How to choose driver loft?

Say you can’t go to a driver fitting, how would you select the loft for your new driver? Is it swing speed? Swing style? Something else?

Without any concrete data from a launch monitor the thing I would look at is your carry distance and the amount of roll you get.

If you get no rollout, you might be better off with a lower lofted driver. If you need more carry distance then higher loft is probably better.

There are a lot of other factors involved. but as someone who fits people regularly. There are couple things that would cause me to put someone into a higher loft. It basically comes down to launch and spin. if you are launching it below 11-12 degrees get more loft. If you are spinning it below say 2200-2300 and your swing speed is below 110. Get more loft.

These are very cookie cutter numbers and again, there is potentially more involved. Go get fit, and you will find out.

It is funny how many people I see and they all say. "I can't play a 10.5 head. it spins too much" I watch them swing and they have 10 degrees or less launch and spin numbers in the low 2000's. They are giving up 30 plus yards at times.

I swing over 120 and play a 10.5 head. that is because I hit the ball pretty low with fairly low spin. I need spin and launch to get the most out of my swing with a driver.

> @jvincent said:

> Without any concrete data from a launch monitor the thing I would look at is your carry distance and the amount of roll you get.

>

> If you get no rollout, you might be better off with a lower lofted driver. If you need more carry distance then higher loft is probably better.

Interesting point - I hadn’t thought of it that way. But how much is too much roll?

> @QuigleyDU said:

> There are a lot of other factors involved. but as someone who fits people regularly. There are couple things that would cause me to put someone into a higher loft. It basically comes down to launch and spin. if you are launching it below 11-12 degrees get more loft. If you are spinning it below say 2200-2300 and your swing speed is below 110. Get more loft.

>

> These are very cookie cutter numbers and again, there is potentially more involved. Go get fit, and you will find out.

>

> It is funny how many people I see and they all say. "I can't play a 10.5 head. it spins too much" I watch them swing and they have 10 degrees or less launch and spin numbers in the low 2000's. They are giving up 30 plus yards at times.

>

> I swing over 120 and play a 10.5 head. that is because I hit the ball pretty low with fairly low spin. I need spin and launch to get the most out of my swing with a driver.

I have nothing against playing a 10.5* or 9* or whatever.

However, I am deciding between a 9* and 10.5*. A couple of years ago I was semi-fitted into a 9* but times have changed. My game was different then IMO. I don’t have a SS over 100 but I don’t know my spin numbers.

I'd be careful about using the amount of roll out - it's much more dependent on turf conditions than anything else - and it's been a very wet year over a lot of the country. So you could have perfect numbers and still have zero roll out. And conversely, on very hard and dry fairways - you could have long roll outs with terrible numbers.

There isn't really a such thing as too much roll in my opinion. But carry alone is a more reliable number than carry + roll. As roll is much more dependent on conditions.

So for example you hit a 270 total yard drive on a flat moderate condition course. One is 265 carry (5 yards of roll) and the other is 220 carry (50 yards of roll). When it gets softer your longer carry will maintain its length while the drive reliant on roll will not release as much thus costing distance.

So if you find your drives are hardly staying in the air, more loft may be needed. Or if the ball is ballooning and seemingly plugging into the turf, you may need less loft. I agree that a fitting and launch monitor is the easiest and most effective way. If that's not something you would like to do, I'd personally rather see more carry distance than more roll. But I've seen plenty of single digit handicaps hit moon balls as well as low rollers for their drives. It's all about what you are most comfortable with that enables you to shoot the best scores.

> @"Little Ned" said:

> > @jvincent said:

> > Without any concrete data from a launch monitor the thing I would look at is your carry distance and the amount of roll you get.

> >

> > If you get no rollout, you might be better off with a lower lofted driver. If you need more carry distance then higher loft is probably better.

>

> Interesting point - I hadn’t thought of it that way. But how much is too much roll?

> @BleederFade said:

> There isn't really a such thing as too much roll in my opinion. But carry alone is a more reliable number than carry + roll. As roll is much more dependent on conditions.

>

> So for example you hit a 270 total yard drive on a flat moderate condition course. One is 265 carry (5 yards of roll) and the other is 220 carry (50 yards of roll). When it gets softer your longer carry will maintain its length while the drive reliant on roll will not release as much thus costing distance.

>

> So if you find your drives are hardly staying in the air, more loft may be needed. Or if the ball is ballooning and seemingly plugging into the turf, you may need less loft. I agree that a fitting and launch monitor is the easiest and most effective way. If that's not something you would like to do, I'd personally rather see more carry distance than more roll. But I've seen plenty of single digit handicaps hit moon balls as well as low rollers for their drives. It's all about what you are most comfortable with that enables you to shoot the best scores.

> > @"Little Ned" said:

> > > @jvincent said:

> > > Without any concrete data from a launch monitor the thing I would look at is your carry distance and the amount of roll you get.

> > >

> > > If you get no rollout, you might be better off with a lower lofted driver. If you need more carry distance then higher loft is probably better.

> >

> > Interesting point - I hadn’t thought of it that way. But how much is too much roll?

>

I agree with this. If your drives get too flat you loose distance over all and if you are playing on a course or hole that is anything but straight you risk coming in too hot and running through fairways.

Frankly, I think for a large part of the golfing population. 10.5 is not enough loft either.

So I found this image that might be helpful. If I were honest with myself, I’m in between the red and green. When I hit it well, it’s a red and it goes straight. When I don’t it well, it’s a green slice. I use 9* with a Tour 65 Regular shaft. It just seems like I should be using more loft. No data, just a feeling.

Instead on roll out, I am more concern about carry and descent angle. I have learned so much this year by watching TXG you tube video. Also your angle of attack will play a big part in what loft you going to use.

> @shaolingolfer said:

> Also your angle of attack will play a big part in what loft you going to use.

Not as much as many think. It's actually the dynamic loft delivered (amount of shaft lean) into impact that will be WAY more important than AoA or almost anything else (second only to the face impact location and consistency).

Hate to tell you this, but the loft depends somewhat on the driver, also. My SS is 80-85. I am playing a Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Heavy driver at 10.5* My previous is a Taylor Made M1, which I played at 12* Similar ball flight and distance with both.

> @"Little Ned" said:

> > @jvincent said:

> > Without any concrete data from a launch monitor the thing I would look at is your carry distance and the amount of roll you get.

> >

> > If you get no rollout, you might be better off with a lower lofted driver. If you need more carry distance then higher loft is probably better.

>

> Interesting point - I hadn’t thought of it that way. But how much is too much roll?

As others have said, a lot depends on the conditions you normally play in. Without a launch monitor to measure you just have to go by your gut feel.