Author: Jamie Lewis – PGA Teaching Professional
Contents
How does driver loft affect distance?
What about launch angle, spin rate, club face impact position, and shaft position… how do they affect distance?
Key Takeaways
- Launch angle and spin rate have a large impact on distance
- High launch combined with low spin generates maximum distance
- Don’t add loft to your driver by using poor hand position
- Hit slightly higher on the face for optimal launch and distance
- Take advantage of new golf tech to achieve optimal launch angle
What loft should my driver be?
To obtain maximum distance, for any golfer, including the pros, certain criteria must come together perfectly.
As amateur golfers, depending on your swing speed, you need to choose a driver loft that fits your particular circumstances.
Too many times I’ve seen golfers who simply don’t have the optimal driver for their swing shape and swing speed. If your club has the wrong loft, and you swing pretty slowly, your golf ball is not going to travel very far, plain and simple.
After reading this article, you’ll understand EXACTLY what the optimal ball flight is, and how you can achieve YOUR optimal ball flight and distance by making a few minor adjustments.
Optimizing Ball Flight Trajectory
To have the absolute perfect golf ball flight trajectory (maximizing distance of course), there are two elements that need to be optimized… Launch Angle and Spin Rate:
1. Driver Launch Angle
What exactly is driver launch angle? This is the angle of the ball flight after impact in relation to the ground. This can basically be thought of as “delivered loft”.
- Lower delivered loft = lower launch angle (the golf ball starts very low to the ground)
- Higher delivered loft = higher launch angle (the golf ball starts much steeper off the ground)
There is definitely a sweet spot for launch angle and maximizing distance. Too far outside this sweet spot, and you’re losing distance. The ideal launch angle is between 15° and 17°.
This is NOT the same thing as the loft of your driver… more on that later, bear with me for now.
2. Spin Rate
What exactly is spin rate? This is the amount of spin (yes, backspin) that clubs produce on the golf ball just after impact.
Loft on the club is what directly produces this backspin. It’s pretty simple… the more loft a club has, the more backspin it can put on the ball.
Additionally, any loft added (or subtracted) due to your attack angle, face impact position, and shaft lean will add (or subtract) to the final spin rate as well… more on this in a bit, again, bear with me here.
3. How Do These 2 Elements Combine To Affect Ball Flight and Distance?
3.1 Changing the Launch Angle Alone
A high launch angle produces a high starting trajectory, and a low launch angle produces a low starting trajectory.
This chart below shows the effects on ball flight from changing the launch angle alone:
Don’t worry about the numbers in this chart, simply observe what a higher and lower launch angle will do to the ball flight. There is definitely a sweet spot for max distance. (this chart assumes a constant spin rate among all the balls)
3.2 Changing the Spin Rate Alone
The higher the spin rate, the more the ball will “climb” into the air, go really high, and sort of “drop” out of the sky once it loses velocity, this is known as a steep landing angle… and not a lot of roll out.
A low spin rate will produce the opposite… simply not a whole lot of “climb” or lift, a shallow landing angle, and typically much more roll out once on the ground.
You can see below the effects on ball flight from changing the spin rate alone:
All of these balls start with the same launch angle from where the ball is struck. The spin is affecting the total height, or apex, of the ball’s trajectory, as well as the landing angle.
3.3 Combining Both Launch Angle and Spin Rate: The Optimal Ball Flight
So there are essentially 4 ball flight patterns you can produce with the combination of a low or high launch angle, and a low or high spin rate:
- (GREEN) – High Launch and Low Spin: optimum ball fight for driver, maximum carry and roll out = MOST DISTANCE
- (RED) – High Launch and High Spin: really high ball flight, steep landing angle = little carry and roll, least distance
- (BLUE) – Low Launch and High Spin: starts low but rises high late, steep landing angle = decent carry, little roll, 2nd worst for total distance
- (ORANGE) – Low Launch and Low Spin: starts low, never rises much, lots of roll out – 2nd longest, but very low carry
So it should be obvious from the graph above that the green ball flight pattern (high launch and low spin) is going to get you the most distance… BUT here are some numbers to back it up:
Optimal Launch Angle and Spin Rate Calculator / Chart
(Courtesy to Ping for this data chart)
This data chart from Ping confirms that you’ll get the most distance by combining a high launch angle with low spin. I drew a red circle on there for what is really the sweet spot of launch angle + spin rate.
The 5 Factors Affecting Driver Launch Angle and Spin Rate
Okay, we talked a lot about optimizing your driver launch angle and spin rate to achieve the perfect ball flight right? But how do you actually control those things?
Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYardWell I said to bear with me earlier… so here are the goods! These are the 5 factors you need to understand to optimize your driver launch angle and spin rate for maximum average driver distance:
1. Clubhead Speed
This one is pretty straight forward… the faster you swing the golf club, the MORE SPIN you’ll generate on the ball.
This doesn’t mean you need to try to swing faster or slower, it’s just a baseline of where you’re at and what else will need to be adjusted to get your optimum ball flight.
2. Driver Loft
Driver loft is the physical angle of the club face itself in relation to the ground. This directly impacts how the club will launch the ball into the air.
Typically a higher loft is going to be better, unless you swing your clubs really really fast.
Why is that? Let’s think about it… a really fast club head speed will generate more spin, giving you more eventual height on your trajectory, allowing for a lower starting point (lower loft).
Loft added by a Cupped Lead Wrist (very bad!)
Something else to be aware of here is actually adding loft to the club by cupping the lead wrist before impact.
You do NOT want to do this!
Combine this with a downward angle of attack (explained in the next section) and you will create a TON of backspin resulting in what’s known as spin loft. This ultimately creates that dreaded high launch / high spin trajectory that goes nowhere.
It’s explained pretty well in this video:
3. Angle of Attack
What is “Angle of Attack”? This is the angle between the clubhead and ball at impact. It’s basically how “up or down” you’re swinging on the ball.
- A positive attack angle = high launch, less spin, more carry distance, and more roll out
- A negative attack angle = low launch, more spin, less carry, and less roll out
So it should be obvious that we want to hit UP on the ball with our drivers. This basically means that we want to catch the ball on the up part of our swing, that’s why the ball is teed so far forwards for the driver.
How can we increase distance using this philosophy? Here’s an example…
Say you’re using a 9 degree loft driver and your drives are going out 270 yards. By raising the attack angle (and ultimately the launch angle) another degree or two, if everything else stays the same, you could increase your drives by another 15 yards or so.
This example assumes you were hitting down, level, or just slightly up on the ball. There is a sweet spot. You want to be hitting up about 5° with the driver.
Here’s an interesting chart that proves that increasing your angle of attack (or your ball speed) increases your total carry distance.
(Courtesy to Ping for this data chart)
Again, props to Ping for performing this test and releasing this data! They are doing some great research over there for sure.
4. Clubface Contact Position
Where you contact the golf ball on the face of the club is going to impact both spin rate and launch, as well as ball speed (which indirectly impacts spin rate even more)
As you can see in graphic below, higher on the face promotes higher launch and less spin… lower on the face promotes lower launch and high spin:
Here is the takeaway though… you may simply just need to work on your ball striking and learn to control where the ball is contacting the clubface to obtain the optimum driving distance for your swing speed.
Here’s a great article if you’re simply looking for tips on how to swing a driver.
Also, it’s important to note that the loft actually changes on the face depending how high or low the contact is. This is going to affect both the launch angle and spin rate:
5. Shaft Lean at Impact
When a golfer goes from the backswing into transition to the downswing, the shaft and club head are behind the golfers’ hands. This is caused by the flex in the club shaft.
As the downswing continues, the shaft begins to recover until it’s actually leaning slightly forward at impact. Again, this is the cause of the shaft flex and is sometimes referred to as “the kick” in the shaft.
A high, mid, and low kick point will affect the launch like this:
Basically, if the shaft is too stiff for your swing speed, you’ll get a decrease in your attack angle (and ultimately your launch angle). If the shaft is too soft, just the opposite, an increase in launch (a more positive attack angle).
How to Change Those Numbers With a New Driver
So we’ve talked about the 2 elements affecting ball flight and distance, AND the 5 factors directly affecting those elements.
But what are the equipment changes available to actually achieve all this stuff?
Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYard1. Driver Lofts
The loft on your driver will directly affect the launch of the golf ball.
If you’re doing the other things we talked about correctly… you hit the ball in the center of the clubface, and you hit the ball with a POSITIVE attack angle, and you’re still not getting the desired launch you’d like… then changing the loft on your driver is the next step.
Most drivers loft are somewhat adjustable these days, so you could start there by adding a little bit of loft and see if that results in your optimum ball flight trajectory.
If that’s not enough (or you don’t have an adjustable hosel), perhaps a brand new driver is the best way to go for you.
2. Driver Head Design
The technology that goes into driver head design these days is quite insane actually. Some drivers are specifically designed to lower the spin rate. These are typically for the faster swinging players who generate so much club head speed and ball speed that they NEED a low spin driver head.
If you’re generating a ton of spin with your current swing and driver, then this could be the one thing to look into with a new club.
Additionally, some driver heads are designed specifically to have lower launch.
3. Weight Magnitude and Position
Many drivers these days have adjustable weight to change the identity of the club. Some may simply have these weight positions built in
Adding more weight towards the face lowers the spin rate and launch… while adding more weight towards the rear (away from the face) raises the spin rate and launch.
4. Pick the Best Golf Driver for You
If you’ve decided that a new driver is something you seriously want to look into, we have a really in depth write up and review where we actually went out and tested (yes with a launch monitor) the best golf drivers available today. There’s some surprising findings in there you may not want to miss.
And if you’re a woman golfer reading this post, then we have our picks for the best women’s golf drivers of 2023.
So What Loft Driver Should I Use? Putting It All Together
I’ve thrown a LOT of info at you, and it can be confusing, I know. There’s just not a “best loft” simple answer.
At this point you might be thinking, “Okay this is really good info and all, but what does it all mean? How can I apply this to me and my swing to get the maximum distance on my drives? That’s what I came here for.”
So what loft driver should i use – Finally, the info we’ve all been waiting for!
The best place to start is by analyzing your current ball flight trajectory… is your launch angle too high, too low.. is your spin too high, too low?
- It could be simply working on your ball striking skill (if you’re contacting the ball too high or too low on the face)
- It could be an equipment adjustment (either with the driver loft, an adjustable weight, etc.)
- It could be an equipment upgrade (a new driver, a new shaft, maybe both)
- It could be a combination of some or all of the above
Final Thoughts on Driver Loft
Use the knowledge presented in this article to analyse your current ball flight trajectory. Then, reverse engineer what can be fixed or what can be improved.
- The 2 elements that combine to produce ball flight trajectory (launch angle and spin rate)
- What the optimum ball flight trajectory is for maximum distance (high launch + low spin)
- The 5 factors that ultimately change those 2 elements (clubhead speed, club loft, attack angle, contact position on the face, and shaft kick points)
- AND the golf equipment changes and technology that are available to help you achieve that perfect max distance type of ball flight
I know this is a complicated article, and there is a lot to understand that goes into optimizing ball flight trajectory.
Hopefully you got a lot out of this and you’ll soon outdriving your golf buddies right down the middle of the fairway.
Cheers!
Driver Loft Chart
If you want the quick cut and dry answer to “What is the best loft for a driver?’ or “What loft should my driver be?”, the following driver loft chart is my recommendation of where you should start looking.
Driver Loft Chart:
| Driver Loft | Handicap | Condition |
| 8° | Sub zero to +5 | Specific golfers who have dialed in their swing, attack angle, spin, etc. – but still require a lower lofted driver to get the optimal launch angle with driver |
| 9° | 0 – 18 | Most lower handicap and mid handicap golfers who can hit up on the ball consistently |
| 10.5° | 10 – 25 | Mid to high handicap golfers who don’t always hit up on the ball, or just need a little bit more launch |
| 12° | 15 – 25+ | High handicap and beginners, or anyone else who needs extra help with getting the ball higher in the air |
FAQ
Note – Some of these FAQs were covered throughout the article, but I still get these questions a lot… so here are the “short and sweet” answers to the most common questions:
What Loft Should My Driver Be?
- Swing speeds below 80 = Driver loft as high as 12° or 13°
- Swing speeds of 80 to 90 = Driver loft of 11° to 12°
- Swing speeds of 90 to 100 = Driver loft of 10° or 11°
- Swing speeds of greater than 100 = Driver loft as low as 9° or even less loft
The best loft on your driver is one that helps you create the optimal ball flight pattern. This is typically going to be a high launch + low spin type of ball flight. This is determined by several factors, but the biggest is your swing speed.
Are Higher Lofted Drivers Easier to Hit?
In most cases, yes, higher lofted drivers are easier to hit. However, each individual golfer has their own quirks that will decide what lofts are best for them. Check this out for our complete list of the easiest driver to hit.
Is It Harder To Hit a Lower Loft Driver?
Yes, a low loft driver, for the average player, is going to make it harder to hit the ball. Lower loft tends to add quite a bit more side spin, creating those hooks and slices more prevalent than the higher lofted drivers. The higher lofted drivers tend to create a more straight backspin on the golf ball.
What loft driver is most forgiving?
A higher lofted driver is generally going to be more forgiving, but that is not always the case due to the added spin rates of high lofted drivers. Check this out if you’re looking for a list of the most forgiving drivers.
What Is The Average Loft of a Driver?
The average loft of a driver ranges from 9 degree loft to 10.5 degree loft right off the shelf. It’s also easy to find drivers of higher lofts if needed. Drivers with really low lofts (below 9°) are usually only custom made.
What’s the Best Loft for a Driver?
The best loft for a driver is usually around 10.5 degrees for amateurs, but it really depends what your specific issues are. The best loft for driver is going to be the loft that gives you the optimal launch angle driver trajectory. For lower handicap players, the best driver loft is usually around 9 degrees.
Does Driver Loft Affect Slice?
Driver loft does affect slice spin. Typically, the lower the loft of any golf club, the more likely you are to put side spin on the ball. If you’re looking for drivers specifically designed to mitigate the dreaded slice, check out this article here.
What Is The Ideal Launch Angle for a Driver?
The ideal launch angle for a driver is between 15° and 17°. This is NOT the same as loft. Launch is defined as the angle between the ground and the ball flight just after impact, and is the result of the clubs loft and attack angle.
What Loft Driver Do Pros Use?
Most PGA/LPGA pros are using a driver loft from 9° to 11°, unless you’re Bryson DeChambeau who uses 8° (and sometimes even less). The pros swing REALLY fast, so they can afford to use a little less loft.
What Is an Adjustable Loft Driver?
An adjustable loft driver is a driver that has an adjustable hosel. You can typically change the loft to around 1° below and up to 2° above from the stated loft.
What Is Better 9.5 or 10.5 Driver?
In most cases, a 10.5 degree loft driver will be better than a 9.5 degree loft. Since average amateur golfers have a swing speed of somewhere between 75 mph and 100 mph, a high loft driver is usually better. But it also depends on the individual golfer, his/her swing speed, and other factors affecting launch (such as where contact is being made on the fact, the attack angle, etc).
FAQs
How much does 1 degree of loft affect launch angle? ›
By changing the driver loft, it will not only change launch angle, but will also change spin. So, the effect of changing driver loft by 1 degree can be more than 2-4 yards depending on your ball speed and how close you are to your ideal launch conditions before changing loft.
What is the optimum launch angle for driver distance? ›Interestingly, the projected optimal launch angle of 10.4° and back spin of 2,760 rpm closely matches the actual PGA Tour averages of 10.9° launch angle and 2,686 rpm spin rate. The best golfers in the world, naturally, have gravitated toward the launch conditions that optimize performance for their given attack angle.
How does driver loft affect launch angle? ›The lower the launch angle, the closer the ball travels to the ground. Overall, clubs that have a lower loft produce a lower launch angle while traveling a longer distance, while clubs that have a higher loft are meant to have a higher launch and not travel as far.
How much does 1 degree of loft affect distance? ›A one-degree change in the angle can affect your distance by two to four yards. For example, you can see 10-15 yards of difference by switching between an 8-iron with a loft of 37 to 39 degrees to a 9-iron with 41-43 degrees of loft.
Why is 45 degrees not the best launch angle? ›A launch at 45 degrees would allow the ball to remain in the air for a longer time, but it would then be launched at a lower horizontal speed at the start and it would slow down more because of the longer flight time.
Should launch angle be the same as loft? ›Launch angle will always be a little less than dynamic loft, but will have a similar value. Along with ball speed, launch angle is a primary component to determining the height and distance of a shot.
Does launch angle affect distance? ›The launch angle determines the maximum height, time in the air, and maximum horizontal distance of the projectile.
What is the optimal driver launch angle for 90 mph swing speed? ›In the 90 mph range, you're probably looking at something a little lower than 13 degrees. Most 10.5 degrees adjustable drivers will go up to 12 degrees, which is exactly the range for you; Same goes for the 100 mph hitters. You can also opt for the lower lofted adjustable drivers.
What is the ideal golf driver launch angle and spin? ›Your ideal launch angle depends on your swing speed, and here are some general guidelines for what your launch angle should be at different swing speeds: 100mph+: 12-degrees to 15-degrees with a spin rate between 2,000 and 2,500rpm. 90mph: 14-degrees to 16-degrees with a spin rate between 2,500 and 3,000rpm.
What is the best driver loft for 85 mph swing speed? ›85 mph > = 14 – 20 degrees.
Do any pros use a 10.5 degree driver? ›
But there are obviously a lot of pros who would play this. In fact, many pros do play 10.5 drivers, even on the PGA Tour. Nick Watney, Camillo, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, are some examples of pros who have used 10.5 drivers. Others like Tiger Woods, use less loft on their drivers.
Does changing driver loft increase distance? ›Hitting the ball on an upward angle with a lower lofted driver will increase distance and lower spin. The way to get the most distance out of your driver is to use less loft and make contact on an upward angle. This will decrease the amount of spin and the ball will roll down the fairway longer.
How much does 3 degrees of loft affect distance? ›The 3 degrees loft left over = 4 yards, so 20 yards + 4 yards = 24 yards. Do not get too serious about this interpolation thing, a close guess is usually ok. This calculation method is, however, quite accurate and is the best way to fit clubs regarding distance differences in your iron set.
How much yardage difference per degree of loft? ›One degree of loft typically works out to about three yards of carry distance so, if you have four degrees of loft between clubs, a 12-yard gap is a solid target.
Does higher loft close the face? ›When you adjust a hosel to increase loft, you are actually closing the face fractionally. Conversely when you reduce loft you are open the face slightly. Some clubs counter this visual change by allowing you to also change the face angle by using balance points on the sole.
What is the average launch angle? ›As a guideline, here are the Launch Angles for different types of contact: Ground ball: Less than 10 degrees. Line drive: 10-25 degrees. Fly ball: 25-50 degrees.
Which launch angle would give you the largest height? ›The projectile launched at 60-degrees has the greatest vy, and as such the greatest peak height.
What launch angles give the same range? ›Two launch angles that add to 90° will result in the same range when launched at the same speed.
What loft driver is best for 80 mph swing speed? ›Let me assume that your driver swing speed is about 80 mph. For this speed you need to launch the ball at about 14 degrees with a spin rate in the 3,000-rpm range. To achieve these launch conditions, the club you have i.e. 13 degrees loft is a good choice.
What is the launch angle of a 10.5 degree driver? ›Launch angle is determined by the club's loft angle and the angle of attack at impact. So, with a driver loft of 10.5 degrees and an angle of attack of +5 degrees, the launch angle would be 15.5 degrees.
What is the ideal golf launch angle? ›
If you're in the average male swing speed range (85 mph), your ideal launch angle would be 12-16 degrees. If you're in the average female swing speed range (65 mph), your ideal launch angle would be 14-19 degrees.
What ball speed is needed for 300 yard drive? ›But if you're up for a challenge and want a goal to aim for, talk to GOLF Top 100 Teacher Andrew Rice. Rice conducts lots of studies using launch data, which you can read on his website, and tells golfers that if they want to hit the ball over 300 yards, they need to swing their driver about 108 mph.
How far should a driver go with 100 mph swing speed? ›If your swing speed is 100 mph, your distance potential could be as high as 270 yards. But most golfers are woefully short of their potential. Two-thirds of the players in our survey weren't within 15 yards of their potential driving distance, and half of those were 30 or more yards short of optimum.
What is the best trajectory for driver? ›These players hit the farthest at 16-20 degrees launch angle. For big hitters, a perfect drive looks more like a boring line drive, around 10-13 degrees. Of course, wind and ground conditions will play a factor. So you must adjust accordingly for your home course.
What loft driver hits the farthest? ›(The average male-golfer swing speed is in the mid-90s.) Participants in our tests achieved more distance when they used drivers with less than 10 degrees of loft. In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees or less.
What is the best driver loft for seniors? ›What loft driver should seniors use? Most seniors should use a driver loft of at least 11 degrees. While some players might get away with 10 or 10.5 if they still have a higher swing speed, most golfers should between 11-13 degrees.
What is the easiest golf driver to hit straight? ›- Ping G425 Max (Most Forgiving Top Choice)
- Callaway Rogue ST Max (Close Second Most Forgiving Top Choice)
- Cleveland Launcher XL (Best for High Handicappers and Beginner Players & Budget-Friendly)
- Mizuno ST-Z 220 (For Better Players Seeking Some Forgiveness)
Distance. Whether you're a professional golfer or just a novice, getting good distance off the tee is vitally important. In principle, 9.5 degree driver shots will travel lower and at a faster speed than shots with a 10.5 driver when struck square. Therefore, they'll often travel a further distance.
Does a lower loft driver go further? ›A lower lofted driver can go further for a golfer that hits the ball as part of their upswing. Golfers that hit down on the golf ball will need a higher lofted driver to see the proper distance from their shots. Some golfers think that if they hit the ball high, they are actually losing distance.
What happens when you lower loft on driver? ›For the high-spin player, lowering the loft will reduce your spin. But be careful, as it also makes something called the “D-plane” easier to tilt, causing more aggressive offline shots. The key is to find the happy medium.
Does a higher loft driver go farther? ›
It's the same with the driver. If you have a golfer with a very high clubhead speed (i.e. the hose on full blast) they'll need a lower loft to get maximum distance. For a slower clubhead speed (i.e. the water pressure is lower) they'll need a higher loft to get more distance.
Does more loft equal more distance? ›Put simply, loft is the angle between the clubface and the ground. That angle is measured in degrees of loft. All other factors being equal, a lower loft equates to more distance, higher potential ball speed, a lower trajectory of a shot and less spin being imparted on the ball.
What happens when I increase loft on my driver? ›Increasing or decreasing loft can change how far you hit the ball and the accuracy of your drives considerably. Also, moving the center of gravity around with weights can affect the shape of your shots. A lot of drivers now come with fade and draw options.
Is 12 degree driver loft too much? ›12 degrees is not unreasonable, considering that the average driver sits at 10.5 degrees in loft. However, when you compare it to the loft angles of most pros on the PGA tour these days, 12 degrees tend to be a little high, and it may be a rare occasion to see a 12-degree loft driver at a major championship.
Is higher loft easier to hit? ›A little extra lift, or loft, makes the job much easier. Too much, however, can make your shots fly even shorter. For these golfers in particular, it's important to have your clubs fit by a professional to make sure that you're maximizing the distance potential of your limited club head speed.
How does dynamic loft affect distance? ›Too much dynamic loft will send the ball too high and reduce distance. Two little dynamic loft will send the ball too low, minimizing carry distance and causing excessive rollout.
Does more loft mean less slice? ›Loft and backspin are two critical factors in reducing a slice. Hopefully we've covered this during the review, but if you struggle with slicing your Driver and you have less than 10-degrees of loft, then I suggest you move to a Driver with 10.5 or even 12-degrees of loft.
Is higher loft more forgiving? ›However, it is worth noting that a higher lofted driver is also more forgiving because it is harder to curve the ball.
What is the ideal yardage gaps? ›Typically good gapping is even spread between all clubs and is usually around 10-15 yards between each club. This can vary depending on a range of factors such as loft of club, make of club, type of club and swing technique.
Does lowering driver loft open the face? ›The fix: Most adjustable drivers allow you to open the clubface or position more of the adjustable weight to the toe side of the club—or even both. Reducing loft also opens the face slightly.
How do I know if my golf shaft is too stiff? ›
If your driver's shaft is too stiff, the clubhead may not square with the ball at the point of impact, causing slices and fades. If you can't feel the weight of the clubhead loading through the shaft, it's probably too stiff, and can cause errors and issues associated with accuracy such as these.
Does 1 degree lie angle make difference? ›A lie angle that is out by 1 degree can cause you to hit the ball up to 4 yards offline. If your set of clubs are 2 or 3 degrees wrong, you're making things unnecessarily hard for yourself! All brands use a different number as their 'standard' lie angle which is why it is so important to get custom fit.
How much difference does 3 degrees loft make? ›Looking at the distances we can conclude that 3-degrees of loft equates to 10 yards in distance. Short Irons- 7, 8, 9, and wedges.
Is 45 degrees always the best launch angle? ›The sine function reaches its largest output value, 1, with an input angle of 90 degrees, so we can see that for the longest-range punts 2θ = 90 degrees and, therefore, θ = 45 degrees. A projectile, in other words, travels the farthest when it is launched at an angle of 45 degrees.
Does changing loft affect face angle? ›Being able to adjust the loft allows golfers to achieve launch angles and spin rates that are suited well to the way that they deliver the club. When you adjust a hosel to increase loft, you are actually closing the face fractionally. Conversely when you reduce loft you are open the face slightly.
What happens if my lie angle is too upright? ›It's an important part of a golfer's set makeup, because if the club's lie angle is too upright, the face of the club will point left of the target (for right-handed golfers), and if the lie angle is too flat, the face will point right of the target.
What lie angle do most pros use? ›Generally speaking, however, most pros use a lie angle that is somewhere between 1 and 5 degrees upright (slightly pointing up). However, in some cases, pros may use a lie angle that is more upright or more flat, but this is usually because it best suits the individual's swing and physical characteristics.
What happens if your golf clubs are too upright? ›But if your clubs are too upright, the toe would be off the ground, and you'd have a tendency to pull the ball (inset, top). Too flat, and the heel would be up, and you'd tend to hit pushes (inset, bottom). Starting with the face slightly off can produce exponential misses, so make sure your clubs fit.
Does stronger loft mean more distance? ›Stronger lofts mean more distance/lower trajectory, weaker lofts mean less distance/higher trajectory. Strengthening loft means subtracting loft (going from 27 to 25 degrees, e.g.); weakening loft means adding loft.
Does higher loft give more distance? ›Having more loft will help get the ball in the air and will give the majority of average players more distance off the tee. What is this? If you hit the ball on a downward or flat angle, 10.5 degrees of loft will help get the ball in the air.
Does higher loft mean more distance? ›
If you have a golfer with a very high clubhead speed (i.e. the hose on full blast) they'll need a lower loft to get maximum distance. For a slower clubhead speed (i.e. the water pressure is lower) they'll need a higher loft to get more distance.
How do you find the optimal launch angle? ›Since all paths meet at one point, we know we have found the launch angle for which the projectile's horizontal path distance reaches a maximum. c = s 2hgv2 + v4 2agv2 + g2 . Recall c = v2/g cot✓m, so we find that the optimal initial angle, ✓m, is ✓m = arccot g v2 s2hgv2 + v4 2agv2 + g2 !
Does more loft mean less distance? ›Put simply, loft is the angle between the clubface and the ground. That angle is measured in degrees of loft. All other factors being equal, a lower loft equates to more distance, higher potential ball speed, a lower trajectory of a shot and less spin being imparted on the ball.
Does higher loft driver help my slice? ›Loft and backspin are two critical factors in reducing a slice. Hopefully we've covered this during the review, but if you struggle with slicing your Driver and you have less than 10-degrees of loft, then I suggest you move to a Driver with 10.5 or even 12-degrees of loft.