6 Iron swing speed

mst_coastie · October 23, 2009

I was just at golfsmith looking for a new set of irons. My swing speed was 85mph and 90 when I was getting after it. How is that speed? How does it stack up to the pros? (I know stupid question but I was just wondering)

**verse214** · October 23, 2009

I was just at golfsmith looking for a new set of irons. My swing speed was 85mph and 90 when I was getting after it. How is that speed? How does it stack up to the pros? (I know stupid question but I was just wondering)

85-90 is actually right around average - unless you take into consideration everyone in the other "6-iron swing speed" thread with SS's of well over 100.

85-90 is healthy

**Travtex** · October 23, 2009

Yeah, it's tough to base your comparison by the people on this forum. They are generally the Power Studs of the Golfing Universe and most of them average 300+ yards carry with their drivers, so it can make mere mortals feel a bit inferior.

Last time I was in a monitor, my swing speeds with a six iron clustered around 78-83mph -- It probably wasn't too accurate, as it was set on 'Driver'. I don't know what, if anything, that does to how the computer analyzes things.

I'm an athletic mid-thirties average sized dude, but my swing is developing into a fairly controlled/stable pattern rather than a swing out of my shoes blast. I carry a six iron about 160 or so.

**bunkerputt** · October 23, 2009

I was just at golfsmith looking for a new set of irons. My swing speed was 85mph and 90 when I was getting after it. How is that speed? How does it stack up to the pros? (I know stupid question but I was just wondering)

85 to 90 is above average. I was on the same monitors at golfsmith and carried 191 with a swing speed of 93 with a good aggressive swing. I'm 6'3, around 225, and workout around 4 times a week with lots of core and medicine ball work. Really going after it brought it up to 102. My buddy who is a personal trainer and carries driver around 300 was slightly lower at around 90. His carry was even better because his launch angle and spin were a bit better than mine. I've found I get a lot more control around 85 with some pretty good distance.

For additional reference, I used a couple of swing speed measuring devices and maxed out at around 110 on both without a ball. I don't think I could have actually made contact swinging like that. I have no clue how my sequencing went, but it felt upper-body dominated. I don't know what a pro average is, but I'd bet it's around 85. I'm sure they could swing harder, but they have a bad habit of making good decisions with their shots

Don't worry about how fast you can swing so much. Everybody can swing faster if they try harder. Try to get the launch numbers better. For a 6-iron, I get a lot of distance at around 19* launch with 4200 RPM spin. It doesn't take a hard swing to put up those numbers and you can carry more endurance throughout the round.

**lugonza_2001** · October 24, 2009

I use a little device to measure my swing speed. With a 6 iron i average about 88 mph. I have gone up to 104 with a 3 wood when swinging hard but still under control.
However as you have been told, quality ball contact and launch angle will determine yor distance.
Mine is quite short i believe (155 yards - 6 iron).

**Anpe** · January 9, 2014

The last time I tested my 6 iron swing speed I recorded 94mph (low) and 97mph (high) average distance was 196yards. Don't know how that stacks up but hitting the long ball has never been my problem. I need to focus on putting and chipping. ;)

**PirateJim** · January 9, 2014

I was swinging a 6 iron at Golfsmith yesterday and the monitor said 86. I only noticed really because it jumped out at me as being high, I'm usually closer to 80, so I expect the gizmo was out of calibration or something. There was no reason for that club to have been swinging that much faster than my usual. I do NOT have the swing speed of a pro and blissfully never will.

**jclark** · January 9, 2014

Swing speed doesnt mean crap if you can't hit the middle of the face.

**nevets88** · January 9, 2014

Swing speed doesnt mean crap if you can't hit the middle of the face.

I notice I lose a lot of distance with toe hits and high on the face (not fat.) Anyone quantify off center hits and distance lost? I'd be interested in max distance lost off center hit.

**jclark** · January 9, 2014

Isnt that essentially what smash factor is? Center contact? My buddy can swing faster than anyone I know but he couldnt hit anywhere close to the center of the face to save his life.

**billchao** · January 9, 2014

Isnt that essentially what smash factor is? Center contact? My buddy can swing faster than anyone I know but he couldnt hit anywhere close to the center of the face to save his life.

Not exactly. It's technically just ball speed divided by clubhead speed and measures how efficiently the club's energy is transferred to the ball. There is a strong correlation between smash factor and centeredness of contact, which is why most people assume smash factor is a measurement of centered contact. I think that there are optimal smash factors, depending on the club being used, and that you can get too high a smash factor for a given club and not play very well, either, but I don't want to get too far over my head, here.

You are right that swing speed is not the only important variable. Most of us hacks would actually gain more distance by swinging slower and hitting the center of the clubface.

**jclark** · January 9, 2014

Ball speed is a direct consequence of quality of hit on clubface.(obviously swing speed too) So I would say smash factor is directly related to quality of contact. And I think the average tour player has a smash factor of 1.48. Having a too high smash factor is probably not a swing fault but an equipment fault. So to conclude you say Smash factor is a measurement of how effectively you transfer club head energy to the ball which you cannot do without center contact.

***iacas*** · January 9, 2014

Ball speed is a direct consequence of quality of hit on clubface.(obviously swing speed too) So I would say smash factor is directly related to quality of contact. And I think the average tour player has a smash factor of 1.48. Having a too high smash factor is probably not a swing fault but an equipment fault. So to conclude you say Smash factor is a measurement of how effectively you transfer club head energy to the ball which you cannot do without center contact.

With a driver. Smash factor decreases as spin loft increases.

**jclark** · January 9, 2014

With a driver. Smash factor decreases as spin loft increases.

Because the loft (angle of the face) causes a less compressing/ glancing blow???

***iacas*** · January 9, 2014

Because the loft (angle of the face) causes a less compressing/ glancing blow???

More loft results in less deformation*, yes.

Pedantic, I know, but the golf ball doesn't really compress, it deforms. I switched up saying "compression" for "deformation" about 12-18 months ago. :D

**jclark** · January 9, 2014

More loft results in less deformation*, yes. [SPOILER=*]Pedantic, I know, but the golf ball doesn't really compress, it deforms. I switched up saying "compression" for "deformation" about 12-18 months ago. :D[/SPOILER]

I had to do a little research on my own with this statement...... I had to look up what pedantic meant :-)

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6 Iron swing speed

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