7 Iron Distance | How To Hit A 7 Iron - Golf Sidekick (2023)

FAQs

How far should you be able to hit a golf ball with a 7 iron? ›

The average golfer hits their 7 iron 145 yards, but the average distances will vary between 128 and 160 yards. Golfers in their 20s typically hit the ball the longest, and the distance tends to decrease as the golfer gets older.

As a general rule of thumb to base your ball placement off of your 7 iron should always be placed in the center of your stance. Then, shorter clubs (everything from an 8 iron to pitching wedge) you want to play toward your back foot.

In comparison, the average PGA Tour player hits their 7 iron between 172-215 yards with a clubhead speed of 90 MPH on average.

Typically, all your irons can appear to go the same distance if you strike the ball inconsistently. Poor ball striking reduces ball speed, impacting distance. Long irons are often harder to hit than shorter irons, which is why a 4 iron can travel the same distance as a 7 iron.

Tiger Woods hits his 7 iron about 280 yards on average, but that's not the whole story. There are a few factors that affect how far your ball will travel, including club type and swing tempo. You can improve your distance by practicing with different clubs and swing speeds to find what works best for you.

The Fix: Spray your club and find out where you are hitting the club face. If you are towards the toe, you may be too far from the ball or your path is too out to in. If you are hitting it towards the heel, you may be too close to the ball or your path is too in to out.

Indeed, make sure to widen your stance a little bit when the ball is lower than your feet. A wider stance will give you more stability and will lower the bottom of the swing arc slightly, bringing you closer to the ball and helping in promoting a clean contact with the ball.

The grip and hands must be in front of the clubhead and ball. Many amateur golfers believe that the grip and clubhead come back to the position they are in during the setup. The hands and grip must move forward before the clubhead in order to properly compress and control the ball.

Ball position; it's one of the oldest fundamentals in golf. If it's too far forward, it may be causing you to hit thin or fat shots and miss shots to the left. If it's too far back, you could be hitting tops, chunks, and missing the ball to the right.

What is my swing speed if I hit a 7 iron 140 yards? ›

According to TrackMan statistics, the average 7-iron clubhead speed on the PGA Tour is 90 mph. The average male recreational golfer, on the other hand, swings the same club at closer to 75 mph, which is why he hits his 7-iron about 140 yards, compared with 170 to 180 yards for the Tour guys.

So, the higher the Smash Factor, the more ball speed you are getting for a given clubhead speed. Launch monitors give values that typically range from 1.3 to 1.4 with a 7-iron, and 1.44 to 1.52 for drivers, depending on the model, head weight and launch monitor in use.

Driver Swing Speed & Distance Chart

So to hit your driver 250 yards, you'll need to swing at around 100mph.

They sometimes hit their 7 135 yards, then one will fly 150. This is because they are struggling to control the club face and loft angle of their 7 iron golf club through impact. This can often be addressed with suitable golf clubs for a mid handicapper outlined in my guide.

The Mizuno Pro 225 is one of the best players' distance irons of 2022. The Ping i525 is one of the best players' distance irons of 2022. The PXG 0311P Gen4 is one of the best players' distance irons of 2022. The Srixon ZX7 is one of the best players' distance irons of 2022.

For an average golfer, a good swing speed to hit a 7-iron 150 yards is 75 mph.

With the work that Bryson DeChambeau has put in with his fitness and exercise regime it is not wonder that he has been able to dramatically improve the distance he can hit the golf ball. He reportedly can hit his 7 iron 205 yards which is further than most average golfers can hit their drivers! WOW!

Our testing has shown conclusively that there is absolutely no measurable difference in distance due to the standard 1/2″ incremental shaft length increases between clubs. The only affect of the standard length increases between clubs is to make each successively longer club harder to hit.

Why do I keep Skulling my irons? ›

Golfers who hit a lot of thin shots tend to swing the club too steeply into the ball. That's because they slide past the ball on the downswing and have to force the club down to make contact. When they slide too far, they catch only the top half of the ball, hitting it thin.

Now, while this may sound ok, we have found that this can actually be harmful to your golf swing. When golfers try to “hit down” on the golf ball it can cause even more ball striking problems and this really does go to show that how you visualize, think and the words that you use, have a huge impact on how you swing.

To keep the shot down with a high-lofted wedge, play the ball farther back in your stance than normal—nearly in line with your back foot (above). Also, set up in a narrow stance to maintain balance and to prevent overswinging. Staying in control leads to solid contact for predictable ball flight and spin.

Commit to aligning your body to the right of your desired landing spot. Allow the clubface to address the ball slightly more open (to the right) than normal. Ball Position: When the ball is above your feet, you should adjust the ball further back in your stance than normal (close to center of stance).

Benefits of a Golf Ball Foot Massage

Stimulates blood flow to the arch and improves circulation. Lowers cortisol levels, which helps promote recovery and healing. Relaxes and loosens tight, constricted muscles and ligaments. Helps temporarily numb pain signals from nerves in the foot.

7-Iron Smart Distance

On average, each bracket loses four yards, with those who are 60+ have a 140-yard Smart Distance with their 7-iron. Even though the older age brackets are hitting it shorter, their approach shot handicaps are actually improving.

Average Driving Distance By Age in 2019:

40-49: 225.9 yards. 50-59: 215.4 yards. 60-69: 204.5 yards. 70+: 190.4 yards.

As seen on Golf Channel: Flex your knees properly in the backswing to add shoulder turn and gain distance. We constantly point to the importance of shoulder turn in the golf swing when discussing how to gain distance. This is done for a good reason: it's a key part of the swing that separates good and bad golfers!

Do you tilt when hitting irons? ›

“The more you're tilted away from the target, the faster the club can go up,” he said. “It's also a way of controlling your angle of attack, by tilting yourself away from the target. Without that rightward tilt.” Keeping your shoulders tilted like this creates a “slingshot” effect between your body and the club.

The left hand (the right for southpaws), is responsible for the rotational movement of the golf club, which, in turn, controls the direction of the clubface. To really get a feel for this, grab a club with your left hand and practice rotating your hand so the clubface opens and closes.

One of the most common faults is standing too close to too far from the ball. Standing too far from the golf ball will result in poor posture, which could result in inconsistent shots and no control over the ball. Standing too far can result in less distance, heel shots, and can cause you to lose balance easily.

Standing Too Close to the Ball

Here is what Tiger said about this position, “This forces my knees into that locked position… my spine is too upright. My arms don't have room to swing freely. I can't turn my shoulder on the correct plane, and I'm destined to swing the club way too upright going back and coming down.

This average swing speed is attributed to the average distance of approximately 214 yards, which does satisfy the average golfer's appetite for driving distance. But, if you're looking to increase your distance, speed might not be everything after all.

Rice conducts lots of studies using launch data, which you can read on his website, and tells golfers that if they want to hit the ball over 300 yards, they need to swing their driver about 108 mph.

Here are some simple tips for learning how to chip with your 7-iron: Place the ball back in your stance for short chips, and move it progressively forward for longer chips and pitches. Keep your weight balanced 50/50. Move the handle forward slightly.

NOTE: According to the Trackman Optimization Chart, if a golfer's angle of attack is five-degrees down and his or her swing speed is 105 mph, their potential carry distance off the tee box is 260 yards.

Here's an interesting fact: While PGA Tour pros hit their drives anywhere from 280 yards to 320 yards on average, and LPGA Tour pros hit their drives from 230 to 270 yards on average, most recreational golfers, according to Golf Digest, average somewhere around 195-205 yards with their drivers.

If your swing speed is 100 mph, your distance potential could be as high as 270 yards.

What is a good spin number for a 7-iron? ›

This fundamentally changes a player's expectations. A common goal of a 7,000-rpm 7-iron spin rate simply isn't practical for all but the fastest swing speeds. For slower swing speeds, the average spin rate is actually closer to 5,000 rpm. A golfer has not necessarily been mis-fit if their 7-iron spin rate is 5,000 rpm.

You may believe that since 3 and 5-irons are made of iron, a material harder than wood, that they would be used for longer distance shots, but this is not the case. Generally speaking, a 3-wood is used for a shot in the range of 210 yards, while a 3-iron is used for a shot in the range of 180 yards.

PGA Tour Swing Speed With Irons and Wedges

That leaves a 4-iron around 97 mph, a 5-iron around 95 mph, a 6-iron around 93 mph, a 7-iron around 91 mph, an 8-iron around 89 mph and a 9-iron around 87 mph. Wedge clubhead speed varies greatly depending on the type of shot a professional is trying to play.

What are the hardest irons to hit? The long irons, like the one, two, and three iron, are the hardest golf irons to hit. These clubs have less loft than other clubs, require a fast swing speed to hit them well, and a smaller sweet spot makes off center hits more common.

From experience, most golfers will tell you that the 7-iron is the easiest club to master. A 5-iron will go further, and you can be on the green in three if you are lucky, but a 7-iron will go at least 120-130 yards, getting you easily on the green in four.

Compared to traditional long irons, a utility iron's design can offer higher ball speeds and launch angles. In theory, it makes them a suitable replacement for those who struggle with hybrids, fairway woods, or long irons.

Driver Swing Speed & Distance Chart

So to hit your driver 250 yards, you'll need to swing at around 100mph.

On average 7-iron distance, most golfers can achieve is between 145 and 150 yards from their average swing speed to retain maximum control. Overswinging may gain some distance occasionally but will sacrifice accuracy.

Average 7 Iron Distances recap:

Beginner golfers - 100 yards (men) or 60 yards (women) Mid-handicappers - 135 yards (men) and 75 yards (women) Low handicappers - 165 yards (men) or 140 yards (women)

Generally there should be an 8-10 yard gap between each iron. And that difference in yardage between irons is due to the loft on the club and the length of the shaft. You don't need to put more effort in with a 6 iron than you do with a 9 iron.

How fast should you swing a 7 iron? ›

PGA Tour Swing Speed With Irons and Wedges

That leaves a 4-iron around 97 mph, a 5-iron around 95 mph, a 6-iron around 93 mph, a 7-iron around 91 mph, an 8-iron around 89 mph and a 9-iron around 87 mph. Wedge clubhead speed varies greatly depending on the type of shot a professional is trying to play.

To cover a distance of about 160 yards with a 7 iron, a swing speed of 86 mph is needed. A standard device for measuring swing speed doesn't measure the speed of the clubhead, but instead, it measures the speed of the ball.

You want to swing all the way through and into the finish, so looking at the front of the ball might place you in the right mindset to do just that. Also, when you are playing iron shots, watching the front of the ball may help you to hit down through impact properly.

The average distance golfers hit each club varies widely. A PGA Tour player hits a 7-iron between 172-215 yards. Meanwhile, a short-hitting amateur male golfer averages 120 yards with the same club.