Gap wedge distance at 55 mph
A gap wedge swung at 55 mph carries about 80 yards and totals 82 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.12 and 62 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 81 mph and 124 yards of carry, so 55 mph sits -26 mph and -44 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 55 multiplied by 1.12 is 62 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.31 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 80 yards. Roll adds 2 percent on a fairway landing, for 82 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.05 below the tour value of 1.17 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.
Gap wedge carry around 55 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 mph | 1.10 | 50 mph | 65 yards | 66 yards |
| 50 mph | 1.11 | 56 mph | 72 yards | 74 yards |
| 55 mph (this page) | 1.12 | 62 mph | 80 yards | 82 yards |
| 60 mph | 1.13 | 68 mph | 89 yards | 90 yards |
| 65 mph | 1.14 | 74 mph | 97 yards | 99 yards |
What strike is worth
At 55 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 1 mph and carry by about 1 yards with a gap wedge. 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 gap wedge at 55 mph swings a driver at about 77 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about a 31 handicap on the handicap model and about age 73 on the age model. The bag below is every club at that fraction.
Every club at a 77 mph driver
Each club at 68 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 77 mph | 178 yards | 192 yards |
| 3 wood | 73 mph | 157 yards | 167 yards |
| 5 wood | 70 mph | 149 yards | 158 yards |
| Hybrid | 68 mph | 146 yards | 155 yards |
| 3 iron | 67 mph | 138 yards | 143 yards |
| 4 iron | 65 mph | 132 yards | 137 yards |
| 5 iron | 64 mph | 126 yards | 131 yards |
| 6 iron | 62 mph | 119 yards | 124 yards |
| 7 iron | 61 mph | 112 yards | 116 yards |
| 8 iron | 59 mph | 104 yards | 108 yards |
| 9 iron | 58 mph | 96 yards | 100 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 56 mph | 88 yards | 90 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 55 mph | 80 yards | 82 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 gap wedge 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 gap wedge 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 gap wedge go at 55 mph?
What ball speed does 55 mph produce with a gap wedge?
What driver speed goes with a 55 mph gap wedge?
How much more does a gap wedge go at 60 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 gap wedge anchor scaled to 55 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.