3 iron distance at 80 mph
A 3 iron swung at 80 mph carries about 169 yards and totals 176 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.41 and 113 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 98 mph and 212 yards of carry, so 80 mph sits -18 mph and -43 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 80 multiplied by 1.41 is 113 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.49 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 169 yards. Roll adds 4 percent on a fairway landing, for 176 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.04 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 80 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 mph | 1.39 | 98 mph | 146 yards | 151 yards |
| 75 mph | 1.40 | 105 mph | 157 yards | 163 yards |
| 80 mph (this page) | 1.41 | 113 mph | 169 yards | 176 yards |
| 85 mph | 1.42 | 121 mph | 181 yards | 188 yards |
| 90 mph | 1.43 | 129 mph | 193 yards | 200 yards |
What strike is worth
At 80 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 2 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 80 mph swings a driver at about 92 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about a 14 handicap on the handicap model and about age 27 on the age model. The bag below is every club at that fraction.
Every club at a 92 mph driver
Each club at 82 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 92 mph | 218 yards | 236 yards |
| 3 wood | 87 mph | 193 yards | 205 yards |
| 5 wood | 84 mph | 183 yards | 194 yards |
| Hybrid | 82 mph | 179 yards | 190 yards |
| 3 iron | 80 mph | 169 yards | 176 yards |
| 4 iron | 78 mph | 162 yards | 168 yards |
| 5 iron | 77 mph | 154 yards | 161 yards |
| 6 iron | 75 mph | 146 yards | 152 yards |
| 7 iron | 73 mph | 137 yards | 142 yards |
| 8 iron | 71 mph | 127 yards | 133 yards |
| 9 iron | 69 mph | 118 yards | 123 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 68 mph | 108 yards | 110 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 66 mph | 99 yards | 101 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 80 mph?
What ball speed does 80 mph produce with a 3 iron?
What driver speed goes with a 80 mph 3 iron?
How much more does a 3 iron go at 85 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 80 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.