Smash factor

[Krich0823]

I recently got fit for a driver and with my purchase it included a couple free track man sessions. I went for one today as I just picked up some new Takomo 201cbs. I was hitting the ball pretty well(still adjusting to new irons) and the fitter walked by to check on me so i just asked the simple question of if the irons seemed to be a good fit for me. Just a general question. He started getting into the numbers and he said my good hits were solid he just didn’t like the smash factor. With my 6 iron the highest I got was 1.41. My swing speed with 6 iron is around 91-93mph. The lowest smash factor I got, which was a mishit, was around 1.25. He told me that my mishits should still be around 1.35.  I took it as him insinuating I need to get fit for irons. Just curious if that was just “fitter talk” or if it’s not as big of a deal as he made it, considering it was a mishit he was harping on. Any feedback is appreciated.  

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, Krich0823 said:

I recently got fit for a driver and with my purchase it included a couple free track man sessions. I went for one today as I just picked up some new Takomo 201cbs. I was hitting the ball pretty well(still adjusting to new irons) and the fitter walked by to check on me so i just asked the simple question of if the irons seemed to be a good fit for me. Just a general question. He started getting into the numbers and he said my good hits were solid he just didn’t like the smash factor. With my 6 iron the highest I got was 1.41. My swing speed with 6 iron is around 91-93mph. The lowest smash factor I got, which was a mishit, was around 1.25. He told me that my mishits should still be around 1.35.  I took it as him insinuating I need to get fit for irons. Just curious if that was just “fitter talk” or if it’s not as big of a deal as he made it, considering it was a mishit he was harping on. Any feedback is appreciated.  

It will depend on where you miss hit the ball.  A fat or severe toe will potentially be that low.   

[Krich0823]

13 minutes ago, cnosil said:

It will depend on where you miss hit the ball.  A fat or severe toe will potentially be that low.   

My miss is almost always on the toe so that makes sense 

[jaskanski]

Smash factor is basically a product of clubhead speed and ballspeed, so the more efficient the ballspeed transfer is, the higher the smash factor will result.

Loft on the clubhead will have a determining effect as efficiency reduces depending on launch angle and spin.

Tour average smash factor for a 6 iron is around the 1.38 mark, so 1.35 for a 11 index isn't too bad. The point the fitter may have been making, is that the 201 cb isn't super forgiving on miss hits, so the resulting smash factor will be impacted quite a lot on low quality strikes. A more 'forgiving' head design could help to maintain ballspeed on off-center strikes to some extent, but impact quality is still king when it comes to efficiency.

I wouldn't read too much into his comments - as long as you like the way the irons perform and the distance and dispersion is within an acceptable range for your handicap, everything else is largely irrelevant.

Could the numbers be improved upon with a tune up? Sure - who can't be with a few tweaks here and there. If your miss is usually towards the toe, check your shaft length or where you are gripping the club. Toe strikes are 'normally'  a symptom of shaft that is too short (or you're gripping too far down) and possibly the total weight or head weight that is too low.

Edited May 12 by jaskanski

[Josh Parker]

I think @jaskanski said it pretty well.  A fitting can always result in better numbers but the conditions can impact that as well.  I'm assuming you were hitting indoors off a mat which can impact strikes too.  

[Rob Person]

5 hours ago, jaskanski said:

Smash factor is basically a product of clubhead speed and ballspeed, so the more efficient the ballspeed transfer is, the higher the smash factor will result.

Loft on the clubhead will have a determining effect as efficiency reduces depending on launch angle and spin.

Tour avergae smash factor for a 6 iron is around the 1.38 mark, so 1.35 for a 11 index isn't too bad. The point the fitter may have been making, is that the 201 cb isn't super forgiving on miss hits, so the resulting smash factor will be impacted quite a lot on low quality strikes. A more 'forgiving' head design could help to maintain ballspeed on off-center strikes to some extent, but impact quality is still king when it comes to efficiency.

I wouldn't read too much into his comments - as long as you like the way the irons perform and the distance iand dispersion is within an acceptable range for your handicap, everything else is largely irrelevant.

Could the numbers be improved upon with a tune up? Sure - who can't be with a few tweaks here and there. If your miss is usually towards the toe, check your shaft length or where you are gripping the club. Toe strikes are 'normally'  a symptom of shaft that is too short (or you're gripping too far down) and possibly the total weight or head weight that is too low.

Thanks for a great explanation.  Having never been fitted, I learn so much from the members here.  

[Krich0823]

6 hours ago, jaskanski said:

Smash factor is basically a product of clubhead speed and ballspeed, so the more efficient the ballspeed transfer is, the higher the smash factor will result.

Loft on the clubhead will have a determining effect as efficiency reduces depending on launch angle and spin.

Tour avergae smash factor for a 6 iron is around the 1.38 mark, so 1.35 for a 11 index isn't too bad. The point the fitter may have been making, is that the 201 cb isn't super forgiving on miss hits, so the resulting smash factor will be impacted quite a lot on low quality strikes. A more 'forgiving' head design could help to maintain ballspeed on off-center strikes to some extent, but impact quality is still king when it comes to efficiency.

I wouldn't read too much into his comments - as long as you like the way the irons perform and the distance iand dispersion is within an acceptable range for your handicap, everything else is largely irrelevant.

Could the numbers be improved upon with a tune up? Sure - who can't be with a few tweaks here and there. If your miss is usually towards the toe, check your shaft length or where you are gripping the club. Toe strikes are 'normally'  a symptom of shaft that is too short (or you're gripping too far down) and possibly the total weight or head weight that is too low.

Ok that makes a lot more sense to me. I’m new to all these numbers so I can get a little lost in them. The toe mishit is pretty interesting tho I never thought about getting longer shafts. I am 6’0” and I do have a fairly upright stance. I’m currently working on not being so straight up tho and my strike quality has improved on average. Thanks for the explanation!

[Krich0823]

4 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

I think @jaskanski said it pretty well.  A fitting can always result in better numbers but the conditions can impact that as well.  I'm assuming you were hitting indoors off a mat which can impact strikes too.  

Yes it was indoors on mats, and I do find I struggle a lot more with strike consistency when hitting off mats than when I’m playing a round. Most ranges around me are mats only so that makes it hard for me to feel like I get a good practice in.. but thanks for the input!! Looking forward to getting them out on some real conditions 

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Krich0823 said:

Ok that makes a lot more sense to me. I’m new to all these numbers so I can get a little lost in them. The toe mishit is pretty interesting tho I never thought about getting longer shafts. I am 6’0” and I do have a fairly upright stance. I’m currently working on not being so straight up tho and my strike quality has improved on average. Thanks for the explanation!

My old fitter was 5’10” and with a lot of people’s love for wrist to floor he would be in 1/2” over length, but in a dynamic fitting he played ping and Nike standards length.

@Golfspy_CG2 is 6’7” and was fit by a master fitter at Titleist in their standard length. 
 

The inconsistency in your contact could be swing related, could be club related, could be both. This is the downside of buying clubs without a fitting or know what your specs are

[Krich0823]

20 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

My old fitter was 5’10” and with a lot of people’s love for wrist to floor he would be in 1/2” over length, but in a dynamic fitting he played ping and Nike standards length.

@Golfspy_CG2 is 6’7” and was fit by a master fitter at Titleist in their standard length. 
 

The inconsistency in your contact could be swing related, could be club related, could be both. This is the downside of buying clubs without a fitting or know what your specs are

100% most likely swing related or consistency gotta love it tho always something to work on! Definitely was thinking about getting a fitting and I know the upside just couldn’t stomach paying 1.5-2k right now. Definitely in my future tho! It was just time to upgrade from my 20 year old mizunos 

[JY56]

Interesting article on Ping website blog about smash factor.

[Krich0823]

18 hours ago, JY56 said:

Interesting article on Ping website blog about smash factor.

That is pretty interesting. Makes sense too. Thanks for sharing! We definitely can get hyper focused pretty easily when looking at all these numbers lol

[RickyBobby_PR]

That’s somewhat old news. Fitters like Ian from TXG/CC and others have talked about swing speed being an input number and the output numbers tell a better story. Because as mentioned monitors read different heads differently but also ball speed is far more important. 
 

Scroll thru golf forums and golf groups and see how many people have low ball speeds but high swing speeds.  Face contact point and using foot powder spray and then using things like swing path, face to path and face angle, along with dynamic loft, launch, spin and apex are things good fitters look at along with ball flight