Driver distance, scratch golfer
A scratch golfer carries a driver about 256 yards on the model, at 106 mph of club head speed, and totals 276 yards on a fairway landing. That is 19 yards behind the tour average of 275 yards at 113 mph.
The number
The handicap model puts a scratch golfer’s driver at 106 mph and swings every club at the same fraction of its tour speed, which gives the driver 106 mph. At that speed the smash factor is 1.46, the ball speed 155 mph, and the carry 256 yards: ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.65 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row. Roll on a fairway landing adds 8 percent, for 276 yards total.
The clubs either side
At scratch the 3 wood carries 30 yards less than the driver; nothing in the bag is longer.
The driver and its neighbours, scratch
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total | Against this club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver (this page) | 106 mph | 256 yards | 276 yards | 0 yards |
| 3 wood | 100 mph | 226 yards | 239 yards | -30 yards |
Against every handicap
The same club across the handicap steps. The spread from scratch to a 30 handicap is 76 yards of carry on the model, which is real but smaller than the spread in where the shots finish: the pattern around the number separates handicaps more than the number does.
Driver carry by handicap
| Handicap | Club head speed | Carry | Total | Against this page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch (this page) | 106 mph | 256 yards | 276 yards | 0 yards |
| 5 handicap | 101 mph | 242 yards | 262 yards | -13 yards |
| 10 handicap | 97 mph | 230 yards | 248 yards | -26 yards |
| 15 handicap | 92 mph | 217 yards | 234 yards | -39 yards |
| 20 handicap | 87 mph | 204 yards | 221 yards | -51 yards |
| 25 handicap | 82 mph | 192 yards | 207 yards | -64 yards |
| 30 handicap | 78 mph | 180 yards | 194 yards | -76 yards |
What the yards are worth
Scratch sits 19 yards behind the tour average with this club, which on the published fairway table costs about 0.08 of a stroke per approach played from that much further back.
On a 400 yard par 4 a driver of 276 yards leaves 124 yards, which the published fairway table prices at 2.86 strokes to hole out; ten more yards would leave 114 yards and 2.84, a difference of 0.03 before the approach is struck.
The bag at scratch
Every club at the same handicap, so the driver can be read against the rest of the set.
Every club for a scratch golfer
Driver speed 106 mph on the handicap model.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 106 mph | 256 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 | 127 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 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 a scratch golfer hit a driver?
What club head speed does a scratch golfer swing a driver at?
How far is scratch behind the tour with a driver?
Which clubs sit either side of the driver for a scratch golfer?
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 driver anchor scaled to the club head speed the handicap model gives a scratch golfer; the app replaces it with your own launch monitor carries.
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.