Golf ball distance calculator
This golf ball distance calculator works out how far a golf ball carries from three launch-monitor numbers: ball speed, launch angle and spin rate. Enter them and watch the flight being drawn, with the peak height, hang time and landing angle.
Golf ball distance calculator: enter your launch numbers
Enter ball speed, launch angle and backspin. You get the carry distance, how high the ball climbs, how long it is in the air and how steeply it lands.
What decides golf ball distance?
Golf ball distance comes down to three things at impact. Ball speed does most of the work: each extra mile an hour is worth roughly two yards of carry with a driver. Launch angle and backspin then decide whether that speed is spent well. Too low and the ball falls out of the sky early. Too much spin and it climbs and stalls.
How to use the golf ball distance calculator
- Enter the ball speed in miles per hour.
- Enter the launch angle in degrees.
- Enter the backspin in revolutions per minute.
- Read the carry distance and see the ball flight drawn above.
How golf ball distance is calculated
There is no single golf ball distance formula, because drag and lift change all the way through the flight. This calculator follows the ball a hundredth of a second at a time, applying gravity, air resistance and the lift that comes from backspin. The drag and lift figures were fitted to tour launch-monitor averages.
Golf ball distance example
A ball leaves the club at 132 mph, launching at 14 degrees with 3,000 rpm of backspin. It carries 204 yards, climbs to 26 yards at its peak, stays in the air for 5.8 seconds and lands at 36 degrees.
Golf ball distance chart: tour averages
| Club | Ball speed | Launch | Spin | Carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 167 mph | 10.9° | 2,686 | 275 yd |
| 7-iron | 120 mph | 16.3° | 7,097 | 172 yd |
| Pitching wedge | 102 mph | 24.2° | 9,304 | 136 yd |
These carries are measured, not calculated. Type the same three rows into the golf ball distance calculator and it returns 264, 173 and 131 yards, which shows how close the method gets.
Golf ball distance calculator FAQs
How far does a golf ball go at 150 mph ball speed?
About 234 yards of carry with a driver launched at 12 degrees with 2,700 rpm of spin. Change the launch or spin and the answer moves by ten yards or more.
How do you calculate golf ball distance from ball speed?
A quick rule for a driver is ball speed in mph multiplied by about 1.55 for carry in yards. For a proper answer you need launch angle and spin as well, which is what the calculator above uses.
Does more spin mean more golf ball distance?
Only up to a point. Some backspin is needed to keep the ball in the air, but too much makes it climb steeply and drop with little run. With a driver, less spin and a higher launch usually goes farther in total.
Does the golf ball distance include roll?
No. This is carry, the distance through the air. Roll depends on the landing angle and how firm the ground is.