What loft driver do you play and why?

[MattF 14,998]

Don't know if it's been asked before, but I was wondering what loft driver you play and why?

 

Were you fitted for that one or did you just hit it and like it?

 

I currently have 2 drivers, a Ping G5 10.5* Aldila NV 65-S and an 07 Burner 9.5* Reax 55 R cut 1/2" short.

 

I'm in the market for a new driver and I'm thinking of a 12* ( this one actually ) with an Adila NVS 65-R cut -1/2 short.

 

I believe that the 12* will help me off the tee, especially with the side spin.

 

Matt

[Matt Saternus 35]

10.5*

 

Lots of fittings tell me it goes the farthest, at least for most heads.

[JMiller 18]

Think this has been covered in a lot of detail already... http://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/8142-driver-loft-fitting/page__st__15

 

I play a Adams Fast 12 LS (Tour Head) @ 9.3* (measured at center of the face). Because it gives me the optimal carry and roll combination for spin and launch conditions through a fitting.

[JBones 1,237]

I'm getting an R1 and I'll have it set somewhere between 8.25*-9.25*, not sure yet.

[Walkerjames 5]

I have two drivers in rotation a R11 stamped 10.5 and a Cobra LV4 stamped 11.5 and just hit them the best at the time of purchase.

[GolfSpy WD 14]

I've been playing my R11s at 9.75, mainly because every fitter or demo-day-club-guy started me with a 10.5 and always hands me a 9.5 afterwards. Honestly I'd play a 12* if I thought it went farther though.

[fozcycle 15,612]

I have three Drivers at current;

 

Powerbilt AFO 10.5* reg Fujikura shaft

 

Powerbilt AFO WMD 10.5* reg Project X 5.0 shaft

 

Callaway FTiz 11* reg Project X 5.0 shaft

 

 

I play the Powerbilt AFO WMD as it both has the most distance and stays in the fairway.

[ZenGolfer 928]

10.5*. Ive tried various lofts and 10.5* gives me the best performance.

[revkev 25,711]

My R11s is set at 9.75 neutral - it's stamped 9.0. In light of a recent review of driver lofts who the heck knows what that means. It's what I was fit for and in drawing all of the loft combos on this driver it's clearly my best one.

 

We have certainly covered this before but sometimes it's hard to unearth old threads so I'd say if you can't find the thread start it - thanks for starting this one MattF.

 

Since you started the thread I'm wondering why you think you need 12 degrees? Just because someone else hits it farther doesn't necessary mean you will - do you know what your AoA is? Have you been fitted for a 12? If side spin is your issue is it because of your swing or your equipment or a little of both? Would a draw bias - more weight in the toe, a closed face be the ticket? Could it be that the length of the shaft on your driver is too long for you to handle - that's a very common problem even if the shaft is cut half inch short - many drivers are 46" a half inch often is not enough. 44.5 or 44" could be the ticket for you.

 

I'm not trying to be a wise guy just trying to say - have you considered these other possibilities?

[MattF 14,998]

We have certainly covered this before but sometimes it's hard to unearth old threads so I'd say if you can't find the thread start it - thanks for starting this one MattF.

 

Since you started the thread I'm wondering why you think you need 12 degrees? Just because someone else hits it farther doesn't necessary mean you will - do you know what your AoA is? Have you been fitted for a 12? If side spin is your issue is it because of your swing or your equipment or a little of both? Would a draw bias - more weight in the toe, a closed face be the ticket? Could it be that the length of the shaft on your driver is too long for you to handle - that's a very common problem even if the shaft is cut half inch short - many drivers are 46" a half inch often is not enough. 44.5 or 44" could be the ticket for you.

 

I'm not trying to be a wise guy just trying to say - have you considered these other possibilities?

 

No, I have not been fitted for a 12. My reasoning for the change is through reading (for what it's worth) and results.

 

My Burner is 9.5* cut to 44.5" (I believe that it was originally 46" standard). My Ping G5 is 10.5* standard length, but I grip down 1/2 - 1" and I hit it straighter and further than the burner.

 

So, to me at least, the higher loft is helping. I have no idea what my AoA is to be honest.

 

I would say that it's a little of both with my problem, but I do hit my irons and hybrids well...it's just the driver that's giving me fits. Maybe it's the space between my ears that's the biggest problem!

 

My thought process is 44.5" length and 12* "may" be the ticket...but maybe I'm just drinking the kool-aid from what I've been reading.

 

BTW, I don't really care if someone is longer off the tee than me, I'm now trying to play smarter golf, not bomb and gouge.

 

But it is interesting to see what others are using and how they arrived at that particular decision.

 

Matt

[wbealsd 1,063]

When I got my driver fitted a couple of years ago, my fitter contacted Adams to check their stock for a head that was a close to 13* as they could. It's marked 12.5*

 

I've got both a slow swing and a steep angle of attack and get the best results with it I've ever had.

[apprenti23 605]

I play a 7* driver and have for the last five years. Back in college i used to play a 7.5*. Every once in awhile I'll try an 8.5* but it never works. With my launch angle, spin rate, and club head speed, a 7* driver is optimal for my shitty golf swing.

For the past five seasons or so my go to has been an Adams Speedline Prototype Classic Deep Face. I actually have 6 of them because they never came to production and well I'm a hoarder. My gamer has an Altus 2007 Proto, but I have one with a Fubuki, one with a black ops, one with a new bimatrix, one with a kiyoshi, and another that's just head only.

 

My new driver for the 2013 season, well the one to try for bag time, is the Callaway XHot 7* LD Pro driver. Right now I have a Graphite Design DI 7x and a ust vts spx black 7x shaft both with double cog tips. I also have a udesign rfe 8.5 in all black with matrix black tie 7m3 x that is supposed to ship in 3-4 weeks.

 

I'm so bored of playing the same driver year in and year out. I hope I like this new callaway one! I also hope the rfe is as low launch and spin as everyone claims it to be!

[silver & black 6,460]

I play a Titleist 913 D3 at 10*. I've played it as low as 8.5*. I don't have any trouble getting the ball up, so I tend to play with the loft a bit. I like the higher loft in Spring and early Summer. I take it down a bit in July and August for a little more roll out.

[RoverRick 1,684]

Both my gamers are 10.5 a TMag R9 Super Deep and an R11.

[revkev 25,711]

Matt - do yourself a favor and go get fitted - seriously - you won't regret it - you could be dead on with the more loft thing.

 

AoA is Angle of attack - I struggle with the abreviations all the time and sorry that I used one here where it could have been misconstrued - if your angle of attack is up you create more loft and less spin (assuming its up and you're hitting the ball squarely).

 

Your thinking is sound but its best to know if that advice fits you for sure - I'm a pretty accomplished golfer and found out that more loft was causing me more problems even though I have moderate swing speed. Less loft, better trajectory, less spin, less curve, more carry and run out (when I hit it right).

[RoverRick 1,684]

I forgot to tell why I play a 10.5. Because a 9.5 is too low for me.

 

I hit the ball pretty low most of the time. Since I play in predominantly windy conditions this is generally good. But I am a low launch high spin guy. Most shafts are high launch high spin or low/low. Although over the past couple of years it has greatly improved.

 

The higher loft gives me a more optimal launch angle and I can use the lower spinning and lower launching shafts and still achieve a more optimal launch. I have recently added the Super Deep, which is a lower spinning head to the arsenal and i must say the results are awesome.

[MattF 14,998]

Matt - do yourself a favor and go get fitted - seriously - you won't regret it - you could be dead on with the more loft thing.

 

AoA is Angle of attack - I struggle with the abreviations all the time and sorry that I used one here where it could have been misconstrued - if your angle of attack is up you create more loft and less spin (assuming its up and you're hitting the ball squarely).

 

Your thinking is sound but its best to know if that advice fits you for sure - I'm a pretty accomplished golfer and found out that more loft was causing me more problems even though I have moderate swing speed. Less loft, better trajectory, less spin, less curve, more carry and run out (when I hit it right).

 

I will get a driver fitting...best to get sound facts rather than me half arse guessing. I'll just hit my 2 hybrid off the tee for the time being, as I know I hit that well and it would leave me in the short stuff.

 

I did know what AoA meant, I just have absolutely no idea what mine is. Obviously another thing to find out at a fitting.

[JMiller 18]

When getting fit for loft I'm not sure you read the post I made in the topic I linked.

 

Pretty much all drivers have "roll" to the face. This just means from the bottom edge of the face to the crown edge the face rolls backwards and will have different loft at the sole point then the crown point.

 

If you measure a driver head at the physical center lets say it comes out to 9.3* (my driver has this loft at the physical center). Then you find the physical sweet spot where the Center of Gravity of the club allows it to balance on the back of a pen clamped vertically. Given that almost every driver has a LOW CoG the balance point will be higher then the physical center of the face. Thus the loft at the TRUE sweet spot is MORE then the measured loft in the center of the face. My 9.3* at the center of the face could be something like 11.5* at the sweet spot roughly thanks to the roll of the face.

 

So what you need for a proper fitting is three main things:

~ Your Angle of Attack (AoA)

~ The measured loft at the true sweet spot (1" to 1.5" high normally on most heads)

~ A shaft that will provide you with the best results and pair will with the head.

 

here are some ideal launch numbers, but it would need fine tuned for your swing.

Ball Speed 	Launch Angle 	Back Spin (rpm's)   Carry Distance
170 mph 	11.5-15.5+* 	2000-2400 	    289 yards
160 mph 	12-16+* 	2200-2650 	    271 yards
150 mph 	13-16.5+* 	2300-2800 	    252 yards
140 mph 	14-17+* 	2350-2950 	    233 yards
130 mph 	14.5-17* 	2400-3100 	    215 yards
120 mph 	15-17* 	        2500-3300 	    196 yards

[Will Par 20]

I think the new drivers offering multiple loft settings are fantastic. I was lucky to win a new R1 in one of Taylormade's recent giveaways. First time I've had an adjustable driver. I initially thought my Titleist 909D3 10.5 with ATTAS T2 shaft would be hard to kick out of the bag but I was wrong. I wasn't fitted, but I went to the range and tried different settings until I found the perfect combination of trajectory and ball flight. 10 degrees upright. I've tightened my dispersion considerably and am hitting the R1 longer. And that is all with the stock Aldila Phenom shaft which is entirely different from the shaft I've been playing. Anyone buying a new driver should try the R1. I'm really impressed with it.

[MattF 14,998]

When getting fit for loft I'm not sure you read the post I made in the topic I linked.

 

Pretty much all drivers have "roll" to the face. This just means from the bottom edge of the face to the crown edge the face rolls backwards and will have different loft at the sole point then the crown point.

 

If you measure a driver head at the physical center lets say it comes out to 9.3* (my driver has this loft at the physical center). Then you find the physical sweet spot where the Center of Gravity of the club allows it to balance on the back of a pen clamped vertically. Given that almost every driver has a LOW CoG the balance point will be higher then the physical center of the face. Thus the loft at the TRUE sweet spot is MORE then the measured loft in the center of the face. My 9.3* at the center of the face could be something like 11.5* at the sweet spot roughly thanks to the roll of the face.

 

So what you need for a proper fitting is three main things:

~ Your Angle of Attack (AoA)

~ The measured loft at the true sweet spot (1" to 1.5" high normally on most heads)

~ A shaft that will provide you with the best results and pair will with the head.

 

here are some ideal launch numbers, but it would need fine tuned for your swing.

Ball Speed 	Launch Angle 	Back Spin (rpm's)   Carry Distance
170 mph 	11.5-15.5+* 	2000-2400 	    289 yards
160 mph 	12-16+* 	2200-2650 	    271 yards
150 mph 	13-16.5+* 	2300-2800 	    252 yards
140 mph 	14-17+* 	2350-2950 	    233 yards
130 mph 	14.5-17* 	2400-3100 	    215 yards
120 mph 	15-17* 	        2500-3300 	    196 yards

 

I did read that, but thank you for explaining it again...it sunk in this time around.

 

I'm going to go to Windmill Lakes Training Center here in Ohio and have a Trackman Driver Fitting, it should be an interesting and enlightening experience.