Instruction
How adjusting your driver loft changes your ball flight
One of the most confusing things I see after a Demo Day is a shiny new adjustable driver in someone’s bag — set on the standard setting.
Many golfers do indeed fit into a standard setting, but the majority of golfers I teach on a daily basis do not. If you were just fit for a driver at your Demo Day, why would you not adjust it as the fitter recommended? You’re losing distance! The good news is that you can add yards with the turn of a wrench.
Two-time Golf Digest “Top 100 Clubfitter” Scott Felix, who works out of Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tenn., has this to say:
[quote_box_center]“The adjustability of these clubs has made it possible to fit every swing that you make, but not moving your new driver into the correct settings after your fitting wastes 100 percent of your time and money!”[/quote_box_center]
With that said, I would like to show you how your launch monitor numbers can change when you adjust the loft of your driver. Also keep in mind that there are a slew of other adjustments made possible with modern drivers, such as lie angle settings, and “sliding” or moveable weights that can tune center of gravity location. They can make even more of an impact on your launch conditions.
At 8.5 degrees
- Swing Speed: 108.5 mph
- Ball Speed: 155.3 mph
- Smash: 1.43
- Spin Rate: 2282 rpm
- Launch Angle: 11.7 degrees
- Carry: 250.6 yards
- Total: 278.5 yards
- Landing Angle: 34.3 degrees
- Height: 83.1 feet
At 9.5 degrees
- Swing Speed: 104.1 mph
- Ball Speed: 153.9 mph
- Smash: 1.48
- Spin Rate: 2509 rpm
- Launch Angle: 15.5 degrees
- Carry: 253.6 yards
- Total: 275.6 yards
- Landing Angle: 40.4 degrees
- Height: 108.5 feet
At 11 degrees
- Swing Speed: 105 mph
- Ball Speed: 152.5 mph
- Smash: 1.45
- Spin Rate: 3415 rpm
- Launch Angle: 17.3 degrees
- Carry: 249.3 yards
- Total: 260.6 yards
- Landing Angle: 49.5 degrees
- Height: 147.3.1 feet
In all three swings, the ball speed is roughly 153-155 mph, which shows that regardless of the loft, ball speeds won’t change much when using the same club head. The ball speed may change, however, when a player manipulates his swing due to the “look” of different lofts, which can cause them to hit shots in different areas of the face.
Generally, as loft goes up, so does the spin rate, as you can see in the data.
- My shot with the driver adjusted to 8.5 degrees of loft had 2282 rpm of spin.
- With the driver adjusted to 9.5 degrees of loft, my shot had 2509 rpm of spin.
- With the driver adjusted to 11 degrees of loft, my shot had 3415 rpm of spin.
More loft will not always lead to more spin, due to things such as impact points, spin lofts, face-to-path relationships, and the ball you play — but it is a good general rule of thumb. Many golfers are obsessed with lowering their spin, but remember that low spin is not great for everyone. Golfers must have enough spin to support their ball speed. For this reason, golfers can have issues with both too much or too little spin.
Below is a chart from Trackman that can help golfers maximize their total distance based on their swing speed and angle of attack. If you’re looking to maximize carry distance, you can view those charts here.
With the angle of attack being constant, the more loft you pre-set statically at address, the more loft you will have on the club at impact. More loft is great for golfers who produce slower ball speeds and less spin, as they need more loft to launch the ball higher so it stays in the air longer. More loft is also good for players who have too much “handle drag” into impact, necessitating the added static loft at address to offset this tendency through impact.
For the high-spin player, lowering the loft will reduce your spin. But be careful, as it also makes something called the “D-plane” easier to tilt, causing more aggressive offline shots. The key is to find the happy medium.
Related: Understanding the D-Plane.
In the test above, each ball carries a similar distance, but the behavior of the shots once they land are drastically different, which is due to landing angle. The flatter the landing angle, the more the ball will run out when hitting the ground.
- The 8.5-degree loft produced a landing angle of 34.3 degrees.
- The 9.5-degree loft produced a landing angle of 40.4 degrees.
- The 11-degree loft produced a landing angle of 49.5 degrees.
As you can see, landing angle has a great influence on “roll out.” With all things equal, the slower the club head speed, the flatter the ball will need to land in order to produce max distance.
Personally, my best fitting was with the lower-lofted driver for the ideal compromise between my mechanics and the actions of my club head. I also tend to hit “up” on the ball more than most, so the lower loft flattens my ball flight and helps me to create the correct launch conditions. However, if my mechanics improved through impact and I didn’t hit up as much, then I WOULD need to re-fit the static loft on my club. Thankfully, most players’ mechanics don’t make drastic changes, so having a static-lofted driver that is in the “middle” of your trends will offer you three clubs in one (provided your impact mechanics remain constant).
I love drivers with adjustability because they give players the freedom to choose a driver setting that’s right for their swing and playing conditions. Adjustability is a weapon. Just don’t forget to use it!
There may be no more painful affliction in golf than the “yips” – those uncontrollable and maddening little nervous twitches that prevent you from making a decent stroke on short putts. If you’ve never had them, consider yourself very fortunate (or possibly just very young). But I can assure you that when your most treacherous and feared golf shot is not the 195 yard approach over water with a quartering headwind…not the extra tight fairway with water left and sand right…not the soft bunker shot to a downhill pin with water on the other side…No, when your most feared shot is the remaining 2- 4-foot putt after hitting a great approach, recovery or lag putt, it makes the game almost painful.
And I’ve been fighting the yips (again) for a while now. It’s a recurring nightmare that has haunted me most of my adult life. I even had the yips when I was in my 20s, but I’ve beat them into submission off and on most of my adult life. But just recently, that nasty virus came to life once again. My lag putting has been very good, but when I get over one of those “you should make this” length putts, the entire nervous system seems to go haywire. I make great practice strokes, and then the most pitiful short-stroke or jab at the ball you can imagine. Sheesh.
But I’m a traditionalist, and do not look toward the long putter, belly putter, cross-hand, claw or other variation as the solution. My approach is to beat those damn yips into submission some other way. Here’s what I’m doing that is working pretty well, and I offer it to all of you who might have a similar affliction on the greens.
When you are over a short putt, forget the practice strokes…you want your natural eye-hand coordination to be unhindered by mechanics. Address your putt and take a good look at the hole, and back to the putter to ensure good alignment. Lighten your right hand grip on the putter and make sure that only the fingertips are in contact with the grip, to prevent you from getting to tight.
Then, take a long, long look at the hole to fill your entire mind and senses with the target. When you bring your head/eyes back to the ball, try to make a smooth, immediate move right into your backstroke — not even a second pause — and then let your hands and putter track right back together right back to where you were looking — the HOLE! Seeing the putter make contact with the ball, preferably even the forward edge of the ball – the side near the hole.
For me, this is working, but I am asking all of you to chime in with your own “home remedies” for the most aggravating and senseless of all golf maladies. It never hurts to have more to fall back on!
Over the last couple of decades, golf has become much more science-based. We measure swing speed, smash factor, angle of attack, strokes gained, and many other metrics that can really help golfers improve. But I often wonder if the advancement of golf’s “hard” sciences comes at the expense of the “soft” sciences.
Take, for example, golf instruction. Good golf instruction requires understanding swing mechanics and ball flight. But let’s take that as a given for PGA instructors. The other factors that make an instructor effective can be evaluated by social science, rather than launch monitors.
If you are a recreational golfer looking for a golf instructor, here are my top three points to consider.
1. Cultural mindset
What is “cultural mindset? To social scientists, it means whether a culture of genius or a culture of learning exists. In a golf instruction context, that may mean whether the teacher communicates a message that golf ability is something innate (you either have it or you don’t), or whether golf ability is something that can be learned. You want the latter!
It may sound obvious to suggest that you find a golf instructor who thinks you can improve, but my research suggests that it isn’t a given. In a large sample study of golf instructors, I found that when it came to recreational golfers, there was a wide range of belief systems. Some instructors strongly believed recreational golfers could improve through lessons. while others strongly believed they could not. And those beliefs manifested in the instructor’s feedback given to a student and the culture created for players.
2. Coping and self-modeling can beat role-modeling
Swing analysis technology is often preloaded with swings of PGA and LPGA Tour players. The swings of elite players are intended to be used for comparative purposes with golfers taking lessons. What social science tells us is that for novice and non-expert golfers, comparing swings to tour professionals can have the opposite effect of that intended. If you fit into the novice or non-expert category of golfer, you will learn more and be more motivated to change if you see yourself making a ‘better’ swing (self-modeling) or seeing your swing compared to a similar other (a coping model). Stay away from instructors who want to compare your swing with that of a tour player.
3. Learning theory basics
It is not a sexy selling point, but learning is a process, and that process is incremental – particularly for recreational adult players. Social science helps us understand this element of golf instruction. A good instructor will take learning slowly. He or she will give you just about enough information that challenges you, but is still manageable. The artful instructor will take time to decide what that one or two learning points are before jumping in to make full-scale swing changes. If the instructor moves too fast, you will probably leave the lesson with an arm’s length of swing thoughts and not really know which to focus on.
As an instructor, I develop a priority list of changes I want to make in a player’s technique. We then patiently and gradually work through that list. Beware of instructors who give you more than you can chew.
So if you are in the market for golf instruction, I encourage you to look beyond the X’s and O’s to find the right match!
Most pros take months, even years, to win their first tournament. Lottie Woad needed exactly four days.
The 21-year-old from Surrey shot 21-under 267 at Dundonald Links to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open by three shots — in her very first event as a professional. She’s only the third player in LPGA history to accomplish this feat, joining Rose Zhang (2023) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
But here’s what caught my attention as a coach: Woad didn’t win through miraculous putting or bombing 300-yard drives. She won through relentless precision and unshakeable composure. After watching her performance unfold, I’m convinced every golfer — from weekend warriors to scratch players — can steal pages from her playbook.
Precision Beats Power (And It’s Not Even Close)
Forget the driving contests. Woad proved that finding greens matters more than finding distance.
What Woad did:
• Hit it straight, hit it solid, give yourself chances
• Aimed for the fat parts of greens instead of chasing pins
• Let her putting do the talking after hitting safe targets
• As she said, “Everyone was chasing me today, and managed to maintain the lead and played really nicely down the stretch and hit a lot of good shots”
Why most golfers mess this up:
• They see a pin tucked behind a bunker and grab one more club to “go right at it”
• Distance becomes more important than accuracy
• They try to be heroic instead of smart
ACTION ITEM: For your next 10 rounds, aim for the center of every green regardless of pin position. Track your greens in regulation and watch your scores drop before your swing changes.
The Putter That Stayed Cool Under Fire
Woad started the final round two shots clear and immediately applied pressure with birdies at the 2nd and 3rd holes. When South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim mounted a charge and reached 20-under with a birdie at the 14th, Woad didn’t panic.
How she responded to pressure:
• Fired back with consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th
• Watched Kim stumble with back-to-back bogeys
• Capped it with her fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 18th
• Stayed patient when others pressed, pressed when others cracked
What amateurs do wrong:
• Get conservative when they should be aggressive
• Try to force magic when steady play would win
• Panic when someone else makes a move
ACTION ITEM: Practice your 3-6 foot putts for 15 minutes after every range session. Woad’s putting wasn’t spectacular—it was reliable. Make the putts you should make.
Course Management 101: Play Your Game, Not the Course’s Game
Woad admitted she couldn’t see many scoreboards during the final round, but it didn’t matter. She stuck to her game plan regardless of what others were doing.
Her mental approach:
• Focused on her process, not the competition
• Drew on past pressure situations (Augusta National Women’s Amateur win)
• As she said, “That was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win. So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this”
Her physical execution:
• 270-yard drives (nothing flashy)
• Methodical iron play
• Steady putting
• Everything effective, nothing spectacular
ACTION ITEM: Create a yardage book for your home course. Know your distances to every pin, every hazard, every landing area. Stick to your plan no matter what your playing partners are doing.
Mental Toughness Isn’t Born, It’s Built
The most impressive part of Woad’s win? She genuinely didn’t expect it: “I definitely wasn’t expecting to win my first event as a pro, but I knew I was playing well, and I was hoping to contend.”
Her winning mindset:
• Didn’t put winning pressure on herself
• Focused on playing well and contending
• Made winning a byproduct of a good process
• Built confidence through recent experiences:
- Won the Women’s Irish Open as an amateur
- Missed a playoff by one shot at the Evian Championship
- Each experience prepared her for the next
What this means for you:
• Stop trying to shoot career rounds every time you tee up
• Focus on executing your pre-shot routine
• Commit to every shot
• Stay present in the moment
ACTION ITEM: Before each round, set process goals instead of score goals. Example: “I will take three practice swings before every shot” or “I will pick a specific target for every shot.” Let your score be the result, not the focus.
The Real Lesson
Woad collected $300,000 for her first professional victory, but the real prize was proving that fundamentals still work at golf’s highest level. She didn’t reinvent the game — she simply executed the basics better than everyone else that week.
The fundamentals that won:
• Hit more fairways
• Find more greens
• Make the putts you should make
• Stay patient under pressure
That’s something every golfer can do, regardless of handicap. Lottie Woad just showed us it’s still the winning formula.
FINAL ACTION ITEM: Pick one of the four action items above and commit to it for the next month. Master one fundamental before moving to the next. That’s how champions are built.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” on RG.org each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more Tips!
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tank
May 5, 2015 at 10:57 am
THIS ARTICLE IS JUNK!! your welcome
Speedy
May 5, 2015 at 1:20 am
A 10 degree loft with a neutral face gets the job done for most. Adjustable drivers, by and for mad scientists.
Mad-Mex
May 3, 2015 at 6:45 pm
Why is Trac-Man data looked at as 100% accurate? I would love to see an article where they show Trac-Man data AND ACTUAL on range measured data,,,,,,,,
Come on Golfwrx !!! let see it!!! Buck the system and do it!!! take the TOP 3 or 5 drivers, same golf ball, 3 different handicap players and go for it!! measure it with the Trac-Man AND old fashioned tape and display the differences in theory flight and actual flight,,,,,,,,,,,,,
RI_Redneck
Apr 28, 2015 at 8:36 pm
Am I the only one that is surprised by the amount of rollout figured into the charts? 50 yds with the 105 SS seems a tad high IMHO.
BT
Double Mocha Man
Apr 29, 2015 at 12:31 am
We’re talking the Mojave Desert here during a drought.
Regis
Apr 30, 2015 at 8:03 pm
No it struck me as odd as well. At least on the courses we play here in the Northeast, those roll out numbers would be unusual unless you hit a knuckleball
CS
Apr 28, 2015 at 3:55 pm
That’s great info if you have a launch monitor. I don’t have access to one. How do you suggest analyzing the proper loft for a player who can only go hit balls at the range? With my driver, I can’t determine which drives are further for me within 10 yards. I’ve always been a big believer that the right shaft and settings on my driver will make a big difference, but I’ve never understood how to analyze the results from a driving range.
MarkNado
Apr 28, 2015 at 1:33 pm
Speaking about my swing only
A high ball is a far ball
ss about 115 mph
Mike
Apr 28, 2015 at 11:59 am
Right out of the gates this is a flawed experiment. You’re using similar ball speeds to try and normalize your data but given the fact that the club head speeds have changed, it means that the strikes are much different. Whether the ball is struck off the heel vs. toe vs. center will make a huge difference in spin and launch angle.
I think you need to have very similar club head speed and ball speed to make this experiment more accurate otherwise you’re comparing apples and oranges.
Dave S
Apr 28, 2015 at 10:34 am
I have an R1 which I’ve tinkered with and have used with various settings at different times. However I keep coming back to the same issue – one that I think plagues most mid-high handicaps – the lack of a consistently repeatable swing. One week one setting will be better, then the next week, another. I guess the best way to do it is to get fit when you’re swinging your best and then just leave it alone when your not (i.e. stop tinkering), but there’s no guarantee that you’ll be having a good driving day when you’re fit… in fact, statistics say you probably won’t. First world problems I guess.
Matt
Apr 28, 2015 at 8:41 am
I would have isolated smash factors with in 0.01 of each other. At least this way you know the strikes were similar. Clearly the first and last were influenced greatly by not having as good as strike as the middle one.
0.03 on 108 mph is 3.24 mph ball speed. That is a big chunk of power missing.
Decent test, needs to try to isolate more variables out.
Russ
Apr 28, 2015 at 3:07 am
Not sure I understand why clubhead speed varied with different lofts. Would make more sense if CS remained constant and BS varied. Can anyone explain?
Skip
Apr 28, 2015 at 11:22 am
I’m interested in this one too. Judging from the numbers, he swung it faster while hitting the 8.5 but not as solid (hence lower smash), resulting in only slightly higher ball-speed. Why would a different loft make you swing faster?
DK
May 23, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Players swing differently based on perception of loft. Your brain gets in the way if you see something that’s out of your comfort zone and a compensation is made.
Launch angle, spin rate, smash factor will vary significantly based on where the ball impacts the club face. Thin = lower launch & higher spin. Higher on club face = higher launch & lower spin.
Loft also affects potential smash factor. It goes down as loft increases.
Joe Golfer
Apr 28, 2015 at 1:47 am
Very good article. I’ve seen that same Trackman chart in both this Tom Stickney article and also in a Tom Wishon article. Both do a great job of conveying information.
One thing I’ve noticed is that Trackman must account for “roll out” using a very smooth surface fairway, such as what the pros play on. I play on public courses, and usually the fairway is something akin to Kentucky Bluegrass, not Bent or Bermuda or whatever the pros play.
I’ve walked a couple of pro tournaments, and the fairways feel like a soft living room carpet, so it is no wonder that Trackman is showing 50 yards of “roll out”. It doesn’t feel like there are any blades of grass unless one gets off the fairway.
For many of us, that simply isn’t applicable, as the ball catches up in the public course fairway’s blades of grass and slows down far more quickly than Trackman stats would indicate. In those cases, it may be wise to measure your own actual drives on your home course with a GPS or whatever rather than a Trackman simulator. A slightly higher loft for further carry may be better for some, since the ball isn’t going to roll out 50 yards as far as Trackman states. So besides what Trackman lists, one should also consider what sort of fairway one is playing.
Marty Neighbour
Apr 27, 2015 at 5:37 pm
I recall an article by Tom Wishon that stated
“I believe that it is simply not possible to change the loft through a hosel device which operates on the principle of changing the angle of the shaft into the clubhead. ”
http://wishongolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/adjustable-hosel-drivers.pdf
Kyle
Apr 27, 2015 at 7:43 pm
That guy also says a lot of things that are off.
jf
Apr 27, 2015 at 10:14 pm
Like which?
Nolanski
Apr 27, 2015 at 10:01 pm
The most important point in Tom Wishons article you linked is about squaring the clubface up at address vs. soling the club at address. Visualize that and you should be able to get Tom’s point. He’s one of the most experienced club makers/designers in the world.
jf
Apr 27, 2015 at 10:15 pm
Agreed
Chuck
Apr 27, 2015 at 11:07 pm
Marty: Tom Wishon did indeed write that, and he was right. If you read everything Tom wrote, you’d understand it; and you’d also understand that effective loft is indeed changed by modern hosel-adjustment systems, and that in fact Wishon’s valuable design theory is not at odds with Tom Stickney’s valuable (and equally valid) advice in this column. Don’t think that “nothing” is changed via hosel adjustments. Certainly Tom Wishon wouldn’t say that. He was simply pointing out that when a driver head is a solid cast geometric thing, you don’t change loft alone by moving the shaft angle (via the hosel). But Wishon would never say that “nothing” is changed. And by the way, you can skip the entire issue of hosel adjustment entirely, and pretend that Stickney is writing about drivers (of different lofts) that aren’t adjustable at all. It’s not like we haven’t had choices in driver lofts for 20 years+, going back to way before adjustable hosel designs.
I am going to print these tables for my own equipment library. I might not live or die by them personally (my eye prefers a little lower trajectory, and I’ve been aware for several years of the issue with angle of descent); but they will be a big help when time on a good monitor is so valuable for someone like me.
Regis
Apr 30, 2015 at 8:10 pm
I’ve read the article several times and it always comes up. But for me , personally, on the courses I play, changing the loft adjustment with certain models (eg: Taylor Made) can produce a dramatic effect. Not saying Tom’s reasoning is wrong, but for me the adjustments work
DK
May 23, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Always remember that Tom Wishon SELLS golf clubs with fixed hosels. When he calls into question clubs by major manufacturers, he’s promoting his own product. I find it difficult to determine true intentions when there’s a financial motive to be found… That’s not a vote for major OEMs, just that Wishon is also an equipment salesman.
Ian
Apr 27, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Looking at total distance vs swingspeed, isn’t the 9.5 the best? The 8.5 was swung 4.4 mph faster with little yardage gain relative to the swingspeed difference.
Steven
Apr 27, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Great article. Now I just need some time with a launch monitor.
Seth
Apr 27, 2015 at 4:16 pm
Does adjusting lift affect “offset?” When I lower the loft in my SLDR the face appears more closed at setup and I hit lower draws/hooks. When I ‘loft up’ my ball balloons. I have my SLDR AT all standard/neutral setting and it seems to work best for my inside out path. Also, do you know the “higher” and “lower” settings mean in the SLDR hosel?
Jake W
Apr 27, 2015 at 4:27 pm
Seth, I think you’ve got it backwards. Lowering the loft via the hosel on the SLDR opens the face. Making the loft higher closes the face.
Ryan
Apr 27, 2015 at 5:15 pm
The SLDR is adjustable 1.5 degrees in either direction. There fore higher means most loft/most closed. The Lower setting is most open/ most fade. Each notch is .5 degrees.
SJ
Apr 28, 2015 at 8:47 am
might want to double check that you don’t have a LH sleeve on a RH club or vise versa.