Trackman Data: PGA Tour vs. LPGA (With 2017 Data!

[iacas]

Edit: go here now for the latest data as of February, 2022:

Edit: Updated data for 2013.

Edit #2: Updated Data for 2017

ClSd - Clubhead Speed
BlSd - Ball Speed
AoA - Angle of Attack
VLa - Vertical Launch Angle
Spin - Spin Rate (total)
MH - Maximum Height of Ball (yards)
Carry - Carry (yards)

/uploads/imageproxy/trackman_pga_vs_lpga_data.jpg.e2e68a5b8b48e9df154bd3e33b9442c7.jpg

[Fatphil]

I think the math is wrong on the pga driver & 3 wood smash factor but nevertheless it's interesting to see the LPGA...absolutley possibe to have a+ hndp w/ a low 90 driver club head speed. ha ha there is hope!!

[plugged]

Very interesting. I would like to see how the GIR and fairways hit percentages compare.

[Leftygolfer]

The thing that stands out to me is the attack angle particularly with the driver. I am surprised they don't hit down on it as much with the shorter clubs as well. I wonder if it takes more speed to get through the turf so men can take bigger divots?? Not really sure, just a thought. Other than that it is what I would expect. More speed and spin for the boys, they both hit it very solid.

[Quinn07]

Looks like I am going to have to get my PW swing speed up so I can hang with the big boys...everything else is dead on with my stats!

[laxbballgolf]

Very interesting, thanks for posting. Things I found interesting:

1.) The guys hit their drivers with a slight descending strike on average.
2.) The max height floats around 30 yards for every club in the bag.
3.) Carry distances are somewhat shorter than announcers on TV tend to make them seem. (And for the ladies wow that is pretty short!)

[Leftygolfer]

That is pretty amazing that they hit a 3 iron as high as wedge IMO. Maybe it is my visual perception but rarely do I hit a long iron that appears to go as high as a wedge. It does hit its peak much farther away but I am pretty sure even my best long iron doesn't fly as high as a wedge.

[Tiger Spuds]

  laxbballgolf said:

3.) Carry distances are somewhat shorter than announcers on TV tend to make them seem. (And for the ladies wow that is pretty short!)

Was thinking that too.I initially thought that might be wrong.But trackman can't be wrong.. How much roll would you expect to add onto that?

[Zeph]

It is the average. On tournaments we often see the best players, many who hit it pretty far. On approach shots or par 3s, they have little or no roll, sometimes backspin. On one par 3 there can be 3 clubs difference from a power hitter to a guy like Furyk or Stricker.

[plugged]

My carry distances are almost exactly half-way between a LPGA and PGA player. I consider that pretty good.

[mrt10x]

All i can say is that my numbers would be extremely competitive... I had no idea.... this is really encouraging... I think I have a future on the tour.....

Anyone know the number of a good sex change doctor????

[plugged]

  None said:

Anyone know the number of a good sex change doctor????

20 years ago on the LPGA you wouldn't need one.

[Shanks A Million]

  Leftygolfer said:

That is pretty amazing that they hit a 3 iron as high as wedge IMO. Maybe it is my visual perception but rarely do I hit a long iron that appears to go as high as a wedge. It does hit its peak much farther away but I am pretty sure even my best long iron doesn't fly as high as a wedge.

I hit my long irons as high as my wedges, or nearly as high. I think it's all about technique. I intentionally loft my long irons as high as I possibly can, while keeping the wedges farther back in the stance. I think the tour players do that so they can hold greens with long irons, which is also why I do it.

I come close to the mens average, but a little lower in most respects. The clubhead speed is about the same, but smash factor, ballspeed, and carry distance for me are lower, launch angle is higher, difference is, of course, consistency and avoiding the blow ups.

[joepro23]

Great data. I am right around the average PGA player with driver clubhead speed, but I can't compare other clubs and categories of data since I haven't been in front of a launch monitor for anything other than the big stick. I would love to see my data under the Trackman.

While I knew there was a big difference regarding clubhead speed for PGA and LPGA, I did not realize there was such a disparity in the attack angles. I was really surprised to see the average LPGA player hits their driver on an ascending blow (if that's what +3 degrees attack angle means). The 30-yard max height for all clubs was a little surprising at first, but I guess that is probably due to visual perception of the hitter since the 3-iron reaches its max height much further away than the PW does (as leftygolfer eluded to). I do hit my long irons pretty high as well.

[Greg]

My numbers are very similar to the LPGA numbers as far as carry distances, probably that 220 carry with the driver probably equates to about 240-245 total distance, which would be a great drive for me, and about 220 for 3 wood, again about what i get with good contact, and so on, down through all the irons. Its just that they hit them much more accurately than I do, hitting greens, that make them much better players than me.

[Randy4h]

This info is really interesting. First, that all clubs from PW through Driver reach almost the same elevation. At first, I thought that must be impossible, but then I took a look at the launch angles of the short irons.

If I am interpreting the data correctly, it goes like this: Say my PW has 48 degrees of loft. If I hit it at exactly the bottom of my swing and perfectly horizontal (no delofting) the launch angle would be 48 degrees, right? OK, so the PGA tour guys hit their PWs on a -5 degree angle of attack. Sounds about right, they hit the ball before the bottom of their swing. What is amazing to me is that, in order to get a launch angle of 24 degrees, they have to deloft their PW 19 degrees at impact! Basically, they turn their PW into a 6 or 7 iron at impact.

Am I missing something here?

[Shanks A Million]

  Randy4h said:

This info is really interesting. First, that all clubs from PW through Driver reach almost the same elevation. At first, I thought that must be impossible, but then I took a look at the launch angles of the short irons.

Yes, something big. The loft angle is not equal to the launch angle. The direction of force also plays a role in the launch angle. If a 48° pitching wedge hit the ball perfectly square, with no delofting, at a 0° attack angle, the launch angle would only be about 33°. That number also depends on other factors, like characteristic time.

This chart really makes you laugh at the threads like "how far do you hit your driver." The best players in the world, generating 112 mph of clubhead speed somehow hit it shorter than the members of this forum.

[Randy4h]

[QUOTE=Shanks A Million;416173]Yes, something big. The loft angle is not equal to the launch angle. The direction of force also plays a role in the launch angle. If a 48° pitching wedge hit the ball perfectly square, with no delofting, at a 0° attack angle, the launch angle would only be about 33°. That number also depends on other factors, like characteristic time.

OK, this is interesting stuff. I'm not familiar with the term "charactertistic time". Does that refer to the time the ball is compressed against the clubface?

You are right that I did not consider that just the mere force of impact will cause both the ball and the shaft to deform.