Driver loft adjustment effects in ballflight

[jomatty]

Do you guys find any major differences in impact or ballflight based on adjusting a drivers loft?  In other words does adding loft (closing face) or subtracting loft (opening face) make any difference from using the same loft in a neutral setting?  I often see pros using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 or a 10 degree driver set to 9 degrees.  My ball flight is left to right and I’m fairly happy with it (on good swings lol).  I do put a little lead tape on the heel though as in general I wouldn’t mind slightly less left to right movement.  I wouldn’t consider it an issue, but I’m just wondering if there is a slight way to modify ballflight and mitigate my misses (almost always right) by using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 (closing the face a little).  Others experience with this are appreciated.

[Stuart_G]

55 minutes ago, jomatty said:

Do you guys find any major differences in impact or ballflight based on adjusting a drivers loft?  In other words does adding loft (closing face) or subtracting loft (opening face) make any difference from using the same loft in a neutral setting?  I often see pros using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 or a 10 degree driver set to 9 degrees.  My ball flight is left to right and I’m fairly happy with it (on good swings lol).  I do put a little lead tape on the heel though as in general I wouldn’t mind slightly less left to right movement.  I wouldn’t consider it an issue, but I’m just wondering if there is a slight way to modify ballflight and mitigate my misses (almost always right) by using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 (closing the face a little).  Others experience with this are appreciated.

 

It changes the face angle and folks (like me) who are sensitive to face angle can certainly see a change in left/right ball flight patterns and tendencies.   But other people may not.  It's one of those things that everyone has to figure out for themselves how it effects their game and ball flight.   But it's really pretty easy.  Just take some time on the range to play around with different settings and see what happens.

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Stuart_G

[Fairway14]

1 hour ago, jomatty said:

Do you guys find any major differences in impact or ballflight based on adjusting a drivers loft?  

 

For me trajectory is similar with lofts ranging from 9* to 12*. The primary shot difference is that as loft increases, so does spin, which results in less bounce and roll after the shot has landed.

[Vinsanity23]

Also depends on if you are a player who squares the face with the driver at the ball, or soles the driver at address. The actual loft change takes place if you square the face after changing the loft sleeve, but if you sole the club at address it will have a change on face angle. So in a sense, it can be used for two different things. I sole my club, so the -1 setting gives more open face to reduce a hook. But if I were to square the face after said loft change, my driver would play to 8 degrees.

 

Edit: Typo

Edited October 13, 2020 by vstensrud23

[Stuart_G]

18 hours ago, vstensrud23 said:

Also depends on if you are a player who squares the face with the driver at the ball, or soles the driver at address. The actual loft change takes place if you square the face after changing the loft sleeve, but if you sole the club at address it will have a change on face angle. So in a sense, it can be used for two different things. I sole my club, so the -1 setting gives more open face to reduce a hook. But if I were to square the face after said loft change, my driver would play to 8 degrees.

 

Edit: Typo

 

That's a common over simplification.  But it really depends on a lot more than that - which is why it's always best to figure it out by actually hitting balls and seeing what happens to the ball flight.

[Vinsanity23]

4 hours ago, Stuart_G said:

 

That's a common over simplification.  But it really depends on a lot more than that - which is why it's always best to figure it out by actually hitting balls and seeing what happens to the ball flight.

I would agree on testing to see what happens to ball flight. Not trying to be inflammatory in the least, but would you care to elaborate on the oversimplification? I'm curious of your standpoint and would love to hear your explanation. Always looking for new information and other viewpoints.

[bluedot]

Here's what I believe:

 

1. Golfers sort of kind of understand loft, so adjustable clubs are marketed accordingly.  Golfers do NOT understand static vs. dynamic loft, and explaining it in a TV commercial or a print ad just isn't going to work.  So loft has become the common language of adjustable clubs, though it is the far less important of the two adjustments you're making.

 

2. Even if the club is being delivered to the ball in such a way as for the dynamic loft to be higher or lower, we're only talking about a change of a degree or two; far less than the difference between any two consecutive irons in your bag. 

 

3. The change in the face angle, though, is a big deal.  Back in the days of glued drivers, Ping drivers were famous/notorious for being closed face at address, which drove some better players nuts.  The presumed reason, of course, was that far more golfers fight a slice than a hook.

 

4. When you hear that a particular Tour pro is using a club with the loft changed, I believe that what they are actually doing is setting the face angle to more or less take one side of the golf course out of play.  If they want to hit it higher or lower, they'd have a different club in the first place.

 

5. I've done several driver fittings since adjustable clubs became available, and I've been lucky enough to have access to really, really good clubfitters each time.  Not once has one of them changed the settings for me to hit the ball higher or lower; they've changed heads, or even shafts for that.  What they have done is change the setting near the end of the fitting to tighten down the dispersion. 

[nsxguy]

On 10/13/2020 at 7:40 AM, jomatty said:

Do you guys find any major differences in impact or ballflight based on adjusting a drivers loft?  In other words does adding loft (closing face) or subtracting loft (opening face) make any difference from using the same loft in a neutral setting?  I often see pros using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 or a 10 degree driver set to 9 degrees.  My ball flight is left to right and I’m fairly happy with it (on good swings lol).  I do put a little lead tape on the heel though as in general I wouldn’t mind slightly less left to right movement.  I wouldn’t consider it an issue, but I’m just wondering if there is a slight way to modify ballflight and mitigate my misses (almost always right) by using something like a 8.5 driver set to 9.5 (closing the face a little).  Others experience with this are appreciated.

 

Nope, no major changes. But then that isn't what the adjustments are for.

 

They are for subtle changes. And some of those I do see.