What was the longest drive Jack Nicklaus ever hit?

Question

I heard he could drive Par 5 greens in his youth. Does anybody have anymore info?

Answer 1

When Jack first started winning on the tour in the early sixties a good drive was 250 yards.  Long drive 280, and down hill down wind on a hard dry fairway might go 300.  Jack was considered long, but he knew something else.  The game is not about how far you can hit it - it is about how many times you hit it.

Answer 2

He was the longest hitter on the tour in the 1960s.  He did not drive par 5's in his youth, thats a stretch.  I know in the 1963 PGA he talks of hitting a few 350 yard drives, and he hit them as hard as he could.  They went 350 yards in 100 degree heat in Dallas, TX.  As far as Nicklaus hitting 400 yard drives in his 60s thats ridiculous.  Go to www.pgatour.com, you can look up the average driving distances on all players since 1980.  You'd be surprised how exaggerated driving distances actually are.

Answer 3

Ok truthfully I have no idea but ill take the best guess here.

Its most likely 340 yards maybe 360 with wind assitance.

I have watched him in big 3 golf on the golf channel he  hit it about 280+  and when he got one it went 310 he was long but no way did he ever hit it 480 yards without hitting the cart path.

Fred couples hit it 400 yards at kapaulua but it was downhill downwind and caught the right bounce etc..

Answer 4

He used to have the PGA record at something like 393....

Answer 5

Its hard to say. at 63 i saw him hit a drive 410 through a fairway into a lake in sante fe NM. Elevation was over 3000 feet though. All factors considered, greg norman has the longest drive in competition. 479 down the hill at the major where tiger beat him by like 8 strokes. He was on the par 5 in to though