Loft on a driver

[EastPreston]

Why do I keep reading on forum's that a lower lofted driver isn't a good idea?

I can hit the driver 260 yards, straight 70% of the time, but it drives high too. Wouldn't I be better off with a lower lofted driver to keep the ball lower, requiring less effort to get distance etc?

I have a 10.5 at the moment.

 

[Twire]

If I could hit my driver 260 yards and straight 70% of the time, I'd be chuffed to bits. Most single didget guys would be happy with that to. What do you expect playing off 22?

 

[USER1999]

The reason it stays straight is probably the loft. Switch to a lower loft and you won't be as accurate. choice is yours.

260 ish is plenty long enough anyway.

 

[Aztecs27]

The reason it stays straight is probably the loft. Switch to a lower loft and you won't be as accurate. choice is yours.

260 ish is plenty long enough anyway.

This.

I'm a pretty high hitter (my iron shots hardly ever get roll, which is great for the couple of times a year I actually hit my approach shot onto the green! ). I made the switch from a 10.5 to a 9.5 a couple of months ago because of this. When I hit it well (less than 50% of the time) it probably carries 270 and trickles another 10 yards (or more depending on the slope of the fairway), but the rest of the time I usually push it 270 yards to the right. Despite the lower loft, I still get a ridiculous amount of height, hence the fairly mediocre roll my drives get. Lessons and more practice will cure this in time, but for now it's frustrating and can (almost) bring a grown man to tears!

I'd rather be in your position. 260 yards, straight, 70% of the time. Sounds good to me! A lower loft will probably not give you much more in the way of distance.

 

[EastPreston]

If I could hit my driver 260 yards and straight 70% of the time, I'd be chuffed to bits. Most single didget guys would be happy with that to. What do you expect playing off 22?

What I expect and what I want are two different things, what I expect playing off 22 is that I will continually improve my golf. What I want is for the ball to not land on the moon each time I hit the driver. It flys straight and it flys far, but Id like to keep it lower. Hence the loft question.

I don't feel that my swing should be adjusted for the sake of a high ball as I can strike the ball well, but I wondered whether a lower lofted driver would help. Is that not what they are designed for?

 

[EastPreston]

The reason it stays straight is probably the loft. Switch to a lower loft and you won't be as accurate. choice is yours.

260 ish is plenty long enough anyway.

What is it that makes a lower loft more inaccurate?

 

[EastPreston]

The reason it stays straight is probably the loft. Switch to a lower loft and you won't be as accurate. choice is yours.

260 ish is plenty long enough anyway.

Despite the lower loft, I still get a ridiculous amount of height, hence the fairly mediocre roll my drives get. Lessons and more practice will cure this in time, but for now it's frustrating and can (almost) bring a grown man to tears!

I'd rather be in your position. 260 yards, straight, 70% of the time. Sounds good to me! A lower loft will probably not give you much more in the way of distance.

That is interesting, perhaps it is something I should take up with my pro.

 

[bobmac]

Wouldn't I be better off with a lower lofted driver to keep the ball lower, requiring less effort to get distance etc?

I have a 10.5 at the moment.

Drivers come in different lofts to suit different swings.
If you want to know if a 9 deg will suit you, there's only one way to find out......

 

[USER1999]

The less loft, the more the side spin will dominate. A a result, lower lofted drivers can be less accurate, unless in the hands of a good golfer. THe pros can get away with hitting 7 degree drivers. Few amateurs can.
I had an 8.5, which went well with a good strike, but the bad ones were terrible. You can judge your driving by the bad ones, not the good ones. Bad shots wreck cards.
Most golfers would settle for hitting the fairway more often. If you are doing this, and are not looking for more distance, why worry?

The other thing I found is that when hitting on a launch monitor, the optimum flight was a lot higher than I thought it would be. It may be that what you think is high actually isn't, it is just the people you play with who hit it low.

 

[Aztecs27]

The reason it stays straight is probably the loft. Switch to a lower loft and you won't be as accurate. choice is yours.

260 ish is plenty long enough anyway.

What is it that makes a lower loft more inaccurate?

Simple physics, I believe. I don't know the exact science, but it's something to do with the angle of the club face and the amount of spin it generates when it connects with the ball. I think in basic terms a flatter face = more spin on the ball.

If you were able to hit the *exact* same shot with your driver and your PW, your pitching wedge would probably still hook/slice as your drive did, but would it would look more like a subtle draw/fade rather than you shanking one

 

[bigslice]

i currently have a 12 loft driver, i estimate im getting 220 yards. but i felt i was losing distance, as my ball comes down with snow on it. so bought a 10.5 loft different make etc. i was hoping to gain 20 yards plus!! just couldnt hit it. so have returned to 12 loft and have went down shaft and take easier swing. im more accurate and dare i say it 5 10 yards more. IMO the grass is never greener on the other side

 

[CliveW]

If you don't want hit the ball so high, tee it lower.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

I once had it explained to me that (and this may not be gospel):

A higher lofted driver is more likely to be hit square. As your swing with the driver is more rounded/flatter than with an iron as you hit around the more lofted club will be squarer than the less lofted which may still be open at impact.

The height of your drives may be moreaffected by the flex in your shaft. If you have a more flexible shaft I believe this can lead to getting more height.

I know that as a youngster our assistant pro let me have a few drives with his driver. It was 7* and incredibly stiff (seemed like steel & grphite interweaved?). Every shot I hit went low & left.
Also when I had my previous driver, 9.5* reg shafted Nike Ignite, my drives generally went high and hooked.

 

[DCB]

I can hit the driver 260 yards, straight 70% of the time, but it drives high too

Some people are never happy

Those are not far off Elite level stats !

or have we a troll in our midst

 

[EastPreston]

I can hit the driver 260 yards, straight 70% of the time, but it drives high too

Some people are never happy

Those are not far off Elite level stats !

or have we a troll in our midst

Speaking of never happy, I came joint third yesterday with 38 points (out of 25 guys). (Two got 39 points, another gent and I on 38 - (then countback knocked us to third)).

So I entered my strokes into the tour tracker and there was a discrepancy. I asked the secretary to check it out and the guy marking my score put a line through the third hole instead of a 6 for 1 point.. I would have apparently won yesterday on countback if I'd have checked my card..


ALWAYS CHECK CARD SCORES (I have now planted this into my mind).

 

[brendy]

I can hit the driver 260 yards, straight 70% of the time, but it drives high too

Some people are never happy

Those are not far off Elite level stats !

or have we a troll in our midst

Straight.....left and straight right!
Boom Boom!
Im on a 9 deg G15 and still hit redisulously high, I am really tempted to get fitted as im fed up with great distances in non windy conditions then as soona s the wind crops up it sits about 200feet up looking down at me laughing.

 

[USER1999]

I am not sure fitting will fix that. It sounds like you hit down on it, causing too much back spin. That's what I do. I couldn't believe it because I thought I hit it on the up stroke, but I don't. The stats don't lie. That was why they fitted me for an 8.5 loft. This was very unforgiving. I am now back to 9.5.

 

[BROOKIE]

most of the people I play golf with would just love to hit
their driver 260 yards,so maybe your doing a little nit picking here,if I were you I would concentrate on my short
game,then your handicap would be a lot less

 

[EastPreston]

Yep, that is what I will be working on next. I wanted a half decent swing first.

No point me being great at the short game and taking 6 topped shots to get on the green.

I putt all holes in 2 apart from 1 in 3 yesterday. So you think I need some 1 putts?

I had one thinned shot but the rest were fine. The best score I've had so far.

After that F*** up yesterday though, Ill be gunning for first on the next comp.

P.S - How much less?

 

[Region3]

I have a 10.5 and I hit very low most of the time.

It's more about the shaft and your swing.