My colleague, Johnny Wunder, recently joined Jake Knapp at Scottsdale National to hit every iron in the PXG connectionand they came up with some really interesting findings about ball speed. This is a great indicator for any golfer to look at when choosing new irons, and I want to talk about how to use ball speed when choosing what irons you want to put in your bag.
What is the speed of the “target” ball?
The PGA Tour average for a 7-iron is approximately 123 mph of ball speed. The “average” golfer is closer to 115 mph if they are swinging between 75-80 mph. Tour players, like Knapp, obviously swing faster, but are also helped by one-piece irons, while most amateurs use an iron that offers a little more help.
The truth is, there really is no “standard” speed that fitters try to achieve for every golfer. Instead, we try to match speed, pitch, pitch and spin to call a player. Remember though, speed creates roll and pitch. Regardless of loft, where most golfers stumble, having something with a lower CG that produces a higher ball speed will essentially spin the ball a touch more and launch the ball higher.
An important metric to think about here is impact factor or efficiency. You usually want your irons to live in the 1.35 realm. Even up to 1.40 is fully usable. Many golfers may think that trying to get a set of irons close to the legal limit of 1.51 would be more beneficial, but you will start to run into playability issues.
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What we want to try to find is a set of irons that still have some level of usable control built into them. This is where having a “baseline” speed to aim for on a device can really help.
The best example I can give is a good ball striker who is losing speed. I know many older golfers who still hit the ball mid-range, but their 7-iron has lost 15 to 20 yards over the years and they want to get their “old distances” back. Here is the difference between a PXG CB and a PXG Gen8 T it can be useful – but going for something like a P or an XP can be too much.
Good ball hitters still want control with their clubs. They want to be able to shape poses, change windows and smelt like a shooter. The more ball speed we produce, with less spin and more height, the more control is lost. So for a player who can still hit the ball through the middle but may be on the lower end of their swing speed, something like the T would be a perfect compromise. Even a combo set of CB on bottom and T on top can make these players very comfortable.
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Speed ​​throughout the set
Speaking of combo sets, with PXG’s Gen8 lineup being well suited for combo sets, we need to discuss the concept of opening up ball speed in a set of irons and why a combo set might be necessary.
Usually we are looking for about 5 mph ball speed between the bars. If you notice in the video with Johnny and Knapp, he hit each 7-iron with a gap of about 5 mph in speed while hitting the ball higher with each progressive pattern to be more forgiving. He started out at around 135 mph on his ST irons, like a super high speed player, and up to 154+ on the top XP irons by the end.
This speaks to the loft and CG packs, but it’s also a great way to see your whole group. If you find a really comfortable 7-iron with 115 mph ball speed for example, you’d want your 5 iron to live around 125 mph. If you go to hit the same iron pattern on the 5-iron and find yourself several miles per hour short, then it makes sense to switch to the next pattern.
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My favorite combined nations are actually for higher handicap players with lower speeds. Something like the Gen8 P and Gen8 XP would be a great option for players who can still hit the ball well and don’t want to jump too quickly into hybrids or fairway woods.
Playing a P set at the end of the set and maybe switching to XP on the 6- or 5-iron can be a great way to ensure consistent speed gaps through the set. This will usually result in bearing gaps of around 10-12 meters between the irons, but the beauty of focusing on speed is that speed does not change with loft. So whether you need to bend the irons 1º weak or strong for the sake of height and hold, you’ll still get everything from those irons that you’re looking for.
If you’re looking to get fit for a new set of PXG irons and see what ball speed you’re comfortable with, head to us friends at True Spec or find one PXG assembly center near you.
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