Driver loft: how the heck to determine?

[Guest]

I am trying to figure out how to set up driver loft and what I should be playing. How does one do so? What is "ideal" for most conditions? Is there a set standard and is it determined on a range or on a trackman?

I currently have an ST190 driver with HL 10.5 that I bought here (Atmos blue S shaft) and it is stupid easy to hit. I don't know about the loft though: if I miss right (hips moving too soon) then I get a toweringly high drive. Straight away to draw (which is my normal swing pattern) the driver carries well with good height. How do I know if I should be on the 9 instead of 10.5 though? What determines the optimal ball flight pattern on a driver?

[Tasals]

you need to get on a launch monitor. At your swing speed and angle of attack you will have an optimal launch-spin window. Your toweringly high miss to the right has less to do with 1 degree of drivers loft and all to do with your delivered face angles and loft.

 

Wishon: The practical facts about spin and shaft design

So if you get on a launch monitor and youre 4 degrees up, but launching too low, adjust the loft up to get to the optimized launch conditions to max out your driver. The WRX article has trackman stats to optimize carry, total distance, and roll out, so if you want something low and running you can see what numbers you should be hitting.

[Myherobobhope]

Follow up point: you want it optimized for good swings... unless bad shots are putting you out of play, you should optimize for your good swings, not your misses... though hopefully doing one will help with the other.

[Guest]

Ah, thanks! Based on a rough calculation of my carry distance when well-hit, I am swinging around 115. My angle of attack (based on divot pattern) is pretty neutral to just plus, so I may be in the ballpark with that 10.5 degree head and mid-flight stiff shaft. My angle of attack may have been way off for that big miss to the right compared to when I hit it straight. When I played as a junior, I always struggled to get the ball up with my 9 degree driver. I had plenty of roll but a very low launch when compared to my irons, which get plenty of height.

 

Playing next to my buddy who is a 3.5 handicap the other day, he was hitting a 13.5 degree 3-wood off the tee with a lot more height than I was getting out of my good drives (he was fitted on a trackman for his clubs).

 

I will see about getting fitted for a driver. So far, this one has been very playable for me.

[North Butte]

You can't reason your way to an optimized choice of driver setup. A good clubfitter can speed up the trial and error process considerably but it's still trial and error. Too many interacting things to be able to compute a set of specs and have them work better than some others.

[Guest]

I suppose that is why so many are available here used?

 

[Stuart_G]

When you make hosel adjustments for loft. Pay attention to what happens to your start direction and shot shape as well as the vertical launch. Not only is the effective loft changed, but the face angle of the head changes as well. Going up closes the face, going down opens the face. For some people the face angle changes don't have much effect but others can be very sensitive to those changes. If you're one of the ones that are sensitive, then it's best to pick the hosel setting based on the shot shape and accuracy, and then if you need to tweak the loft don't use the hosel adjusment. Instead switch to a head with a higher or lower base loft.

[Rapidcat]

I have used this free program called TrajectoWare Drive created by Dave Tutelman and Frank Schmidberger.

Great fun to input your parameters and determine what works for you.

You can use your swing data from a Trackman, GCQuad or such simulator session.

 

A google search will give you a couple of addresses to download it from (forum security is blocking any links for this).

Edited August 18, 2020 by Rapidcat

[Rapidcat]

Here is a little more on TrajectoWare:

 

TrajectoWare Drive is a golf ball trajectory program. It takes the initial conditions a golfer applies to the ball, and plots the flight of the ball. TrajectoWare Drive is a unique combination of high accuracy and an advanced user interface. TrajectoWare Drive accounts for sidespin as well as backspin, face angle as well as loft.

 

[iNeedMoreGolf]

So ive figured out 8 degree is my optimal driver degree. I did this on my own. If you think most of your stock good shots are going too high then trust your instincs and lower your loft... once i found 8 degree i noticed the type of flight i want to see on good shots and the feeling of smashing into the ball rather then somewhat of a scoop feeling. Now i can feel that smash factor higher and better.

[jpbova]

So much goes into optimal loft. CG and spin loft has a ton do with it. I analayzed my launch and spin numbers with 4 different drivers over the last 6 months  Below is what a came up with

 

g410 plus 8* 3600 rpm 13.7 launch

g410 LST 9* 3400 rpm 12.2 launch

epic flash 9* 3400 rpm 11.5 launch

mavrik sub zero 10* 2600 rpm 11.2 launch

 

the sub zero has by far the lowest launch and is a good 10 to 20 yards longer. The 410 plus had the highest launch and was the shortest. Love the MOI on the pings but I can’t using a driver that I consistently spin over 4k

Edited August 19, 2020 by jpbova

[nsxguy]

14 minutes ago, jpbova said:

So much goes into optimal loft. CG and spin loft has a ton do with it. I analayzed my launch and spin numbers with 4 different drivers over the last 6 months  Below is what a came up with

 

g410 plus 8* 3600 rpm

g410 LST 9* 3400 rpm

epic flash 9* 3400 rpm

mavrik sub zero 10* 2600 rpm

 

the sub zero has by far the lowest launch and is a good 10 to 20 yards longer. The 410 plus had the highest launch and was the shortest. Love the MOI on the pings but I can’t using a driver that I consistently spin over 4k

 

Well, spin rate isn't nearly enough to tell you anything other than they're (probably) ALL too high, even the Mavrik.

 

That said, without launch angles and swing/ball speeds, can't tell a whole lot. But the "low launch" on your Mavrik isn't why it's longer, it's the much lower spin rate.

 

HIGH launch and LOW spin is the formula for the most distance (for most golfers),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[jpbova]

15 hours ago, nsxguy said:

 

Well, spin rate isn't nearly enough to tell you anything other than they're (probably) ALL too high, even the Mavrik.

 

That said, without launch angles and swing/ball speeds, can't tell a whole lot. But the "low launch" on your Mavrik isn't why it's longer, it's the much lower spin rate.

 

HIGH launch and LOW spin is the formula for the most distance (for most golfers),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

Really? you don't say!

[steveycj]

On 8/18/2020 at 2:37 PM, Rapidcat said:

I have used this free program called TrajectoWare Drive created by Dave Tutelman and Frank Schmidberger.

Great fun to input your parameters and determine what works for you.

You can use your swing data from a Trackman, GCQuad or such simulator session.

 

A google search will give you a couple of addresses to download it from (forum security is blocking any links for this).

Hey Rapidcat, can you send me a copy of the trajectoware drive program?? The download link seems to be broken on their website. I urgently need this program for my math research in high school. Thanks a lot.

[Rapidcat]

7 hours ago, steveycj said:

Hey Rapidcat, can you send me a copy of the trajectoware drive program?? The download link seems to be broken on their website. I urgently need this program for my math research in high school. Thanks a lot.

Sorry, I won't do that - I am a long standing software industry exec and any software developer is entitled to control of the distribution of their IP.

 

The download link on their website isn't broken in any case, the developer is requesting your details before providing you with a download link, so fill out the form and give it a go, it may be approved based on the reason you have given.

 

Good luck.