Golf at 120 mph swing speed
A driver swung at 120 mph carries about 292 yards and totals 315 yards on the published tour table, with 177 mph of ball speed at a smash factor of 1.48. At the same fraction of tour speed a 7 iron carries 183 yards. The speed maps to faster than the scratch anchor of 106 mph, into plus handicap territory and above the peak the age model gives a golfer in their twenties; 5 mph more is worth about 12 yards of carry.
Driver at 120 mph
Ball speed is club head speed multiplied by smash factor: 120 multiplied by 1.48 is 177 mph. Carry is ball speed multiplied by 1.65 yards per mile per hour, the driver’s ratio from the published tour row: 292 yards. Roll adds 8 percent on a fairway landing, for 315 yards total. At or above the tour speed the model keeps the tour smash factor.
Every club at 120 mph
A golfer who swings a driver at 120 mph swings every club at 106 percent of its tour speed on the model, which is the fraction the table applies.
The bag at a 120 mph driver
| Club | Club head speed | Ball speed | Carry | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 120 mph | 177 mph | 292 yards | 315 yards |
| 3 wood | 114 mph | 168 mph | 258 yards | 274 yards |
| 5 wood | 109 mph | 161 mph | 244 yards | 259 yards |
| Hybrid | 106 mph | 155 mph | 239 yards | 253 yards |
| 3 iron | 104 mph | 151 mph | 225 yards | 234 yards |
| 4 iron | 102 mph | 145 mph | 216 yards | 224 yards |
| 5 iron | 100 mph | 140 mph | 206 yards | 214 yards |
| 6 iron | 98 mph | 135 mph | 194 yards | 202 yards |
| 7 iron | 96 mph | 127 mph | 183 yards | 190 yards |
| 8 iron | 92 mph | 122 mph | 170 yards | 177 yards |
| 9 iron | 90 mph | 116 mph | 157 yards | 163 yards |
| Pitching wedge | 88 mph | 108 mph | 144 yards | 147 yards |
| Gap wedge (modeled) | 86 mph | 101 mph | 132 yards | 134 yards |
Where 120 mph sits
The handicap model puts a scratch driver at 106 mph and takes 0.95 mph off per stroke, so 120 mph is faster than the scratch anchor of 106 mph, into plus handicap territory. The age model anchors 92 mph to a 15 handicap at 30 and eases 0.35 mph a year after that, so 120 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 125 mph the driver carries 304 yards, 12 yards more. On a 400 yard par 4 that turns a 85 yards approach into a 71 yards one, which the published fairway table prices at 0.03 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 120 mph swing speed hit a driver?
What handicap swings 120 mph?
How far does a 7 iron go at a 120 mph driver speed?
What ball speed does 120 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 120 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.