5 iron distance at 85 mph
A 5 iron swung at 85 mph carries about 173 yards and totals 180 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.39 and 118 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 94 mph and 194 yards of carry, so 85 mph sits -9 mph and -21 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 85 multiplied by 1.39 is 118 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.47 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 173 yards. Roll adds 4 percent on a fairway landing, for 180 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.02 below the tour value of 1.40 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.
5 iron carry around 85 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 mph | 1.37 | 102 mph | 151 yards | 157 yards |
| 80 mph | 1.38 | 110 mph | 162 yards | 168 yards |
| 85 mph (this page) | 1.39 | 118 mph | 173 yards | 180 yards |
| 90 mph | 1.40 | 126 mph | 185 yards | 192 yards |
| 95 mph | 1.40 | 133 mph | 196 yards | 204 yards |
What strike is worth
At 85 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 2 mph and carry by about 2 yards with a 5 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 5 iron at 85 mph swings a driver at about 102 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about a 4 handicap 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 102 mph driver
Each club at 90 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 102 mph | 245 yards | 265 yards |
| 3 wood | 97 mph | 217 yards | 230 yards |
| 5 wood | 93 mph | 205 yards | 218 yards |
| Hybrid | 90 mph | 201 yards | 213 yards |
| 3 iron | 89 mph | 189 yards | 197 yards |
| 4 iron | 87 mph | 181 yards | 188 yards |
| 5 iron | 85 mph | 173 yards | 180 yards |
| 6 iron | 83 mph | 163 yards | 170 yards |
| 7 iron | 81 mph | 154 yards | 160 yards |
| 8 iron | 79 mph | 143 yards | 149 yards |
| 9 iron | 77 mph | 132 yards | 137 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 75 mph | 121 yards | 124 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 73 mph | 111 yards | 113 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 5 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 5 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 5 iron go at 85 mph?
What ball speed does 85 mph produce with a 5 iron?
What driver speed goes with a 85 mph 5 iron?
How much more does a 5 iron go at 90 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 5 iron anchor scaled to 85 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.