Launch Monitor Numbers Explained: Every Parameter

The screen fills up with numbers the moment the ball leaves the face, and most golfers read two of them: carry and club speed. The other ten are the ones that explain why the carry was what it was. This guide defines every parameter a consumer launch monitor reports, says what changes each one, and gives the published benchmarks so a number has something to sit against.

Every left and right below assumes a right-handed golfer, and the sign conventions are stated where they matter.

Measured versus modelled, which changes what you can trust

One distinction governs how much weight to put on everything below. Some parameters are measured directly. Others are calculated from those measurements by a model of how a golf ball flies. Radar units track the ball through part of its flight; camera units photograph it over the first few inches and derive the rest. Either way, carry is almost always modelled rather than observed, because nothing is watching where the ball lands indoors.

That is not a reason to distrust the screen. It is a reason to treat a session as internally consistent rather than absolute. Today against last month on the same unit is reliable. Your carry against a figure quoted from a different device is not.

The speed numbers

Three numbers, and the third is a ratio of the first two.

Club speed is the speed of the club head immediately before impact, measured at its geometric centre. It sets the ceiling on distance. It is changed by sequencing, mobility, physical training and shaft properties.

Ball speed is the speed of the ball immediately after separation from the face. TrackMan describes it as the biggest single factor in how far the ball carries. It is changed by club speed, by where on the face the ball was struck, and by glancing contact from a large face-to-path gap.

Smash factor is ball speed divided by club speed, so it measures how much available energy actually reached the ball. TrackMan puts a good driver figure near 1.50 and a pitching wedge nearer 1.25, because more loft means less of the collision goes into forward speed.

The interesting comparison in that table is the middle two columns. An average male amateur swings a driver at almost exactly LPGA Tour speed and gets a great deal less out of it, and the whole difference lives in the launch and strike numbers below.

The launch numbers

These decide how much of your speed survives the flight.

Launch angle is the vertical angle the ball leaves at, relative to the horizon. It is closely tied to dynamic loft and always sits a little below it.

Spin rate is how fast the ball is rotating immediately after impact. More loft generally increases it, and so does more club speed. TrackMan calls high spin the enemy into the wind, and suggests taking one or two more clubs and swinging easier as the practical way to bring it down.

Dynamic loft is the loft actually presented at impact, which is rarely the loft stamped on the club. It is changed by attack angle, by how the shaft bends, by how the head is released, by whether the face is open or closed to the path, and by where on the face contact was made.

Spin loft is the angle between where the club head is travelling and where the face is pointing. It is the number that actually produces spin: more spin loft means more spin and a lower smash factor.

Read those four rows together rather than one at a time. The amateur launches the ball at the same angle as an LPGA Tour player and spins it around 700 rpm more, and the spin loft column is why: three and a half degrees more separation between path and face at impact.

Female amateur benchmarks run on the same pattern at lower speeds. TrackMan's combine data puts a scratch or better female amateur at 90 mph of club speed and 131 mph of ball speed with a driver, a 10 handicap at 83 mph and 119 mph, and a 15 handicap at 79 mph and 111 mph.

The direction numbers

Four parameters, and they only make sense as a set.

Club path is the horizontal direction the head is travelling at impact, measured against the target line. A positive value means travelling right of target, which a right-hander calls in-to-out. Negative means left, or out-to-in. The sign convention holds regardless of which way round you play.

Face angle is where the face points at impact. Positive is right of target, negative is left. TrackMan calls it the most important number for determining starting direction, because the ball launches very closely to where the face is aimed.

Face to path is face angle minus club path. It is the number that curves the ball: the flight bends towards the face and away from the path, and the size of the gap sets the size of the bend.

Spin axis is the tilt of the ball's rotation, and it is the curve itself expressed as a number. TrackMan treats anything between minus 2 and plus 2 as a straight shot, and puts a spin axis of 10 on a 150 yard shot at around 11 yards of curve.

The full nine-shape chart and how much curve each gap is worth is in ball flight laws, which covers the direction half of this list in far more depth than a definitions page can.

The strike numbers

The group amateurs check least and gain most from.

Attack angle is whether the head is moving down or up at impact, measured against the horizon. Shots off the ground want a negative number so the ball is struck before the turf. TrackMan is explicit that hitting up on a teed driver is required to maximise distance with it, and its published figures show the average male amateur hitting down on the driver by 1.8 degrees while the LPGA Tour average is 2.8 degrees up.

Low point is the distance from the club head to the lowest point of the swing arc at impact. It is attack angle expressed as a place on the ground rather than an angle. TrackMan publishes no amateur average for it, so read it directionally: with an iron the low point belongs in front of the ball, and a divot starting behind the ball says it was not.

Impact location is where on the face contact was made. It is one of the six numbers TrackMan tells amateurs to learn, and it changes ball speed, spin and starting direction independently of everything above.

Low point is also the one parameter on this page you can read without any device. Where the divot starts relative to where the ball sat tells you the same thing the number does: a scar beginning at the ball with the turf thrown forward is a low point arriving on time, and a scar beginning behind it is one arriving early. Where these numbers come from mechanically, and the drills that move them, is covered in golf impact position.

Carry versus total, and why the gap matters

Carry is the straight-line distance from where the ball started to where its flight crosses back through the height it was struck from. Total adds whatever the ball does after that, which is roll, and roll depends on the ground rather than on the swing.

Course decisions run on carry, because every hazard on a golf course is somewhere the ball lands rather than somewhere it stops. TrackMan puts the PGA Tour driver carry average at 282 yards and the LPGA Tour average at 223 yards, and its guidance on knowing your carry numbers puts the typical amateur overestimate at 10 to 15 yards per club.

Two things corrupt carry numbers indoors. Range and practice balls fly shorter than the ball you play, and a unit set to a different altitude or temperature than your course models a different flight. Turning session numbers into a usable set of yardages is covered in golf club distance chart, and the finer version for anything inside 110 yards is in wedge distance control.

Which numbers to look at, and in what order

Thirteen parameters is more than anyone can work on, and the order matters more than the list.

The spread is the parameter nobody prints. Ten drives averaging 210 yards of carry with a 40 yard range between best and worst is a different golfer from ten averaging 205 with a 12 yard range, and the second one scores better. Watch the consistency of a number before you watch its size.

If the only number you want is club speed, the cheaper devices that do just that are covered in how to measure swing speed. If the numbers are coming from a full indoor bay rather than a standalone unit, the room and the hardware around it are in golf simulator guide.

Key takeaways

• Launch monitor numbers group into speed, launch, direction and strike, and the groups answer different questions.
• Carry is usually modelled rather than measured, so a session is internally consistent rather than absolute.
• Club speed sets the ceiling on distance. Ball speed is the biggest factor in how much of it you keep.
• Smash factor is a ratio, not a score, and it drops on purpose as loft increases.
• Face to path is the number that curves the ball. Path and face on their own do not.
• Attack angle is negative off the ground and should be positive with a teed driver.
• Low point has no published amateur benchmark. Judge it from where the divot starts.
• Course decisions run on carry, and most golfers overestimate theirs by 10 to 15 yards.
• The spread of a number across ten balls tells you more than its average.

Common questions

What is a good smash factor?

TrackMan puts a good driver figure near 1.50 and a pitching wedge near 1.25, with the number falling as loft rises. Its combine data has a scratch male amateur at 1.49 with a driver and the average 14.5 handicap at 1.44. Anything well below the figure for that club usually means an off-centre strike rather than a swing fault.

What is the difference between carry and total distance?

Carry is how far the ball flies before it returns to the height it was struck from. Total adds the roll after that. Carry is the number that matters for course decisions, because hazards are where the ball lands, and total depends heavily on how firm the ground is that day.

Why is my spin rate so high with a driver?

Usually spin loft, meaning too much separation between where the club is travelling and where the face is pointing at impact. Hitting down on a teed driver adds spin loft, and so does delivering more dynamic loft than the club was built for. Strike height on the face matters too, since a low strike spins more.

Is a launch monitor's carry distance accurate?

It is accurate relative to itself. Most units model carry from measured speed, launch and spin rather than watching the ball land, so numbers from one device in one room compare reliably against each other and poorly against a figure from a different setup.

What is attack angle and what should mine be?

It is whether the club head is moving down or up at impact. Off the ground it should be negative so the ball is struck first. With a teed driver TrackMan states that hitting up is required to maximise distance, and its data has the LPGA Tour averaging 2.8 degrees up while the average male amateur is 1.8 degrees down.

What is face to path?

Face angle minus club path, in degrees. It is the gap between where the face points and where the club is travelling, and the ball curves towards the face and away from the path by an amount proportional to that gap. Zero gap means no curve, whatever the two individual numbers are.

What is spin axis?

The tilt of the ball's rotation, which is the curve expressed as a number. TrackMan treats minus 2 to plus 2 as effectively straight and puts a spin axis of 10 on a 150 yard shot at roughly 11 yards of sideways movement.

How many numbers should a beginner actually watch?

Two. Carry, and how much it varies across ten balls. Everything else is diagnosis for a specific problem, and a golfer still working on making contact will get more from watching where the ball meets the face than from any figure on the screen.

Do I need a launch monitor to improve?

No. Ball flight tells you the face and the gap, foot spray tells you the strike, and where the divot starts tells you the low point. A launch monitor turns those observations into numbers and makes small changes visible, but none of the diagnoses depend on owning one.