How does smash factor
affect your irons?
Smash factor is the relationship of efficiency between the face of the golf club and the golf ball. This efficiency is measured by taking your ball speed and dividing it by your club head speed which results in a number somewhere between 1.00 and 1.51, which is the legal limit. A quick example would be that a driver being swung at 100mph cannot produce a ball speed of more than 151mph. The same rule is true for every other club in the bag as well.
However, although it may be cool to see irons at a 1.51 smash factor, the likelihood is that you are going to see smash factor numbers between 1.30 and 1.40 for a well fit set of irons. The reason for this is that irons, unlike woods, are more built for precision than speed. Even when you consider large game improvement type models of irons. This principle of smash factor can also help you dial in which irons may be better for your game. Too low of a smash factor (below 1.3 with a 7 iron) would indicate that you may not be getting the full potential of those irons and are likely struggling to hit the sweet spot. Too high of a smash factor (above 1.40 with a 7iron) can also be dangerous.
Smash factor
too high????
Yes, you read that correctly, you can have a smash factor that is too high with your irons. A well fit set of irons should not be incredibly hot off the face. Here’s our founder Jake with more information.
Low speed considerations
There are, as with every equipment topic, some caveats to these suggestions and those mainly lie at the extremes of performance. Golfers with very low swing speeds are going to want all the help they can get, regardless of what it may do to their gapping. Clubs in this category are built with extremely wide soles and hot faces to help that segment as much as possible. In these cases, swing for the fences with your smash factor numbers and get that ball flying as far as possible!
Low handicap considerations
The other end of the extreme is the precision ball-striker. These players are more concerned with workability and shot-shaping than they are with ball speed. These are the players that you see playing a muscle back blade, but still carrying their 6 iron near the 200 yard mark. The reason they are playing blades is because the technology actually dials the ball back a little bit making it more precise to play. Players at this level may see smash factor numbers closer to the 1.30 number or sometimes in the high 1.2s, but at their speed, it makes a negligible difference compared to the dispersion gains that they see on course.
Weekend Warrior Considerations
Right in the middle, you’ve got the rest of us. The weekend warriors who need some help, but also love the feeling of a well struck shot out of the center of the club face. Thankfully we’ve got options like those from our sponsor at Edel in both a more forgiving hollow-body design in the SMS as well as a precision player’s preferred muscle cavity model in the high tech SMS Pro iron.
Thanks to our sponsor Edel Golf for supplying us with the product used to demonstrate this topic. For more information on all Edel Golf products or to find an authorized fitting center near you visit edelgolf.com
