Carry Distances
| Club | Loft (degrees) | Distance for men (yards) | Distance for women (yards) |
| Driver | 8 - 13 | 197 | 138 |
| 2-wood | 12 - 15 | 189 | 132 |
| 3-wood | 12 - 17 | 185 | 129 |
| 4-wood | 15 - 19 | 172 | 121 |
What factors affect distance on a golf club?
Apart from hitting the ball squarely, that is without the club face being overly open or closed to the target line and club path, the two factors that most influence distance are swing speed and effective loft. Effective loft is the actual loft of your club head at impact as opposed to the stated loft on the club you are hitting.
What is the carry distance in golf?
The carry distance in golf is one of the most important numbers you can know with each club in the bag. Whether you are standing on the tee box with a driver in hand wondering if you can carry the bunkers or standing on a 145 yard par 3, this number is essential.
How does carry affect the loft of a golf club?
The carry tends to increase the lower the loft of the club. The reason for this is that the lower the loft, the lower of the starting angle of the ball flight, and correspondingly, the lower the landing angle of the ball.
Why are there so many different PGA Tour carry distances?
This was done because there is such a large variance of wood/hybrid/iron club choice to fill this distance slot from player to player. All remaining carry distance data (60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140) was calculated based on the average PGA Tour carry distances.
How can I increase my carry distance?
5 Top 100 Teacher-approved tips to boost your driving distanceIncrease the speed of the backswing. ... Stay back longer during the downswing. ... Proper shoulder tilt at address. ... Make harder practice swings. ... Use your wrists.
What affects the distance a golf ball travels?
A golf ball will travel less distance in colder temperatures for two reasons. First, when the golf ball and golf club are colder, the transfer of energy is not as efficient, so the ball speed will be less. Second, colder air is more dense than warm air, so there is more friction and drag.
What is a good carry distance in golf?
The standard assumption for carry comes from the TrackMan Optimizer. For the driver, a club speed of 94 mph, attack angle of 0 degrees, and optimized carry results in a carry of 222 yards. For a 6-iron, a club speed of 80 mph and mid-trajectory results in a carry of 153 yards.
How is golf carry distance calculated?
If you know the golfer's clubhead speed, then you know the distance. So it is obviously more complicated than a simple formula that relates clubhead speed to distance....Here's how you do that:Multiply the clubhead speed by 3.16.Subtract 85.2 yards from the result.You have the carry distance, within one or two yards.
Why can I only drive 200 yards?
The main reasons why the average golfer isn't able to hit 200 yards is due to poor technique, rapid swing, insufficient knowledge and lack of practice.
Do expensive golf balls go further?
Do the less-expensive balls travel a little farther and straighter off the tee? They can, but when we tested both types of balls at average-golfer swing speeds, the difference was almost negligible: six yards, usually less.
How far should a 7 iron carry?
The average distance golfers hit each club varies widely. A PGA Tour player hits a 7-iron between 172-215 yards. Meanwhile, a short-hitting amateur male golfer averages 120 yards with the same club. Men, women, seniors, juniors, professionals, amateurs and beginners all hit their clubs different distances.
Will a stiffer shaft increase distance?
If the shaft flex is too stiff, your average distance will remain low.
How far should a 6 iron go?
You should hit a six iron about 150 yards. The average golfer gets just over 150 yards with their six-iron. Players with faster swing speed will get closer to 165 or even 170 with a six iron.
How far should a driver carry with 100 mph swing speed?
If your swing speed is 100 mph, your distance potential could be as high as 270 yards.
How far should a driver go with 90 mph swing speed?
These factors come together in data collected by TrackMan where a golfer with a driver swing speed of 90 mph hitting with an downward attack angle of minus 2.5 degrees can produce a golf shot that generates about 3,017 rpm of spin and 203 yards of carry distance.
What is my swing speed if I hit a 7 iron 160 yards?
To cover a distance of about 160 yards with a 7 iron, a swing speed of 86 mph is needed. A standard device for measuring swing speed doesn't measure the speed of the clubhead, but instead, it measures the speed of the ball.
How many yards is a par 4?
You are standing on the tee box on a 410 yard par 4. The hole has a slight dog leg to the right with a bunker that protects the hole against a golfer cutting the corner slight. The bunker is about a 230 yard carry. If you have precise data that you carry your driver 240 yards on average, you have to decide if you want to try to make a solid swing with the driver and reduce the length of the hole by cutting the corner, or if you should stay left of it. Having the right information will help you manage your round of golf and what the appropriate shot is.
What watch should I use for golf?
I would highly recommend that every golfer utilize a GPS based watch or a rangefinder. Some golfers might use both as the GPS will give you the front, middle and back yardage on every approach shot, while the rangefinder can give you the exact distance to a pin or anything that you can successful laser.
What factors affect how far a golf ball travels?
Factors like impact location on the club face, club path, spin rate, and launch angle also play a large part in how far a ball travels.
What factors affect distance?
There are also factors out of your control that can affect distance, like temperature and altitude.
What does it mean when your swing is faster?
Assuming all other things are equal, more swing speed means more energy that can be transferred from the club to the golf ball, resulting in higher ball speed. Higher ball speed means the ball will travel a further distance.
What happens if your club face is open?
If your club face is open (aimed right) relative to your club path, this can both cause too much spin and will cause the ball to spin too left-to-right on its spin axis. You'll lose a lot of yards from a slice as the ball travels left-to-right rather than straight.
Why does my golf ball launch angle?
If you feel like you're hitting the ball too high or too low , work with a club-fitter to dial in your clubs.
What is the role of spin rate in golf?
Spin rate plays a large role in how far you'll hit the ball and the shapes of your shots.
How to know if your driver has too much loft?
If you feel you're hitting the ball well but should be getting a few more yards, work with a club-fitter to see if your driver has too much loft. The ideal spin rate depends on your club speed, but too much spin will cost you yards.
How much does the carry change on a golf ball?
As you can see courtesy of the chart above, the carry change increases by about half a yard between your pitching wedge and driver, capping out at about two yards per 10 degrees of temperature. Rice also found that humidity had “almost no effect on carry,” — temperature and carry were the two primary atmospheric conditions (outside of wind, which is a different matter) that effect your golf ball.
How far can a shot go in 70 degree conditions?
So, if your driver carries about 250 yards in 70-degree conditions, according to Rice’s research, the same shot will travel about 254 yards in 90-degree conditions, and 246 yards in 50-degree conditions. Altitude, as you can see above, is the other big factor.
How much spin does a driver get at sea level?
But that’s not all. The “optimal spin rate” with a driver, Rice explains, increases from 2,250 RPMs at sea level to about 3,000 RPMs at 10,000 feet. Why? Because the air is less dense at increased altitude, so the importance of hang time increases.
How does loft affect distance?
The Effect of Loft. The loft of an iron has a much greater effect on the distance your ball will carry than does the length of the club (s wing speed). Many in the golf industry estimate that with irons, the ratio is as high 20:80, meaning that loft has 4 times the effect on distance as compared to swing speed.
What is the factor that determines the amount of force applied to a ball?
Physics tell us that when a moving object (the club head) strikes a stationary object (the ball) the amount of force applied to the ball is dependent on two factors, the speed of the moving object, and its weight.
What happens when you reduce the length of your irons to a 7 iron?
The long and the short of it is that when you reduce the length of your irons to a 7 iron length (in the case of the irons longer than a 7 iron), and lengthen the shafts on the 8 iron to the wedges to the 7 iron length you will affect swing speed generated by those clubs .
Can disadvantages be compensated for?
In my mind the disadvantages addressed in an earlier post can be compensated for, leaving only the advantages, which I would argue are so beneficial that a strong argument can be made at least putting the concept to the test as opposed to dismissing it out of hand.
Is dressing properly important in golf?
And while dressing properly is important, even more crucial is understanding how the cold affects your game — specifically your yardages.
Is winter golf a different brand?
Winter golf is a different brand of golf. Getty Images. Winter golf might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those that do choose to bundle up and brave the elements, it’s important to know how to play in the cold.
Why don't golfers improve?
Most golfers don’t really understand the golf swing. You watch golf and you practice and you play, but you don’t really understand the dynamics of what is really happening at 100 mph during the golf swing.
How wide is a golf ball?
The ball is 1.68 inches in diameter, and the functional striking area on a golf club is about 1.5-inches wide. If you vary in your setup by even 3/4 inch, you have imposed a serious obstacle to success. If you do nothing else to improve your golf game, learn how to set up the same way every time.
How far does a trackman carry?
The LPGA Tour Trackman data didn’t have numbers listed for a hybrid or 3-iron. Rather they listed a 7-wood carry distance of 174 yards.
What is the average loft of a golf club?
It’s not listed on the chart, but for your interest, the average GW/SW was 53.9 degrees and average LW or highest lofted club was 59.7 degrees.
How many yards per drive is the Senior Tour?
The Senior Tour numbers were calculated by taking the 2012 mean driving distance of 273.4 yards per drive on the Senior Tour and back-calculating the other numbers based on the PGA Tour’s average driving efficiency of 2.58 yards per mph of club head speed.
What is the first step in golf?
First the foundation , then the framing, roof, exterior walls, interior, paint, and trim. You can’t do one before the other. In golf, it all starts with the grip. If you do not hold the club properly, you’ll never accomplish a sound golf swing.
Is golf a hitting action?
This sounds simple, but the golf swing is not a hitting action: it’s a swinging action. The baseball hitter is just that, because the ball is in a different place every time – high, low, inside, outside, curve. He has to rely on quick eye-hand coordination.
How many yards does a golf driver carry?
A couple of issues come into play. With the driver each MPH of club head speed generates approximately 2.4 yards of carry if the swing speed is in the 110 MPH range. Just as a point of reference the average swing speed on the PGA Tour is 112 MPH, which translates into an average carry of 269 yards.
How many yards does a club head carry?
At lower swing speeds, around 90 miles per hour, each MPH of club head speed generates approximately 2.3 yards of carry. Again as a point of reference, the average swing speed on the LPGA is 94 miles per hour which works out to an average carry distance of 220 yards.
How far will a 6 iron fly?
Based on averages a one half-inch reduction in overall club length will result in the loss of 1.5 to 2 MPH of swing speed which means your 6 iron will carry 2.7 to 3.6 yards shorter at a length of 37 inches than it would at 37.5 inches. By the same token, an 8 iron which would normally play at 36.5 inches when extended to 37 inches will fly 2.7 to 3.6 yards further.
Ultimate Junior Golfer
I just finished my first professional gapping session yesterday on Trackman with a temperature of 85*F and an elevation of 550'. I went to the course today and hit the ball extremely well, but I was 10-15 yards short all day of the yardages determined yesterday. The temperature today was 60*F so I expected 6-8 yards difference but not 10-15.
DaveP043
I just finished my first professional gapping session yesterday on Trackman with a temperature of 85*F and an elevation of 550'. I went to the course today and hit the ball extremely well, but I was 10-15 yards short all day of the yardages determined yesterday. The temperature today was 60*F so I expected 6-8 yards difference but not 10-15.
Buffly
I just finished my first professional gapping session yesterday on Trackman with a temperature of 85*F and an elevation of 550'. I went to the course today and hit the ball extremely well, but I was 10-15 yards short all day of the yardages determined yesterday. The temperature today was 60*F so I expected 6-8 yards difference but not 10-15.
ejgaudette
Barometric pressure, humidity, and temperature all can affect carry yardages.
Johndrussell727
The ball is harder...well doesn't compress as well in cool temps. Even Phil uses a Callaway Supersoft on colder days.
DubiousPro
There are several videos out there that try to discuss this, but I felt this guy did a fairly thorough job.
DJ Mico
I was wondering the same thing. In the summer months in California's central valley where it's a dry heat in the high 90s and even touching triple digits, I was carrying my 54º wedge about 115 yards and averaging about 280 yards total distance with my driver.
How does altitude affect golf?
Hooking and slicing are reduced in severity due to altitude’s effect on the golf ball. A hook or slice is generated when the ball's spin axis is tilted and the lifting force pulls a little to the left or right (as a result of the golfer imparting some amount of sidespin to the ball) instead of straight up. Thus, instead of just holding the ball up against gravity, the lifting force also pulls to the side, creating the curved trajectory. If the lifting force is less due to lower air density, then the curvature will also be less. At 5,000 ft elevation, the air density is about 14% lower than at sea level, so the lifting force is also about 14% less and the hook or slice will curve about 14% less. It's easier to hit the ball straight, but it's harder to intentionally curve it.
Why does a golf ball fly at high altitudes?
The golf ball flies further in high altitudes mainly due to the change in air density, which decreases as elevation increases. Thinner air exerts less drag force on the ball. The ball moves more easily through the air and doesn't slow down as quickly as it flies, resulting in greater distance.
Why does the golf ball spin less?
Since the air is less dense at high altitudes, the spin has less effect on the ball's flight. The ball's spin generates a lifting force (like the wings of an airplane) as it moves through the air. The thinner the air, the smaller the lifting force. Thus, at higher elevations the trajectory is less influenced by lift, and thus has a "flatter" shape and a more glancing impact with the ground. This produces extra roll, which contributes to the increased distance but also makes it harder to hold the green, even though the spin is the same.
What is a hook in golf?
A hook or slice is generated when the ball's spin axis is tilted and the lifting force pulls a little to the left or right (as a result of the golfer imparting some amount of sidespin to the ball) instead of straight up.
Why does the ball spin less at higher elevations?
It is also sometimes said that the ball spins less at higher elevations. This is false. The amount of spin generated on a given shot is the result of a complicated physical interaction among the club's properties, the ball's properties, and the golfer's swing properties. These aren't going to be directly affected by elevation.
What is the effect of the spin of a ball on the trajectory of an airplane?
Thus, at higher elevations the trajectory is less influenced by lift, and thus has a "flatter" shape and a more glancing impact with the ground.
What is the lifting force of a 5,000 ft slice?
At 5,000 ft elevation, the air density is about 14% lower than at sea level, so the lifting force is also about 14% less and the hook or slice will curve about 14% less .
