Average Carry Distance by Club: What the Published Data Says

“How far should each club go?” is one of the most searched questions in golf, and one of the most misleading to answer with a single table. This guide sticks to published, verifiable data, explains exactly who it describes, and shows how to turn the question around: not “what’s average?” but “what does my bag cover?”

To map your own numbers, use the free CarryMap Gap Checker.

The best-known public dataset: TrackMan tour averages

TrackMan, the launch monitor company, periodically publishes tour averages for the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. Its most recent set describes the 2023 season and was published on May 2, 2024. According to TrackMan, the male data comes from more than 40 events and more than 200 players, mostly on the PGA Tour with some DP World Tour events, and the averages include both competition and range shots. (TrackMan)

TrackMan’s own carry explainer gives the headline driver figures: a PGA Tour driver average of 282 yards carry and an LPGA Tour driver average of 223 yards. (TrackMan)

The full per-club PGA Tour table, as reproduced by Golf Monthly from the TrackMan data:

Club	Club speed (mph)	Ball speed (mph)	Spin (rpm)	Carry (yds)
Driver	115	171	2545	282
3-wood	110	162	3663	249
5-wood	106	156	4322	236
Hybrid	102	149	4587	231
3-iron	100	145	4404	218
4-iron	98	140	4782	209
5-iron	96	135	5280	199
6-iron	94	130	6204	188
7-iron	92	123	7124	176
8-iron	89	118	8078	164
9-iron	87	112	8793	152
Pitching wedge	84	104	9316	142

Source: TrackMan 2023 PGA Tour averages, as published by Golf Monthly. These are elite professional averages, not amateur benchmarks.

What this table is good for

Look at the gaps rather than the distances. Through the irons, tour players’ average carries step down by roughly 9–12 yards per club. At the top of the bag the steps are bigger: driver to 3-wood is a 33-yard step. And the 5-wood and the hybrid sit just 5 yards apart, a reminder that long clubs bunch together even for the best players in the world.

That pattern, tidy iron spacing with bigger, messier steps at the top, is a useful sanity check for your own ladder.

What this table is not good for

It’s not a target. The numbers come from players with exceptional speed, strike and launch conditions. A golfer swinging the 7-iron at a different speed, with a different loft and strike, will carry it a different distance. That isn’t a flaw. It’s physics.

What about amateurs?

TrackMan also publishes TrackMan Combine averages for amateurs by handicap, but its own blog pages present them for the driver only. For example, TrackMan lists average driver ball speeds of 161 mph for scratch-or-better male amateurs, 147 mph at a 5 handicap, 138 mph at a 10 handicap, 133 mph for the “average golfer” (14.5 handicap) and 131 mph for a bogey golfer. (TrackMan)

You’ll find plenty of per-club amateur charts elsewhere online. Many are compiled from several sources, extrapolated from driver data, or estimated. Some may be perfectly reasonable, but read the methodology before you treat any of them as fact. We haven’t reproduced them here because we can’t verify how they were measured.

Why your own numbers beat any average

Club selection depends on your carry. Knowing the tour average for a 7-iron doesn’t help you choose a club for a 150-yard shot over water. Knowing your 7-iron carries 148–158 does.
Lofts vary. Two “7-irons” from different sets can have meaningfully different lofts, so the label on the club isn’t a reliable guide to distance.
Spread matters as much as the average. Two golfers with the same average 7-iron can have very different windows. The one with the tighter window can attack more pins.
Conditions change carry. Temperature, altitude, wind and ball all move the number.

How to find your own carry by club

Run a proper gapping session: warmed up, your own ball, enough shots per club.
Record carry, not total. See carry vs total distance.
Record both a typical number and a window, shortest to longest of your normal shots.
Enter them in the Gap Checker to see your ladder, gaps and weak spots.

Reading tables you find online: a checklist

Before trusting any “average distance by club” chart, ask:

Who was measured? Tour players, a handicap band, a specific app’s users?
What was measured? Carry or total? On-course or range? Launch monitor or GPS?
How many shots and golfers? A small sample can be skewed.
When? Equipment and lofts change over time.
Is it measured or estimated? Many tables are modelled rather than observed.

If a chart can’t answer these, use it for entertainment only.

The takeaway

Published tour averages are interesting and the spacing patterns are instructive, but they describe elite players. For decisions on the course and in your bag, the only distances that matter are the ones you measure. Map your own carry windows in the Gap Checker and see what your bag actually covers.

FAQ

What is the average carry distance for each golf club?

The most widely cited published per-club averages are TrackMan's tour averages, which describe professional players, not amateurs. TrackMan's 2023 PGA Tour figures, as reported by Golf Monthly, range from 282 yards carry with the driver to 142 yards with the pitching wedge. Your own numbers will almost certainly be different.

Is there reliable average carry data for amateur golfers by club?

TrackMan publishes amateur averages by handicap for the driver from its Combine test, such as ball speed. Per-club amateur tables you see online are usually compiled or estimated by third parties, so check their methodology before relying on them.

Should I compare my distances to tour averages?

Only for curiosity. Tour averages describe elite speed and strike. For club selection and gapping, the only numbers that matter are your own measured carries and carry windows.

Why do different websites show different average distances?

They use different data sources, years, golfer populations, and sometimes total distance instead of carry. Some tables are estimates rather than measurements. Always check what was measured and who was measured.