If you fit golf clubs, rarely will a session go by where someone doesn’t ask “What’s my club head speed?”, or “How far should I hit a 7-iron?”, or something else along those lines. We know how to answer these questions, but it still makes me chuckle when I think that someone would ask “How far should I hit my 7-iron?” “Hmmmm, I don’t know. You are 35 years old and you carry it 147. Xander is a few years younger, and he carries it almost 200, so I guess you should hit it 50 yards further.” Haha. No, the reality is that most people are surprised by how far they (don’t) actually hit the golf ball.

I tell my team of fitters that if you ask someone how far they hit something in a pre-fit interview, they are fired. In jest of course, but why? We have a $20,000 piece of equipment sitting right next to that golf ball that will tell us EXACTLY how far the player hits the golf ball. Why make him lie? Why make it an uncomfortable situation for him? Refrain from asking the question and just look at the data.

Keep a few things in mind. As a fitter, you should have an idea of how far the ball SHOULD go based on a perfect contact. For example, if a player swings the driver at 90 MPH with perfect launch conditions and a perfect smash factor of 1.50, he’s going to get a 135 MPH ball speed. That shot will carry about 215 yards. When you ask him how far he hits his driver and he says “250” – it’s mathematically impossible. His best case is about 25 yards short of that. 250 carry STARTS at about 100 MPH club head speed as long as all other impact conditions are perfect. More than likely, a player will need to swing it 103-105 to get 250 yards of carry.

At one time, I started a chart for drivers and 7-irons. What their optimal carry distances are for given club head speeds and perfect impact conditions at 77*, no wind at sea level. Many other variables can influence this chart, like golf ball, club head, elevation, etc., BUT, for the most part, these are a POTENTIAL, so the actual distances will only go DOWN from here.

Here’s part of that:

7 Iron (with 18* launch angle)

Club Ball Spin Carry Total

63 85 3500 105 112

67 90 4000 115 121

70 95 4500 125 130

74 100 4800 135 139

78 105 5000 145 148

81 110 5500 152 154

85 115 5500 162 165

89 120 6000 168 170

Driver

Club Ball Spin Carry Total

67 100 3000 126 149

73 110 3000 153 171

80 120 2800 179 197

87 130 2600 205 223

93 140 2400 230 248

100 150 2200 255 273

107 160 2100 280 297

113 170 2000 302 320

So, If you look at the chart above, a 90 MPH Club head speed with a driver will be in the 215 carry range IF he hits it perfect.

If a player has a 7 iron and you want to figure out what his driver is, the math is simple. For almost every player, take their 7-iron club head speed and add 15 MPH to it. 80 MPH with a 7-iron will be about 95 MPH with a driver. The guy who carries the 7 iron 150 will carry the driver 235 and maybe get 250 out of it… Read on for what players THINK vs. what they actually do…

I digress. He says he hits it 250. Did you ever wonder how far people actually hit their driver vs. how far the THINK they hit it? I know it’s always over, but I wondered. So I did a little research. Now this is a FUN read.

This info is courtesy of Lou Stagner and he reached out to Arccos. All info is for the DRIVER.

Average across all players was their estimated distance was 24.2 yards longer than they actually did.

Average across all players was their estimated distance was roughly the same as 80% of their actual distance.

Better players had a closer estimation (19.4 yards) vs. Higher handicappers (20+) (27.5 yards).

The biggest difference was in the longer hitters. Players who said they hit it 275 or longer overestimated their distance, on average, by 36.4 yards vs. actual distance. Versus players who thought 199 or less were only overestimating by 11 yards.

For most players, the distance will be 25 yards shorter. Any age, any handicap, any club head speed.

25 yards. So your “I hit it 250” guy probably carries in in the 205-210 range, and rolls it out to 225-230. How about your 300 yard guy? He’s probably at least 10% shorter than that on average. He probably hits it 270, which means his carry distance is in the 245 yard range.

Do you know what kind of ball speed you need for a 300 yard drive? Something north of 170 MPH. That’s a club head speed of 113 with perfect impact conditions. Remember, every 1 MPH increase in ball speed = 2.5 = 3 yards of carry distance. Along those lines, an extra 1 MPH of club head speed = roughly an extra 1.5 MPH in Ball speed with a driver. So… Let’s say your 105 MPH club head speed guy (with a driver) says he hits it 300. Here’s your reality. 105 will get him roughly 250 carry. he needs 113 club head speed to get to 300. 8 MPH less. That’s 12 mph less ball speed. Times 2.5 yards per MPH = 30 yards less with a perfect strike.

25 yards… take it with a grain of salt.

Happy Fitting!!!

Jim Yeager, PGA