Ben Griffin’s 2025 season marked a turning point in his career, highlighted by three wins on the PGA Tour and a spot in the Ryder Cup team.
Griffin was seen as a solid enough player before then, but he had not really made a big impact. He had finished outside the top 60 in the FedEx Cup standings in each of the two seasons prior, so he was not exactly a name everyone knew.
But by the end of that year, Griffin had climbed all the way into the top 10 of the world rankings.
Ben Griffin shares tips for gaining distance off the tee
Griffin’s wins included the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Andrew Novak, as well as individual titles at the Charles Schwab Challenge and the World Wide Technology Championship.
His form put him in strong contention for a Ryder Cup pick by Keegan Bradley. While his week at Bethpage did not go as planned, he still left a mark on the season.
Looking ahead to 2026, Griffin remains one to keep an eye on. Last year, he finished in the top 10 of two of the three majors he played.
In 2025, Griffin added nearly 10 yards to his average driving distance on tour. Speaking to Golf Digest, he broke down how amateurs can look to do something similar.
“I got my ball speed up from the low 170s to over 180 miles per hour by spending a lot of time in the gym doing things like pushing sleds, bench presses, squats,” he said. “It’s more like a football workout than golf training. You might think the result is that I’m swinging harder, but I’m actually swinging smoother because I can put more force into the hit.
“Even if you don’t have time for the gym, the thing I’ve learned is that when you go at it harder, you tend to get your hands and arms too involved in the swing and not use your big muscles as much for power. That can get you out of sync. Instead, I like to feel like Cam Young or Sam Burns. When they get to the top of the swing, it looks like they just rotate their bodies and the club simply falls into the ball.
“Here are two ways to get your body more involved: First, set up open to your target. You’ll find it really frees you up to rotate better and let your body stay ahead of the club. Second, rehearse some downswings like I’m doing here with the idea that the club doesn’t get ahead of your body rotation. It’s lower body first, then upper body and finally your arms and club. Trust me, you’ll pick up yards this way, which means you’re going to be hitting shorter clubs into greens – a huge key to scoring.”
Ben Griffin faces a tough task on the PGA Tour this year
Matching his 2025 campaign is not going to be easy for Griffin. He picked up three wins and also finished as a runner-up on two separate occasions.
Scottie Scheffler was the only player to finish ahead of him at both the Memorial Tournament and the Procore Championship.
Griffin climbed quickly into that conversation, but he will know that reaching the top of golf is one thing, staying there is another. He has all the tools needed to keep climbing.
The next step could be breaking through in a signature event or even contending for a major title.
What you can guarantee is that Griffin will do everything possible to fulfil his potential on the PGA Tour.
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