Golf Swing Speed Chart: Average Swing Speeds By Age And Handicap + 5 Tips to Improve Your Own Swing Speed

Distance with your driver comes down to 3 key factors. Quality of your golf swing, fine-tuned equipment, and swing speed.

We can fix your swing and check out your equipment, but where do you fall on a golf swing speed chart?

Are you fast, slow, or somewhere in the middle?

If you aren’t happy with where you fall in the golf swing speed chart, we think we can help.

There are ways to increase your speed. Get more pop out of your driver and start reaching par 5s in two! Let’s be honest, the easiest birdie is a two-putt birdie!

You won’t become long-drive champion Kyle Berkshire overnight, but every MPH helps!

Let’s get started by looking at a couple of different golf swing speed charts.

We’ll look at

• The Average Golf Swing Speed Chart By Age

• Golf Swing Speed By Handicap, or Player Ability

• Then we’ll look at tips for improving your driver swing speed!

Let’s tee off!

Average Golf Swing Speed Chart By Age

Age is an obvious place to start – there is no doubt that strength and flexibility help you swing the golf club faster.

Here are the averages by age:

Of course, these types of averages depend on your sample size and the type of players you use, but this should give you an idea.

To give you an idea, Kyle Berkshire consistently swings at 145 MPH!

Golf Swing Speed Chart by Handicap

Yes, the skill of the golfer impacts their swing speed, but this can be a bit of a “chicken or the egg” conversation.

Does a scratch golfer have more swing speed because their swing is better or does the fact that they can swing faster help them become a scratch golfer?

It is a little bit of both, but you need the skill to be able to control your swing speed. Swinging fast with no skill leads to your golf ball flying out of bounds.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at a golf swing speed chart by player ability (golf handicap).

This golf swing speed chart is a quick way to analyze your golf game.

Do you need more speed or more skill?

For example, if you are a 20-handicap that swings the club at 110 MPH, speed isn’t your problem. Control is your opportunity.

On the other hand, if you have an 8-handicap and swing the club at 90 MPH, lack of speed is holding you back.

One interesting note as you consider our golf swing speed charts – every MPH of speed will give you approximately 3 more yards of distance.

With the correct training, most golfers can gain 10-15 MPH of swing speed.

Could you use an additional 45 yards off the tee?

5 Tips To Improve Where You Fall On The Golf Swing Speed Chart

1. Where Is Your Speed?

Yes, how much speed you have in your golf swing is important, but equally critical is the location of your speed.

You want maximum speed at impact, but a fairly common mistake is the speed at the “top of your swing”.

This means that your clubhead is slowing down by the time you make impact with the ball and this can cause a significant loss of distance.

The good news is that you can test to see if this is keeping you from reaching your full potential.

Grip an alignment stick like it is your driver and swing it hard. It will make a “whoosh” sound. Listen closely to this sound.

Where do you hear it? Is it during your backswing or follow-through?

Ideally, you want to hear “the whoosh” in front of you – past where the golf ball would be sitting on the tee.

If you are hearing it behind the ball, you are releasing your speed too early.

Most of the time this means you are getting quick in transition – to fix this, try slowing down your backswing and make sure you pause at the top of your swing.

If it helps, say “1 & 2” during your swing. The “1” is your backswing, the “&” is your transition, and the “2” is your downswing.

This will improve your rhythm, get your speed in the right place, and help you improve your position on the golf clubhead speed chart.

2. Add Lag To Your Golf Swing

Lag is one of the concepts that golfers frequently discuss, but many don’t understand what it means or how to create it.

Lag is the intentional trailing of the golf club as you go through your downswing. The name comes from the fact that the club lags behind the hands, which are leading the downswing.

The advantage of lag is that it stores your power and releases it on the golf ball. Lag creates both speed and consistent contact.

Would it help you to see it in action? Take a look at Sergio Garcia’s golf swing in slow motion.

The best way to work on this is to check out your swing on video. The good news is that all of our Smartphones now have the ability to take slow-motion clips.

Ask a friend for help. Take some initial videos and look for lag. Now make some swings where you exaggerate lag.

Can you tell a difference? Were you able to create lag in your swing? It will take you a few trips to the driving range to get comfortable with this new move.

There is no doubt – more lag in your golf swing will move you “up” the driver swing speed chart.

3. Invest In A Speed Training System

Would you be willing to invest 45 minutes a week to start out driving your golf buddies? If the answer is “yes”, you should check out a speed training system.

You need to teach your body to move faster and these programs do that with a quick set of exercises.

Our favorite one is SuperSpeed, but there are others on the market. Let us explain how it works.

You use weighted golf shafts to make aggressive golf swings – you perform the program 2-3 times per week and each session takes 15 minutes.

The goal – swing as hard as you can. Speed training works best when you have a way to measure your swing speed.

Once your body learns to swing faster, it will happen naturally on the golf course. You won’t have to think about swinging hard.

Before you know it, you will be above average on the golf swing speed chart!

4. Consistently Find The Center Of The Clubface

Yes, we know this “tip” doesn’t have anything to do with increasing our speed, but you won’t get value from climbing the golf swing speed chart if you are still hitting shanks.

All of the speed in the world won’t help your golf game if you continue to hit wild shots into hazards.

This is a reminder that any program you start to increase your speed needs to include activities to improve your golf swing.

Create a balanced practice routine. Yes, it should include speed training, but you also need to work on your ball striking and your short game.

We like the 50/50 rule. 50% of your practice should be focused on your short game. Speed training should come out of your “long game” time.

The old golf mantra “you drive for show and putt for dough” comes to mind.

Being at the top of the golf clubhead speed chart won’t help if you 3-putt every hole. Increase your swing speed and improve your putting if you want to reach your golf goals!

5. Take Your Physical Health Seriously!

As our “Golf Swing Speed Chart by Age” pointed out above, younger golfers have more speed.

We love the quote by George Bernard Shaw, “Youth is the most precious thing in life; it is too bad it has to be wasted on young folks.“

Father Time may be undefeated, but there are ways to trick him. You can maintain your speed as you age by taking care of your body.

The key is maintaining your strength and flexibility in a way that helps your golf swing. Not just exercising, but doing the correct exercises.

The good news is that golf fitness has become its own industry. You can find a fitness instructor that has been certified to help golfers “age gracefully”.

Your certified instructor will assess your current limitations and build a custom program to improve your deficiencies.

You don’t need to lose speed in your golf swing as you age – in fact, you can increase it over time with the right fitness program.

Get off your couch, invest in your physical health, and enjoy bombing the golf ball down the fairway for decades to come!

Up Next: More Lag Means More Distance