Gap wedge distance at 70 mph
A gap wedge swung at 70 mph carries about 105 yards and totals 107 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.15 and 81 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 81 mph and 124 yards of carry, so 70 mph sits -11 mph and -19 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 70 multiplied by 1.15 is 81 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.31 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 105 yards. Roll adds 2 percent on a fairway landing, for 107 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.02 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 70 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 mph | 1.13 | 68 mph | 89 yards | 90 yards |
| 65 mph | 1.14 | 74 mph | 97 yards | 99 yards |
| 70 mph (this page) | 1.15 | 81 mph | 105 yards | 107 yards |
| 75 mph | 1.16 | 87 mph | 114 yards | 116 yards |
| 80 mph | 1.17 | 94 mph | 122 yards | 125 yards |
What strike is worth
At 70 mph a strike that moves smash factor by 0.02 moves ball speed by 1 mph and carry by about 2 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 70 mph swings a driver at about 98 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about a 9 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 98 mph driver
Each club at 86 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 98 mph | 233 yards | 251 yards |
| 3 wood | 92 mph | 206 yards | 218 yards |
| 5 wood | 89 mph | 195 yards | 207 yards |
| Hybrid | 86 mph | 191 yards | 202 yards |
| 3 iron | 85 mph | 180 yards | 187 yards |
| 4 iron | 83 mph | 172 yards | 179 yards |
| 5 iron | 81 mph | 165 yards | 171 yards |
| 6 iron | 80 mph | 155 yards | 161 yards |
| 7 iron | 78 mph | 146 yards | 152 yards |
| 8 iron | 75 mph | 136 yards | 141 yards |
| 9 iron | 73 mph | 126 yards | 131 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 72 mph | 115 yards | 118 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 70 mph | 105 yards | 107 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 70 mph?
What ball speed does 70 mph produce with a gap wedge?
What driver speed goes with a 70 mph gap wedge?
How much more does a gap wedge go at 75 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 70 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.