What Driver Loft Should You Play? Impact of Driver Loft On Distance And Accuracy

[@jzm5014]

Thanks for sharing im learning sooo much! I appreciate all of your content.

[@2ndswing]

Great to hear!!! Thank you for watching and supporting!

[@andycournoyer]

I got fitted for a 8 degree head I'm 5.7" and your first sentence explained to me exactly what i needed to be reassured thanks !!!

[@davidjean5981]

Can you please have more people who has an average swing speed. Please. That is most of us watching your channel.

[@donsmnc5319]

Would be great to see this same test of clubs at various swing speeds to see the effect of the loft based on various golfers, 80-85-90-95-100-105-110-115, Thomas has the 110-115 and up covered

[@dbeasleyphx]

I liked the lady tester (in another video). Her swing speeds are pretty analogous to mine.

[@stephendibari5010]

Good suggestion as a “rule of thumb” but swing speed isn’t the whole picture. AOA (Angle of Attack) is equally important. 100 mph Club-head SS with a negative AOA maybe the same as 90 mph with a + AOA. this is really player dependent and a good custom fit with an experienced fitter will maximize anyone’s potential

[@donsmnc5319]

@@stephendibari5010 those factors help, but you don’t get distance without club head and ball speed

[@stephendibari5010]

@@donsmnc5319 💯

[@JohnnyDSR]

Agree with Dons -- 9 degrees will kill distance on a 85mph swing. I would expect to see bigger distance gap between 9d and 10.5 for a slower swing speed due to lack of ball speed and height.

[@911alps]

This is prob the best video I’ve seen explained so that even I understand it 😀 wish I was near you to visit and get fitted !!

[@golfhound]

Great video. Very useful information. Your 9 degree had the least dispersion and a slight fade. Lee Trevino would've been proud.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching - Thomas

[@kevinw583]

Thanks Thomas, another great video! I DIDNT REALISE THAT THE DIFFERENCE WAS SO MINIMAL..

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching Kevin!

[@SvingitGolf]

I game a TM M5 Tour 10.5 deg set to 9.75 deg to open the head a little. Avg spin at 1900-2000 RPM.

[@XSR_RUGGER]

I had no idea about spin rate and drivers for so long. I have subjectively high swing speed (I’ve never had it tested but I’ve played with guys that have and they all said I swing faster than them) and when I would hit everyone would comment I “crushed” it, when I hit a good one😂, and yet when we got to our respective drives I was behind guys with slower swing speeds. They were in disbelief but I always noticed I hit the ball WAY higher than them. I finally looked into it last year and learned about overspin. I am left handed and rely on used clubs and my challenge has been finding a driver less than 10.5 degrees. I finally found a used Cobra with 9.5 degrees (and I think it’s adjustable) so I’m going to finally get a chance to hit it today to see if that helps.

[@2ndswing]

It can make a major difference!!!

[@XSR_RUGGER]

@ It makes sense honestly, I just never thought about that being the case until I learned of it, then I said to myself, “duh!” I need to get a fitting done for sure.

[@warrenv.930]

Great video! I am getting fitted tomorrow for a driver and this is definitely helpful when considering the loft angle. Appreciate it Tom.

[@TommyD1021]

I went out to the simulator a week ago and hit some drives on the range. Took my driver from 10.5* to 8* and found 8* to be the best for me at this time. My swing speed hovers around the 100mph mark +/- 3 mph. With my current swing I am not hitting up enough on the ball and it is causing my spin rate to be in the 3500-4000 rpm range. The 10.5* setting hit the ball way too high and floated too much sacrificing carry and roll distance. Dropping the loft took down the spin to the low 3000 range and brought my height down to the 90-110 foot range which puts that right in line with my swing speed. Overall carry distance increased by about 6-10 yards and total roll out increased by another 10-15 yards. My dispersion remained the same. With more practice, I'll start hitting up on the ball more which should drop my spin rate in to the low 2000's. Once that happens, I'll probably have to put a bit of loft back on the club as my height will drop too much and I will be sacrificing distance. May have to up it to the 9-10* range then. For me, it's good to have a driver with as many adjustments as I could find. I have been working a lot on my swing to cure my slice and looking to add a draw in to my game. Playing with toe and heel weighting, a front/back slide weight, and adjustable loft on the head gives me a lot of flexibility with the driver to adapt with me as my swing gets better.

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for the comment Tom. Indeed, hitting up on the ball with a positive attack angle is vital for creating optimal driver spin and launch. Thomas has increased his attack angle since doing SuperSpeed training and will now hit up on the ball as much as 8 degrees. One thing to note when making adjustable hosel changes is that changing the loft through those adjustments will also slightly alter the face angle. If you lower the loft you will slightly open the face angle, and vise versa for increasing the loft.

[@TommyD1021]

@@2ndswing I have heard people say this about the adjustable hosel and I understand the mechanics around it, but in the end I just square up the face with the ball at setup and hit it. Maybe that slight adjustment I make to square the face adds or removes a bit of loft from the club, I'm not 100% sure, but I am glad to have done my testing on a simulator this time as it really showed me what these changes could do and what effect it has on the shot. My first time tinkering with the driver was at the range and I had no clue if I was hitting the ball too high, if the spin was too high, if the flight of the ball did what it did because of my strike or because the wind was pushing the ball around. I was tinkering around blindly.

[@gcoffey223]

Conditions like wind and firmness of the fairways are important factors. 8° was the sweet spot, but I think I am gonna crank it up to 9 again

[@EnTitledTown]

Please do this same test with a mid-to-high handicap golfer?

[@2ndswing]

We will add that to our video list! Thank you for watching!

[@noneofmybusiness9895]

The draw/fade bias with respect to loft is interesting. Thanks for the video

[@2ndswing]

THank you for watching!

[@CJBeamedYou]

only thing i noticed when swapping from 8.5>12.5 was how much height i gained and thats it. I gained so much height andI lost so much distance using 12.5 and my bad shots were just as much right as 8.5 loft

[@XSR_RUGGER]

That’s my problem. I have a 10.5 degree and I can’t keep it down so I feel I lose quite a bit of distance. I just found a used Cobra 9.5 degree drive I’m going to try out. I’m a lefty so the used club offerings are slim and I’m my 3 years of searching, the Cobra is the first driver I’ve found with less than 10.5 degrees of loft.

[@matts.689]

Great video. I'm a slicer. Signed up for lessons and a fitting. Hope to fix it this year.

[@2ndswing]

Awesome! Just try to swing inside to out! Thank you for watching and good luck with your lessons and fitting!

[@matts.689]

@@2ndswing My right shoulder keeps getting in the way. LOL. Have trouble keeping it back.

[@brandonleach1029]

Switched to a 12 degree Callaway XR turned down to 11 degrees in Draw bias. Now I swing maybe 70-80% and rarely miss a fairway.

[@motavice3499]

What made you switch to a 12 degree?

[@hansruseler9733]

Great video to understand effects of different loft settings

[@Saltlick11]

Very good video and plain english explanation, well done.

[@masterbeernuts9344]

Always great videos - well done lads. This one is particularly interesting! Fantastic stuff thank you.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!!

[@TeddyCavachon]

A former tour and long-drive pro who I discuss golf theory with told me “A power-fade paid the bills.” so the results you got with the 9-degree are, from a practical standpoint, perfect for you. I’m 69 years old and still have the clubhead speed use a 8.5° Mizuno, slightly opened in the grip with the ‘swipe across the ball’ you mentioned and a dynamic of hitting shaped shots I find most today don’t understand because marketing hype has the them focused on STRAIGHT AND LONG. Golf is like war where on each hole the golfer is attacking the castle with the flag the designer put at the end with 101 ways to trick the mind of the golfer into making poor shot shape choices. If all one has in their bag is “straight and long” they are at a disadvantage. For example a typical par 5 hole will have a sand trap or other hazard on the right about 200-230 yards from the middle (men’s) tee and one 250-280 on the left from the back (pro) tees. Why? Because 90%+ of amateurs fall off balance and wind up slicing shots to the right and pros who know how to stay in balance while maxing out compression-rebound on a golf ball usually hook left when they miss trying to get that extra 5 yards out of their drive. That is why the pros on a straight hole will set up facing left aiming swing line directly at the bunker \ on the left then hit the power pull-fade ( to avoid it. The amateur is faced with the opposite problem, that bunker at their driving distance on the right. The ideal strategy is the same, aim at hazard and shape shot away from it ) with a push-draw. To execute a push-draw one must close stance relative to center of fairway / | and close the face of the club via the grip a few degrees. How does this relate to Driver loft? If you normally hit straight with a 10.5° and close it 2° to hit the draw it winds up being a 8.5° making it far more difficult to pull off the draw. The better choice in that situation? Hit 3 a 15° 3W closed 3° which will carry the bunker and put the ball in the middle of the fairway, a bit shorter than driver straight executed perfectly but that all things considered is the lower percentage shot and the only penalty for using 3W vs Driver on the par 5 is taking one or perhaps two more clubs for the second shot, also precisely targeted to the ideal flat lie for executing a shaped shot to the green without flying off the back.

[@danielhowell167]

Just so we are clear this is all nonsense

[@derekwhyle1884]

Straight and long will be OK for me.

[@hittitecharioteer]

Thankyou. A really meaningful experiment with useable conclusions.

[@mikerodrick2430]

IMO, driver loft should be adjusted to fit the person's swing. If they're not staying behind the ball & swinging up, they may not realize their flatter swing plane, is responsible for the low trajectory rather than the club loft. This was exactly the issue I had. I was swinging the driver much the same as my irons, moving my weight too far forward & over rotating my hips which resulted in a too low trajectory but not because of the loft of my driver. Be sure you're swinging a bit up while staying behind the ball. If your shoulders are level rather than your trail shoulder lower than the front, it could also partially responsible for your slice. Check these points before changing your driver adjustments.

[@kirkmichael5468]

Got “fitted” for 9.5 loft. After a few months of struggling I adjusted it to 12 and draw bias (Ping G425). I’m down the middle or a baby draw every time. I hit down on the ball need loft

[@ezat929]

U same like me..using driver like iron…did u using high or low loaf?

[@mikerodrick2430]

​@@ezat929 10.5

[@ezat929]

Tq bro for info..noted

[@muffin0079]

You’ve read my mind. I want to order a SIM 2 but wondering what loft to get. Play a Callaway rogue atm at 9 degrees but spins too much which is a problem as it is usually windy at the course I play. Obviously the SIM 2 is a lower spinning head so maybe get the same loft but would like a bit of help in playing a draw which is needed on most holes at our course so thinking of getting an 8 and loft it up a bit to close the face.

[@FBTRodz7]

Shaft also plays a role here. If you have the money, consider aftermarket ones.

[@muffin0079]

@@FBTRodz7 yeah thanks. I’ve got a ventus black 6s to put in it which has a Taylormade adapter fitted so I’m good to go. Might tip it though as it’s a little longer than I usually play.

[@SAABguyMD]

I use a 9° currently, and I definitely hit with a fade so I always aim a bit left, I am intrigued to try something slightly higher now

[@t120bonnie1]

Phil I have a 9* driver which I use at 10* If I change to 9* I will hit fades also like you & at 9* I am inclined to swing too fast and get mishits.

[@skylercutsforth8595]

Do you know why the loft would change the direction (given club head is level, not toe up or heal up) I'm confused

[@SAABguyMD]

@@skylercutsforth8595 My understanding is that loft and your swing style go hand in hand. Depending on how much spin you typically generate the loft can have different effects on flight trajectory, distance, and shot shape. If your swing style typically generates good launch angle, you don't need as much angle on the face. And then you also have to take into account what type of spin you generate, depending on the speed and direction of spin it can be accentuated or sometimes, unfortunately, over exaggerated based on driver face loft angle. There's some good articles out there with some solid testing behind them. I don't think there is any silver bullet, or general advice that can be given without being on a launch monitor and trying different lofts and weight dispersion, if the driver has an adjustable weight of some sort.

[@hedda9170]

Great videos...Could you please explain how you are adding dynamic loft to the driver without leaving the face open. I am swinging my driver at 97-100 mph with a 10.5 degree driver with 10-12 dynamic loft and that is with hitting up 3 ish degrees. Causing low spin and low launch. Thanks

[@alysgolfstudio567]

Thanks for doing this. Interestingly in a recent fitting I was recommended a 12.5 degree driver which seemingly on four shots got more distance that the 9.75 and 10.5 settings. However as dis-erosion widened slightly a shorter shaft - 44.5 was suggested to attain more control as I also tried a 43 inch shaft on a 10.5 driver but lost distance but had tight dispersion. So a combination it seems of the loft, swing speed obviously and shaft might result in a mix like it seems it has for me. Only time will tell if that works out on the course. At least in this case I was achieving a spin of 2063, launch angle of 18.8, smash of 1.48 and peak height of 93 ft.

[@henrymarks2237]

That smash factor is insane. How far were you hitting?

[@alysgolfstudio567]

@@henrymarks2237 I am 70 yrs. and am driving 220 carry distance. Have since tweaked my set up further to get a more consistent and optimal distance and dispersion control - so now game a 10.5 driver set at 11 degrees, 45 inch shaft but grip down an inch or so and a lighter shaft to allow me to more easily swing through.

[@henrymarks2237]

@@alysgolfstudio567 damn I’m 17 and you’re almost out driving me (though you are definitely a way better golfer). Really impressive

[@alysgolfstudio567]

@@henrymarks2237 thanks. Not as versatile as when o was young like you but some of the keys have been: tweaking my set up to assist me with the relatively lower flexibility; tweaking the club selection (shaft etc) to work better for a relatively slower swing speed; improving my technique; improving my tempo especially slower is longer and a wider takeaway; working on flexibility, fitness and warm ups and stretches including before every round; and not thinking golf swing on the course - play golf not golf swing with better course management and planning and a more in depth shot routine that includes being very relaxed and reducing any tension aside from paying attention to pga - posture, grip and alignment. Know that’s a mouthful but the combination of all that has kept me going. Still have bad shots and bad days but that’s golf!!

[@jwfriend6952]

Great video. Answered my questions perfectly. Thanks

[@hbyrdut]

If you had hit up 4.7 degrees with the 9 too wouldn't there have been a bigger gap in spin loft and therefore distance?

[@GolfDuff]

Love this video. Thanks for making this kind of content.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching and supporting!

[@911alps]

Wow great video I was thinking loft down get that extra distance, roll etc but think after this I’ll stick to the 10.5 😊

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching, loft is your friend - Thomas

[@mikejones-go8vz]

Love the slow takeaway, great swing

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching - Thomas

[@skylercutsforth8595]

Why would loft affect the way your turn over the club face at impact? Is there a different swing needed for different lofts, though swinging at same club head speed?

[@gregidour7315]

Hi Thomas, great video as usual. Given how close the 9 and 10.5 were maybe you should measure each driver for actual loft. There is a fair bit of tolerance from the factory so they may have had a lot less than the 1.5 degree difference stated.

[@alexandergibbs6986]

No problem love all the content

[@anthonyrichardson7543]

Good information. Thanks for sharing

[@alfredforns6004]

Excellent review, helped a lot !!!

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching. The loft on the driver is a huge influence on ball speed, launch and spin. - Thomas

[@Sam.1981]

Good comparison. Thanks for vid

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@vikrampitre2343]

Always learn something new 👏

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching Vikram we appreciate the support!

[@xNIKEGOLFx]

10.5 forever for me!! 9 was too inconsistent and low

[@2ndswing]

Always important to try out different lofts to figure out what loft is perfect for your swing. Thank you for watching!

[@larryyoung9106]

I would be curious what the true loft of the driver heads are???

[@timdarnell7819]

I went up to an 11.5 and my accuracy is better but it has totally zapped my distance by at least 12-15 yards.

[@pmportella]

Yeah i've found a new channel to follow. really good info, i seen a few now and it would be silly for me not to hit that bell! +1

[@2ndswing]

Much appreciated! Thank you for watching and supporting!

[@Golfadddict]

changing the loft will change the lie angle which might explain the prevailing dispersion. Adding loft is more upright. Decreasing loft flattens the lie.

[@flutterbydragonfly]

Beautiful swing.

[@josephwirtz8352]

You would think that the draw bias would have a further distance pattern than the fade bias.

[@jeanmarcdemers7639]

Thank you so much

[@2ndswing]

Thanks for watching!

[@chalmerelkins8965]

I wonder why the new Callaway rogue 2022 is a 9°

[@rballersUnited]

Great info.

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@franciscolorenzoatilano7484]

Would a 9deg loft be ideal for a beginner?

[@randyposs6281]

I would say 10.5 and you could adjust up or down.but swing speeds determines the ideal loft

[@macdaddy5326]

How would i be able to get my 10.5 degree loft driver down to maybe a 5 degree loft or even 7.5?

[@2ndswing]

You would need a new head. Depending on the manufacturer and hosel adapter the lowest you can decrease the stated loft on your driver is 2* - Thomas

[@deadlymantis4210]

6:10 More loft closes the face. Less loft opens the face. Not surprised you had a more square face with the increased loft.....

[@dogsarefun2]

Thomas used different loft heads, all should be neutral at lofts he used...... Say he changed loft only on 10.5 head, what you said would be true.

[@alexandergibbs6986]

Great video guys

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching!

[@robv5278]

I was told that for a slow swing speed (85mph) that a higher loft would increase distance. I can't seem to get faster will loft help me get longer?

[@randyposs6281]

About same distance but hit more fairways with more loft

[@DS-qg9ck]

You have a killer swing..

[@DIOS10]

How small is small with you ?

[@SpudOutdoors]

The problem with this test was only hitting up on driver. Not everyone does that. I could see a 12 deg being better if you don’t hit up on it.

[@capnchemo9353]

You don't hit up only for loft it's to reduce spin

[@julescoleman5438]

normally i find your videos very informative. This one less so, however. The inferences you have drawn are not warranted by the evidence presented in that there is an alternative explanation at least for left/center/right dispersion. You used the same head and lofted it up. Doing so invariably closes the face. Closing the face is at least as good an explanation of the change in location of the drives. What you need to do is to find separate heads of 9, 10.5 and 12 (and same lie angle -- as lie angle can also impact direction: flatter opens face, upright closes it at impact which explains why some players, like me who prefer a face that is open at address, use higher lofted heads of some drivers then loft them down a bit). So the better test would have been 3 heads (12, 10.5, 9) with same lie angle and the same shaft.

[@2ndswing]

Hi Jules, thanks for watching! This test did feature three different clubheads, each at different lofts with standard lie angles and the same golf shaft. Thomas was simply attaching the different clubheads in the standard settings to the same golf shaft. Lie angles were not adjusted once for this test.

[@julescoleman5438]

@@2ndswing Thanks. Very helpful. I guess I misinterpreted the video and apologize.

[@jaymorin7131]

Test someone with a 90MPH swing and make this more of a real world scenario.

[@MrTkeddo]

John Rahm has his driver at 10.5 I always thought tour players have their driver at really low lofts compared to us ordinary humans.

[@SpudOutdoors]

Because there is tour players that don’t hit up on the ball.

[@justinjames9299]

good video, thank you

[@2ndswing]

Thank you for watching Justin!

[@billmalec]

The degree on the face doesn't necessarily correlate. I have a Ping G400 max 9°, set as low as it will go and it's probably still a little high in launch. Hzrdus smoke black stiff. I just got the Hogan GS53 Max 9°. Tensei blue stiff. Have it set max high and it's still a little low. So.... Make sure you hit them in the real world (on a golf course) before you buy them.

[@BEAN9999]

I will stick to my 4.5 degree long tom driver.

[@randyposs6281]

Good luck

[@BEAN9999]

@@randyposs6281 that was 2 years ago. I now hit a stealth 8*. Set at 6*

[@mteske1]

Seems like a 9.5* would be ideal for you. Haha

[@mike1567]

This is useless since it is not accurate. Unless you use a robotic swing arm, there’s no point to compare them.

[@mrpoopoohead7668]

so in general, if I am a new golfer and using a 12 degree loft, I can slightly change my stance and feet positioning to get the shot grouping more toward the center without changing my swing?

[@randyposs6281]

With 12 you can tee it lower and not try to hit up on it so much and have better control