The Correct Golf Driver Loft

Choosing The Correct Golf Driver Loft

I`ll bet , like most of us, the last time you bought a new golf driver you hit a demo club at the range a few times, it felt good and you bought it.

This is how almost all of us buy new golf clubs. But let`s take a look at the driver. It is probably the most important club in the golf bag. Playing golf from the fairway is a lot easier than the rough and also, hitting a 9 iron to the green is a lot easier than hitting a 6 iron. That`s pretty obvious, so what`s the point?

The point is that most of us are not playing with a driver that has the proper loft to provide us with maximum distance and accuracy. The simple reason for this is that golf club manufacturers are not making drivers with the lofts that are correct for most golfers.

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Here`s an idea of the range of lofts that we are talking about to provide optimal driver loft: (source: Golf Engineering)

The numbers below represent (A)Clubhead Speed (how fast you swing the golf driver), (B)Estimated Optimal Driver Loft (your ideal driver loft) and (C)Category (who should be using these lofts)

(A)_____________(B)____________(C)

(1) 130-150.....4-7 degrees.....men long driving champs
(2) 110-125.....8-9 degrees.....men touring pros
(3) 95-105......10-11degrees....strong men & women
(4) 85-90.......12-13 degrees...most men golfers
(5) 75-85.......14-15 degrees...senior men & most women
(6) 65-75.......16+ degrees.....most women golfers

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As you can see, most men golfers should be using a 12-13 degree loft with their driver, senior men and women even higher and we know that this is not the case.

Also, what this validates is the fact that the average male golfer is better of driving with his 15 degree three wood. We have known this for years but we really did not know why, now we do. It is all about the optimal loft! There are more factors that control golf driver distance and accuracy, other than loft, but for our purposes today, this is one variable that we can easily control.

Now, we know that we are not going to give up hitting the driver. The grip it and rip it mentality is too deeply ingrained in us to give up our driver. But, at least now we can give up trying to hit an 8 degree driver and maybe change to a more sensible 10.5 degree or, even better, a 12 degree driver. The fact is that the lower degree of loft has been working against us and we never knew it!

So, stop fighting gravity and starting using a loft that will provide you with the optimal launch angle. Hit your driver longer and straighter. Give it a try, I think you will like it.

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