Looking at a couple individual clubs, and the different results seen on the swing speed chart, it is interesting to see how a change in swing speed can make a dramatic difference to the clubs you use to get around the course. If you use a 6iron, it will be between 84 and 95 mph, if you use an 8iron or 9 iron. Aug 07, 2019 if you swing over 100 mph, he says, theres little to no chance youll get fitted into a 12degree driver, and if you swing less than 90 mph, youll never want an 8. The loft on your clubface varies from top to bottom by up to six degrees.
In comparison, a pitching wedge is designed for loft, so the club face is more parallel to. If it is between 95 and 104 mph, a 10 or 11degree loft will be appropriate. Too often, an amateur golfer will choose the loft of his or her new driver based on what their. Golf driver loft distance, degrees, and best club selection. Apr 21, 2006 the average loft of their amateur partners was 9. Dustin johnsons driver is a reminder that optimal launch. Long drive competitors have drivers that have only 4 to 7. When most golfers try to add swing speed they are doing it all wrong. Ever since a 2003 golf digest study said that most golfers needed more loft on their drivers, the quest for the correct loft has heated up. Go get your driver swing speed measured accurately. Carry distance varies by a large degree by where you golfie. A golfer with a level or downward angle of attack always needs greater clubhead loft to achieve the same launch angle as a golfer with a positive angle of attack see illustration. You would probably benefit from using a driver with a loft somewhere in between those two lofts.
Hit the golf ball farther by improving spin loft adam. One of the main differences between the two drivers is the height of the ball. Sep 10, 2017 with increased spin loft, we also see an increase in spin rate. Alternatively, the average amateur golfer will have a swing speed somewhere between 60 and 100 mph depending on. If you swing way up or down on the ball you will need less loft. Try a variety of clubs to find the best loft for your swing. If you swing over 100 mph, he says, theres little to no chance youll get fitted into a 12degree driver, and if you swing less than 90 mph, youll never want an 8. More loft can make the ball carry farther at lower swing speed. The slower swinger benefited almost equally from the 12 and 14 degree drivers, which carried about 15 yards farther than the 9 degree driver. Golf driver loft differences golf tips and tricks golfweek. A player who is able to swing a driver at an even 100 miles per hour can expect a distance of around 258 yards. Swing faster not harder all things being equal, adding swing speed is arguably the best way to really hit your driver farther. As weve done in the past, for 2018, were again segmenting our data to provide more meaningful information to the individual golfer.
Kind of a scary choice, so it took a few visits to the store before i pulled the trigger. Most golfers play drivers with too little loft, and for that reason i recommend they visit a reputable. If you swing over 100 mph, he says, theres little to no chance youll get fitted into a 12degree driver, and if you swing less than 90 mph, youll. Jul 31, 2010 i had a degree driver and i did hit that too high, so i went to a 10. In general, the slower the swing or club speed, the higher the loft of the driver to optimize both carry and roll. The slower swinger benefited almost equally from the 12 and 14degree drivers, which carried about 15 yards farther than the 9degree driver. In our test, drivers with less loft consistently produced more ball speed, even for low swing speed golfers 3. A 12 driver is a better choice for a beginner golfer as the higher degree of loft will help them hit the ball at a higher angle. Nov 08, 2017 golf monthly looks at the different elements of a golf swing that affect the amount of loft you should play on your driver. Below is a graph of balls hit by an 80 mph swing speed with different loft drivers note driver loft does not equal launch angle. See how an online golf lesson with michael can help your golf.
Many players can produce a draw from any setting on the chart. Because the majority of players tend to launch the ball too low. If you increase loft the face will close to some extenta tt mod can tell us how much, you may or may not draw the ball by doing this it depends on your individual swing. So, as the driver loft increases, ball speed decreases and the launch angle increases. If you swing over the top with an outside in path, it is likely you would have a downward angle of attack. Early in the same year the average driver loft on tour was around 8 degrees. But although we can say for sure that most golfers need more.
Your angle of attack greatly affects your driver loft. With increased spin loft, we also see an increase in spin rate. But every time i did my little experiment, it always pointed to the 8. At the store, i hit the same driver in all loft variations and decided 8. Jun 09, 2016 looking at fowlers swing at impact on gears compared to a typical amateur with a significant slice and lack of distance, notice the differences between each players spin loft numbers. I wonder what degree of loft high handicap players use in. The majority of drivers on the market today range between a 4 degree and 20degree loft. Correct driver loft is determined by several factors. If its 110 mph or higher, go ahead and use that 9degree driver because you have the swing speed to use that low of a driver loft. I want to get the 9 driver and was thinking of getting 10. Although the highest loft showed a 20yard benefit in.
But as stated, it depends on the golfer and the golf ball. Golfers with this swing speed would typically benefit from a driver between 1214 of loft. Golfers with clubhead speeds below 85 mph should use a loft angle between 14 and 20 degrees. For a 90 mph swing speed a driver with a 9 degree loft will launch the ball at a 10. Why would you use a 12 degree with your swing speed. If it is between 95 and 104 mph, a 10 or 11 degree loft will be appropriate. If you want to really smash your driver a long way, reducing spin loft will help. If your speed is between 60 and 80 mph, use 12 or more degrees of loft. A driver set at a4 or d4 will have face closure more than the a1 or d1 setting. This combination of lower ball speed smash and higher spin is a killer for distance with the driver although it is very advantageous when hitting a wedge into a green. According to, the average club head speed for a recreational male golfer is 84 mph, so most recreational golfers would seek a higher loft. Can i stop my slice by having more loft on my golf driver. More loft means numerically highera 12degree driver has more loft than a 9degree.
In part two of this threepart series, were showing data specific to midrange swing speeds 90105mph. Rule of thumb is for every degree of change from level, add or subtract one degree of loft. The loft on a driver is shouldnt be related to your age or swing speed, your swing determines the loft you need to get a launch angle of 14 to 16 degrees. This driver launches the ball at a very high angle already, so you should be fine with the 10. Will a couple more degrees of loft on a driver stop a slice. Weve broken down our driver test results into three different swing speed categories. How does different driver lofts change ball flight youtube. The more angle on the club face, the greater the potential loft of the club. Whether its positive attack with the driver and proper negative with irons. If it is between 105 and 115 mph, a loft between 7 and 9 degrees should be considered. Most seniors could increase the amount of distance they achieve with a driver if they give up the 8, 9, 10 or even 11 degree driver and crank up the loft to maximize the amount of launch on the ball. Read this before you buy your next driver practical golf.
They just try to swing harder, which usually ruins their swing mechanics and results in injury. For example, i could turn a 20 deg hybrid into a 5 degree hybrid by leaning the shaft forwards 15 degrees at impact. Your slices and hooks will be even worse with a lower lofted 8 to 10 degree driver while more loft 10. Less loft is less forgiving which is evidenced by how much easier it is to hit a 9 iron than a 3 iron. But because of changing driver designs and changing swings, the opposite might be true. There is an optimal launch for all player but ideally at slower speeds, higher launch and mid to high 2000 spin is best. We look at driver lofts and how it makes a difference to the launch of ball, spin. When the ball is hit on the upswing, the shots launch angle is greater than the drivers measured loft because the heads loft is tilted upward by the swing. Best golf drivers for mid handicappers 2020 golf sidekick. Choose a loft to try based on your assessed clubhead speed. We test three different lofts in the same head model and shaft to compare the exact effects of driver loft on ball flight. With the driver, if your current shot trajectory is lower to much lower than the majority of other golfers using the same driver loft, you likely have a downward angle of attack.
How to determine which loft you should get on your driver. Golf monthly looks at the different elements of a golf swing that affect the amount of loft you should play on your driver. For example, a driver is designed for distance, so the club face is almost straight up and down. Hi dan the loft of the driver is irrelevant to the ball. Getting the right loft on your driver is crucial to maximise distance. We also used my current driver, a callaway razr fit tour authentic 9. Its true that one of the reasons golfers slice or hook their driver is because drivers dont have much lof.
So if youd rather hit a few more fairways as opposed to hit it 10 yards longer, this is the driver for you. Adjustable loft clubs are great as you can adjust them as your swing improves. This will be a combination of the club loft and technical things such as shaft lean, face orientation etc. Jul 15, 2016 16 degree taylormade sldr s driver duration. While things like launch angle, dynamic loft and impact location are important and play a role in deciding the best. Most average swing speed golfers 8890 mph dont use enough loft in their drivers due to seeing the pros using 910 degrees effective loft. But although we can say for sure that most golfers need more loft than they now use, the exact amount depends on several different aspects of their swings. The greater the loft angle of a driver, the higher the ball will go.
In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees or less. Dec 16, 20 most average handicap golfers will have a swing speed of around 8090 mph and would benefit from a driver loft of anywhere from 1012 degrees. Hitting up on the ball can also contribute to greater distance at slower swing speeds. Optimize driver loft for more distance true fit clubs. Because 8 degrees is a low loft, the trajectory of the ball will be low. Recreational golfers who have a swing speed of 110 to 120 mph should select a driver with a low loft of 8 degrees. Looking at fowlers swing at impact on gears compared to a typical amateur with a significant slice and lack of distance, notice the differences between each players spin loft numbers. Before you make any decisions, have the loft of your driver measured. However, i also hit up on the ball 510 degrees, allowing that highlaunch, lowspin combo and maxing out distance. There are three things the senior golfer needs to consider.
I have an older 9 degree ping driver and i had issue with squaring it, but im a much better player now than i was when i used that driver. Its the optimum combination of ball speed with launch angle that produces the greatest carry. More loft means numerically highera 12 degree driver has more loft than a 9 degree. A difference of only 2 degrees may not seem like a lot, it can make a world of difference out on the course. What is the correct driver loft for the average senior golfer. Hit the golf ball farther by improving spin loft adam young. For me the best results come from a regular flex shaft and 10. If its 110 mph or higher, go ahead and use that 9 degree driver because you have the swing speed to use that low of a driver loft. And if youre going to buy a lower lofted driver, make sure to get that one measured before you buy it so you know what youre getting. Use less than 10 degrees of loft if you swing faster than 100 mph. If you swing over 100 mph, he says, theres little to no chance youll get fitted into a 12 degree driver, and if you swing less than 90 mph, youll never want an 8. The ball only knows dynamic loft which is what you present. If yourswing speed is 100 mph or more you can often step up to a driver with less than a 10 degree loft 9.