Driver distance and loft

It covers areas such as technique, golf fitness and customfitted clubs. When it comes to golf club heads, each head is numbered differently according to its degree of loft. The loft of your driver will govern your launch angle and companies have made it a priority to make this as accommodating as possible. The angle should be level or slightly upward to produce the most efficient strike for distance. Long drive competitors have drivers that have only 4 to 7. This is because the added loft helps send the ball skyward and doesnt give a flat ball flight. What is the correct driver loft for the average senior golfer when choosing a driver, senior golfers should be careful to select the correct loft.

Drivers are designed to maximize the balls carry distance, so a driver s loft angle ranges from 8 to degrees, depending on the specific brand or model of driver. Youll notice the shape of a driver is straight up and down which mean it has almost no loft at all. Lower than 45, but still nowhere near the angle of a driver. The real point of contention in the driver loft debate comes down to whether you get more distance from carry or roll. Woods, ranging from a 2wood to a 5wood are also used for distance, but their loft angle is slightly greater than a driver. Its still true that golfers who swing less than 80 mph would likely. So, as the driver loft increases, ball speed decreases and the launch angle increases.

But an upward attack angle will also tend to launch the ball higher. In general, the longer a golfer can keep the ball in the air, the more distance they will get from a drive. Ifwhen your fairways are mowed very short, or are hard, firm and more conducive to roll, the driver loft which will result in the most total distance will be between 1 to 1. Per a suggestion in the comment section of my last article called how far should you hit your golf clubs. The summary chart below compares the characteristics of a typical set of 14 golf clubs. Apr 15, 2019 dan answers more question this time talking driver loft and how understanding your delivery and what loft might give you the best numbers for your golf game can help you hit more fairways with the. So they can therefore afford to have slightly more loft to maximize distance. The collision between the club face and ball is a glancing blow which produces less ball speed, more backspin and less distance this is the main reason why a 6iron flies much less far than a driver. Gx7 14 loft xmetal driver distance, fairway wood accuracy. The best driver loft for seniors follows a similar pattern to the best driver loft for beginners in the sense that senior golfers usually see their swing speed decrease. This produces the most consistent ball flight because that is where the true loft of the driver is located. Many professional players have added additional distance off the tee by choosing a driver with slightly more loft. In this example above, you see a facetopath difference of 6. Increase distance and reduce spin off the tee for the better player 4 comments higher than desired spin on the driver typically comes more from the golfer having a little more downward angle of attack into the ball or, from the golfer allowing the clubhead to slightly pass in front of the hands so the dynamic loft on the face is higher at.

We all want to increase our distance with the driver. More than a few players get more carry distance and better control with their 3wood off the tee. Both versions were not going nearly as far as my current driver or the m1, so there was a big difference there. Get the best deals on driver seniors golf clubs 14 loft when you shop the largest online selection at. Low trajectory is a common affliction among golfers who lack clubhead speed, but. A known way to gain more distance is to increase your club speed by swinging faster, but how can you. The faster your swing, the less loft your driver needs. Dec 11, 2018 the loft on your driver is a key factor that helps determine the success of your tee shots on longer holes. Hit the golf ball farther by improving spin loft adam. Rule of thumb is for every degree of change from level, add or subtract one degree of loft. A driver with more loft carries the ball farther, but it rolls less after it lands.

The impact between a clubhead and a golf ball along with the resulting. How to increase your driver distance free online golf tips. There is very little difference between a 45 inch long driver standard and a 47 inch driver in terms of club head speed. Carry distance varies by a large degree by where you golfie. Included are the club name, the loft angle, the lie angle, and the typical distance that can be achieved by the average golfer. Every club has unique characteristics, most notably where the center of gravity is. The distance increase per degree of loft changes as clubhead speed changes, and as the various clubs change too. Even with the clubhead speed of a bubba watson, there is a point that the driver loft will be too low even for him to generate his longest driving. Drivers are typically lofted between 8 and 11 degrees, so drivers with lofts of 9. If you know your club speed, you can determine what loft driver optimizes distance for your swing. In this article and video, well examine how you can increase your driver distance in a very real and measurable way on the golf course. In general, the slower the swing or club speed, the higher the loft of the driver to optimize both carry and roll.

This calculator has been updated to include carry distances and total distances for drivers of different lofts and different club speeds. Another element to monitor when swinging a driver is the angle at which the club head contacts the ball. Most drivers will allow considerable setting adjustments for improved performance and distance. With increased spin loft, we also see an increase in spin rate. Too many other variables to simply make a blanket optimal distance based solely on swing speed.

A golf clubs loft refers to the club faces angle relative to the clubs shaft, according to pga pro mark blakemore. In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees or less. At one time in the golf equipment industry, there existed a series of loft angles that were considered to be standard. Drives are too low golf tip tee it high and let it fly is a great mantra for driving the ball, but what if your shots barely get off the ground. But what if you could increase your driving distance with 30 yds off the tee without swinging faster. This driver delivers superior performance, and high and mid handicappers can expect extra speed and distance. The best driver loft for beginners is dependent on the average swing speed but typically in this range i would recommend a beginner golfer purchasing a driver that is between 1214 degrees in loft. Optimize driver loft for more distance dlance golf. The only other distance charts on the web where you can put in your driver carry, or 5i distance, and they output the rest of the clubs were just way too volatile, and seemed to have exponential differences in there, i. Loft is just one part of the distance equation, and everyones equation is different. If you reach 181 yards with a driver your swing is about 70 mph. Of our 12 sets each golfer produced 3 sets, 1 with each driver, we found that less loft produced more total distance only half the time, 6 out of 12.

Driver loft is the angle in degrees between a plane that touches the center of the striking face and a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the sole line. Drivers are usually lofted between 8 and 11 degrees. If youre going to spend money on a new driver, then you might as well take advantage of the. The combination of the driver head and shaft is crucial. How can we take advantage of the drivers additional length and lower loft to maximize our distance with what should be our longest club. Nearly all drivers will fall in the low range of degree loft. If you want to really smash your driver a long way, reducing spin loft will help. Aug 07, 2019 how to match your driver loft to your swing speed. Our goal with the driver should be to increase its loft to launch the ball at to 14 degrees, while also lowering the spin rate to about 3,000 rpm.

An appropriate loft choice will maximize your distance. The aim of a golf drive is to keep the ball low and hit it as long as possible. One of the biggest trends seniors fall into is selecting a driver with a lower loft, the theory being the lower. Its a frequently asked question and one that will vary from person to person and depend on a number of factors that could get very technical and indepth. Aug 21, 2015 but before i convince you that your driver doesnt have enough loft, lets go through the 4 signs that you need more loft on your driver, which ill explain in more detail below. If you have a mid swing speed of 95104 mph, a driver loft of between 1011. If you hit down on the ball, youre likely to have high spin loft, so using less loft will actually reduce your backspin and should help you hit the ball further.

To receive golfs allnew newsletters, subscribe for free here. The leastlofted golf club, other than a putter, is the driver. Match your driver loft to your swing speed back in the day, better players tended to favor very lowlofted drivers, often in the 7. How much distance are you losing with your driver adam. Our goal with this article is too educate you on some of the most important factors involved the 4 key elements of a great driver setup for example and some of the common problems you can immediately fix to improve distance. Seniors unsure of whether they need more loft should experiment on the course or driving range comparing driver and 3 wood distance off the tee. Increase distance and reduce spin off the tee for the. Golf driver loft distance, degrees, and best club selection. Learning to hit the ball farther is a process that involves many different elements. The d4 was not flying nearly as high or far as the d2, and there was a significant gap in distance between the two with the same loft of 9. The adjustable loft sleeve does come handy, and it allows customization of the trajectory and the launch to meet players preferences. I plugged in my 85 mph swingspeed, and it said i should have a 14. This indicates that distance isnt the result of more loft or less loft, but of getting the right loft. The best driver loft for seniors should be between 10.

It is very important to note the above chart offers the optimum driver loft for maximum carry distance. Angie isnt much different from most male amateurs in that the quickest shortcut to more distance is getting a driver with more loft. Opting for more loft is generally smarter than using a lowlofted driver and counting on roll for distance. Loft is a measurement used that refers to the amount of angle a club is designed to have. In general, this will be a spot that is slightly towards the toe and just above the center of the clubface.

Many seniors are amazed that their 3 wood often achieves a similar distance to the driver. Golf balls and the center of gravity on drivers have changed so much since 2003 that playing a higher loft isnt needed anymore to create the ideal distance recipe of high launch and low spin. So lets delve a little deeper into driver loft and how it affects the distance of your tee shots. Optimize driver loft for more distance dlance golfd. For many of you that might actually decrease your distance. Jan 07, 2020 best golf drivers for distance and accuracy in 2020. If youd like to see a more detailed chart on distance vs golf clubs, read my complete guide on golf club distances here. The driver is designed to give you the most distance of any club in your bag, as it has the longest shaft and the smallest angle of loft on the clubface. Optimize driver loft for more distance true fit clubs.

If your swing speed is 90100mph and your driver loft angle is lower than 11 degrees, 90% of you are losing distance by playing the wrong loft. Examples for a golfer with an 80mph driver clubhead speed and 65mph 5 iron speed, a 1 change in the driver means about a 2 yd carry difference and in the 5iron, that 1 loft change is about a 1 yd difference in carry. Raymond penner physics department, malaspina universitycollege, nanaimo, british columbia, canada received 27 march 2000. What youll find is that higher club head speeds require lower loft drivers for maximum distance. The complete guide to maximizing driver distance practical golf.

The holy grail combination for maximum distance is high launch, low spin. A 7 iron has a lower loft value which results in extra distance. Most average swing speed golfers 8890 mph dont use enough loft in their drivers due to seeing the pros using 910 degrees effective loft. An extensive array of lofts is offered in drivers to deliver the ideal launch angle. The distance estimations with 10 degree loft and blanket optimal loft recommendations for a given swing speed without knowing a golfers angle of attack also makes those estimates inaccurate. These are general calculations and do not take into consideration that loft and club head angles may vary from different manufacturers. Based on my results with the rest of the lofts, he concluded that the 10. The market is flooded with drivers that range between 420 degree lofts with the most common lofts ranging between 9 and 11 degrees. Read this before you buy your next driver practical golf. Drivers and wedges in particular have several possible selections for loft. Driver loft test results and findings, clubtest 20. While the majority of golfers dont have enough loft on their driver and would benefit from more, for the others and those using differently designed driver heads, more loft can in fact lose them distance. Dec 16, 20 in truth, loft is one of the most misunderstood aspects of selecting a new driver.

And the distance here is still too low, only 336 feet 112. The best driver loft for beginners is dependent on the average swing speed but typically in this range i would recommend a beginner golfer purchasing a driver that is between 1214 degrees. How to determine which loft you should get on your driver. Sep 03, 2017 how much distance are you losing with your driver. In the previous segment of this blog, we discussed hitting the ball on the sweet spot in order to optimize your smash factor or efficiency. The sales person at the store said that was the best loft for me. 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. A clubfitting specialist will measure the launch conditions of your drives and then suggest a particular combination of club loft, shaft flex and shaft weight etc. New and cheap drivers from top brands like callaway, taylormade, and wilson, to name a few. Second, you need to find a combination of loft and face angle that helps you produce playable, consistent shots. Youre swinging approximately 80 mph if you drive the ball 206 yards, 90 mph if your drives reach 232 yards and 100 mph if you drive the ball 258 yards. Aug, 2014 first, less loft does not mean more distance whether thats in a driver, fairway wood, hybrid, or iron.

For example, most golfers assume that getting a lower loft on their driver will increase distance. What is the correct driver loft for the average senior golfer. All else being equal, the more lofted your driver, the higher and straighter your shots will fly. Drivers are designed to maximize the balls carry distance, so a drivers loft angle ranges from 8 to degrees, depending on the specific brand or model of driver. But if the angle of attack stays the same, more loft will also create more spin. If your speed is between 60 and 80 mph, use 12 or more degrees of loft.