don't think Tiger was going all out in a skins game on a par five with JD? Tiger has never hit 135 in his life -- he is not a long drive guy. Daly was longer back then and there is video out there to prove it.

What does body size have to do with the hips initiating the downswing? Just being smaller has no effect on hip movement.

Era for era Jim Dent should be ranked #1 yet he isn't even in the top ten in this video.

+Benjamin Navarro DJ, Brooks koepka, gary woodland are all longer than j.b. holmes.....smh

dustin johnson can CRUSH the ball!!! that vdeo needs updated lol

that was 2012 duh

Correct but Kuekne was the longest ever.

Hank was pretty a long hitter he said he wasn't afraid of tigers length back then but daly was another story

add the slammer too

Fred, Els, David and Snead.

Make no mistake they were not leaving nothing in the bag.

Agree. When I was 17 I was very long too. But I was buffed--kinda similar body and swing like Nicklaus. There was one guy in our league that could hit it with me. String bean with a really long swing and very fast hips. I used to call him the rubber band.

how is that possible??

that was a senior tournament these are pga tour events

hoss011 He used science, google his name, he is like the mad scientist of the golf swing.

ya I just read about him... to bad GBWW no longer uses his drive in the book... still impressive..

Why you picking on Love? A respectable guy. If you must rip on somebody from this list, try Woods. He's a douche.

agreed!

Or Mike Austin

Yeahh bro!! Nice!

how is it now?

Tikiman03 I totally agree. Mike Austin hit a 515 yard drive, 65 yards past the the green on a par 4 in Las Vegas in the Senior Tour. He was 64 years old. That record still holds today.

Vague,,,it's a secret, otherwise you'd be doing it.

151bar151 well have you ever tried invading Poland with a short Hitler? It just doesn't work.

Ok you get LOL

Not about power it's about technique look at ernie els he regularly hit 300 with little effort

True but 300 is a long hit no matter how big you are and ernie does it worth ease Line watching him play

mike hunt wow you respond quick! check out my last post (edited).

the 476 yard drive also came from the most downhill hole on the PGA tour at Kapalua Golf course.

Jeff S I think that if a strong enough woman had a good technique, she could challenge the men in long drive. Unfortunately, such a woman doesn't usually play golf. The longest hitter of the women last year, Brittany Lincicome, averaged 271 yards...that would not have broken the top 100 on the PGA tour (Bubba Watson averaged 310 yards last year. Dustin Johnson's averaging 315 this year.)

Jack could hit hit 320 on command with persimmon and steel shafts. He just chose not to do it on every drive.

Jack stayed around 250 yards. Anyone claiming someone can hit a balata ball with persimmon woods 300 yards is making stuff up. Even Jack said in his book he couldn't get past 270 without straining. He said 250 is max. He also said that a 300 yard drive was only hit downhill, downwind, or with rock hard fairways, or all of the above. Not to mention Weiskopf consistently outdrove him.

275 is pretty average

I hit it over 300 yards almost every time. And yes, it is massive.

As my father told me many years ago, the woods are full of big hitters.....;)

buckfan1969 Your father was quoting Harvey Penick.

gilceezy I'm in my mid 60's now. Was never better than about a 14 handicap. Still about a 14 handicap now, but don't hit the ball nearly as far as I did 30 years ago. Driving distance is overrated, but I can tell you that a 400 yd Par 4 today is a lot more difficult when you can only hit it about 220-230 on your best drive. I've also found that the older a golfer is, the further they used to hit it. I'd guess in another 10 years I'll be claiming to hit 300 yard drives in my youth with a persimmon driver, but it would be a lie. At my best I was still only 260-270. The short game is where the strokes are, particularly if you learn to keep your drive in play.

this is soccer you idiot

Why is that a joke? He is statistically BY FAR the best driver ever when you combine length and accuracy. He had the opportunity to hit more drivers because he was able to put them in play so he effectively probably is the longest driver ever.

have you ever seen him hit a 1-iron?

@@gsapp59 because the title says all time 'long' hitters, thats why. if they had of said all time best driver of the ball, they would have a point.

Every single player on this list has a body turn well past 90 degrees..Natural strength only gets you so far.The big hitters all have explosive power which in golf is more important than brute power.Ever single player on this list is explosive which is a product of flexibility, proper weight transfer, having the type of efficiency to maximize loading the club as well as club head speed.

Bernice Maminski Id put money that a daly with a 48in driver could hang with the long drive kids today

Who are the world class drivers with swing speed of 140? Also driving distance stats werent kept til 1980 and then they tracked 2 designated holes per round. Nicklaus,playing a fade, would be at the top of the list today if he played in this era. If you are referring to long drive contest guys that swing 140 and dont play for a score as the world class drivers than i will break the news to you. This video is meant for guys that play for score not guys trying to just keep it in play. By the way even if Tom W was as long as Nicklaus that doesnt mean that both would drive it as far as anybody today.Also Tiger was never ahead of his contemporary Daly but he makes the list.The golfswings of old are better than the golfswings of today and are copied by everybody on Tour today and would produce just as much distance as the guys today especially with course being specifically being made to play firm and fast. The roll out on drives are sometimes 50 yards. Todays game has been built around selling the game so today distance is what brings in the money.Nicklaus as a kid was every bit as strong as anybody today and the pictures show this.

They didnt keep stats until 1980. Nobody disputed it?