A big problem with the driver for many recreational golfers is too little loft. The feeling is that you don't want the ball going too high, because then it doesn't roll as much. And, therefore, it's better to have less loft. Turns out that thinking is completely wrong. A study conducted by Golf Digest shows that more loft on the driver equals more yards for nearly all recreational players.
If you have clubhead speed that matches or exceeds that of the pros, then you can get away with playing an 8- or 9-degree driver. But only a tiny fraction of us have that clubhead speed. The rest of us probably need a driver with a loft of at least 11 degrees.
The study appears in the November 2003 issue of Golf Digest.
The crux of the article is that more hangtime with your driver generally means more yards, even though that seems counterintuitive to many golfers. One story told is how the long-drive champions use stopwatches in practice to time how long the ball is in the air. If the long drivers recognize the importance of hangtime, that's a good indicator.
The study examined driver distances at different swing speeds ranging from 65 mph up to 115 mph, and with driver lofts of 9-, 11-, 14- and 16-degrees. For most golfers, it turns out, adding loft to the driver increases driver distance by an average of 10 yards.
At 65 mph, the 16-degree driver was the longest; at 75 mph, the 16-degree again; at 85 mph, the 11-degree was longest (and the 9-degree was the shortest at each level up to this point); at 95 mph, 11-degrees was longest and 14-degrees second-best; at 105 mph, 11-degrees was longest; at 115 mph, 11-degrees was longest.
So if you're one of those golfers carrying a 7.5-degree driver or even a 9-degree driver, do yourself a favor and add loft.
I highly recommended picking up the November Golf Digest and reading this very interesting article.
If you have clubhead speed that matches or exceeds that of the pros, then you can get away with playing an 8- or 9-degree driver. But only a tiny fraction of us have that clubhead speed. The rest of us probably need a driver with a loft of at least 11 degrees.
The study appears in the November 2003 issue of Golf Digest.
The crux of the article is that more hangtime with your driver generally means more yards, even though that seems counterintuitive to many golfers. One story told is how the long-drive champions use stopwatches in practice to time how long the ball is in the air. If the long drivers recognize the importance of hangtime, that's a good indicator.
The study examined driver distances at different swing speeds ranging from 65 mph up to 115 mph, and with driver lofts of 9-, 11-, 14- and 16-degrees. For most golfers, it turns out, adding loft to the driver increases driver distance by an average of 10 yards.
At 65 mph, the 16-degree driver was the longest; at 75 mph, the 16-degree again; at 85 mph, the 11-degree was longest (and the 9-degree was the shortest at each level up to this point); at 95 mph, 11-degrees was longest and 14-degrees second-best; at 105 mph, 11-degrees was longest; at 115 mph, 11-degrees was longest.
So if you're one of those golfers carrying a 7.5-degree driver or even a 9-degree driver, do yourself a favor and add loft.
I highly recommended picking up the November Golf Digest and reading this very interesting article.
Comments
Thank you very much for this driver loft information. I am going to buy a Nickent 4DX driver with a UST V2 stiff shaft and I was debating between the 9-degree and the 10.5-degree loft. I have a swing speed of 95-97 mph. Your article has steered me toward the 10.5. Thanks again.
Your article helped me very much. I just purchased, online, a new Callaway driver but realized I selected the 16 degree loft. I am 50/female and after more distance. Now I don’t think I made a mistake afterall!
Thank you! I found this article extremely helpful. I swing a 11.5 degree TaylorMade R7. I’m often “teased”, or better yet…”coached” by some of my playing partners that I shouldn’t be playing with such a lofted driver. Funny…seeing as how I normally outdrive them by 15 – 25 yards. : – ) Now I see why. : – )
I’ve been playing now for 14 years and though I don’t have an “official” handicap, I shot about 78,79. That said, I just changed from my Titleist 8.5 to an 11.5 and I’m hitting it just as long buy with a twist, i’m keeping it in play!!!!
i have an old ping 7 degree driver and i have won every long drive challenge in 7 golf scrambles this year. the longest i have hit was aroune 370-380yds. so if i used a 9 degree are you telling me i could hit 400? doubtful
What this article failed to mention that the people in long ball contest all use 6.5 to 8.5 loft. Look it up. KrankGolf.com. If you tee your ball high enough none of this matters.
i have 115mph and if i used a 11.5 loft driver i would hit it straight up in the air. my 9.5 produces a 13 degree launch at 185mph ball speed. The key is ball speed.
Vincent,
Yes in the long ball contest most use 6.5 to 8.5 loft.But saying that if you tee your ball high enough none of this (avg golfer’s loft) matters, is absolutely wrong. First most of us use a 45″ or 46″ inch length driver, in the long ball contest they use a USGA measurement of 48″. The reason for the low 6 or 8 degree loft is the lower the loft it reduces excess backspin and can bounce and roll more upon landing. But without hang time they can’t get the initial distance needed to benefit from the extra roll from less backspin. And lets not forget that these guys are generating club head speeds from 135 to 150 mph. And yes they not only tee it high, most place the ball far forward of their leading foot, some as much as 3 inches to catch the ball on the up swing. So now you take any brand consumer or pro driver lets say with 9 degrees (or any other loft) and tee higher, more forward than normal and catch it more on your upswing and you will hit the ball, carry and roll, less farther than if you teed it up normal height properly inside the heel of leading foot. Lets say you have brand X same model driver one is 10 degree, the other 12.5. If you teeded it up high and forward so you hit the 10 degree the equivalent of 12.5 degrees, total distance will always be less then if you used the 12.5 model hit in a normal driver setup. The reason is the Coefficient Of Restitution(COR) is maximized in a different location on each driver, so that high upswing of the 10 degree driver is missing the COR of that driver. And while the are identical brand and model driver and look the same the COR is different for each driver based on its loft. Both drivers are 460 cubic centimeters, so when the face of the club is set back 2.5 more degrees of angle that 460cc is going to have some changes in shape to the lower lofted 10 degree driver. Manufacturers reshape the head to maximize the COR based on the loft. Its not noticeable just looking at the club but I assure there are some minute changes at different points that get the max COR based on loft.
And to taylor,
Here is the true results of your example with a 115mph swing the correct loft for the longest distance(carry and roll on a flat dry fairway) would be a 10.5 that would produce 285 yards. That is just pure and true math, the variable is your swing tempo, tee height, ball placement and any corrections on your down swing that you might do to get an inside out path.
Ok so I play a 7.5 degree driver and pitch it 290-300 with maybe 10 – 20 yards of roll, does this mean a higher lofted driver would hit it further? The reason I ask is I previously played a 9.5 degree driver and hit it 30 yards shorter.
I have recently purchased a R11 with a 10.5 head, it is set on the 9.5 loft, I haven’t hit with the 10.5 or 11.5 loft yet. As I Improve hopefully does it mean that I was better of going with the 9 degree head which goes up 1′and down 1. Not all that sure, my club head speed is 103mph, please leave a comment or suggestion thanks
Man, for years I had been telling my golf buddies this. I always use a 10.5 driver. With the proper ball set up on the tee and a good relaxed swing and the right ball(Bridgestone), you’ll get good distance everytime.
I’m currently playing a 9 degree Calloway FT5 and hitting the ball apretty far, but a mile high. I’m wondering if I can get some lower trajectory and longer roll with less loft? I average 290-320yds from the tee, longer shots are 330-340 ish. I measured my swing speed at Martins in Myrtle Beach this past weekend and was between 118-131 mph. I currently hit a bit of a left to right ball flight. I also usually play the ball off the inside of my left foot. Considering between a 6 and 8 degree driver, will this help?
Thanks!
I use a Mizuno MP600 Fast Track 10.5 Loft Driver. It works just fine for me hitting a longer hang time and distance! My settings on my fast track is 3-5 same as Luke Donald’s.
I was using a 10.5 Lynx driver that came with my set before I ‘upgraded’ to an older 10.5 degree R-9 driver late last year. I was hitting it slightly further, about 200-220 yards (I’m still a beginner). Then a few weeks ago, I saw this Cleveland 270 Launcher Driver going on a crazy sale, and decided to give the 9 degree version a try. I loved the feel, was getting good height anyways, so I bought it.
Now, with hardly any improvements or change to my swing, I’m hitting 240-250 yards on average with it. So, despite the findings and what not, the truth for my own situation was that a lower degreed loft has produced significantly greater distance. With my 10.5 degree driver, I was striking it well, while teeing it up fairly low, and it was flying just was too high – it would just drop out of the sky, and come up shorter that I thought it would. With my new 9 degree launcher, it stays low, but at a height that I actually really like. So at the end of the day, I think it varies and is different for different people.
For me, and for some unknown reason, I tend to hit my drives higher than the average person I guess. Someone has suggested that this is because of my swing dynamic, and that I tend to strike down at the ball more. I honestly don’t know if this is what I do because I don’t think of striking down on it. All I know is that I’m getting more distance, and straighter drives with my 9 degree Launcher. Everyone’s swing style and dynamic is different – so go out and experiment and see what’s right for you!