The distance benefit of center-face driver contact? We did the math

After conducting thousands of fittings over the course of my career, the number one question that players ask me while getting fit is, “What’s my clubhead speed?”

While speed does matter, it’s not the most important factor when making selections for a shaft or clubhead.  

Something that I try to educate my players on is that not all speeds are created equally. Or created in the same way.

For example, a player swinging a driver at 100 mph can produce up to 150 mph of ball speed, which should produce close to 250 yards of carry distance, resulting in a total-distance range of 260-270 yards. But that is only if the dynamics of the swing are in the “good” range. That means not cutting across the ball by 20 degrees or hitting it in a part of the face the engineer never intended the ball to impact. You know who you are! 

Now, maybe you’re asking yourself, “Wait a minute — I swing faster than 100 mph, so why don’t I average 250 yards or more off the tee?” That, my friends, is why swing speed isn’t the most important data point to focus on in a fitting.

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How to compute your max driving distance, according to your swing speed

So, how do you know what distance you are capable of producing with your natural speed? Great question. Time for some golf math!  

Let’s start with Efficiency (ball speed divided by clubhead speed), aka Smash Factor. The optimal efficiency for a driver shot is 1.50. 

Knowing this, you can calculate your potential ball speed with perfect driver contact: 100 mph × 1.50 = 150 mph ball speed.  

If you are swinging the club at 100 mph with low efficiency, you can expect shorter distances. Here are some examples of the importance of good efficiency: 

Low Efficiency (Smash Factor: 1.40) = 220-240 yards 

Average Efficiency (Smash Factor: 1.45) = 240-255 yards 

Optimal Efficiency (Smash Factor: 1.50) = 260-270 yards (no cart path or sprinkler head bounce needed!) 

Yep, hitting the center of the face can yield as much as 40+ yards of extra distance!

If that statistic doesn’t make the case for taking the time to get fit, I don’t know what does. Keep in mind, this is only one key element to finding you more distance. Imagine what other improvements you’ll see when you find the right head and shaft and optimize your launch numbers.  

To dial in the perfect driver for your game, consult a fitter at your local True Spec Golf.