The surprise driver model that’s smashing PGA Tour distance records
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South African rookie Aldrich Potgieter leads the PGA Tour in ball speed and driving distance – but it’s his unexpected driver setup that’s turning heads and setting new records.
If you had to guess who has the fastest ball speed and longest driving distance on tour, there’s a good chance your mind would go straight to Rory McIlroy.
And you wouldn’t be far wrong. Rory ranks second on the PGA Tour for driving distance and eighth for ball speed, but there’s one man who tops the charts in both categories – and by some margin.
In his first season on the PGA Tour, 20-year-old Aldrich Potgieter is the standout man for ball speed and driving distance.
The South African burst onto the radar after winning the 2022 Amateur Championship at just 17 and won his first PGA Tour event in June at the Rocket Classic, but it’s his numbers on the launch monitor radar that demand attention.
The fastest ball speeds on the PGA Tour
When it comes to ball speed, the players ranked 2nd through 5th are all within 0.5 mph of each other and all sit in the 187 mph range. Potgieter is a long way clear at 190.15 mph.
Only one man – Cameron Champ – has ever maintained a faster average ball speed (190.7 mph in 2019 and 190.94 in 2021) than Potgieter’s 2025 performance so far.
Longest driving distances on the PGA Tour
Ball speed is one thing, but distance matters more, and here Potgieter is even further clear. He’s averaged 328.2 yards off the tee this season. He’s a full six yards clear of anyone else – that’s the biggest gap since 2003.
And Potgieter’s distance isn’t just season-beating – it’s the longest average ever seen.
The previous record was Rory McIlroy’s 326.3-yard average in 2022-2023 season.
The surprising thing about Aldrich Potgieter’s ball speed and driving distance
Potgieter’s stats are impressive enough in their own right, but there’s something more surprising lurking behind the headline numbers.
Despite being so far clear in ball speed and distance, he doesn’t boast the fastest clubhead speed on Tour. Niklas Norgard clocks in at 126.55 mph to Potgieter’s 125.77 mph.
Why is that so impressive? It means Potgieter brings a hell of a lot of speed to the table, but still manages to get the most out of that speed – generating ball speed and distance that trump a man who swings it faster.
What driver does the PGA Tour’s longest and fastest hitter use?
Aldrich Potgieter uses a Titleist GT2 driver with 9° of loft. It’s interesting that a high-speed player like Potgieter isn’t using the low-spin Titleist GT4, or the GT3, which is Titleist’s most popular model on tour, instead opting for the more forgiving GT2.
“I was on the GT3, but the GT2 gives me a straighter ball flight,” he explains. “[With] the GT3 you can work it a bit more.”
There’s been a clear shift in recent years with a number of tour pros moving into more forgiving models, realizing that they’re not losing much (if any) distance, while gaining more support on less-than-perfect strikes.
Potgieter’s driver is powered by a Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X shaft. He has stuck with the original version, launched in 2019, rather than switching to the latest iteration.
TG Golf Equipment Writer Lewis Daff, a former Master Custom Fitter and Club Builder with over 5,000 fittings under his belt, describes Potgieter’s driver shaft as “a beast”.
“The original Ventus Black is a hefty option to play in any weight, let alone putting an 80g version into your driver,” he says. “Whereas the new version has a softer handle section, providing somewhat more feel and feedback to the golfer, the first edition is exceptionally solid, built for aggressive swings or those that want a shaft to feel like it’s largely one-piece as you deliver the club to impact.”
See Aldrich Potgieter’s WITB here.
More speed, with forgiveness
Best for Forgiveness
Pros
- New face technology means distance is increased over TSR2
- Clean looks that fall more in with GT3 and GT4
- Simple weight system keeps fitting easy
Cons
- Can spin more in faster players' hands
| Lofts: | 8º / 9º / 10º / 11º (RH/LH) |
| Shafts: | Project X Denali Red, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue, Project X HZRDUS Black 5th Gen, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black + Premium Upcharge Graphite Design Tour AD-VF, Tour AD-DI, and Tour AD-UB |
| Grip: | Titleist Universal 360 Grip |
| Weight Options: | 3g / 5g / 7g / 9g (Standard) / 11g / 13g / 15g |
- Proprietary Matrix Polymer material
- Thermoform Process Crown
- Split Mass Internal Technology
- Improved Aerodynamics
- Enhanced SpeedRing VFT
- Tour-Inspired Graphics
The surprising thing about Aldrich Potgieter’s driver
The driver model Potgieter uses is eyebrow-raising, the shaft is rare, but it’s the length that really stands out.
“We’ve gone with a bit of a shorter shaft – I think it’s half an inch shorter – just for a bit more consistency,” he says. “We’re trying to keep it on the fairways and not lose too much distance.”
That means he could be even further ahead of his peers off the tee, but he’s opting to rein back the distance in the search for accuracy.
His driving accuracy of 55.78% still isn’t going to win any awards – the longest hitters always struggle in that stat – but he still ranks 2nd on Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the tee, behind Scottie Scheffler.
The shorter shaft length is something worth considering for all golfers.
“I’d say 90 per cent of the drivers sold in the shops today are too long for most players,” explains esteemed clubmaker Tom Wishon, of Wishon Golf. “The standard driver length of 45.5-46.5 inches offered by the majority of companies is too long for most golfers and will prevent them from achieving their maximum potential for distance and accuracy.”
Custom Lab Golf founder Gavin Hay agrees. “We’ve seen a good number of players lose zero clubhead speed when testing a shaft that is an inch shorter than their current driver shaft, and they have found the center of the clubface more consistently,” he says. “This improvement in strike generates higher ball speed, which is what creates distance.”
A different length driver shaft could help you keep the ball in play more often – and may even unlock more distance.
What you can learn from Potgieter’s driver
You might not swing it at 125 mph like Potgieter, but his driver setup has lessons that apply to every golfer:
- Forgiveness matters – even for the longest hitters. Don’t be afraid to go for the more stable driver model if it helps you find the fairway more often.
- Shaft length could be killing your consistency. A shorter shaft might help you hit the middle more often, which could mean more consistency, more ball speed, and yes, more distance.
- Ball speed > clubhead speed. It’s not about how fast you swing – it’s about how efficiently you deliver it.
Potgieter might be smashing records, but the way he’s doing it proves that smart choices beat raw aggression.
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Aldrich Potgieter dominates the PGA Tour in ball speed and driving distance.
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Aldrich Potgieter is the PGA Tour's biggest hitter.
