Driver distance
A driver carries about 275 yards at the tour average club head speed of 113 mph, 256 yards for a scratch golfer and 217 yards for a 15 handicap on the published tour table scaled by speed. Each 1 mph of club head speed is worth about 2.80 yards of carry with this club.
At tour speed
The anchor row for the driver is the published tour average: 113 mph of club head speed, 167 mph of ball speed, a smash factor of 1.48 and 275 yards of carry, which rolls to about 297 yards on a fairway landing. Carry is ball speed multiplied by 1.65 yards per mile per hour, the club’s own ratio from that row, and ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor.
By swing speed
Slower swings strike the ball a little less cleanly, so the model eases smash factor by 0.01 for every 5 mph below the tour speed, floored at 90 percent of the tour value. The table runs the driver from 75 mph to 120 mph; each row has its own page with the rest of the bag at the same speed.
Driver carry by club head speed
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 mph | 1.40 | 105 mph | 173 yards | 187 yards |
| 80 mph | 1.41 | 113 mph | 186 yards | 201 yards |
| 85 mph | 1.42 | 121 mph | 199 yards | 215 yards |
| 90 mph | 1.43 | 129 mph | 212 yards | 229 yards |
| 95 mph | 1.44 | 137 mph | 226 yards | 244 yards |
| 100 mph | 1.45 | 145 mph | 239 yards | 258 yards |
| 105 mph | 1.46 | 153 mph | 253 yards | 273 yards |
| 110 mph | 1.47 | 162 mph | 267 yards | 288 yards |
| 115 mph | 1.48 | 170 mph | 280 yards | 302 yards |
| 120 mph | 1.48 | 177 mph | 292 yards | 315 yards |
By handicap
The handicap model ties driver speed to handicap (106 mph for scratch, less 0.95 mph per stroke) and swings every club at the same fraction of its tour speed. The last column prices the yards behind scratch on the published fairway table: every approach played from that much further back than a 150 yard reference.
Driver carry by handicap
| Handicap | Club head speed | Carry | Total | Behind scratch | Cost per approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch | 106 mph | 256 yards | 276 yards | 0 yards | 0.00 |
| 5 handicap | 101 mph | 242 yards | 262 yards | 13 yards | 0.05 |
| 10 handicap | 97 mph | 230 yards | 248 yards | 26 yards | 0.11 |
| 15 handicap | 92 mph | 217 yards | 234 yards | 39 yards | 0.18 |
| 20 handicap | 87 mph | 204 yards | 221 yards | 51 yards | 0.25 |
| 25 handicap | 82 mph | 192 yards | 207 yards | 64 yards | 0.33 |
| 30 handicap | 78 mph | 180 yards | 194 yards | 76 yards | 0.40 |
By age
The age model peaks club head speed in the twenties and eases it by decade, anchored to a 15 handicap at 30. A driver at 20 carries 213 yards on the model; at 60 it carries 189 yards, 24 yards shorter.
Driver carry by age
| Age | Club head speed | Carry | Total | Behind the peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 90 mph | 213 yards | 230 yards | 0 yards |
| 30 | 92 mph | 217 yards | 234 yards | -4 yards |
| 40 | 88 mph | 208 yards | 224 yards | 5 yards |
| 50 | 85 mph | 198 yards | 214 yards | 15 yards |
| 60 | 81 mph | 189 yards | 204 yards | 24 yards |
| 70 | 78 mph | 180 yards | 195 yards | 33 yards |
The clubs either side
For a 15 handicap the 3 wood carries 192 yards, 25 yards less than the driver. Nothing in the model sits above the driver, so the top of the bag is decided by speed alone.
On a 400 yard par 4 a driver of 234 yards leaves 166 yards, which the published fairway table prices at 3.01 strokes to hole out; ten more yards would leave 156 yards and 2.97, a difference of 0.04 before the approach is struck.
Every page for this club
The driver at each handicap, each swing speed and each age, each with the whole bag at the same setting.
- Driver, scratch
- Driver, 5 handicap
- Driver, 10 handicap
- Driver, 15 handicap
- Driver, 20 handicap
- Driver, 25 handicap
- Driver, 30 handicap
- Driver at 85 mph
- Driver at 90 mph
- Driver at 95 mph
- Driver at 100 mph
- Driver at 105 mph
- Driver at 110 mph
- Driver at 115 mph
- Driver at age 20
- Driver at age 30
- Driver at age 40
- Driver at age 50
- Driver at age 60
- Driver at age 70
In PinFlag
Import a launch monitor session and PinFlag turns your driver 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 the share of your drives that reaches the water or the rough is a picture of your own game.
Every shot you log with the driver 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 the average golfer hit a driver?
What is the tour average driver distance?
How far does a driver go at 100 mph?
How far does a 60 year old hit a driver?
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 driver figures are the published tour ball speed and carry anchor scaled by club head speed, with the handicap and age models stated on the page; your own launch monitor session replaces them in the app.
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.