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18 September 2026 · 8 min read

Club speed: the table by handicap, how to measure it and what one more mph is worth

Club speed is the one number everyone wants to know and hardly anyone knows. Here it is, by handicap and gender, from TrackMan's data, and with it the question of whether more of it really flies further.

Club speed: the table by handicap, how to measure it and what one more mph is worth — post image

On the range nobody asks about your spin. Everyone asks about speed. Club speed is the speed of the club head just before impact, measured in miles per hour because the measuring devices come from the United States. Here are the numbers TrackMan publishes from its measurements, and what they mean for your game.

The table: driver

TrackMan gives these averages for the driver on its page about club speed (trackman.com):

  • PGA Tour: 115 mph, about 185 km/h
  • LPGA Tour: 96 mph, about 154 km/h
  • Men, scratch or better: 110 mph
  • Men, 5 handicap: 101 mph
  • Men, 10 handicap: 95 mph
  • Men, average (14.5 handicap): 94 mph, about 151 km/h
  • Women, scratch or better: 90 mph
  • Women, 5 handicap: 87 mph
  • Women, 10 handicap: 83 mph
  • Women, 15 handicap: 79 mph, about 127 km/h

Two things stand out. First: between the average golfer and the tour lie 21 mph, between him and a scratch player 16. Second: between a 10 handicap and a 14.5 handicap lies a single mph. Past a certain point it is not speed that decides the handicap, it is the strike.

What one mph is worth

TrackMan's arithmetic: one more mph of club speed brings up to three yards, about 2.7 metres, of driver distance. Ten more mph are therefore up to 27 metres, if everything else stays the same. Everything else rarely stays the same. Whoever swings faster usually strikes less centred, and the ball then does not fly further, only faster into the trees.

What really accelerates the ball is ball speed, and that depends on two things: club speed and smash factor, the ratio of ball speed to club speed. The tour reaches 1.49 with the driver; the maximum is around 1.50. Someone who hits at 94 mph with a smash factor of 1.42 has 133 mph of ball speed; the same swing at 1.48 has 139. Six mph of ball speed are, per TrackMan, up to twelve yards, eleven metres, without swinging a millimetre faster (trackman.com, Ball Speed). That is the cheapest distance there is.

How you measure it

Not on the range, unless you bring a device. In the simulator, always: every launch monitor shows club speed after every shot, TrackMan, Foresight and Uneekor as much as the cheaper devices. 78 of the 110 indoor venues in Switzerland run TrackMan. What matters when measuring:

  • Ten shots, not one. The number that counts is the average, not the one shot where you gave it everything.
  • With your own driver. Rental clubs have other shafts, and the shaft changes the speed by several mph.
  • Note ball speed and smash factor too. They tell you whether the problem is the swing or the strike.

The table: irons and wedge

The driver is the club everyone talks about, and the only one where speed serves distance almost alone. For the irons, TrackMan gives these figures: the PGA Tour swings the 6 iron at 94 mph, the LPGA Tour at 80 mph. As a standard assumption for an average golfer, TrackMan uses 94 mph with the driver, 80 mph with the 6 iron and 72 mph with the pitching wedge (trackman.com).

Those numbers show something few people weigh on the range: for an amateur there are about 14 mph between driver and 6 iron, and another 8 between 6 iron and wedge. That is not a difference in strength but a consequence of length. A longer shaft accelerates the head more, which is why the driver is fast and the wedge is slow, and why hitting a wedge at driver speed makes no sense. Look for the same effort with a 7 iron as with a driver and you strike it worse, losing exactly the metres you were chasing. What each club carries on average is in Golf club distances.

Women, men and the shaft in between

Between the PGA and the LPGA Tour there are 19 mph with the driver, 115 against 96. That is not a footnote in a statistic; it is the reason women's clubs are built differently: lighter heads, softer shafts, more loft. A shaft made for 110 mph barely bends at 79, and a ball built to compress at tour speed stays hard at 79. Both cost metres without the swing being at fault. What the flex designations amount to in grams is in Regular, stiff or senior, and which loft your speed needs is in Which driver loft suits you.

The consequence is uncomfortable and simple: measure your own speed before you buy clubs, not after. Which number calls for which flex is what a fitting with a launch monitor settles, and it takes an hour. How a fitting works in Switzerland and what it costs is in Golf fitting in Switzerland; which ball suits which speed, in Which golf ball suits you.

One hour on a simulator that proves something

To know your speed you need no course, just an hour in a bay and a plan. This one produces a number worth having:

  • Ten minutes warming up. Swung cold, you measure yesterday's speed, not today's. Wedge, irons, driver last.
  • Ten drivers at your normal swing. No faster than usual. Write down the average, not the best strike.
  • Five drivers with full intent. The gap to the normal swing shows how much reserve the swing holds and what that reserve costs in dispersion.
  • Ten 6 irons. Now you have the ratio between long and mid club, and you see whether your tempo holds across the set.
  • Note ball speed and smash factor too. Only together do the three numbers make a picture: fast and struck badly is slower than moderately fast and struck in the middle.

After that hour you know your number and whether your route runs through speed or through the strike. Repeat it three months later with the same protocol and you measure progress instead of form. Venues that give you club data are on Indoor golf near me, and what an hour costs is on Indoor golf prices.

Six weeks, honestly planned

Speed is the slowest improvement in golf. Plan it in weeks rather than hours, and measure at the start and the end with the same protocol. A frame that fits beside work and family:

  • Week 1: measure. The hour above, done properly. Without a starting figure every improvement is a claim.
  • Weeks 1 to 6: mobility three times a week. Ten minutes for the thoracic spine, hips and shoulders. If you cannot turn, you cannot swing faster, and mobility returns quicker than strength.
  • Weeks 2 to 6: speed training twice a week. Light and heavy clubs in turn, short sets, full rests. A simulator beats the range here, because every repetition is measured rather than guessed.
  • Weeks 3 and 5: an hour on the strike. Smash factor instead of speed. A centred strike often buys more metres than any strength work.
  • Week 6: measure again. Same time of day, same driver, same protocol. Anything else compares apples with daily form.

Two beliefs hold on stubbornly. The first: grip harder. A tight grip brakes the wrists and costs speed. The second: swing back further. The backswing is not where speed is made; the downswing is. Change both at once and you will not know which one worked, and that is exactly what the launch monitor is for: it separates the guess from the number.

More on this: Golf fitness: what training brings and Driver tee shot for beginners, Overspeed training in golf.

How you raise it

Honestly: slowly, and not in an hour. Speed hangs on mobility, strength and technique, in that order. What measurably helps is a professional with a launch monitor who sees where your swing loses speed: a wrist released early, a torso that turns too soon, weight that stays back. And speed training with light and heavy clubs, which has spread on the tour too in recent years; the simulator is the better place for it than the range, because it measures every repetition.

But before you work on speed, work on smash factor. The average golfer loses more metres to the strike than to the tempo. Which venues near you deliver club data is on the map; what the other launch-monitor numbers mean is in Understanding launch-monitor numbers.

Frequently asked questions

How fast does an average golfer swing the driver?

According to TrackMan, 94 mph, about 151 km/h, at a 14.5 handicap. A woman with a 15 handicap averages 79 mph, a scratch player 110 mph, the PGA Tour 115 mph.

How much further does the ball fly per mph of club speed?

TrackMan reckons up to three yards, about 2.7 metres, per mph with the driver. That assumes the strike stays as good; a better smash factor often brings more than a faster swing.

Where can I measure my club speed?

In any golf simulator: the launch monitor shows it after every shot. 78 of the 110 indoor venues in Switzerland run TrackMan. Bring your own driver and measure the average of ten shots.

How fast does a woman swing the driver on average?

TrackMan gives 90 mph for scratch amateurs, 87 mph at handicap 5, 83 mph at handicap 10 and 79 mph at handicap 15. The LPGA Tour averages 96 mph. The 19 mph between the LPGA and the PGA Tour is why women's clubs carry lighter heads and softer shafts.

How fast do you swing a 6 iron?

The PGA Tour swings the 6 iron at 94 mph and the LPGA Tour at 80 mph. For an average golfer TrackMan assumes 80 mph with the 6 iron and 72 mph with the pitching wedge. The gap to the driver comes from club length, not from strength.

Sources