How Far Should You Hit 7 Iron? Average, Fast & Very Fast Players

How far should you be able to hit a 7 iron at your clubhead speed? This video explains optimal ball flight conditions to give you a good amount of distance while still maintaining spin, height and landing angle.

[dougmael]

Spot-on, Matt! I am now 74 years old (almost 75), and am losing clubhead speed to the point where I currently get 147-152 yards with a well-struck 7-iron at my 78 MPH clubhead speed. Not too many years ago, I was at about 88 MPH with a 7-iron, and at that time, my "stock" length (carry distance only) with a 7-iron was 174 yards when not playing at altitude and with no wind assist. Occasionally, I still catch one perfect and with a bit more clubhead speed than usual, and I get the 7-iron out to 160 yards, or a bit more, but those instances are few and far between.

[timcowl]

I just went through all this at a club fitting…an easy swing for me, with the right head (T790s), a stiffer and heavier shaft (130g), and an improved loft angle (approaching 20 degrees), generates a 92mph swing, and about 180 yds of carry. Very informative!

[putthegundownkinkade]

Absolutely love this. Please do more of this kind of thing. It’s really hard to give lesson on YouTube as most people dont know what their swing is really like but these kinds of ‘general truths’ are really really helpful

[mikewilliams]

This was a intriguing test. Please do more like this. Thanks Matty

[stephendibari]

Spot on. Indoors on Trackman My average Swing speed with my 7 iron (T100S) is 81 mph. And my avg carry is 154-155 yards. Which is exactly 1.9 x 81 mph. Brilliant!!

[BossATC]

Seems good. Also highlights the fact that high speed gives you a higher flight that will also stop like lawn dart for any and all scoring clubs.

[Natedoc]

Excellent video showing how to easily evaluate the quality of your 7 iron shot. It would be awesome to see the coefficient for the other clubs, maybe in a table format, for us to use along side our launch monitors while we practice. Thanks again

[kalleappel]

So impressed by your ability to control speed, and of course the ability to produce speed!! 👏👏👏 I struggle to go beyond 82-83mph with my 7-iron on most days.. 🥺😂

[TheErockaustin]

Depends on the clubs too. I was playing with a kid the other day who was hitting his PW 150 yards. I looked up the specs and his PW was 43 degrees, which is slightly stronger than my 9 iron. Lofts are so jacked these days

[roncarlton]

So knowledgeable and you express the expectations well. Nice to see this comparison to show how swing speed affects distance. The math calculation was a nice addition.

[hocheye]

I'm 63 years old, I get 180 with my driver! Lol! But I just started golf, Working on my swing right now not distance
Great video, gives me an idea how far I might be able to hit the ball lol!.

[MrLuigiFercotti]

I'm getting a bit stiff and creaky, but a few years ago a smooth 7 was 150. I could go 160 or 170, but unless I was getting reasonable amount of practice and play I could not always count on hitting it square.
So my advice is to play below your maximum, unless you want to dial it up. Too many amateurs play redline golf at the limit and spray it, or miss hit it.

[Skibum]

This was a fantastic lesson. You’re a very talented golfer/athlete. Thank you for doing this!!

[michaelmitchell]

Really appreciate this content - i have a GC3 and so access to all this data but never understand what good should absolutely look like.

[jbweezer]

I could only dream of a 100mph on my 7i! I'm just under thats for my bloody driver! Great video, love these sorts of technical topics.

[leeloopatsy]

Speed is not the only thing that matters. You can go as fast as you can but if you don’t have a decent angle of attack, and/or a decent angle of path and/or don’t hit more or less on the sweet spot of the club head then the ball will go all over the place.

[freddym]

I've heard if you're swinging at appropriate effort levels, (driver hard, irons medium, wedges easy), then a rule of thumb is that your 6 iron swing speed should be about 80% of your driver swing speed. Maybe 5 iron for some, 7 iron for others. So if you're swinging 7 iron at 100mph, then driver should be cruising at 125 mph. So don't think there's a lot of guys even on tour swinging their 7 irons above 100mph very often. Also at that point, height and spin control becomes a mess. Berkshire basically can't go anywhere near his max speed with mid/short irons. The equipment and game isn't meant for it. Even heard Hovland say he hits more half and three quarter swings than anything with irons.
None of this is a critique to the video though, just some related thoughts.

BTW, there's a few mph difference between quad and trackman when measuring driver swing speed. Is it the same for irons?

[spectre]

When you're in the skill range to swing a controlled 7i around 100mph, I'd suggest you think about adjusting ball flight first by selecting a ball with appropriate spin. That would allow you to keep your swing as is, while potentially seeing the trajectory you want.

[aliasErEf]

75 yo, 17 hcp, avg carry 147 y.. . Next year …summer 2024 ….my new Titleist combo T- 350/200 probably a bit longer but not my first objective .

Good show, thanks. Merry X-mass everyone 🎉
ErEf, Montréal

[Emslander]

I’m 77 and just getting back completely from a couple of health crises this summer. I can now hit a seven iron 150-160 yards.