Club Head Speed

I am considering purchasing new irons so I went to the local Golf discounter to get fitted and check my swing in order to make some suggestions as to what to get. After measuring my club head speed it came up that I was only swinging my 5 iron around 82 MPH. This seemed sickeningly slow! I was wondering what was an average club head speed for your iron play and should I focus on generating more speed?

Focus on correct technique and hitting the ball straight. Gaining more clubhead speed and plowing 20 more yards only to add a huge hook or slice putting your ball into the tree, hazzards, OB, etc, is completely useless. Once you have a solid, repeatable technique, you can then work on increasing clubhead speed, if you really think you need to. My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with your swing speed. If that is the speed that is natural to you, you will encounter countless problems trying to speed up your swing.

I agree, 82mph isn't bad at all. I personally hit a driver approx. 320 yards with a swing speed of 118mph and my 5-iron swing speed is right at 90mph but those are my natural swing speeds. If you're swinging a 5-iron at 82mph, I would advise against trying to force your swing speed. When you do that, you tend to lose your fundamentals. You will generally start transferring your weight by shifting your body instead of through roataion, you will generally start swinging off-plane, and your shots will go from being rather consistent (whether you're consistent with a fade, draw, or straight) to being all over the board with little or no control.


Stick with solid swing fundamentals, and work on core strength and flexibility...those 3 things (particularly flexibility) will naturally increase your clubhead speed without the pitfalls that come from trying to force your speed.

Put 3 foot on the end of the 5 iron would make it go faster.

Why do folks try to go faster when the pro's try hard to swing slower?

Maybe the pro's got it all wrong lol

I love this test.

Go to the driving range. Set aside 20 balls. Take the first 10, and make three-quarter swings. Note how far the balls go (both left-right and how far away from you.)

Now take the next 10, and try to launch them as far as you can. Note how far the balls go (both left-right and how far away from you.)

For most golfers, the balls you 'crushed' will be farther than your 3/4 swings, but probably not by much. And I'm willing to bet your dispersion (balls left-right) will be much worse with the 'crushed' balls.

I say this everytime someone wants to be longer. More important than getting longer is knowing how far each club carries right now. Length is not equal to lower scores. If you can find a way to get longer (and keep the ball in the short grass at the same time) then by all means, get longer. But sacrificing accuracy for length is a fools errand.

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A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

This man speaks the truth. Whenever i'm having a "bad driver day" i cut my swing down to around 3/4s and can consistently hit the ball in the fairway, though only around 220 yards. This is a LOT better than being 260 yards but having to punch out of the woods.