Golf is a sport where height truly doesn’t matter.
Or does it?
You might be surprised to learn the average height of a PGA golfer is about 3” taller than the average American male!
At 6 feet (72 inches tall), the average PGA golfer might be taller than you’d expect. After all, you don’t have to be tall to swing a club.
According to data from Newsday, just 17.7% of PGA golfers are 5’9” or below. A further 24% are 5’10” to 5’11″ while the rest are 6’ or taller.
Being a great golfer is about technique, training, and strength. Still, PGA golfers can be quite imposing in terms of their height and size.
We crunched the numbers to look at the 636 active PGA golfers to figure out how tall they are.
Tallest PGA Golfer
The tallest PGA golfer is newcomer Christo Lamprecht. Standing at an impressive 6’8”, this South African golfer turns heads (up). At the same time, it’s not just size that makes him stand out.
In 2018, Lamprecht was the youngest player on the field when he debuted at the South African Open Championship.
With 6 amateur wins, finishing 2nd in his PGA Tour University Ranking, and a tie for 5th, he’s distinguishing himself as a top athlete.
Shortest PGA Golfers (Men’s)
Tracy Phillips and Ryan Abbate tie for the title of shortest PGA golfer.
At 5’4” these two golfers are 8 inches under the norm for the field. But golf clubs are custom-fitted, so your height literally shouldn’t matter.
How Tall are PGA Golfers?
We analyzed the data from 636* active PGA golfers. Let’s look at the stats!
- 5’4” — Just two PGA golfers come in at 5’4”. That’s the height of the average woman in the United States, but short stature is not stopping these pros!
- 5’5” — Just one PGA player, Chinese-born Guxin Chen, comes in at 5’5”.
- 5’6” — 9 PGA golfers stand at 5’6” and just one of them is from the United States.
- 5’7” — 22 PGA golfers are 5’7” with a median weight of 160 lbs.
- 5’8” — 25 men playing for the PGA are 5’8”.
- 5’9” — 5’9” is the height of the average American man. But, with 37 of the 636 PGA golfers reaching 5’9”, it’s just under 6% of the PGA.
- 5’10” — 75 PGA golfers reach 5’10”.
- 5’11” — 78 PGA golfers are 5’11”.
- 6’ — 90 men on our list made 6’! That makes 6’ the most common height among PGA golfers.
- 6’1” — 75 men at 6’1”, or just as common as being 5’10”.
- 6’2” — 66 men at 6’2” means that being 6’2” is almost twice as common as being 5’9”, with just over 1 in 10 PGA golfers reaching that height.
- 6’3” — With 41 PGA golfers at 6’3”, it’s more common to see someone 6’3” on the course than someone the height of the average American man.
- 6’4” — 20 PGA golfers reach 6’4”.
- 6’5” — Just 5 golfers are 6’5”.
- 6’6” — Adrian Meronk is the only PGA golfer standing at 6’6”
- 6’8” — Newcomer Christo Lamprecht stands almost a foot taller than the average American man at 6’8”.
21% of PGA golfers are 6’2” or taller! That compares to just 3.9% of Americans.
*37 golfers were not included in these stats as their heights are not verifiable using reputable sources.
What About the LPGA?
The LPGA is home to some of the best female athletes in the world. While the ladies are markedly shorter than male golfers, they still show noticeable height differences from non-golfers.
For example, the average Ladies Professional Golf Association player is 5’6” while the average American woman is only 5’4”.
Still, you don’t have to be tall to excel in the LPGA.
Moriya Jutanugarn from Thailand is just 5’1”. On the other hand, Maria Fassi of Mexico is 6’1”.
That’s a big range for players who are equally impressive in their field.
FAQs on PGA Golfer Height
With the shortest PGA golfer standing at 5’4”, Tracy Phillips and Ryan Abbate come in at 16 inches shorter than their tallest peer, Christo Lamprecht, who stands at 6’8”. Tracy Phillips and Ryan Abbate both average about 135-140 pounds respectively while Lamprecht comes in at 200 pounds.
At 6’7”, Phil Blackmar was the tallest touring PGA pro until 2005, when 6’7” Craig Smith started touring. Today, Christo Lamprecht takes the title of tallest PGA golfer ever – but Phil Blackmar is, to date, the only one to win a PGA Tour event. Plus, at 6’5”, George Archer is the tallest player to win a major.
Yes. In fact, some remarkably short men have excelled at the sport. Tadd Fujikawa made the cut for the PGA Tour at just 5’1”, making him the shortest golfer ever. In addition, he was the second youngest player to ever do so.
Height can be an advantage for golfers. After all, extra height and body mass mean more power on your drive. However, golfing heavily relies on form, skill, and practice – so technique (and mindset) is often the most important thing about a player.
Clubs are often tailored to the player but that means taking wrist-to-floor length and playing style into account. For amateur players, you’ll only add a half inch to the club shaft for every 4 inches above 6 feet. The standard club length is for a wrist-to-floor measurement of 34” to 37”, and +0.5 inches is for 37”-40” (or someone who is 6’1” to 6’4” tall). You deduct length from the shaft when you’re shorter than the average 5’7” to 6’1”.
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