If you read descriptions of matches played in the 20's, they often describe the clubs used. Now, factor in that the grounds today are generally softer than 80 years ago, what with better irrigation vs. not much at all in that era except hand watering, you have today's 3wood being equivalent to the driver then. There are many instances where it was said Walter Travis hit two shots that carried 500 yards. In 1913, when Vardon and Ray traveled the country, they often won driving contests with pokes of 280-300 yards. At the 1921 US Amateur, the winning drive in the contest was 265 yards. I think the differences is much more related to conditioning and how softer the courses are. They played a "harder" game, allowing for more running after the ball landed in the fairway as a result. Jim Foulis, winner of the 1896 US Open, is known to have hit drives of 300 yards consistently and was considered one of the longest hitters in the country. This was with haskell's and hickory. Things changed in 1928 with the introduction of steel in large numbers, but even in the early 20's, they hit it a fairly long way.