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Hi. I went to Golf Galaxy and hit several clubs on their monitor. Of course, no one came to help me. What is the normal, or average, swing speeds for a 6-iron (steel shaft), a 3-wood (graphite), and a driver (graphite)? I just have nothing to compare my speeds with. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

depends on whats normal to you... My speeds are Driver 105mph, 6 Iron 80mph, Now Id say thats about average for the average golfer. I would really like to be at least 115 with the driver. The pro's are usually up there over 110

Actually for the "average" golfer, with a driver, it's 90 mph. Which, also, by the stats, the average golfer cannot break 100. So, 105 mph is way above average.


I'm not sure what is average for a 6 iron and 3 wood. So what were your swing speeds in the monitor?

the last time i was at Golf Galaxy the salesman told me that their simulator was so far off it wasn't even funny. he said they checked it against a actual launch monitor and the simulator was off as much as 20mph

I hate to rain on your parade here, but a golf simulator is nothing more than a $40,000 Nintendo game. And the launch monitor at every Golf Galaxy I've been to is the Vector Launch monitor, and the fact is that unit doesn't measure swing speed at all, never has, can't do it. All the Vector does is measure ball speed, and then it "guesses" at what your swing speed was. It's only an estimate, not a measured speed, so you can't really tell what your swing speed really is.
As for normal, according to the lastest data I read, 90 percent of all golfers, have a swing speed with a driver on under 90 MPH. Which means 90 is a good bit over average.

I swung that Speed Stik swing trainer at the golf shop the other day. It said 110 which is pretty close to the distance I hit on their chart with my driver.
http://www.msblsports.com/thespeedstik.html

Being a golf website with the majority here fairly accomplished golfers, it will be a bit misleading to get an average joe reading here...friends I played with in GA when I was learning were thrilled with drives that rolled out to 220...not exactly average for this site...

Here's a swing speed chart with some averages.

Attached Images

SwingSpeedChart.jpg (75.2 KB, 23 views)

I posted a similar comment on a different thread but still curious about the answer.... I assume the guess is based on correlation between ball speed and swingspeed...if I have an off-center hit or an inferior golf ball I can see where the device might underestimate swing speed...how might the device overestimate swing speed as long as I use a conforming ball and driver?

I didn't design or program the Vector, so I would be only guessing on how they come up the swing speed for your swing. I do know that quality of contact, COR of the club, the ball, how square the clubface is to the path of the head at contact. All these things effect ball speed. I can only assume the Vector looks at the measured ball speed, and side spin, back spin, and uses a formula that was problemed into the system. Off center hits will give less ball speed, so if your contact was off center, it could give a lower clubhead speed than what in fact you had. One other thing you have to look for. These monitors have to be set for what club you are using. If it's set for an iron, and you're hitting a driver, the clubhead speed could be way too high for what it really was.
Bottom line is I don't have a problem with using a Vector monitor. It's a great way to measure launch angle, ball speed, back spin, and side spin all at once. This is pretty much all you need to see how far you might hit a ball out on the course. If you want to measure your clubhead speed, I'd recommend you use a Swing Speed Radar set up next to the Vector, and use both at the same time. This is a great way to find out what ball will give you the highest ball speed for your driver, or any other club in your bag. If you're looking for maximum distance, you need to fing the ball that works the best with your driver and your swing speed.

Thanks OnePutt.....I'm just curious about this stuff.....I get swingspeed only as a consequence of testing new clubs at various retailers, golf shows etc...as I am in my middle 50's I don't have any illusions of having a Tour refined swing... ...or Tour tuned equipment....
but you see, and hear, so much about swingspeed I just wondered how the equipment works...

I have often wondered if retailers don't juice the machine so John (or Jane) Doe test some new $500 driver and suddenly are hitting the ball 320 in the simulator...and then race to the cash register to make a purchase.......but maybe that's the conspiracy theorist in me...last time I tested a 3 wood at Golf Galaxy it had me consistently at 240 - 245 which is about 20 yards more than my target distance for the club....

Anyway, thanks for the info...responses like your are what makes Rewind what it is....

Some shop do kick up the yardage on the simulators. One more reason to do that what you see on a simulator for fact. The way around this is to take your own club with you when you demo a new one. If all of a sudden you're hitting 300 yard drives, hit some balls with your driver and compare numbers. End of that ploy.

The simulator I play on has two separate rows of sensors for ball speed and clubhead speed. The ones for ball speed are about 3" in front of the ones for clubhead speed. This I know for a fact because I've repaired the circuit card assembly that sits under the sensor board using schematic and functional block diagrams. Occasionally, one set of sensors will malfunction and the display will read one stat or the other and list "N/A" for the stat that was misread.

Thus, a golfer can tell (if not only by feel) when he struck a ball within the efficient portion of the clubface and when he's topped one, hit one off the toe, skyed one, etc...

BTW, I said "he" for simplicity reasons; It may have been a "she".

Oneputt is right.. You can jump the simulators up to make it look like your bombing the new drivers alot further but not on a Vector or a Zelocity Launch Monitor.

They work differently to give you what is an educated guess on most factors. I would say they are about 85% correct in most catagories but atleast you know roughly what your looking at. Best case scenario would be to hit a LM on a driving range and that way you can look at the "real result" and the #'s. We find this the most successful way to fit a customer and gather our data.

To answer another question..
The Vector measures the ball speed between the two pictures taken and uses a drawn line to measure the spin rate. It is very accurate on Ball Speed and Spin but uses impact to "try" and judge the club head speed. Most cases its right give or take a few MPH but sometimes it will show way under because the customer isn't making good contact. Hardly ever does it show a higher swing speeds due to the way it measures its variable BUT I've seen it.

Now the Zelocity uses a Dopler system that tracks the ball for so many yards to come up with its #.s . It seems to be better on the distance average, club head speed, and good contact (smash factor) but the Zelocity is better on Ball Speed and Images at impact.

Hopet his helps some.

I took a look at this chart, and based on my 40 years of swatting golf balls and watching other golfers, I would say it's pretty darned accurate.