It’s no secret that most golfer would love to hit it further if they could do it without loosing accuracy and consistency. More length off the tee does make it a lot easier to play golf.
Did you know that, the average amateur male golfer has a club speed of 93.4 mph and a carry distance of 204 yds?
Let’s Play a Par 4
On a 400 yards par 4, the average amateur male golfer might be using the driver off the tee, and let’s say the drive went 230 yds in total. Now with 170 yds to go, you might be using your 5 iron or maybe a hybrid to reach the green in regulation.
But what if you could increase your driving distance with 30 yds off the tee without swinging faster?
Then you could play the same Par 4 a lot easier, and with a 260 yds drive, you would have just 140 yds left to the green. Instead of hitting your approach shot with a 5 iron/hybrid, you would be able to use your 8 or 7 iron. That should make the approach shot more manageable, and it should also increase your accuracy, resulting in more greens in regulation.
Increase your distance without swinging faster
A known way to gain more distance is to increase your club speed by swinging faster, but how can you increase distance without swinging faster?
Let’s have a look at the numbers. According to TrackMan’s previous amateur performance study we know that the average amateur male golfer’s numbers look like this:
Club Speed: 93.4 mph
Launch Angle: 12.6 deg
Attack Angle: -1.6 deg
Spin Rate: 3275 rpm
Carry: 204 yds
These numbers are not bad, but there is room for improvement. You can increase your distance simply by tweaking and optimising the numbers.
Tweaking the numbers isn’t always easy, and you might prefer “just to swing faster”, but for some golfers swinging faster isn’t an option, and in that case tweaking the numbers can be the key to more distance.
You have probably already heard that hitting up on the ball with your driver, will increase your distance, but the truth is, hitting up (Positive Attack Angle) is not the only number you should be looking at.
Below you can see how the optimal Launch Angle, Spin Rate and Landing Angle would look like, based on a given attack angle and club speed. Note that these numbers are optimised for the best combination of max carry and roll out (assuming a center strike).
Attack Angle -1.5
Attack Angle 0
Attack Angle 1.5
Attack Angle 3
Attack Angle 5
Attack Angle 7.5
To achieve these numbers visit your local TrackMan Coach, or use our locator to find a TrackMan Facility near you.
If you would like to see the optimal numbers for your Club Speed and Attack Angle, visit TrackManUniversity.com, go to the Library Section and select Distance -> Optimizer Calculator.
You can also leave a comment below with your driver numbers (Club Speed, Attack Angle), and what you would like to achieve (Max Carry, Max Total, Best Combination) and i will provide you with an optimised suggestion.
appreciate any help…2 swings with 2 sets of numbers…my goal would be to find the best combination of numbers to maximize my game….thank you so much!!
ClubHead speed 99.8 + 101.4
Ball speed 144.6 + 148.4
Spin 2720 + 2330
Carry 240.0 + 245.5
Total 261.0 + 272.2
Attack -0.1 + .9
Launch 13.8 + 12.5
Club path 1.4 + -0.9
height 94.5 + 81.9
Hi Larry,
With a club speed of 100 mph and an attack angle on 0 your optimal numbers for best combination of carry and roll out would be:
Ball Speed: 147.2 mph
Launch Ang.: 11.7 deg
Spin Rate: 2544 rpm
Carry: 241 yds
Land Ang.: 34 deg
For the other swing with a club speed of 101 mph and an attack angle of 1 deg the optimal numbers would be:
Ball Speed: 149.1 mph
Launch Ang.: 12.1 deg
Spin Rate: 2433 rpm
Carry: 246 yds
Land Ang.: 34 deg
So your numbers are not far from optimal, but you do have potential to hit it further with the same club speed.
E.g. if you go with the 100 mph club speed swing, you could try aim for an attack angle of 4.5 deg and see how that’s working out for you.
That should give you 10 more yds in carry (250).
Optimal numbers with 100 mph club speed and 4.5 deg attack angle, based on best combination (Carry+roll out):
Ball Speed: 148.5 mph
Launch Ang.: 14.1 deg
Spin Rate: 2103 rpm
Carry: 250 yds
Land Ang.: 36 deg
The maximum carry you can get from the combined optimisation with a club speed of 100 mph would be around 256 yds, with an attack angle of 7.5 deg.
Don’t forget to incl. your dispersion in the conclusion when you try this.
The problem with a +4.5 AoA is that unless you’re really good, you’re going to hit it all over the place. Your path needs to be in to out about the same amount, and you’re going to be prone to big blocks coming that far from the inside. Not worth 10 yards, IMO.
Hi, great post on the importance of attack angles on the driver. I just had a quick question. I just measured my numbers with most of my clubs using a Trackman 3 and noticed a few things. First my numbers with the irons were about 2mph faster than tour average for swing speed, ex. PW 86 9i 87, 6i 94, 3i 99, but for the 3W it was at 107(average) and the driver I couldn’t get it past 111 which is about 2 miles below average(positive attack angle by the way). I was using banged up range balls and I don’t know if this can affect the numbers given that the Trackman 3 just uses one radar for both club and ball. It seemed as there was a correlation for the higher the club the lower speed I had compared to the median. Another thing the spin rates for most of the clubs were about on par, ex. 1000rpms per club number, but the PW and 9i were doing something funny. My 9i had only 6000 rpms and the PW about 12000 but they only had a 1mph swing speed difference with an identical attack angle(-4.4.). Could there be something wrong with the clubs(they are 5 year old forged blades) or are the ball the most likely culprit. My PW does have a tendency to balloon and go nowhere into the wind. Thanks
Hi Martin,
Regarding your club speed question, the reported club speed has nothing to do with the balls you are hitting.
I understand that you feel like you should be able to swing faster with your 3w and driver, the reason for the “slower” speed could easily be a swing “fault”, many golfers are often more comfortable with the shorter length clubs.
It could also be something with your equipment, maybe another shaft/head combination?
Regarding the spin rate, i would recommend that you try with the ball type you normally use on the course.
Old range balls can easily have different spin rate numbers, especially if the numbers you provided isn’t avg. numbers.
To get a better analysis i would recommend that you visit one of our TrackMan Certified Facilities, all the instructors there should be able to take a closer look at your swing and numbers.
Thanks I’ll check that out.
Hi, i’ve just had a new shaft fitted in my driver and so the Trackman numbers below are taken with that new shaft in a Cobra Fly Z+ set at 9* (measured at 9.5) weight back position.
Swing speed: 92.5
Ball speed: 135
Attack angle: -1.3
Club path: -3.3
Launch: 13.8
Smash: 1.46
Spin: 2794
Carry: 214.6
Total: 236.7
I’ve lost 4 to 5MPH SS over the last 18 months due to a chronic back condition (and age) so I’m really keen to get my angle of attack up as much as possible to attempt to get a bit of that back. Any help or suggestion you can give would be much appreciated. Cheers Neil (UK)
Hi Neil,
Thank you for your comment.
This video from Tour Coach Scott Hamilton might help you with your attack angle.
If not, i would recommend that you visit one of our TrackMan Certified Instructors, have a look at our locator to find the nearest instructor.
Club head speed: 107mph
Ball speed: unknown
Carry: 240-244m
Total: 260+m
spin:2500-2700rpm
Launch: 13-14°
Smash: 1.47
Club path: -4° – -6°
Face angle: -5 to -8°
I am left hand so my path is in to out
Hi Chris,
What would you like to achieve?
Based on your club speed, you could get around 253m carry if you really want to optimise.
That can be achieved with these numbers:
Club Speed: 107 mph
Attack Angle: 6.5 deg
Ball Speed: 159.9 mph
Launch Ang. 14.4 deg
Spin Rate: 1834 rpm
ball speed= club head speed x smash factor…yours is 157.29
Hi,
I was able to hit a couple balls at the Trackman tee at a great charity event that raises money to save people with leukemia.
Club speed 98.8mph
Ball speed 147.3
Smash factor 1.49
Launch angle 17.2
Carry 247.1
Height 99.2
Estimated total 274.7
My goal would be total distance.
Thank you,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your message.
It looks like you are doing fine ?
Do you know your attack angle?
Thank you for your response. Trackman report didn’t include attack angle. I don’t know why. I was thinking that I might try a little less loft. I’m hitting a 9.5 degree driver. I was surprised at 17.2 degree launch angle. Any thoughts there?
It’s probably because your coach didn’t incl. that in the report :-)
Have you tried the Optimizer feature, that might help you?
Example of the optimizer feature being used:
https://blog.trackmangolf.com/trackman-shot-optimizer/
All you need to know about the optimizer feature:
https://blog.trackmangolf.com/trackman-optimizer-webinar-tutorial/
hello there i have had a driver fitting done almost 1 year ago, which was great but i do want to now few things regarding track man numbers. this is my numbers after fitting. i have always hit the driver between 0 to -2 attack angel i am work really hard to get my attack angle up around 2 to 4 up, do u think it might help me increase my launch angle n drop maybe 400 rpm spin rate to really max my distance?. Does DYNAMIC LOFT plays a big roll in spin rate?.I play 10 degree driver head. My club speed has increased to around 112 mph now. thanks.
CLUB SPEED mph 108
BALL SPEED mph 162.6
SMASH FAC. 1.50
ATTACK ANG. deg ‐2.0
DYN. LOFT deg 10.6
SPIN LOFT deg 14.2
SPIN RATE rpm 2570
LAUNCH ANG. deg 9.2
CLUB PATH deg 1.1
FACE ANG. deg ‐5.6
SWING DIR.deg ‐0.7
FACE TO PATH deg ‐6.6
CARRY 258.9 meters
TOTAL 278.9 meters
LAND. ANG. deg 35.8
SWING PL. 47.7
Hi Deban,
Thanks for your comment.
If you increase your attack angle to 4 deg, it could potentially increase your launch angle a bit as well.
I would recommend that you sign up for a free account on trackmanuniversity.com go to the Library menu, select Spin Rate and watch the video :-)
Perhaps you could try a ball fitting as well, that might help you reduce some spin.
thanks christian hahn. i play the srixon xv ball. i have tryed the taylormade 5x few months bck it was really gud for distance but inside 125 meter its just so hard for me to control. it almost plays a club longer every time.
Club speed 104 and attach angle +10. I would like to know max carry, max distance and combination.
Hi Howard,
Maximum attack angle for our calculator is +7.5, so i’ll go with that and your club speed of 104 mph.
# Max Carry
Total: 293 yds
Carry: 270 yds
Launch Angle: 16.3 deg
Spin Rate: 2006 rpm
Land Ang.: 40 deg
Spin Loft: 10.1 deg
# Max Total
Total: 297 yds
Carry: 263 yds
Launch Angle: 13.7 deg
Spin Rate: 1412 rpm
Land Ang.: 32 deg
Spin Loft: 7.1 deg
# Combined
Total: 296 yds
Carry: 269 yds
Launch Angle: 15.3 deg
Spin Rate: 1762 rpm
Land Ang.: 37 deg
Spin Loft: 8.9
The reason I asked this is because every time I get a driver fitting whether on Trackman or GC Quad the fitter always wants me to lower my tee height and not hit up so much but the shot I sent you had a carry of 275 yards with a total of 301 yards which is better than Trackman shows as optimal.
Note that the numbers i sent was for an attack angle of +7.5.
If you can find the ball, with your current numbers I wouldn’t change anything ;-)
Thanks.
It sounds like by your answer that an attack angle over +7.5 could produce more distance so why does the trackman software you’re using stop at +7.5?
Hey, my average current numbers are as follows:
Carry: 237.5 yards
Clubhead speed: 108mph
Spin Rate: 2835rpm
Launch: 15.2
I feel like my speed is plenty fast to hit it further than I am, is there anything that I can do related to the launch angle and the spin rate in order to optimize both carry distance and total driving distance?
Hi Nick,
Here are 3 examples based on your club speed, all optimised for best combination of carry/total:
Attack Angle: 0 deg
Launch Angle. 10.6 deg
Spin Rate: 2481 rpm
Spin Loft: 12.1 deg
Carry: 266 yds
Total: 292 yds
Attack Angle: 5 deg
Launch Angle. 13.4 deg
Spin Rate: 1979 rpm
Spin Loft: 9.6 deg
Carry: 277 yds
Total: 303 yds
Attack Angle: 7.5 deg
Launch Angle. 14.8 deg
Spin Rate: 1714 rpm
Spin Loft: 8.3 deg
Carry: 282 yds
Total: 309 yds
Hey, my average driver numbers are:
Club head speed- 102
Carry- 234 yards
Spin rate- 2311
Launch angle- 12.9
Angle of attack- + 2.2
Ball speed- 149
Are these pretty average numbers or is there room for improvement regarding my ball and club head speeds?
Thanks!
I meant to type is there any room for improvement regarding my ball speed and carry distance.
My current TrackMan average driver numbers are:
Club head speed 110
Attack angle 0.7
Ball speed 165
Smash 1.48
Launch angle 9.3
Dynamic loft 10.9
Spin rate 2830
On the course I feel the spin is much too high as I get minimal roll out.
What would you suggest to better optimize my overall distance?
To optimize your numbers for Max Total, you will need a little less spin, around 2103 rpm, I don’t know your landing angle, but some where around 31 deg, would be good.
If you want to maximize the distance based on your club speed, you will need to increase the attack angle as well, but then you will have to work on all the numbers.
I would recommend that you sign up on trackmanuniversity.com go to Library, click on distance and in the right side menu select Optimizer – Calculator, here you can play around with the settings you would like.
Hi christian would it be possible to have a look at my number in the previous comment- Adam with club head speed of 102mph and ball speed of 149. There was another guy called Adam who posted directly below me in case you thought it was a duplicate or something. Many thanks-
Hi Christian, my driver speed is quite close to 92-93 mph and I am trying to optimizing my launch. According to data in the article, I shall aim for 7 degrees AoA and 1880-1900 rpm of spin. However first I found to reach that high AoA very unnatural and causing me to slice due to too much forward ball position while my normal tee shots are draw. Secondly I am concerned sub-1900 rpm spin is too low to cause stability problem.
I noticed LPGA average driver speed is at 94 rpm (https://blog.trackmangolf.com/trackman-average-tour-stats/). Shall I try to match their launch condition (3 deg AoA, 13-14 deg launch, 2600 rpm spin), which might be a better balance between carry and stability, instead of trying to reach max carry in optimal condition?
Hi Ni Jian,
Thank you for your comment.
I think you should visit a TrackMan certified instructor, so he/she can have a look at your swing and figure out what’s optimal for you :-)
You can find a TrackMan certified instructor here: https://trackmangolf.com/locator
Hi Christian,
I am doing a project in school investigating attack/launch angle to maximize carry distance. For normal projectiles in a vacuum, the launch angle for maximum range is 45 degrees; however, I know that due to lift and drag, the optimal launch angle is much lower for golf. Although I know I can find out the optimal launch angle for my swing speed through experimentation (which I will do in a later stage of my investigation), I am currently researching to best predict my optimal launch angle. I have been doing a lot of research and have not been able to find an equation that includes lift, drag, launch angle, speed, and distance. Do you know what this equation is or how I could find it? Thanks!
Hi,
Thanks for your comment.
Unfortunately, I don’t have an equation I can share with you.
But if you look at our TrackManUniversity.com platform we do have a few calculators you can play around with.
Alright. Thank you!
Hi – I’m trying to determine how spin solely effects carry and total distance with the driver (e.g. all other variables remain constant). Is there a tool or calculator in your library that can help (I couldn’t find one)?
My son’s primary #s are below. I’m thinking the shaft is a bit weak and causing the negative attack angle + high spin (slow-mo video clearly show he’s swinging up at impact, but the club head is behind his hands). Hoping a stiffer shaft will turn attack angle positive and bring down the spin.
Club speed: 80mph
Ball speed: 120mph
Launch angle: 17 degrees
Attack angle: -4.9 degrees
Spin: 4060
Hi Zach,
I would recommend that you visit a TrackMan certified fitter, the easiest would probably be just to try with another shaft and see the numbers.
That’s the challenge…he’s only 4’ 6” with no off-the-shelf fitting shafts that are the correct length. So I’d like to figure out how much yardage he theoretically could pick up before making a purchase.
Hi ,
Club head speed : 112
Ball speed : 157.7
Attack angle : 0.0
Spin: 3500
Launch: 12.4
What I am concerned with here is my numbers below
Carry: 256
Total : 271
I just think with a 158 ball speed this should travel further. Thanks !
I have a question.
I hit my driver with a positive AOA +3, smash 1.5 but still launch the driver around 10,7 degrees. And I have 11,5 loft at my driver.
How is that possibly? And i only carry the ball 225m in trackman.
Club speed: 106
AOA: +3
Spin: 2100
Launch 10,7
Hi Jesper,
If you are looking for a higher launch you might want to have a look at your dynamic loft.
I would recommend that you visit your local TrackMan certified fitter for more insights.