3 iron distance at 70 mph
A 3 iron swung at 70 mph carries about 146 yards and totals 151 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.39 and 98 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 98 mph and 212 yards of carry, so 70 mph sits -28 mph and -66 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 70 multiplied by 1.39 is 98 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.49 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 146 yards. Roll adds 4 percent on a fairway landing, for 151 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.06 below the tour value of 1.45 because the model eases strike quality by 0.01 for every 5 mph below the tour speed.
Speeds either side
The same club 5 and 10 mph either side, which is the range a golfer moves through across a season.
3 iron carry around 70 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 mph | 1.37 | 82 mph | 123 yards | 128 yards |
| 65 mph | 1.38 | 90 mph | 134 yards | 140 yards |
| 70 mph (this page) | 1.39 | 98 mph | 146 yards | 151 yards |
| 75 mph | 1.40 | 105 mph | 157 yards | 163 yards |
| 80 mph | 1.41 | 113 mph | 169 yards | 176 yards |
What strike is worth
At 70 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 1 mph and carry by about 2 yards with a 3 iron. Speed is the expensive way to add distance; strike is the cheap one, and a launch monitor session shows which of the two is limiting yours.
The rest of the bag
A golfer who swings a 3 iron at 70 mph swings a driver at about 81 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about a 27 handicap on the handicap model and about age 62 on the age model. The bag below is every club at that fraction.
Every club at a 81 mph driver
Each club at 71 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 81 mph | 188 yards | 203 yards |
| 3 wood | 76 mph | 166 yards | 176 yards |
| 5 wood | 74 mph | 158 yards | 167 yards |
| Hybrid | 71 mph | 154 yards | 164 yards |
| 3 iron | 70 mph | 146 yards | 151 yards |
| 4 iron | 69 mph | 139 yards | 145 yards |
| 5 iron | 67 mph | 133 yards | 139 yards |
| 6 iron | 66 mph | 126 yards | 131 yards |
| 7 iron | 64 mph | 118 yards | 123 yards |
| 8 iron | 62 mph | 110 yards | 114 yards |
| 9 iron | 61 mph | 102 yards | 106 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 59 mph | 93 yards | 95 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 58 mph | 85 yards | 87 yards |
The gap wedge row continues the pitching wedge trend and is labeled modeled; every other row is the published tour anchor scaled to the speed.
In PinFlag
Import a launch monitor session and PinFlag turns your 3 iron into a pattern of your own carries, labeled Measured, that stands behind every target you price on the course. Shot Cloud draws the real shots around the spot you are considering, on the hole in front of you, so a tucked pin is compared with the middle of the green on your real spread, not a single yardage.
Every shot you log with the 3 iron on the course records the target and the result, so the pattern keeps growing from real rounds, and Insights shows the club’s proximity, the shots it cost and the shots it won across a season.
Frequently asked questions
How far does a 3 iron go at 70 mph?
What ball speed does 70 mph produce with a 3 iron?
What driver speed goes with a 70 mph 3 iron?
How much more does a 3 iron go at 75 mph?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- PGA TOUR statistics
- Golf simulator and launch monitor, Wikipedia
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: The carry is the published tour 3 iron anchor scaled to 70 mph with smash factor easing below the tour speed; the driver, handicap and age mappings follow the models stated on the page.
Get PinFlag for iPhone
PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.