PGA driver loft

Golfer Gavin · May 20, 2006

has anyone else noticed that more and more pga pros are increasing the loft on their driver?

jmconnel · May 20, 2006

Have you seen how low they hit it? I was watching them at the Wachovia and I was suprised how low their ballflight was. From what I understand about their driver lofts is that they are bent so much open in the tour van that it decreases the actual loft so i guess you have to start with a 9.5 or a 10.5 head and open it up enough you end up with an 8.5 or so. This is just what some of the local guys that plan on the Tarheel tour have told me and some other guys that come in our shop that play professionally.

kkhere · May 20, 2006

Yea the opening of the driver's make it hard to know the actual lofts the players are using

glcoach · May 24, 2006

From what I understand about their driver lofts is that they are bent so much open in the tour van that it decreases the actual loft so i guess you have to start with a 9.5 or a 10.5 head and open it up enough you end up with an 8.5 or so.

Actually, it's the other way around. Just like with your wedges, if you open the face you add loft. The more the face is closed the more it is "delofted".

creecool · May 24, 2006

I think the previous post was talkin about open face angles on the driver,so a 9.5 would play like an 8.5 with a one degree open face angle of the driver face.

Nille · May 24, 2006

Yes opening the face of a driver increases the loft, but if you want to hit it straight, then you have to hit it with a closed face, so the loft then decreases again. So, after all, they play what is stated.

But if you buy a driver that has an open face AT THAT loft, then the effective loft is lower.

Best wishes!

Cameron Circle T · May 24, 2006

Opening the face on a driver, does not increase the loft, laying it open in your hands will because it means your hands are leaning back thus the face is pointing more skyward, but not bending it open. It effectively decreases the loft, because once that driver is square it is then delofted. Opening the face on a driver by bending is wholely different than laying it back and open in your hands. It has no immediate effect on the loft until the driver is then squared again, unlike laying it open in your hands. Because you bend the head open, when you square it it is effectively lower lofted. The 8.5 at 1* open or at dead square is an 8.5 either way the question is effective loft at impact. With a closed face your effective loft is higher bc you open it, lay it back, not bend open, the driver at impact to get a square impact. Opening a face by bending it means you have to shut it to make it square which lowers the loft.

When you bend a driver, the actual loft in relation to the ground does not change. The angle of the hosel in relation to the loft is adjusted. The face of a 9.5* driver has 9.5* of loft no matter if it is closed, square, or open. The effective loft changes when the face angle changes at impact. Squaring a closed driver at impact would require it to be opened from it address position which would add loft. Squaring an opened face driver at impact would require it to be closed from its address position which would deloft it.

Bending a 9.5* 1* open will in fact make it play 8.5*

This you can trust. There is a reason the tour vans do it.

Golfer Gavin · May 25, 2006

Opening the face on a driver, does not increase the loft, laying it open in your hands will because it means your hands are leaning back thus the face is pointing more skyward, but not bending it open. It effectively decreases the loft, because once that driver is square it is then delofted. Opening the face on a driver by bending is wholely different than laying it back and open in your hands. It has no immediate effect on the loft until the driver is then squared again, unlike laying it open in your hands. Because you bend the head open, when you square it it is effectively lower lofted. The 8.5 at 1* open or at dead square is an 8.5 either way the question is effective loft at impact. With a closed face your effective loft is higher bc you open it, lay it back, not bend open, the driver at impact to get a square impact. Opening a face by bending it means you have to shut it to make it square which lowers the loft.

When you bend a driver, the actual loft in relation to the ground does not change. The angle of the hosel in relation to the loft is adjusted. The face of a 9.5* driver has 9.5* of loft no matter if it is closed, square, or open. The effective loft changes when the face angle changes at impact. Squaring a closed driver at impact would require it to be opened from it address position which would add loft. Squaring an opened face driver at impact would require it to be closed from its address position which would deloft it.
Bending a 9.5* 1* open will in fact make it play 8.5*

This you can trust. There is a reason the tour vans do it.

hes exactly right. John Daly uses a R7460 cranked 4 degrees open. there is no way he could be hitting that if the loft increased when you opened the clubface.