Pitching wedge distance at 70 mph
A pitching wedge swung at 70 mph carries about 112 yards and totals 115 yards on the published tour table, with a smash factor of 1.20 and 84 mph of ball speed. The tour average for the club is 83 mph and 136 yards of carry, so 70 mph sits -13 mph and -24 yards from it.
The number
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 70 multiplied by 1.20 is 84 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by the club’s 1.33 yards per mile per hour from the published tour row: 112 yards. Roll adds 2 percent on a fairway landing, for 115 yards total. The smash factor sits 0.03 below the tour value of 1.23 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.
Pitching wedge carry around 70 mph
| Club head speed | Smash factor | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 mph | 1.18 | 71 mph | 95 yards | 97 yards |
| 65 mph | 1.19 | 78 mph | 103 yards | 105 yards |
| 70 mph (this page) | 1.20 | 84 mph | 112 yards | 115 yards |
| 75 mph | 1.21 | 91 mph | 121 yards | 124 yards |
| 80 mph | 1.22 | 98 mph | 130 yards | 133 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 pitching 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 pitching wedge at 70 mph swings a driver at about 95 mph on the model, since every club runs at the same fraction of its tour speed. That driver speed maps to about an 11 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 95 mph driver
Each club at 84 percent of its tour speed.
| Club | Club head speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 95 mph | 226 yards | 244 yards |
| 3 wood | 90 mph | 200 yards | 212 yards |
| 5 wood | 87 mph | 190 yards | 201 yards |
| Hybrid | 84 mph | 186 yards | 197 yards |
| 3 iron | 83 mph | 175 yards | 182 yards |
| 4 iron | 81 mph | 168 yards | 174 yards |
| 5 iron | 79 mph | 160 yards | 167 yards |
| 6 iron | 78 mph | 151 yards | 157 yards |
| 7 iron | 76 mph | 142 yards | 148 yards |
| 8 iron | 73 mph | 132 yards | 137 yards |
| 9 iron | 72 mph | 122 yards | 127 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 70 mph | 112 yards | 115 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 68 mph | 102 yards | 104 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 pitching 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 pitching 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 pitching wedge go at 70 mph?
What ball speed does 70 mph produce with a pitching wedge?
What driver speed goes with a 70 mph pitching wedge?
How much more does a pitching 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 pitching 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.