4 iron distance at 90 mph
A 4 iron swung at 90 mph carries about 189 yards and totals 196 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.42 and 127 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 96 mph and 203 yards of carry, so 90 mph sits -6 mph and -14 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 90 multiplied by 1.42 is 127 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.48 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 189 yards. Roll adds 4 percent on a fairway landing, for 196 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.01 below the tour value of 1.43 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.
4 iron carry around 90 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mph | 1.40 | 112 mph | 165 yards | 172 yards |
| 85 mph | 1.41 | 119 mph | 177 yards | 184 yards |
| 90 mph (this page) | 1.42 | 127 mph | 189 yards | 196 yards |
| 95 mph | 1.43 | 135 mph | 201 yards | 209 yards |
| 100 mph | 1.43 | 143 mph | 211 yards | 220 yards |
What strike is worth
At 90 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 2 mph and carry by about 3 yards with a 4 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 4 iron at 90 mph swings a driver at about 106 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about scratch on the handicap model and above the peak the age model gives a golfer in their twenties. The bag below is every club at that fraction.
Every club at a 106 mph driver
Each club at 94 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 106 mph | 255 yards | 276 yards |
| 3 wood | 100 mph | 226 yards | 239 yards |
| 5 wood | 97 mph | 214 yards | 227 yards |
| Hybrid | 94 mph | 209 yards | 222 yards |
| 3 iron | 92 mph | 197 yards | 205 yards |
| 4 iron | 90 mph | 189 yards | 196 yards |
| 5 iron | 88 mph | 180 yards | 188 yards |
| 6 iron | 86 mph | 170 yards | 177 yards |
| 7 iron | 84 mph | 160 yards | 166 yards |
| 8 iron | 82 mph | 149 yards | 155 yards |
| 9 iron | 80 mph | 138 yards | 143 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 78 mph | 126 yards | 129 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 76 mph | 115 yards | 118 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 4 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 4 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 4 iron go at 90 mph?
What ball speed does 90 mph produce with a 4 iron?
What driver speed goes with a 90 mph 4 iron?
How much more does a 4 iron go at 95 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 4 iron anchor scaled to 90 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.