The apple never falls far from the tree, and the Woods family proves that adage yet again.
Fifteen-year-old Charlie Woods is a blossoming talent, a high-school golfer full of power and finesse. His mannerisms also model his father’s, which is no surprise.
Tiger Woods had all the power in the world at Charlie’s age. When he was 15, the elder Woods was in the midst of winning six straight USGA titles. If only we could see what his advanced stats were then.
With technological advancements, computers and models can now capture club head speed, ball speed, and spin rate at the drop of a dime. These numbers are all essential parts of a golfer’s arsenal, as they ultimately help a player gain distance and improve accuracy.
So, during Friday’s Pro-Am at the PNC Championship, Charlie uncorked a drive with a ball speed of 176 miles per hour.
One-hundred-seventy-six! At 15 years old!
That’s a higher number than the PGA Tour average, a spot Irishman Shane Lowry occupied for the 2024 season. Lowry ranked 95th on the PGA Tour in ball speed, averaging 173.65 miles per hour. Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the world, had an average ball speed of 176.29, good for 64th on tour. Yes, Charlie produced a ball speed similar to that of the reigning Masters champion with this drive on Friday.
To calculate these figures, the tour uses the peak speed of the golf ball at launch on tee shots on only par-4s and par-5s. Of course, it only uses drives where a valid radar measurement is taken.
For further perspective, Cameron Champ led the tour with an average ball speed of 190.12 miles per hour, which is preposterous. Min Woo Lee ranked second, and Rory McIlroy was third at 185.58. All three of these players are big hitters, which explains why they comprise the top three in ball speed.
Charlie can bomb it, too, as he even drove the green at last year’s PNC Championship. Considering his ball speed on Friday, it would be no surprise that he did something similar this time.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
