The average male golfer will hit their 6 iron around 163 yards. A senior golfer will hit their 6 iron around 150 yards The low handicap golfer will hit their 6 iron around 173 yards with the tour pro average is 183 yards. There is a 20 yard difference between the average male ametur and the tour pro.
(See chart below for average distance on each club in the bag for seniors, average amateurs, low handicap golfers and tour pros)
6 Iron Distance
Let’s face it. All golfers want to hit every club further.
If we could just hit our driver 20 yards further and have 20 yards less into a green, the game would be much easier. We are right there with you!!
We are on a journey to increase our swing speed and our ball speed.
For example, if a golfer could hit a 6 iron 185 yards vs only 155 yards, the advantage is for the longer hitter because it means he or she will be hitting an 8 or 9 iron from 155 instead of a 6 iron.
The golfer will have a better ball dispersion, which means more greens hit in regulation, leading to more birdie putt attempts and 2 putt par situations.
At the end of the day, speed is vital to the overall success of a golfer. If you not hitting the ball around 250 yards with the driver, you are going to struggle to get under a 5 handicap unless you have a rather impressive short game!
How to hit a 6 iron (5 Keys and Tips)
Distance Chart Below
| Senior | Average | Low Handicap | Tour Pro | |
| Driver Swing Speed | 91 and Below | 91-101 | 102-112 | 113-123 |
| Driver Distance | 210 and Below | 210-235 | 235-275 | 275-300 |
| 3 Wood Distance | 200 | 220 | 230 | 243 |
| Hybrid Distance | 190 | 205 | 215 | 225 |
| 4 iron Distance | 170 | 185 | 195 | 203 |
| 5 iron Distance | 160 | 175 | 185 | 194 |
| 6 iron Distance | 150 | 163 | 173 | 183 |
| 7 iron Distance | 140 | 153 | 163 | 172 |
| 8 iron Distance | 130 | 143 | 153 | 160 |
| 9 iron Distance | 120 | 131 | 141 | 148 |
| pw Distance | 110 | 121 | 131 | 136 |
| sw Distance | 90 | 100 | 110 | 120 |
| lw Distance | 70 | 80 | 90 | 105 |
One of our three fundamentals to the game of golf is having enough speed to play the course. If you are playing a longer course and can’t hit a par 4 with two quality shots, a golfer has three options:
- Train for more speed
- Move forwards a tee
- Accept the fact that you might not be able to hit some par 4s in regulation
We prefer to go to option one.
Train for Speed: OverSpeed Training with SuperSpeed Golf
I spent many years wondering how I can increase my swing speed. When I was playing junior golf, we weren’t fortunate enough to have some of the training aids and knowledge that is now available. Smart people have studied the golf swing and have created training aids and protocols to help all golfers increase their distance!
At around the same time, the statistics from the PGA Tour have become more clear and the importance of speed is acknowledged by many to be a key to being the best on the PGA Tour.
Within the past several years, there have been several products hit the market to make speed gains possible. While many people for many years waited for the latest driver to come out to gain an additional 5-10 yards, you can now do this even with your current clubs.
Did you know that with the SuperSpeed Training System you can gain 5-8% increase in swing speed as early as the first training session? This would allow you to gain somewhere between 10 and 30 yards depending on your current swing speed.
SuperSpeed Golf – Use Discount Code Golfjourney365 for some savings!
The SuperSpeed Training System is based on three different swing speed sticks all weighing at different weights. There is a green club that is 10% lighter than the average driver, the blue club which is 5% lighter and the red club which is actually 5% heavier!
Following their prescribed protocols the golfer completes the training every other day. The total time to complete most of their protocols is between 10-15 minutes. Most people can find the time to make this happen. The golfer will also need a swing radar to measure their progress.
The science behind the SuperSpeed Training System is based on overspeed training. Overspeed training has been around for several decades now and has been used by olympic athletics in the sport of Track and Field.
The science behind this overspeed training is based on the premise that your brain will only allow your body to move as fast as it feels it can stop safely! So, you get to work and swing the clubs as fast as possible, retraining your brain to allow you to swing your driver faster.
For more permanent results, the golfer should continue these training protocols for several months. The initial 5-8% is great and can become more permanent with the right length of training. The golfer can expect to continue to break down barriers every several months at a 1-2% increase.
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson (a senior golfer now) has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
Other Frequently Asked Questions Regarding 6 Irons
What is the loft of a 6 iron?
The average 6 iron will have around 29 degrees of loft.
This has changed over the years. For example my Titliest DCI 981s had a 6 iron with 31 degrees of loft, while my Titeliest API 714s has a 6 iron with 29 degrees of loft. Over the year, many manufacturers have reduced the amount of loft on every club to make the golfer believe they are hitting their clubs further.
5 Tips for hitting irons out of the rough!
What is a 6 iron used for?
The 6 iron will most frequently be used for shots between 140 and 200 yards for the majority of golfers. It can be used off the tee on a par 3, from the fairway or rough and even a fairway bunker.
The higher the swing speed, the further the ball will carry on average with a 6 iron.
Other uses include chipping on bump and run shots and punch out shots from the trees or difficult areas with thick rough or desert areas.
5 Keys to hitting your irons consistently!
Two Great Drills for the 6 Iron
Low Point Control Drill
- Take some yard paint and paint a 1-2 yard long line if you are in the grass area.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to do this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing.
Stock Shot Drill
- Set up an alignment stick 6-8 yards down your target line in front of the ball.
- If you have one, set up a second alignment stick 2-4 feet right of that target line
- Go ahead and see how many swings out of 10 you can get the ball to start to the right of the first of the alignment stick. The goal here is to progress to 7 out of 10.
- Practice this drill everytime you hit golf balls.
The key to golf is being able to control your contact and your start line with your 6 iron. The golfer that can control the contact and start the ball on the proper start line while controlling the curve of the ball will be a great positions to shoot quality scores!
How to hit your irons higher (5 Tips)
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.