Brandel Chamblee drops bold take on ball speed in golf, backs up claim with stat ft. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler

Brandel Chamblee thinks Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy prove that a common adage in golf isn't exactly true. Ball speed is generally viewed as a determining factor in professional golf, so the faster a player can hit a golf ball, the better they are considered to be. However, in Chamblee's eyes, that is not the case.

The average ball speed on the PGA Tour this year is 174 miles per hour. Anyone hitting above that is hitting faster than most of their peers. However, per Chamblee's research, that doesn't translate to winning.

Chamblee wrote in a post on X(formerly Twitter):

"Of the Top 20 in Stokes Gained total on the PGA Tour, 15 players have right at average tour ball speed (174 mph) or below. The professional game, at the highest level, is not all about speed."

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He backed up his argument with a list featuring the ball speeds of Scheffler, McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and others, most of which are largely below the average.

Rory McIlroy 184.87
Scottie Scheffler 175.42
Collin Morikawa 171.57
Justin Thomas 177.94
Russell Henley 166.43
Shane Lowry 172.38
Bud Cauley 171.72
Sepp Straka 168.49
Daniel Berger 173.4
Alex Smalley 174.27
Hideki Matsuyama 173.5
Tommy Fleetwood 172.92
Patrick Cantlay 176.94
Ryan Gerard 173.84
Michael Kim 174
Lee Hodges 173
J.J. Spaun 173.36
Min Woo Lee 187.9
Jacob Bridgeman 173
Lucas Glover 166.44

Chamblee claimed hitting the ball fast is a vital aspect of golf, but it's not everything. According to his take, there's much more to the sport that allows players, like Lucas Glover or Sepp Straka, to do well despite not excelling in that area.

Rory McIlroy confirms upcoming schedule on PGA Tour

For now, Rory McIlroy is going to take some time away from golf. Even after winning an emotional Masters Tournament in a playoff over Justin Rose, McIlroy, unlike many of his Masters competitors, was back in action one week later.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry did not win the Zurich Classic (Image via Imagn)

He played the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry to attempt a title defense of their crown, but Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin foiled their efforts with a 28-under par score. Talking about how he's going to take some well-earned time off from the sport now, he said via Mirror:

"I've got to just take a little bit of time here. It's nice to have a week off, and reset and try to get some practice in."

He continued:

"I feel like it's like two practice weeks coming up in a way, with next week at home and then Truist, as well, in some ways. Yeah, I'm looking forward to a couple of days off and then sort of kicking the feet up and trying to recharge the batteries a little bit."

Even though they came up short, Rory McIlroy said his return with Lowry to try and win in his second career start in the event was "a fun week."

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar