Golf at 105 mph swing speed
A driver swung at 105 mph carries about 253 yards and totals 273 yards on the published tour table, with 153 mph of ball speed at a smash factor of 1.46. At the same fraction of tour speed a 7 iron carries 158 yards. The speed maps to about a 1 handicap on the handicap model and above the peak the age model gives a golfer in their twenties; 5 mph more is worth about 14 yards of carry.
Driver at 105 mph
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 105 multiplied by 1.46 is 153 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by 1.65 yards per mile per hour, the driver’s ratio from the published tour row: 253 yards. Roll adds 8 percent on a fairway landing, for 273 yards total. The smash factor sits below the tour value of 1.48 because the model eases strike quality by 0.01 for every 5 mph below the tour speed of 113 mph.
Every club at 105 mph
A golfer who swings a driver at 105 mph swings every club at 93 percent of its tour speed on the model, which is the fraction the table applies.
The bag at a 105 mph driver
| Club | Club head speed | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 105 mph | 153 mph | 253 yards | 273 yards |
| 3 wood | 99 mph | 145 mph | 223 yards | 237 yards |
| 5 wood | 96 mph | 140 mph | 212 yards | 224 yards |
| Hybrid | 93 mph | 134 mph | 207 yards | 219 yards |
| 3 iron | 91 mph | 131 mph | 195 yards | 203 yards |
| 4 iron | 89 mph | 126 mph | 187 yards | 194 yards |
| 5 iron | 87 mph | 121 mph | 179 yards | 186 yards |
| 6 iron | 85 mph | 117 mph | 168 yards | 175 yards |
| 7 iron | 84 mph | 110 mph | 158 yards | 165 yards |
| 8 iron | 81 mph | 106 mph | 147 yards | 153 yards |
| 9 iron | 79 mph | 100 mph | 136 yards | 142 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 77 mph | 94 mph | 125 yards | 128 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 75 mph | 87 mph | 114 yards | 116 yards |
Where 105 mph sits
The handicap model puts a scratch driver at 106 mph and takes 0.95 mph off per stroke, so 105 mph is about a 1 handicap on the handicap model. The age model anchors 92 mph to a 15 handicap at 30 and eases 0.35 mph a year after that, so 105 mph is above the peak the age model gives a golfer in their twenties. Both are models of the average; the spread around the speed is where handicaps actually differ.
Five mph more
At 110 mph the driver carries 267 yards, 14 yards more. On a 400 yard par 4 that turns a 127 yards approach into a 112 yards one, which the published fairway table prices at 0.04 of a stroke before the iron is struck.
Speed against accuracy
Speed is worth strokes only when the ball stays in play. A drive into the rough costs about 0.25 of a stroke against the fairway at 150 yards on the published table, roughly what fifteen yards of carry buys back, and a penalty costs close to two. The number that decides a tee shot is the dispersion around the speed, drawn on the hole.
In PinFlag
A launch monitor session gives PinFlag your club head speed, ball speed and carry for every swing, which is a better input than any model: the carry that stands behind every driver decision on the course becomes yours, labeled Measured, and Shot Cloud draws your real drives around the target so speed and spread are priced together on the hole.
Frequently asked questions
How far does a 105 mph swing speed hit a driver?
What handicap swings 105 mph?
How far does a 7 iron go at a 105 mph driver speed?
What ball speed does 105 mph produce?
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 carries are the published tour anchors scaled to 105 mph with smash factor easing below the tour speed; the handicap and age mappings are 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.