Is a high lofted driver really worth it?

[BIM_Monkey]

On 1/31/2018 at 1:22 PM, golfgirlrobin said:

I always feel like this question would be rendered moot if people would just play a shorter shaft they could square up more consistently.

 

This is the correct answer 

[hagimihale]

On 1/31/2018 at 4:48 PM, mosesgolf said:

Try 2 drivers in the bag. One being a high loft around 14* and the other 8.5-10.5 etc. That works great for me on tighter courses.

 

I played all of 2020 with this setup.  12* 917D2 (turned down to 11.25*), with a shorter shaft that gave me high baby draws.   My gamer is a 10.5* TS3 with a stiffer shaft that gives me flat fades.  Took out my 3W that I was rarely using.  Lets me attack doglegs in either direction, plus play effectively with or into the wind.  I had more wedges into greens, and my scores dropped a few strokes. 

 

To answer OP's question, my 12* driver is a fairway finder, at least on holes where a draw is viable.  I'm sure the shorter shaft helps, as others have noted.  

 

The debate between "short and in the fairway" vs "long and in the rough" could go on for a while, but I'll take "short" over OB.

 

 

 

[FlyingLaw1]

I used to have a Ping G2 11.5*. It was in my bag for almost 8 years. I couldn’t miss a fairway with that thing. Really wish I hadn’t sold it....

[PuffyC]

I sometimes think I'm the only golfer who doesn't really care about distance so I'd happily give up 20 yards off the tee to be in the fairway. On most of the courses I play, missing the fairway by even a little puts you in the trees and that might as well be a penalty stroke. Somebody also commented about Tiger or some PGA pros not hitting a lot of fairways but I've always been of the opinion that the biggest difference with a pro is they can get up and down from pretty much anywhere - that's not the case for most golfers. Pros can also hit 30 yard fades with precision and work all kinds of magic to get to the green from some really bad places - most regular golfers cannot. I want GIRs, so if it was me I'd probably start by tracking that. If I'm hitting more GIRs with one driver versus another, I figure everything else will take care of itself. 

[UTvols83]

I have a TS3 10.5 and with my normal swing and tee height that produces a +3 to +4 AoA...I can only manage a 1.44 smash. That with the loft down to 9.75*. If I tee it down and lower my AoA, I average around 1.5. Needless to say, the TS3 is getting replaced with a lower lofted TSi3.

[Nebraska]

My journey to higher loft started with my observations of long time golf buddy Steve and his wife Sara.  Sara buys herself a shiny new driver every spring.  Then Steve borrows it to “decide if he should get one” .  During the testing period his distance is more consistent he finds more fairways and I’m buying the first round more often.  Then buys his new driver but not the 12*, L flex, shorter shaft version he has been playing.  No he gets a 10.5, Stiff, Standard length driver.  His good drives are longer but he’s hitting most of his second shots from the rough or from behind a tree.  Now I like a free beer after around but I did try to explain my observations back when he got that Nike SQ.  Steve usually a pretty pleasant guy but for some reason men insist they need a stiff shaft to play.  I haven’t brought it up again.    The last several years I’ve been gaming a mini driver.  It cost me a little distance but well worth it to live in the fairway 75% of the time.  This year I’m going to try a 12* 460 cut down to 43.5”.