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Golf equipment truths: Why you should rethink your driver loft

Jin-Young Ko, the No. 1-ranked player on the LPGA Tour, swings the driver nearly 30 miles per hour slower than Brooks Koepka, the No. 1 male player in the world. Yet Ko uses a driver with 9 degrees of loft—1.5 degrees less than Koepka. What gives? Aren’t golfers with slower swing speeds supposed to use drivers with more loft?

That’s not necessarily the case anymore.

Sixteen years ago, Golf Digest presented compelling evidence that average golfers needed to use drivers with more loft to maximize distance—sometimes as much as 12, 14 or 16 degrees. But because of changing driver designs and changing swings, the opposite might be true today. In an exclusive Golf Digest study done in conjunction with Club Champion, the leading national clubfitting chain, players with swing speeds of 80 to 100 miles per hour consistently hit the driver farther when it had a lower loft, not a higher one. (The average male-golfer swing speed is in the mid-90s.) Participants in our tests achieved more distance when they used drivers with less than 10 degrees of loft.

RELATED: Our Hot List ranking of the best new drivers

In fact, swings often got the most distance with driver lofts at 9 degrees or less. (It’s still true that golfers who swing less than 80 mph would likely benefit from using drivers with 11 degrees of loft or higher.) Lower lofts can provide more energy transfer at impact because there’s less of an oblique angle. It’s why your 7-iron flies farther than your 8-iron.

In our test, drivers with less loft consistently produced more ball speed, even for low swing-speed golfers (3.2 mph more compared to the 10.5 and 12-degree drivers).

What’s changing? One big reason is the concept of attack angle, or the way the clubhead approaches the ball as it moves toward impact. With a slightly upward angle of attack—rather than downward—a lower-lofted driver can produce better results. Ko’s upward angle of attack is typical of the LPGA Tour. According to TrackMan data, the average attack angle on the LPGA Tour is distinctly upward at +3 degrees. On the PGA Tour, it’s relatively downward at -1.3. This is why some LPGA players could benefit from the lower-lofted drivers used by PGA Tour players swinging 20 or even 30 mph faster. A recent study by TrackMan revealed that by changing the attack angle on your driver swing from downward to significantly upward, you can boost distance by 23 yards— and that’s not for a tour-level swing; that’s at a relatively average speed of 90 mph.

It’s the modern secret to distance, says Nick Sherburne, founder of Club Champion. “Even though you should always get fi t, don’t assume if you’re an average golfer that lofting up is always better,” he says. “Golf balls and the center of gravity on drivers have changed so much since 2003 that playing a higher loft isn’t needed anymore to create the ideal distance recipe of high launch and low spin. With the advent of launch monitors, players are learning to hit up on the ball to maximize distance. Almost every group in the test had a positive attack angle. Twenty years ago, even 10, we never saw so many positive attack angles.”

With an upward angle of attack, a player creates more dynamic loft at impact, or the way the loft measures at impact compared to its static measurement. With less measured loft, an upward angle of attack and more dynamic loft, you’re creating the opportunity for high launch and less spin, a key metric for longer drives that hit the ground on a flatter angle, leading to more rollout.

A high-swing-speed tour player like Koepka might not be optimizing distance with his downward angle of attack, but he probably doesn’t need to hit it farther to compete on the PGA Tour. But plenty of long-drive competitors swing a lot faster than Koepka with upward angles of attack. They use very low-lofted drivers and hit it a football field farther than Koepka. Average golfers should think more like long drivers and get every last bit of distance they can find.

“It might make sense for tour players to focus on the carry distance with a driver, but for many average golfers, it’s where the ball ends up after it stops rolling,” says Tom Olsavsky, vice president of research and development at Cobra Puma Golf. “That’s sometimes why less loft produces better results.”

More dynamic loft isn’t always the sign of a good swing (see sidebar, page 21), but less loft can still provide help.

“Poll a hundred fitters, and 90 of them will tell you the most common thing they see is the flip, causing high dynamic loft and leading to launch or spin issues,” Sherburne says. “That’s commonly fixed today with lower lofts.” What’s also helping is more forgiving driver designs that locate the center of gravity back and low. This naturally creates more dynamic loft and is why a lower-loft angle could benefit a lot of golfers.

To be clear, less loft isn’t the answer for everyone, especially players who don’t have a positive angle of attack. But that’s the benefit of going through a quality driver fitting with an experienced fitter and a launch monitor. The cause and effect of a change in loft can be clear. Also, with an adjustable driver, you can play around with those changes as your swing changes, too.

“We now have so much more instant access to data,” Olsavsky says. “You can get tested on a launch monitor and really pinpoint what works for your swing.”

Which is how Ko ended up with a 9-degree driver. She said she spent a lot of time testing which launch conditions were best. Her problem was launching the ball too high. “I wanted a little bit lower trajectory, and especially with these courses being really fi rm, less loft was better to get the ball running,” she says.

It clearly worked. Ko averages 2.75 yards per mph of swing speed. Not only is her number better than Koepka’s, it’s better than every player on the PGA Tour.

1 COBRA KING SPEEDZONE

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2 MIZUNO ST200

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3 TAYLORMADE SIM

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4 WILSON LAUNCH PAD

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5 HONMA TR20

▶ Carbon-composite crown and sole sections are fused with a titanium frame. Three weights are included to enhance forgiveness, spin or draw bias. $650

6 TOUR EDGE EXOTICS EXS 220

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7 XXIO ELEVEN

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8 TOMMY ARMOUR 845

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Less Loft + Upward Angle of Attack = More Distance

▶ Our test with Club Champion featured 20 players with four swing speeds testing four lofts. Yes, those who swing 100 miles per hour or faster saw more distance with lower lofts, but the sub-100-mph swingers also got the most distance with lower lofts. Low lofts saw more roll after landing than higher lofts, too—six yards more. But these weren’t low bullets. The lower lofts yielded the same or longer carry distances because of the group’s upward angles of attack.

LPGA Player Driver loft

By ronaldkuntoro , September 20, 2010 in Tour Talk

LongballGer

Golf is a game in which the ball always lies poorly and the player always lies well.

michaeljames92

LPGA players hit way up on the ball to get more distance and a perfect launch angle because their swing speeds are so low.

Tiger is a good driver of the ball? To me he hits it sideways with his driver, hence why he hits so many 3 woods and 2 irons off the tee.

Driver: Taylormade R11 set to 8* 3 Wood: R9 15* Motore Stiff Hybrid: 19° 909 H Voodoo Irons: 4-PW AP2 Project X 5.5 52*, 60* Vokey SM Chrome

Putter: Odyssey XG #7

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

(Tiger was ranked 9th for total driving in 2009 and Phil was T 108th)

I dont know what stats you are looking at, but at Driving accuracy he is 64 % which is 83 and total driving (for distance + accuracy) he is about the same rank - and considering that he only takes out the big stick when he absolutly has to, i don´t think you can call Woods a good driver .. of the ball!

Burner 9° FW Burner 15° Burner Rescue 19° MP67 4-PW CG10 50° CG12 DSG 54° & 60°

We mortals are also taught to hit on the upswing. Should we copy what the LPGA are using?

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What Driver Loft Should Women Golfers Use?

Carly Frost dispels the myth that all women golfers should use a high-lofted driver

There is a big misconception in golf that women need to use high-lofted metalwoods. It’s driven by equipment experts telling us that with our slower swing speeds we need the extra helping hand to elevate tee shots and fairway woods off the deck. In reality, many women will achieve optimum performance from a driver that has between 9° and 11° of loft - no more - and it comes down to the combination of good coaching and modern driver designs.

The trend in drivers is to place the weight low and deep in the head as this helps give a more effortlessly high launch. Such designs marry perfectly with the modern coaching method of hitting tee shots ‘on the up.’ Consequently, women that adopt this style of swing don’t actually need a driver that has too much loft. A club with lower loft can achieve more roll out and overall distance. You only need to look to the LPGA Tour for evidence of this in action.

With launch monitors placed on various tees during tournaments, statisticians are able to gather driving data from the world’s best players and the stats show that women pros predominantly use an upward style of hit. In fact, the average attack angle on the LPGA Tour is +3°. Conversely, on the PGA Tour, it’s typically downward, averaging -1.3°. This is why many LPGA players actually use the similarly lower-lofted driver heads as their PGA Tour counterparts, despite swinging 20 or even 30 mph slower than the men.

I’m among the many women who have been taught to launch the ball with an upward strike with a driver. At a recent Callaway driver fitting my average launch angle was around 16°, some 5.5° more than the 10.5° loft of my driver. This, combined with too much spin from my slight over-the-top action, meant that my tee shots were ballooning up into the air too high, rather than powering forward with a more desirable penetrating ball flight. Switching to a 9° loft head gave transformational results. Drives that now hit the ground on a flatter angle and roll out, rather than stopping dead.

The problem with standard off-the shelf women’s drivers is that they are often too lofted - sometimes 14° or more - and very lightweight. I’ve witnessed the damage this does to many a game as I see women hitting a very high ball off the tee. Although it effortlessly launches up, it rarely rolls out upon landing due to the high trajectory of the shot. A lower loft can provide more energy transfer at impact because there’s less of an oblique angle. It’s why your 7-iron flies farther than your 8-iron.

So, as long as you can launch the ball with enough loft through your technique, a driver with less loft will consistently produce more ball speed, even if you have a slow swing speed. Some custom fit technicians suggest as much as 3mph ball speed gain for a 9-degree driver compared to a 10.5° or 12° model.

Use Less Loft If You Slice

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The most common swing fault in golf is the ‘over-the-top’ slice , which adds dynamic loft to the driver, leading to a high launch and usually too much spin on the ball. This causes it to climb high and balloon into the wind. Club manufacturers have been targeting this mass market group of players for years by designing drivers to counteract the slice swing with more heel-biased weighting. Typically, forgiving designs locate the centre of gravity back and low in the head. This creates more dynamic loft and is why a lower-loft driver can really benefit a lot of women because it brings the launch angle down and leads to more roll out.

However, There's A 'But'...

Of course, the big but is not to assume that you have the right technique to make a low-lofted driver work. The only way to be certain is to be custom fit by an expert. Less loft isn’t the answer for all women, especially players who don’t have a positive angle of attack. But that’s the benefit of going through a driver fitting with an experienced fitter using a launch monitor to help identify the right loft to work with your unique technique.

Carly Frost is one of the golf industry’s best-known female writers, having worked for golf magazines for over 20 years. As a consistent three-handicapper who plays competitive club golf at Parkstone and the Isle of Purbeck courses in Dorset every week, Carly is well-versed in what lady golfers love. Her passion for golf and skill at writing combine to give her an unbeatable insight into the ladies game.

Carly’s role at Golf Monthly is to help deliver thorough and accurate ladies equipment reviews, buying advice and comparisons to help you find exactly what you are looking for. So whether it’s the latest driver, set of irons, golf ball, pair of shoes or even an outfit, Carly will help you decide what to buy. Over the years Carly has been fortunate to play some of the greatest courses in the world. Her view ‘from the ladies tee’ is invaluable. She ranks Sea Island, Georgia, USA, where she met her husband, world-renowned golf coach Dan Frost, among her favourite golf resorts. Their aptly-named eight-year-old son Hogan is already hitting the ball as far as Mum and will undoubtedly be a name to watch out for in the future. Carly is a keen competitor and her list of golfing achievements are vast. She is a former winner of the South West of England Ladies Intermediate Championship, a three-time winner of the European Media Masters and she once beat an entire start-sheet of men to the title of Times Corporate World Golf Champion. She has played for both the Dorset and Surrey County Ladies first teams and is known for her excellent track record at matchplay.

Carly holds the ladies course record (68) at her home club Parkstone and her lowest competition round (seven-under-par 65) was carded in the pro-am of the Irish Ladies Open at Killeen Castle, playing alongside Solheim Cup superstar Anna Nordqvist. Although her current handicap index has crept up to 3.7 since Covid she has her sights firmly set on achieving that elusive scratch handicap and hopefully playing for her country when she’s 50.

Carly’s current What's In The Bag?

Driver: Callaway Epic Max, 10.5°

Fairway wood: TaylorMade SIM2, 15°

Hybrids: Titleist TS2, 19°, 21°, 24°

Irons: Mizuno JPX900, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX, 52°, 56° and 58°

Putter: Scotty Cameron Futura X5

Ball: 2021 Callaway Ladies SuperSoft

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Critical Decision: What Driver Loft Should You Use

Golf is a never ending quest to try and play your best. Whether that means changing your swing, buying new equipment, getting lessons, and everything in between.

One area that can have a big impact on your game is your driver. Some average golfers fear a driver and leave it in the bag for their more trusty 3-wood. While others love their driver and hit it as often as possible.

The better you can hit it off the tee, the easier it is to score well. While there are a lot of components to becoming a good driver of the golf ball , the loft on your driver is a big factor.

I’m sure you’ve asked yourself, “What loft should my driver be?”

As you’ll learn today, picking the right driver loft can be easy or slightly complex to try and get the most distance possible. But the last thing I want to do is overwhelm you with technical jargon that might not help you play better golf.

So, to help you find the perfect driver loft, I broke this into two parts; the beginner version (for everyday recreational golfers) and the advanced version (for those who are serious about reaching their golf potential).

Driver Loft Pt 1: Beginner

If you’re struggling to hit the ball consistently well off the tee, your loft might be to blame. While there are a lot of factors to consider including the driver head, shaft weight, shaft flex, and more, loft should be a top priority.

Too many golfers try to hit a lower lofted driver to get more distance. This is because most people think about loft and assume, “Higher loft means the ball won’t go as far.”

While it makes sense in theory as your 6-iron has much less loft than your pitching wedge and thus, goes much farther. But you also need to consider shaft length and club speed too.

When it comes to driver ball flight, it’s an entirely different story. Playing an 8-degree driver vs. a 10-degree driver doesn’t guarantee that you’ll hit it longer. For some golfers this might be the case but everyone has to experiment to find the optimal loft.

Let’s dive into why that’s the case…

Most Golfers Need More Driver Loft

If you’re an everyday golfer, remember these two statements:

Driver loft can help you hit if further
More bounce can help you get out of the bunkers

While I won’t go into why bounce is your friend in the bunkers (read more about that here ), driver loft is also an ally for most players. The first reason why more loft is a good idea for the everyday golfer is that it will help you hit it longer (with both carry distance and maximum distance).

So, how does more loft help you hit it further?

Loft can help golf balls stay in the air longer and thus, have more carry and roll for longer total distance. This is especially good for those with a slower swing speed or don’t have an upward attack angle. There is a reason beginner drivers all have higher lofts.

Another reason why most players can benefit as much loft is accuracy off the tee. Because who doesn’t want to hit more fairways ? For most golfers, a slice is all too common and a lower lofted driver can actually make it even worse.

The lower the loft on your big stick, the easier it is to have a more severe slice. If you’re slicing the golf ball more than you care to admit, you would benefit from a 10.5 degree or maybe even 11+ degree driver. This will help straighten out your ball flight and likely increase total distance too.

Standard Driver Lofts

So, what is the best driver loft without getting into all the details the average golfer doesn’t need?

Driver lofts for most golf clubs range from roughly 8-11 degrees. For example, the popular Callaway Rogue ST Max driver has three options; 9, 10.5 degree, and 12 degree actual loft. While the TaylorMade Stealth is available in the same three options.

Like other golf equipment, these are adjustable drivers on the market . Which means you can hit the ball higher and have a higher launch angle by adjusting a new driver .

Overall, the best loft is a higher lofted driver that will benefit the majority of players. 9.5-10.5 degrees of loft. Paired with the right ball position , a shaft that helps get the proper spin rate , and proper driver attack angle will lead to more consistent drives.

Faster swing speeds or those who have downward attack angle might benefit from less loft (more on that in the next section).

Driver Loft Pt 2: Advanced

The first section is a good starting point but there’s a lot more we can get into when it comes to finding the correct loft on your new driver. If you’re reading this section, chances are you’re ready to geek out some golf knowledge to play your best.

Getting the right golf clubs, including driver loft, can help your ball flight, consistency, and confidence. Here are some other factors to consider when it comes to picking the right loft for your driver.

Swing Speed

The first thing you need to figure out before deciding on a loft is your swing speed.

So, why is swing speed so important?

Swing speed is the speed of the club that is traveling right before impact (also known as club head speed ). The faster the speed, the more distance.

The highest recorded speed ever was 156 mph by Connor Powers during the 2014 World Long Drive Championship. Obviously, 99.99% of us aren’t long drive champions and thus, need a different loft to match a lower swing speed.

So, what’s the average speed for a male golfer?

According to a study from Trackman , who collected data from more than 10,000 golfers, the average male amateur has a 93.4 mph club speed for a total distance of 214 yards .

The study also found that only 7% of players swing over 110mph (the PGA Tour Average is 113mph and LPGA is 94mph) and 45% of players were between 91-100mph.

This is the most common swing speed for the everyday golfer. Take a look at the graph below to see more average swing speed numbers. ( Make sure to read the full article on average distances for golfers . )

So, why does all this matter when it comes to picking the right loft for your driver?

Because the more speed you create in your swing, the less loft you likely need with a driver.

One of the more general rules in Golf Digest, Golf Magazine, and other publications is that higher handicap players need more loft. This is a general rule but as you’ll learn below, there are other factors too. This is because slower swing speeds don’t have as much speed and those players can’t get the ball high enough to max out distance.

A lot of times golfers would buy a club that didn’t have enough loft and their drives would suffer as a result.

How to Measure Swing Speed

Step one is measuring your swing speed which is pretty easy thanks to personal launch monitors . If you’ve already bought your own launch monitor for a golf simulator setup or to make practice more efficient, use it to measure your driver swing speed.

After warming up for 20-30 balls, work your way up to hitting the driver. Then, hit 10 shots and notate the average swing speed (not to be confused with ball speed ) of the driver. Take the average of the 10 balls and you will have a baseline to work with.

If you haven’t invested in a personal launch monitor yet, you can also get this measurement at your local golf store. You don’t need to do a personal club fitting either and they should help you 100% free.

Go here to read our full article on how to measure your swing speed.

Attack Angle

The second metric to figure out before picking loft is your attack angle.

This Golf Digest article provided some extra insight about the importance of attack angle. Specifically, how players now have a positive attack angle, which wasn’t always the case in the past.

“With an upward angle of attack, a player creates a more dynamic loft at impact, or the way the loft measures at impact compared to its static measurement. With less measured loft, an upward angle of attack and more dynamic loft, you’re creating the opportunity for high launch and less spin, a key metric for longer drives that hit the ground on a flatter angle, leading to more rollout.”

The same article went on to discuss how attack angle is changing. The PGA Tour average actually has a negative attack angle vs. the LPGA Tour where players have a positive attack angle. The upward angle compared to a downward angle is quite different and why each type of player needs the right loft for their golf swing.

Launch Angle

The third thing to think about is launch angle which is different from attack angle. Launch angle is referred to as the angle the ball takes off relative to the horizon. This number is closely related to dynamic loft which we’ll cover in the next section.

According to certified fitter Jamie McConnell, “Having the correct launch angle and combining it with the correct spin rate is really important in order to get the most out of a golfer’s clubs during a fitting. Too high or too low a launch angle and the golfer will lose distance.”

The average launch angle on the PGA Tour is just shy of 11 degrees while the LPGA average is about 13 degrees. What about amateure golfers?

Trackman found this data for male amateurs launch angles:

Scratch or better = 11.2 degrees
5 handicap = 11.2 degrees
10 handicap = 11.9 degrees
“Average handicap golfer” (14.5) = 12.6 degrees
18 handicap = 12.1 degrees

Dynamic Loft

In the past, it was easier for players to learn which loft they needed based on clubhead speed and skill level. But something called dynamic loft is making it a little more complex when it comes to picking the right driver loft.

Trackman Golf describes dynamic loft as, “The vertical angle of the club face at the center-point of contact between the club and ball at the time of maximum compression. Dynamic Loft is the amount of loft on the clubface at impact and is measured relative to the horizon.”

So, what affects dynamic loft?

A lot of factors including:

How the shaft bends at impact
How the golfer releases the club
Attack angle (as previously mentioned)
The club face (open or closed to the path)
Where the club makes contact with the ball

This is why it’s not as simple as saying slower swing speeds need more loft. Does that rule hold true for the most part? Yes, but it’s not quite as cut and dry as it was in the past now that we can measure dynamic loft.

But as Trackman discussed in the same article, dynamic loft is wildly important. Here’s why…

“Creating the proper dynamic loft is important to creating the optimal trajectory and maximizing carry. Too much dynamic loft can send the ball too high into the air and reduce the golfer’s distance. Too little dynamic loft can send the ball too low making the ball roll out excessively causing it difficult to judge distance.”

Here are the Trackman averages of dynamic loft based on different type of handicaps:

Scratch or better = 13 degrees
5 handicap = 13.2 degrees
10 handicap = 14.1 degrees
“Average handicap golfer” (14.5) = 15.1 degrees
18 handicap = 14.3 degrees

Dynamic loft is an important factor in dialing in the right loft and why working with a club fitter might be the best solution.

Spin Rates

The final thing to consider with picking the right driver shaft and loft are the spin rates. This is where you might need to work with a fitter to try out different shafts. For solid ball strikers, playing the right shaft is arguably more important than loft or clubhead.

The wrong shaft can make golf a lot harder as your misses will be all over the golf course. But the right shaft can make the game a lot easier by creating consistent shots and a tighter shot dispersion .

According to Graff Golf, “When the average PGA Tour player hits a driver, their spin rate is typically in the area of 2,700 RPMs. For a player who is a scratch handicap, their average is right around 2,900 RPMs. If you are a 10-handicap, you are probably around 3,200 RPMs.”

FAQs About Driver Loft

Do you still have questions about finding the right amount of loft for your driver? Check out our FAQs and answers below to find out more now.

What loft driver do pros use?

Professional golfers use all types of loft and are 100% dependent on their swing speed, attack angle, launch angle, and other factors. As mentioned above, one of the most important factors for elite golfers is dynamic loft.

Andrew Rice of Berkeley Hall Golf Club had this to say about dynamic loft. “Dynamic loft often will show me what a golfer is capable of, as better golfers seldom hit shots with too much dynamic loft. Learn to deloft the club face into impact and you are well on your way to being able to compress the golf ball.”

The best players in the world are used to delofting the club but swing speed, ball speed, and other factors come into play with driving off the tee. For example, Bryson DeChambeau uses a very little amount of loft.

As quoted in Golf Monthly , “Bryson was using a Cobra King Radspeed driver which had only 7.5 degrees of loft but in 2022 he has switched to a Cobra LTDx which only has five degrees of loft.”

Most golfers would get the ball more than 10 feet off the ground with that little loft. While other pros like Justin Thomas play a driver with 9.5 degrees of loft.

Needless to say, there’s a big gap between the lofts of professional golfers. Some might go as low as five like Bryson, while others play more conventional lofts.

Should I do a driver fitting?

If you’re a committed golfer and someone who takes your game seriously, I think a driver fitting is the best $100 (or so) you can spend. Think about it, the driver sets up your approach shots on nearly all par 4s and par 5s. The better you can hit your driver, the easier you’ll have it 14/18 holes during the round.

As you can tell from the advanced section above, there are a lot of components when it comes to getting the right loft. For solid golfers it’s not as simple as just playing a little more loft. There are so many factors to consider including shaft flex, shaft weight, overall club weight , driver head, driver loft, hosel settings, and more.

You want to have an enormous amount of confidence with your driver, which is why it’s such a good idea to get a custom club fitting . Plus, the fitter will usually give you some best practices on how to match your fairway wood and hybrids based on your driver settings.

What is spin loft?

Spin loft is another piece of data that can help you find the best loft for your driver.

According to Peter Field Golf , “Spin loft is approximately the angle between the dynamic loft and attack angle. Spin loft is actually the three-dimensional angle between the direction the club head is moving (both club path and attack angle) and the direction the club face is pointing (both face angle and dynamic loft).”

What is the difference between 9.5 and 10.5 degree driver?

The difference between the two lofts is only one degree. But depending on your golf swing, speed, and other factors, it can have a big impact. One degree more or less with your driver loft can change your total distance, accuracy, and ball flight.

Most adjustable drivers allow you to change the loft about two degrees with each club. Which is why it’s a good idea to test out different lofts on the range to see which performs best.

For most every day, mid to high-handicap golfers, 10.5 loft will help driving performance. Older golfers shopping for senior drivers should always consider a minimum of 10.5 degrees of loft and even experiment with a little more loft.

Will a lower loft driver go further?

Maybe, a lower loft driver will usually make the ball go further if the conditions are right. Lower loft means a lower trajectory, which if the conditions are firm or fast, will increase the total distance.

However, if the conditions are wet and cold, lower loft might actually hurt your distance.

Should you add loft to your swing?

Christop Bausek of Progress Golf said this on Trackman’s website about adding or taking away loft in the swing:

“Dynamic loft is a very good indicator of whether a golfer is adding too much loft or delofting the club too much. But be careful with drivers…hitting the ball high on the face will create a higher dynamic loft due to the roll of the club face.

Dynamic loft is the main factor for launching a ball into the air. There is a myth that “hitting down on the ball gets the ball up. Instead, pay attention to the dynamic loft if you want to get the ball up.”

Remember, a teeing up a driver and requires you to hit up on the ball. This is not the time to hit down on a golf shot. You want to tee the ball high and hit up on the ball.

Does a higher loft driver help my slice?

More loft can help reduce your driver slice but it’s not an instant cure. However, adding loft and adjusting your clubhead to a draw setting can make a big difference. They also make anti-slice drivers that have offset made to minimize the slice.

But don’t forget, this is a short-term solution. Fixing your slice means changing your grip , backswing, or something else in your swing. This usually takes some more extensive practice time to make the changes stick.

While you’re making swing changes, it’s always a good idea to optimize your driver settings to help you in the short term.

What degree driver does Tiger Woods use?

Throughout his illustrious career, Tiger has played all sorts of different equipment. Currently, according to the PGA Tour , Tiger is playing a 9-degree TaylorMade Stealth Plus driver. But he isn’t opposed to changing out shafts and club heads on a week-to-week basis.

It’s still hard to believe that in his dominance in the early 2000s this guy was playing a steel shafted driver! And absolutely lapping the field in terms of most distance.

Final Thoughts to Maximize Distance

Driver loft is an important part of your tee game and something you need to consider. As you can tell, you can make it easy or wildly complex but it depends on your skill levels.

For the majority of amateur golfers with a 14+ handicap, slightly more loft will help with distance and accuracy. But since most drivers are adjustable, it’s worth trying out on all settings to see how more/less loft impacts distance and trajectory.

For single digit handicap golfers and scratch golfers, driver loft is a component but not the end all be all number. You still need to consider dynamic loft, attack angle, launch angle, driver shaft, and more. It’s best to use a launch monitor and/or get a professional fitting to make sure the most important club in the bag is dialed in.

Regardless of skill level, don’t be afraid to experiment with different lofts, club heads, and driver shafts . The driver is one of the three most important clubs in the bag so make sure it’s optimized for your game.

Golf clubs of the top 50 LPGA pros (WITB)

Women’s golf is becoming increasingly popular and is catching up to men’s golf rapidly. This study on the increasing purse sizes of LPGA major tournaments confirms this fact. The purse of the Women’s PGA Championship has nearly doubled since 2013. You can read more about it here.

At this moment, the number of female golfers in the world is probably the highest in recorded history, and this number is rising year by year. Each year, thousands of young girls grab their first golf clubs and embark on their golfing journeys. These budding lady golfers often wonder which clubs their role models use to win the most prestigious tournaments.

Driven by this fact, our team at Golf Reporter looked into the golf bags of the top 50 LPGA professionals. We found some shocking statistics that might surprise many of you. In this article, we’ll talk about the golf clubs used by the top 50 LPGA pros, including the driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges and putters.

However, it is worth noting that this data is for 44 out of the top 50 LPGA pros. The information for the remaining 6 golfers was either wholly or partially unavailable. These are Pajaree Anannarukarn, Yealimi Noh, Wei-Ling Hsu, Shanshan Feng, Su Oh, and Lauren Stephenson. That is why we have left those 6 out of this study.

We have compiled all the data into a table for your convenience. Here it is.

Analysis and Findings

After collecting the data and codifying it into a table, we began looking for patterns, and we found some quite interesting ones. We have classified them into respective club categories.

The driver and the putter are the only two clubs guaranteed to be in every golf bag. Or so we thought. Oddly, one LPGA pro does not use the driver, and she’s quite a prominent figure.

We’re talking about world number 5, Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand. She does not have a driver in her bag. Instead, she uses her 3-wood or her utility iron in the tee box.

Apparently, Ping drivers are all the rage among LPGA pros as 10 of them opt for them, with Ping G425 being the most popular. Patty Tavatanakit (world number 3) is the highest-ranking LPGA pro who uses Ping drivers. Not far behind is TaylorMade, with 8 users, including Moriya Jutanugarn (world number 11), who uses the M2 driver.

Callaway, PXG, and Titleist are the next ones in line, with 7, 6, and 5 users, respectively. The world number one, Nelly Korda, uses the Titleist TSi1 driver with Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6S shaft.

Most of these LPGA golfers have different loft settings, but 15 of them prefer to go with the 9 degrees option. Furthermore, 10 players have chosen Fujikura shafts as their preferred option, while 9 others prefer Graphite Design or Mitsubishi shafts.

Fairway Woods

The configuration of fairway woods varies from person to person. Some prefer to use only a single club, while others prefer two or even three. Usually, 3-wood is the widely used choice of most golfers, and this list conforms to this fact. Everyone in this list uses a 3-wood, except one.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen is the only pro in the top 50 who doesn’t use the 3 wood. Interestingly, she’s also the only one who uses the 4-wood.

17 of these golfers also use a 5-wood along with their 3-wood. However, only four LPGA pros still use the extremely rare 7-wood, including the world number one, Nelly Korda. Her sister Jessica Korda, Leona Maguire, and Lizette Salas are the other three who use the 7-wood.

Here, Callaway has managed to get the better of its rivals by securing the trust of 11 golfers. Callaway is followed by Ping and TaylorMade, with 9 and 7 players, respectively. PXG, Titleist, and Srixon come next, with 6, 5, and 4 users, respectively.

34 LPGA pros from the top 50 keep hybrid golf clubs in their bags, which clearly suggests their widespread popularity among women golfers. This number is significantly higher than their male counterparts. You can read more about this here. In addition, nearly half (16) of these hybrids using women golfers prefer to play with a 19-degree loft.

In hybrid clubs, Ping is back on top with 9 players choosing their products. PXG is the 2nd most popular brand with 6 users. Other giants, including TaylorMade and Titleist, have only four users each. This might suggest that these brands have apparently not won the trust of women golfers when it comes to hybrids. Callaway is even farther behind with merely 3 users.

Similar to fairway woods, the configuration of irons varies from golfer to golfer. However, we found an arrangement that has repeated itself several times, 16 to be exact. The majority of LPGA pros favor a 5-iron to pitching wedge assortment. While only four golfers avoid the 5-iron and have 6-iron to pitching wedge iron sets. In addition, Nippon has established itself as the most preferred choice for iron shafts as 10 LPGA pros choose their products.

Here too, Ping has emerged as the most trusted choice with 10 players. Srixon makes a surprise appearance with 6 users along with Titleist and PXG. They are followed by TaylorMade and Callaway, each of whom is used by 5 players.

Titleist makes a dramatic recovery in the wedges section. Titleist Vokey wedges have cemented themselves as one of the most reliable wedges for LPGA pros with 16 users. World number one, Nelly Korda, along with 8 others, uses their latest SM8 version.

Ping and PXG are the next most popular brands with 9 and 8 users, respectively. Cleveland Golf makes a dramatic appearance with 4 users, with Minjee Lee (world number 10) as the highest-ranking golfer who uses them.

Callaway and TaylorMade also fail to make a mark with only a handful of users. 4 players use Callaway wedges while only 2 choose TaylorMade wedges.

Callaway makes a strong comeback in the putters category, thanks to their state-of-the-art Odyssey putters. 12 golfers play with Odyssey putters, with Ariya Jutanugarn (world number 5) and Inbee Park (world number 6) as the highest-ranking golfers.

Titleist’s Scotty Cameron putters are not far behind with 10 users. Current world number one, Nelly Korda and her sister Jessica (world number 7), both use Scotty Cameron putters. Besides these two sisters, three others from the top 10 (total 5) are regular Scotty Cameron putter users.

Ping comes in at the third spot with 9 users. Leona Maguire (world number 8) is the highest-ranking golfer to use Ping putters. Other brands like TaylorMade and PXG are at 4th and 5th positions, respectively, with 5 and 4 players.

Bettinardi Golf makes its first appearance with two users, Patty Tavatanakit (world number 3) and Nasa Hataoka (world number 18). Other brands to make an appearance are Piretti and Swag Golf.

Phil Mickelson finally found a hybrid he loves

What GolfWRXers are saying about TaylorMade’s 300 Mini Driver

Katie Fitzgerald is the managing editor at Golf Reporter . She found her passion in sports writing over 10 years back and has been playing golf since she was 10 years old.

Pingback: Former LPGA pro shares detailed breakdown of expenses for a year on Symetra Tour – GolfWRX

Nov 3, 2021 at 10:13 pm

Great info all in one place. My distances relate to mid or lower length LPGA pros and have been looking to properly gap the upper end of the bag. Two really strong trends split about 50/50 are shown here with a little variation on the 4H, 4I, or 4U:

3 wood (15), 5 wood (18), 4 hybrid (22-23) [sometimes 4U/ 4I] or 3 wood (15), 3 hybrid (19-20), 4I [sometimes 4H 22-23]

In case anyone else has tried some different setups and may relate – I’ve tried eliminating a 3 wood twice, due to the fitting recommendations of the higher lofted woods creating more carry and controlled decent. Tried a strong lofted 5 wood, 7 wood and gapping from there. Each time I found myself missing a 3 wood for certain situations fairly often. Seeing this list helps confirm the setup options I need to test.

Always more of a challenge to get current women’s witb info. Thanks for putting it together and sharing some analysis.

Oct 8, 2021 at 12:01 pm

Good info. Could you also give details of their shaft flexes (R, S, XS)? Would help golfers with similar swing speeds. Thanks

Hunter Warne

Oct 8, 2021 at 1:16 pm

Most of them have the shaft flexes listed. I’m guessing the one’s that don’t weren’t available.

JungleJimbo

Oct 8, 2021 at 12:57 am

excellent, thanks for providing this in response to our request for more LPGA WITBs! 🙂

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Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Whats in the Bag

Collin morikawa witb 2024 (april).

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0

Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters

John Daly stuns fans into silence with brutal opening tee shot on PGA Tour Champions

Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why

Tiger Woods arrives at 2024 Masters equipped with a putter that may surprise you

Scottie Scheffler WITB 2024 (March)

Photos from the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Report: Tiger Woods has ‘eliminated sex’ in preparation for the 2024 Masters

Two star names reportedly blanked Jon Rahm all week at the Masters

Joaquin Niemann names 3 PGA Tour events he’d love to play each year ‘in a perfect world’

Spotted: Bettinardi irons at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here. Driver: TaylorMade...

WITB Time Machine: Jordan Spieth’s winning WITB, 2022 RBC Heritage

At the 2022 RBC Heritage Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay on the first playoff hole after nearly holing his greenside...

Jason Day WITB 2024 (April)

Jason Day what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Ping G430 LST (9 degrees @10) Shaft: TPT...

Ludvig Åberg WITB 2024 (April)

Ludvig Åberg what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, D4 SureFit setting)...

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What Loft Should My Driver Be? (2 Major Factors Explored)

A simple rule of thumb is that if your clubhead speed is above 100, you should fall in the 7 to 10.5 degree loft range, if you swing between 90 and 99 the recommendation is between 9 and 12 degrees range, and if you are below 90 the recommendation is between 10 and 15 degree range.

The driver is arguably the most important club in the bag. Every golfer needs to maximize their carry distance and the total distance.

While many might still believe the old saying, “drive for show, put for dough,” the reality is that the further you can hit your driver, the shorter your approach shot into the green will be, which on average results in a shorter putt length.

The shorter the putt length, the much higher chance of making the putt on average. For example, the make percentage on the PGA Tour from 8 feet is right around 50%. As soon as your get out to 30 feet, the make percentage is sigfinacntly lower.

The key takeaway is that the golfer must maximize distance off the tee.

This is where the loft of the driver comes into play. A combination of club head speed, ball speed, angle of attack, launch angle, and spin rate determine the total carry distance and the overall distance.

So where does loft fall into this equation? The loft will impact the launch angle and the overall flight of the ball.

Which leads us to our main question for this post!

Update: While I think the loft of a driver can be important, the kind of shaft you have in your driver is the most important part of the driver. Make sure you have the right weight and the right flex for your swing!

What Loft Should My Driver Be?

Here is a quick reference chart for you use:, the two greatest factors on what loft you should use are the following:.

Swing Speed
Angle of Attack

Factor #1: Swing Speed

For years the common advice is that the slower swing speed you have with the driver, the more loft you will want to use. Why we still believe this to be the case for the majority of golfers, there are other items to consider.

On the LPGA Tour, you will find slower swing speeds and high angles of attack with the driver when compared to the PGA Tour. Recently, more and more LPGA golfers are going with less loft as their angle of attack continues to increase. For years, we heard about the importance of teeing it high and letting if fly. Golfers everywhere teed their ball really high and start swinging up on the ball.

This resulted in some high ball flights if the golfer was directly following a chart similar to above.

The bottom line is that if your angle of attack is pretty standard at 1-2 degree up, you will want to follow the chart. Next, let’s consider the angle of attack.

Factor #2: Angle of Attack

The angle of attack on the PGA Tour averages about a negative 1.5 degrees. On the LPGA Tour this average is closer to positive 3 degrees up. What this means is that the PGA Tour player is hitting slightly down with their driver, while the LPGA Tour is hitting more up at impact.

The average weekend golfer should more than likely pay attention to what is going on with the LPGA Tour with equipment and other factors as the average swing speed of an LPGA Tour player is closer to your typical weekend golfer.

What this means is that if we are swinging up on the ball with the driver, we might consider less loft than recommended in the cart above.

We are seeing a shift in less loft on the LPGA Tour as the angle of attack continues to increase.

One of the main reasons the PGA tour has a negative angle of attack is that golfers can better control their start line with a slightly downward angle of attack with the driver. However, if you check out some of the power movements in golf, such as Bryson DeChambeua, you will see that he has the ball teed up pretty high and is launching high and long. He has also decreased his loft down in the 7 degree range.

What this means for the amateur golfer is that he or she needs to experiment with what helps them reach their goals. Do you want pure distance and don’t care as much about direction, or do you want a combination of both.

Pure Distance: Tee it high, let it fly using a lower lofted driver and a higher tee
Combination: Tee is medium, swing slightly up with a standard loft.
Accuracy: Tee is lower, swing slightly down with a bit more loft than standard

How To Measure Your Swing

The key here is to get some data on what is important to you and your game. If you can get the pure distance without losing much accuracy, this would be our recommendation. If you are struggling to keep the ball in play, then it might be time to seek the combination approach to your driver.

This might vary based on the golf course that you typically play and how many hazards or out of bounds areas you have to deal with over the 18 holes.

The best way to measure your swing is with a launch monitor. The golfer has several options:

Find a local teacher or driving range where you can utilize a Trackman or similar launch monitor.
Purchase your own affordable launch monitor to assess your swing

Several years go, I decided to take the 2nd option and purchased a SkyTrak , I now have the following information:

Carry Distance and Total Distance
Launch Angle

Resource: Are launch monitors worth it? (7 Reasons to own one!)

Through this data, I have been able to experiment to know that a 8 degree driver is right for me as my swing speed is around 106-109 miles per hour and the launch angle at this driver loft with my angle of attack helps me maximize my carry and total distance with keeping the ball in play.

I would highly recommend golfers consider their own portable launch monitor to use one of the following ways:

Take with with you to the driving range or golf course practice area.
Set up in your garage with a net and mat.
Build your own golf simulator in a garage, basement or extra room

The overall versatility of these devices is incredible and much more affordable than you might think. Gone are the days of paying 30-40 thousand dollars and a golfer could get started with one of the three options for 500 to 2000 dollars.

Resource: SkyTrak Lauch Monitor: The ultimate game improvement tool!

Top 3 Recommended Affordable Launch Monitors:

SkyTrak Launch Monitor
FlightScope Mevo+ Launch Monitor
Mevo Launch Monitor

Next Steps: What Loft Should My Driver Be?

Go ahead and try to find a place where you can get the key swing numbers. Even if you visit your local sporting goods store that might have a launch monitor. If you are more serious and want continuous feedback, check out the links above to price out.

Go ahead and look at the key data and experiment with different lofted clubs. Other things to consider is if you prefer a lower or higher ball flight. Those that play in a lot of wind might seek a more penetrating ball flight to keep the ball out of the wind. Others might want to launch the ball as high as possible without losing distance.

If you don’t have access to a launch monitor head to your driving range and use the eye test to see how far and the height with different lofted clubs or adjusting your own driver.

Adjustable Drivers and Loft

The great news for all golfers is that the majority of high quality drivers today have the ability to provide you a range of loft. This is great news for the person that wants to tinker and try out different lofts to maximize the potential of their driver and improve their game.

If you don’t have an adjustable driver, I would highly recommend checking them out and investing in one. The ability to change the loft depending on your swing, the course conditions or other factors will go a long way in your overall performance. The touring pros all make these adjustments from week to week with equipment. Now the amateur can have a similar experience and when paired with your own launch monitor, you can base it on the data to help you make decisions.

Resource: Are adjustable drivers worth it?

Spin Rate and Total Distance

The least talked about, but maybe the most important factor in total distance is the spin rate of your driver and other clubs. Have you ever hit the shot that feels like it flew forever and was your longest drive of the season or recent memory? Chances are you somehow didn’t find an extra 10 miles per hour with your swing, but more likely that you found a quality spin rate.

Most golfers should live in in the range of a spin rate between 1800 and 2800 RPMs. Once again, depending on launch angle and swing speed is why there is a range. The lower the spin rate, on average the further the ball will fly. Once you get below 1800 you might lose distance and when you get above 2800 you will for sure lose distance.

On the opposite end is the ball that you hit and it seems to balloon and not go very far. Chances are your spin rate was in the 3000-5000 RPM range and you overspun the ball, resulting in a loss of distance.

With my SkyTrak I have found this feedback to be highly important to my overall improvement and total distance improvement. Start paying attention to some of these numbers and make the improvements that you seek!

Resource: Why is spin rate important in golf?

How To Gain Swing Speed

If you are someone looking to maximize your driver distance, I would highly recommend SuperSpeed Golf!

For years many golfers might have believed, well this is just how fast I can swing. Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.

SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.

The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.

My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!

Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!

Resource: How to increase driver swing speed (3 options)

Check current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!

Final Thoughts: What Loft Should My Driver Be?

The bottom line is to go out and experiment and we would recommend getting real time feedback through a portable launch monitor or at a minimum finding a place where your swing can be measured to ensure you are hitting the right loft.

We prefer to experiment regularly and make the adjustments as needed as different factors change. Owning your launch monitor will be a game changer and can help take your game to the next level. Not only can you ensure you have the right equipment setup, but you can increase your golf and practice seasons. Stop taking 3-5 months of each golf year and instead train throughout the winter and find a way to get better.

The combination of SuperSpeed Golf and a SkyTrak is an impressive combination that brings results!

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

George Gankas
Bobby Lopez
Shawn Clement
Mike Malaska
Jim Venetos
Monte Scheinblum

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

SuperSpeed Golf – Read our Full Review
Gain 30-40 yards in 30 Days – Swing Man Golf

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

How to Break 100
How to Break 90
How to Break 80
How to Break 70

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:

Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
How to Build a Golf Simulator?
What is the Best Golf Simulator?
Golf Simulator Accessories?
How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
Why Build A Golf Simulator?
What Space is Needed?
Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.

Spin loft is approximately the angle between the dynamic loft and attack angle

Spin loft is actually the three-dimensional angle between the direction the club head is moving (both club path and attack angle) and the direction the club face is pointing (both face angle and dynamic loft).

Simply subtracting attack angle from dynamic loft will give a close approximation of the spin loft angle. However, if the face to path value is not equal to zero, then the simple subtraction method will vary from the actual spin loft. The greater the face to path value, the larger the subtraction method and actual value will vary.

The spin rate of a shot is largely influenced by the spin loft. All else equal, a higher spin loft will result in a higher spin rate. Controlling spin loft is key to controlling spin rate. Also, a higher spin loft will create a lower smash factor all else equal. Because of this fact, some will refer to spin loft as “compression”. A lower spin loft creates greater “compression” (and a lower spin rate).

Spin Loft – The angle between the direction of the club head’s center of gravity movement (ATTACK ANGLE and CLUB PATH) and the club face orientation at the center-point of contact between club face and golf ball (DYNAMIC LOFT and FACE ANGLE). Remark: This angle is calculated between two 3D vectors. Since the difference between CLUB PATH and FACE ANGLE are typically much smaller than the difference between ATTACK ANGLE and DYNAMIC LOFT, the SPIN LOFT is generally very close to DYNAMIC LOFT minus ATTACK ANGLE.

Tour Averages

Driver = 14.7 degrees
6-iron = 24.3 degrees
Driver = 15.0 degrees
6-iron = 25.9 degrees

TrackMan Combine Averages

Male Amateur (Driver)

Scratch or better = 14.8 degrees
5 HCP = 15.8 degrees
10 HCP = 17.3
Average Golfer (14.5) = 18.3 degrees
Bogey Golfer = 18.2 degrees

Female Amateur (Driver)

Scratch or better = 17.1 degrees
5 HCP = 18.4 degrees
10 HCP = 18.6 degrees
15 HCP = 20.1 degrees
For the driver, a club speed of 94 mph, attack angle of 0 degrees, and optimized carry results in a spin loft of 15.6 degrees
For a 6-iron, a club speed of 80 mph and mid-trajectory results in a spin loft of 25.5 degrees
For a PW, a club speed of 72 mph and mid-trajectory results in a spin loft of 40.6 degrees

Read what our TrackMan University Masters say about Spin Loft…

Chris Brook PGA International Golf Coach, UK

“Spin loft is a fantastic parameter when I work with players who are trying to achieve an optimum balance between attack angle and dynamic loft to create continuity of ball flight and distance control throughout the bag. Using spin loft helped me to persuade one student to concentrate on reducing the dynamic loft at impact while maintaining their shallow angle of attack. The result was less spin and a higher smash factor that resulted in 18 yards of additional distance on their average drive.”

Mark Anderson Philadelphia Cricket Club, PA, US

Dom DiJulia Dom DiJulia School of Golf, PA, US

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Hi there, when was this blog written please? thank you

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Coach of the month

What Drives the Senior Tour Pros? Most Popular Driver on Champions Tour (2024)

Written by Graeme Hay | Last Updated: 25/04/2024

2023 Champions Tour money list winner Steve Stricker in mid-swing in mid-swing off the tee.

We have looked in the past at the clubs and drivers the top PGA Tour players use but given the distances they hit the ball are on a different planet to regular amateurs we wanted to see whether more can be learned from the most popular drivers used by Champions Tour pros.

Although the average driver swing speeds on the senior tour are still over 106mph – and therefore well above the average male amateur’s at 93.4mph – it is still closer than the 115mph average on the main PGA Tour.

So taking a in-depth look at the details of the drivers used by the best Champions Tour pros this is what we found.

PING’s G430 LST and TaylorMade’s Stealth Plus are the most popular drivers on the Champions Tour according to data available. Miguel Angel Jiménez and John Daly are G430 LST users while Fred Couples chooses the Stealth Plus. Titliest’s TSR3 and Callaway’s Rogue ST and Paradym Triple Diamond are the next most used models.

Basic makes and models of driver only tell us so much however so we didn’t just stop there and did a detailed analysis of the lofts the best pros on the senior tour are playing together with the specs of the driver shafts they use.

And finally we took a look at who was sponsored by which manufacturer to get an idea of how that factor potentially influences the driver choices among the top Champions Tour pros.

Most Used Drivers On the Senior Tour? Callaway Lead the Way

Driver data for the PGA Champions Tour is not as readily available as on the main PGA Tour.

So when we looked at the details of the drivers being used by the top 100 pros on the senior Tour to find which were the most used we were only able to find complete driver data for just over half – 51 to be exact – of this elite group.

In total we found 30 different driver models of driver being used among the 51 Champions Tour pros we found driver information for among the top 100 and when it came to the different brands being chosen this is what our detailed analysis found.

Callaway drivers are the most used on the Champions Tour with 33% of the senior pros analysed using them, including Steve Stricker. PING models are the next most popular picked by 27%. TaylorMade and Titleist drivers are each chosen by 13% with Tour Edge used by close to 10%. Japanese brand XXiO is used only by Ernie Els.

Callaway and PING therefore clearly dominate this group accounting for 31 of the 51 drivers we found in play with TaylorMade, Titleist and Tour Edge models making up the vast majority of the rest.

What was interesting to note though was that while Titleist are the dominant force among the drivers used on the PGA Tour their models are a much less popular choice among the top pros on the Champions Tour.

A key question of course when it comes to driver choices by all the pros however is of course how much it is influenced by sponsorship deals.

Once again the data available on Champions Tour pros is not nearly as abundant as on the PGA Tour but our analysis found 45% of the 51 senior pros we researched playing the same driver model as one of their sponsors.

In all likelihood this number is potentially higher however there were clear examples, including the great Bernhard Langer – who carries six different brands of club in his bag – that sponsorship is not always the overriding factor when it comes to the driver choices the senior pros make.

Further while the dominant driver makes and models among the best senior pros may be a bit different to those found on the main Tour what is clear though, when you look in detail at the drivers the Champions Tour pros use, is that they go into just as much detail when it comes to the exactness of their driver set up.

Just as on the PGA Tour each driver is clearly custom-fitted to a precise extent for each player and even though we found 5 PING G430 LST drivers being used you can be sure there will be a unique set-up for each pro.

Not only that certain players carry more than one driver around the Champions Tour with them switching between the two, or even three, depending on the conditions of the course they are playing that week or simply due to them having more confidence in one than the other at a particular time.

Dickie Pride for example carries a PING G410 Plus around with him in addition to the Callaway Rogue ST he typically puts in play while Brian Gay also has a Cobra LRDx LS in his bag together with a TaylorMade Stealth Plus.

“Nobody has ever noticed it and I’ve been doing this for three years. Every other club I use a single overlap grip. On my driver, I use a double overlap.” Padraig Harrington, 2022 US Senior Open Champion and ranked 1 in driving distance on 2023 PGA Champions Tour

Steve Flesch by comparison carries not two but 3 different models of the Callaway Rogue ST driver family allowing him to alternate between the standard Rogue ST Max and the draw-biased Max D and LS (‘low spin’) options.

It is also noticeable that not all the Champions Tour pros we found data for are immediately moving to the latest model of their preferred brand of driver and continue to play with older driver models.

Doug Barron continues for example to use his old trusty TaylorMade Stealth driver because he says he “hits it 15 yards longer than anything else I tried.”

And that search for distance also caused us to notice another couple of quirks among the top senior pros.

Padraig Harrington topped the driving distance charts on the Champions Tour in 2023 with an average total distance of 302.4mph.

Incredibly to do this Harrington has increased his driver swing speed to measurements of 120mph and above on the Champions Tour up from the 116 mph speeds he was recording when he was winning both the 2008 British Open and USPGA at the peak of his golfer powers.

But not only that he also employs a ‘baseball’ style grip only when using his driver – he uses a standard overlap grip for all his other clubs – in an effort to release a little extra energy into the driver clubhead for more overall power.

You can see him doing this in the video below and given his driving distance numbers as he enters his 50s it is clearly working!

What Driver Loft Do Senior Pros Use? It Typically Starts with 9 or 10.

When we looked at the degree of driver the top pros on the PGA Tour use we were immediately struck by the variance and precision in driver lofts they chose to put in play.

And when it comes to the best pros on the PGA Champions Tour it appears they are equally as exacting in their approach.

9 degrees is the most used driver loft among the Champions Tour pros for which data is available with 24% setting up with it, including Padraig Harrington. 10.5º is the next most popular loft with 1/5 choosing it. 2023 Tour winner Steve Stricker chooses an 8º driver while 6º is the lowest driver loft used by Brian Gay.

It is common of course for top pros on all the major tours to change the loft of their driver on occasion depending on the course set-up they are playing on any particular week and this is again noticeable on the Champions Tour.

Kirk Triplett, for example, has a 9º and 10.5º PING G425 Max driver in his golf bag but for other senior pros, changes extend to carrying more than one driver of both different lofts and models.

For Dicky Pride this means taking an 8º PING G410 Plus driver around on the Champions Tour with him alongside his more regularly used 9º Callaway Rogue ST driver.

Brian Gay meanwhile, while typically putting the lowest lofted driver on the tour in play with his 6º TaylorMade Stealth Plus also carries a 7.5º Cobra LTDx model in his bag to use on different occasions.

Interestingly however we found no difference in the variance in driver lofts used by different age groups of the top 100 on the Champions Tour and as such their loft choices did not appear to be affected by this factor.

What Driver Shaft is Most Used on the Champions Tour?

When it comes to driver shafts pro golfers are very exacting and our analysis of the shafts the top senior pros put into the biggest club in their bag again found this in evidence.

Among the 51 of the top 100 Champions Tour pros for which we found driver data we discovered 29 different models of driver shaft being used.

Fujikura’s Ventus Red 6X and Black 6X driver shafts are the most popular on the Champions Tour with nearly 1/4 of senior pros using one. The Ventus Blue 6X is the next most popular alongside PING’s Tour 65 S shaft chosen by 6%. Graphite Design’s Tour AD DI and IZ 6X shafts are the third most common with close to 5% picking them.

According to our analysis the driver shaft choices of the top Champions Tour pros map almost identically to those on the main tour with the Fujikura Ventus Black 6X topping the charts among the top 100 on both these tours.

We did find more variety of driver shafts on the PGA Tour compared to the Champions Tour however given the variety of shaft choices we found in this research the senior pros are clearly just as exacting when it comes to making their driver shaft choice.

Kevin Sutherland interestingly for example carries two models of his 10.5º PING G425 LST with two different shafts in them.

One is fitted with an extra stiff flex Ventus Red 6X while the other has a stronger True Temper’s Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 60 TX flex shaft in it.

And the two versions of the same driver we noted above that Kirk Triplett is using don’t just have different lofts but also slightly different shafts in them.

While his 10.5º PING G425 Max has an Aldila Tour Blue 60 TX shaft the 9º model of the same driver he has in his bag has a slightly heavier Tour Blue 70 TX shaft in it.

Steve Flesch meanwhile takes things even further choosing 3 different shafts from 3 different manufacturers – True Temper, Graphite Design and Fujikura – in the three different models of the Callaway Rogue ST driver family he alternates between.

So just like their colleagues on the main tour the senior pros are tinkering just as much when it comes to driver shafts although it is interesting that although like on the PGA Tour Fujikura was the top driver shaft brand Mitsubishi shafts were fifth most used on the Champions Tour drivers we found data for.

This compares to its position as the second most popular choice of driver shaft brand on the main tour.

On the Champions Tour by comparison behind Fujikura’s position as the dominant driver shaft brand Graphite Design shafts are the second most popular with 16% using them.

True Temper shafts are the 3rd most common with just under 12% choosing them with PING in 4th place with 6% picking their Tour 65 S shaft.

Mitsubishi driver shafts by comparison are the choice of only 2% of this Champions Tour group we analysed compared to their use by 1/4 of the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour.

Breakdown of Drivers Used by PGA Champions Tour Players

And finally just to give the full picture of how many and which pros are using which brand and model of driver here is the complete breakdown of the 51 drivers used by the top 100 Champions Tour pros we found data on in order of popularity.

Before you go …

Knowing what drivers the top Champions Tour players are using is interesting but with the driver swingspeeds of the average senior pro being well over 10mph faster than the average male amateur (106.6mph vs. 93.4mph) there is likely more to learn from the drivers being played by the best female pros.

So have a read of our next article to find out what drivers the best LPGA pros are choosing with their 94mph average driver swing speeds…

What Drivers Do LPGA Players Use?

The Go-To Fairway Woods of Senior Tour Champions (2024)

Flexible Friends: Uncovering the Shafts Champions Tour Players Use (2024)

In the Bag: Unpacking the Clubs Champions Tour Players Use (2024)

Champions’ Choice: The Most Used Irons on the Champions Tour (2024)

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What Driver Loft Should You Use? (Full Chart Based On Swing Speed)

Fact Checked By Ben Jenks

A 10.5° golf driver loft is ideal for beginners and most golfers. If you’re new to golf or have a slower swing speed, a driver with a higher loft will suit you better. A higher loft driver is more forgiving since getting an upward attack angle is easier.

Less loft allows you to gain more distance and less spin. Generally, the faster your swing speed, the less lofted driver you need.

I see many golfers play with the wrong driver loft, which hurts your drives. The lofts in drivers usually range from 8° to 14°.

To help you visualize, I’ve also made a driver loft chart. If you read this article carefully, you’ll understand which driver loft you’ll need as your game evolves.

Note: You can estimate which driver loft will suit you and your swing speed, but finding the best one for every golfer will be different. That is why I always recommend getting your clubs fitted . Check out Brendon’s full club fitting experience at the PGA Tour Superstore .

What Driver Loft Should High Handicappers Use?

What driver loft should low handicappers use.

Who Should Use a High Lofted Driver?

Who Should Use a Low Lofted Driver?

Is a higher loft driver better, what loft should i use for my driver, does lowering driver loft open the face.

A driver with a 10.5-degree loft is ideal for high handicappers and beginners. This is why most beginner drivers and forgiving drivers have a high loft of 10.5° or above.

A higher loft driver provides more forgiveness and a higher ball flight but has more spin and less distance than a lower loft driver. Since high handicappers need to focus on hitting more fairways off the tee than getting the maximum distance, a 10.5 driver suits better.

Higher-lofted clubs are also easier to hit. This is why a 9-iron is easier than hitting a 4-iron, but it doesn’t go as far. I won’t explain each golf club’s loft since this article is focused purely on the driver’s loft.

If you’re struggling with your drives and think your driver loft is to blame, using the correct driver loft for your swing can improve your output. In most cases, you won’t need a new driver shaft either.

If you’re a high handicapper, I suggest you use a higher loft driver than the one you currently use.

You have three options if your driver loft remains too high for your swing.

Find a driver with an adjustable hosel that lets you weaken the clubface’s loft angle in moderation.
Consider the costly approach of customization.
Think about a strong lofted 3-wood with 13 to 13.5 degrees of loft.

Most golfers use a 9° or a 10.5° driver, but you can also experiment with a 12-degree driver.

A 9-degree driver loft is most suited and commonly used by professional golfers and low handicappers.

As your golf game improves and your swing evolves (or gets faster), you must reconsider your driver loft. Low-handicap golfers want to maximize their driving distance and reduce spin.

These players are best positioned to swing a 9-degree driver for low spin, controlled ball flight, and maximum roll.

On the other hand, if you have a fast swing speed (above 100 mph) and you’re using a high-lofted driver, you might have an open-face contact, which results in a slice.

I had the same problem, and going from a 10.5 to a 9.5 driver made a difference (along with spending hours at the driving range).

It’s important to remember that a lower loft driver won’t always be better for fast swing speeds, and there’s no one best driver loft for distance. While golfers like Bryson DeChambeau stand out for having a 5-degree lofted driver , many PGA tour players also play with a 10.5-degree driver.

I’ve created this table showing the statistics of some professional golfers. This table highlights that loft isn’t the only factor when maximizing distance.

Lower Lofted vs High Lofted Drivers

9.5° or less loft is considered to be a low lofted driver. Anything above 10° loft is in the category of high-lofted drivers.

Higher lofted drivers aid most amateurs since they can improve their launch, accuracy, and spin off the tee.

If your driver loft is too low for your clubhead speed, you will produce inadequate carry, distance, and erratic dispersion.

Swinging a lower lofted driver can cause you to slice your golf shots and spend every hole in the right rough. Conversely, higher lofted drivers carry a draw bias, provoking snap hooks.

But, with faster swing speeds and high lofts, the open clubface causes you to generate increased spin, causing your ball to fly higher and follow an aggressive descent to land softly. As a result, it eradicates roll, hampering your total yardage potential.

Who Should Use a High Lofted Driver ?

Generally, a high-lofted driver is best suited for:

New golfers
High handicappers
Golfers with slow swing speeds
Golfers who can’t hit the ball upwards
Senior golfers

Low-lofted drivers are usually preferred by:

Golfers with a fast swing speed
Low handicappers who want more carry distance
Golfers who struggle with too much spin.
Golfers that have a higher launch angle than desired

Yes, in my experience, a higher lofted driver is better for most amateur golfers, as it is easier to consistently launch your golf ball from the tee. However, a higher loft driver can cause faster swingers to generate excess spin and a ballooned shot for a loss of roll and total distance.

Golfers with higher swing speeds should use a 9-degree driver or less. Conversely, golfers with moderate swing speeds are advised to play with a 10.5-degree driver. Finally, slow swing speeds are best equipped to strike a 12-degree or weaker driver.

Yes, lowering the driver loft opens the club face angle, as shown by Mobile Clubmaker Golf in this Youtube video. You’ll notice that as he strengthens the loft, the clubface opens. Conversely, when he weakens the loft, it closes the angle of the clubface, creating a draw bias setup.

Matt Callcott-Stevens

Matt has played golf since he was 4 years old and has written over 150 articles at GolfSpan since 2021. Matt specializes in product reviews using his postgraduate degree in Sports Marketing from Johan Cruyff Institute. Matt has a handicap index of 10.8 and currently plays weekly at Pilar Golf Course near his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He also loves his Callaway Odyssey Exo Rossie putter and likes a pepper steak pie with curry gravy at the turn. You can connect with him on LinkedIn .

Best score : 70
Favorite club : Callaway Odyssey Exo Rossie
Favorite ball : Srixon Q-Star Tour
Favorite food at the turn : Pepper steak pie with curry gravy
Matt Callcott-Stevens https://www.golfspan.com/author/matt-callcott-stevens Achievable Golf Goals To Lower Your Score in 2024
Matt Callcott-Stevens https://www.golfspan.com/author/matt-callcott-stevens Titleist Pro V1 vs Pro V1x: Differences, Pros, Cons
Matt Callcott-Stevens https://www.golfspan.com/author/matt-callcott-stevens 7 Best Golf Balls For Slow Swing Speeds: Pros, Cons, Reviews
Matt Callcott-Stevens https://www.golfspan.com/author/matt-callcott-stevens 5 Best Golf Swing Analysis Apps: iPhone, Android, & Free

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Ian Poulter calls for DRAMATIC CHANGE to driver lofts on social media Q&A

Ian Poulter believes that the minimum loft on drivers on the PGA Tour should be capped at 9˚.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Ian Poulter believes that drivers on the PGA Tour should have a minimum loft of 9˚.

In a Q&A session on his Instagram story, Poulter answered a series of questions to do with his career and one fan asked him for one rule change he would make to the PGA Tour.

The Englishman believes that changing the minimum loft on drivers to 9˚ would "sort a lot of driver distance issues out." This is certainly an interesting thought.

Earlier in 2021, the R&A and USGA announced that driver shafts are now restricted to 46 inches. This was met with a hostile response from PGA Tour players, none more so than Phil Mickelson.

RELATED: EXHAUSTED JON RAHM WITHDRAWS FROM DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP ON EUROPEAN TOUR

The six-time major champion also plays with a driver that has 6˚ of loft. Bryson DeChambeau has used drivers with 7.5˚ of loft and Rory McIlroy uses a long stick with around 8˚ of loft.

Ian Poulter calls for change to drive lofts on social media Q&A

If Poulter's suggestion was implemented by the golf authorities, this would certainly turn a couple of heads and it would add to the sport's battle against the increased hitting distances of the players on the PGA Tour.

Unfortunately for The Postman, he finished on 2-over-par after two rounds at the Houston Open this week, which was not enough for him to play at the weekend.

Poulter won this event back in 2018, which was his most recent career victory. In his Instagram Q&A, he responded to a fan who questioned if he should retire.

RELATED: ANOTHER MISSED CUT FOR THE SELF-ANOINTED RANGE RAT: WHAT'S GOING ON WITH KOEPKA?

"I'm top 60 in the word and you're really asking me this question," Poulter rightfully responded.

The 45-year-old may be approaching the end of his career, but that is no means to say that he cannot challenge to win more trophies on the PGA Tour.

NEXT PAGE: HOUSTON OPEN R3: SCHEFFLER PRIMED FOR FIRST PGA TOUR VICTORY AS WOLFF CHASES

Latest Reviews

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Grace Kim WITB 2024: LPGA Tour's 23YO Phenom's Bag Explored

A ustralian golfer Grace Kim did not start off the 2024 LPGA Tour with her best foot! Missing the cuts at the LPGA Drive On Championship and the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship has made it all the worse. And well, not to forget that she failed to make it to the list of the Top 25 in the total of 7 events that she took part in, except for the HSBC Women's World Championship in February, where she tied for the 25th position.

Nonetheless, things seem to be shaping up well for her as she takes the lead in the JM Eagle's LA Championship after two rounds, shooting a 12-under 130. She managed to card a total of 11 birdies and 1 eagle in both rounds, with just 1 bogey in the second round. With such an outstanding performance, it is safe to say that Kim has been gearing up for her first win on the Tour among the other top players , Â none of which would have been possible without the wide array of club ranges in her bag!

Grace Kim is a fan of Srixon

Ranked 83 on the Rolex list, Grace Kim uses the Srixon ZX7 MK II driver, which helps her cover the maximum distance off the tee. Priced at around $583, it is equipped with a 9.5-degree loft, which helps her to launch the perfect conditioning with the best stability!

For the fairway woods, Kim takes charge with the Srixon ZX Mk II (3-wood) priced at around $250. The 3-wood is responsible for providing a good balance between the distance and the control of his shot. To hit the longer shots from the fairway or the tee, Grace Kim chooses the Srixon ZX5 MkII Hybrids (3&4). These clubs, priced at around $280, give her the perfect precision when aiming for the greens.

For the irons, Grace Kim uses the Srixon ZX5 Mk II irons. This helps her achieve accuracy with a consistent performance off the club face, balancing out the distance and conditioning. Priced at $1248, the club was also ranked as the most accurate iron in 2023. She also has the ZX7 MK II Iron, priced at around $1200, to add more versatility to her bag!

Kim's companions for the greens

Grace Kim uses the Cleveland Golf RTX 6 ZipCore (50, 54, 58), with a 64-lie degree for each of them. Priced at close to $200, they are full-faced wedges providing the best grooves 'from the heel of the hosel to the tip of the toe', as they claim.

Now, what putter Grace Kim uses is yet to be discovered; however, to complete her golf kit, she keeps the Srixon Z-Star golf ball in her bag. Will her equipment continue to bring her good luck and finally give her a victory at the LPGA Tour 2024 season? Stay tuned to find out!

Grace Kim WITB 2024: LPGA Tour's 23YO Phenom's Bag Explored

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Natalie Gulbis driver loft?

By rockinar August 18, 2008 in LPGA Tour Fan Favorites!

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There are lots of factors that determine the most apropriate driver loft for a player. Clubhead speed is one factor, but the players' angle of attack, launch angle, spin rate, shaft and desired ballflight are all things that go into the mix when determining the most appropriate loft choice to achieve the best flight.

Albeit many LPGA players achieve modest clubhead speeds they often groove a markedly upward impact action, and thus find a lower loft is appropriate to achieve the best trajectories on their drives. Many LPGA players also look for a low flight that maximises rollout and gives them the best distances with the limited ballspeed and carry distances from their raw swinsgspeed numbers.

It's more complicated than I just made it (hence all the trackman data and launch monitors these days) but that's pretty much it in a nutshell. Gulbis is one of quite a few LPGA players who habitually use lower lofts in their drivers.

Nike Ignite 410 10.5° Grafalloy Blue X

Nike T60 15° Fujikura Speeder 757 X

Titleist 913F 19° Mitsubishi Diamana BB 83X or Titleist 712U 2-iron 19° KBS Tour S

Titleist 712U 3-iron 22° KBS Tour S

Titleist 681 4-iron to 9-iron KBS Tour S

Titleist SM5 48.08F Raw 49° KBS Tour S

Titleist SM5 56.10M Raw 56° KBS Tour S

Ping Eye 2 Gorge L Wedge 60° KBS Tour S & Ping Pal

kind of funny she doesn't use a TM golf ball

She does use the TP Red...this week in Canada she was....

I have no idea if this is true or not but I was speaking with a person supposedly in the know who mentioned that the LPGA fairways are "hardened" for play so that the ball rolls further...maybe one explanation? Lower loft providing the potential for more roll out?

Hmm...Today the bag will be... Cobra F9 or Ping 400 LST F9 w/ HZRD Yellow or 16* 3446-f-Matrix 8M2 Cobra Baffler w/ HZRD Machine M2A Long Neck SS Copper Insert Hand Peened Mizuno MP-55 & MP-5 w/ SF 110 CW SRIXON 765/965 5-PW w SF i95 Stiff

She uses the TP Black ball (that's straight from her). Also, her driver has always read 7.5* but is cranked to actually play at 8.5*. Again, this is not speculation or something read in a magazine, but rather straight from her.

TITLEIST TSI3 9* - HZRDUS T1100 HANDMADE 6.0 PING G410 15* - MITZ TENSEI PRO ORANGE 70X PING G410 17* & 19* - MITZ TENSEI BLUE X & EF BLACK X SRIXON ZX7's - 4-PW w/SPECIAL, TOUR ISSUE, BLACK KBS TOUR V 125'S CALLAWAY PM2 54* X & 58* X - ORIGINAL PX Satin 5.5's (HSx1) ODYSSEY STROKE LAB EXO 7S - CUSTOM

SCOTTY CAMERON 2001 TOUR ISSUE 3x CHOCOLATE NEWPORT BEACH 2017 BRIDGESTONE B330 Tour #1's & TITLEIST PRO V #1'X

wonder if it changed when she started seeing Butch?

There are quite a few LPGA players that play low lofted drivers . . . there are more factors than swing speed as mentioned above. Also, they most likely are not playing for optimized carry. They want optimum distance and they need quite a bit of roll.

Also, this looks like old info as I am sure she has not used the 425 in over a year and she would not be using an old model Callaway ball. This looks like info from before the TM ball even came out.

WITB from http://nataliegulbis.com/all_about_golf/in_the_bag.aspx

TaylorMade - r7 Burner driver (7.5 degrees) and 200S steel 3-wood (12 degrees)

Rescue dual hybrids (14 and 16 degrees)

TaylorMade irons (4-Lob Wedge)

TaylorMade wedges (54 and 60 degrees)

Hammy putter

TaylorMade TP Black ball

Sky Caddy Range Finder

Also in the bag:

Gum, tic tacs, lip balm, tape, sharpie pen, umbrella, swing weight, a dozen golf balls, eight golf gloves, 40 tees, hand warmers, rain suit, rain bag cover, protein cookies, 10 health bars, packets of electro mix (water additive and supplement), two bags of assorted nuts and raisins.

9 months later...

>>> eight golf gloves <<<

Do pros swap their gloves much in a round?

I know a new or newer glove is WONDERFUL. Actually makes my shots straighter.

Or so I think.

Just a Thought, Her golf swing has a massive head dip in it, surely that would increase her angle of attack resulting in a higher launch angle. Therefore by decreasing her driver loft, it will give her a better launch angle and more roll.

11 months later...

Saw her today and she was playing tp black ball.

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New PING Putters

Ping putter line expands with six new premium models.

Applying proven face technologies to the score-lowering performance of its standard-setting designs, PING introduced six new PING Putter models today, each engineered to achieve the ideal combination of feel and forgiveness in a confidence-inspiring look.

The new designs expand the PING Putter line to 16 models, consisting of high moment-of- inertia blades and ultra-forgiving, multi-material mid-mallets and mallets. The new Anser 2, Anser D, B60, Tyne H, Fetch and Ketsch G are available for pre-order beginning today at authorized PING golf shops around the world. Each model can be custom fit for stroke type, length, lie, loft and grip type.

“It’s a very diverse offering but the one thing they all have in common is they offer precision performance on putts of every length. Golfers will have an easy time matching a model to fit their putting style, preferred alignment cues and desired feel.”

A Model To Fit Every Golfer

Golfers can choose from high-MOI blades, mid-mallets and mallets differentiated by face technology, alignment aids and finish. Traditional blades include the Anser 2, a major-winning model originally designed by PING founder Karsten Solheim, and the tour-influenced Anser D. The B60, another of Karsten’s major-winning designs that was introduced in 1979, returns to the PING lineup with a precision-milled face. The Tyne H, combining the original Tyne with an Anser hosel, and the popular Fetch (complete with its “gimme” ball-pickup feature) fit in the mallet category along with the Ketsch G, an easy-to-align, multi-material model engineered for maximum forgiveness. All three stroke types (Straight, Slight, Strong) are represented within the 16-model PING Putter selection.

Fit For Feel

From firm milled faces to soft-feeling inserts, the face technology is engineered based on feedback from our tour staff to match a variety of feel preferences and deliver control and consistency on putts of every length. In the six new additions to the line, four models (Anser 2, Anser D, B60, Tyne H) feature the firm feel of a shallowed milled face and two (Fetch, Ketsch G) provide the soft feel of a PEBAX insert.

Aligned For Success

The new putters offer different alignment solutions to fit the eye of a variety of golfers, including single alignment cues or multiple lines to improve accuracy and inspire confidence. The use of a glare-diffusing raw blast finish in four models and black PVD in the other two provides enhanced contrast to assist in alignment and create a premium appearance. For golfers who prefer the influence of the darker look with white sight lines, the Ketsch G and Tyne H will best fit their eye. The Anser 2, Anser D, B60 and Fetch feature the striking raw blast finish with contrasting black alignment lines.

Model Descriptions & Specifications

Like the timeless Anser, heel-toe weighting provides stability and forgiveness though in a slightly longer and narrower profile. Its shallow milled face ensures a firmer response and consistent roll. The ball-width cavity, sharper ballasts and clean geometry all offer alignment cues in this model featuring a new glare-diffusing raw blast finish.

Stroke Type: Slight arc
Head Weight: 340g
Finish: Raw blast
Face: Shallow milled
Alignment Aids: Single line in cavity floor
Balance: Mid hang
Lie Angle: 20° (±4°)
Loft: 3° (+3°/-2°)
Material/Construction: 17-4 stainless steel
Shaft: PING composite
Standard Grip: PP58 Midsize
Availability: RH/LH

Tour pros were consulted in creating this model with a deeper (“D”) profile as a hybrid between the Anser blade and a mallet design; the extra mass is useful in stabilizing the stroke for maximum forgiveness. The shallow milled face ensures a firmer response and consistent roll. A new glare-diffusing raw blast finish contributes to the eye-pleasing visuals.

Head Weight: 365g
Standard Grip: PING PP58 Midsize

The B60, a longtime PING fan favorite, is back with a shallow milled face that ensures a firmer response and consistent roll. Golfers are familiar with the thin top rail with rounded ballasts, contoured shaping and center alignment line in this balanced, forgiving model. Also new is the glare-diffusing raw blast finish.

Head Weight: 350g

The twin-fork design is paired with an Anser hosel to provide multiple alignment cues and help square the putter at impact. The shallow milled face ensures a firmer response and consistent roll. Perimeter weighting and an optimized CG position allow for balance, stability, forgiveness and accuracy. A ball-width cavity and contrasting white alignment line promote confident aiming.

Head Weight: 370g
Finish: Black PVD
Standard Grip: PING PP60

A dual-density PEBAX face insert delivers a soft feel on shorter putts and a stable feel on longer lag putts. Made putts are easy to retrieve using the sole cutout that’s not only handy – it creates discretionary mass we use to increase MOI and forgiveness. Fetch fans laud the more compact profile as easy to aim. Ball-width alignment lines and a new glare-diffusing raw blast finish aid in the process.

Stroke Type: Straight stroke
Face: PEBAX insert
Alignment Aids: Ball width
Balance: Face
Lie Angle: 20° (±2°)
Loft: 3° (+2°/-2°)
Shaft: Chrome stepless steel

Its aluminum body and stainless steel sole plate pair with an optimized CG to create extreme forgiveness and stability. The dual-density PEBAX face insert delivers a soft feel on shorter putts and a stable feel on longer lag putts. The ball pickup feature on the sole is more than convenient – it allows for redistributing mass to increase MOI. A trio of contrasting sight lines frame the ball to simplify alignment.

Head Weight: 360g
Alignment Aids: Ball width and full-length center line
Material/Construction: Aluminum body, 304 stainless steel sole plate

Find a PING Retailer or Fitter Near You

IMAGES

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VIDEO

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What driver loft should I use? #golf #juniorgolf #shorts
WHAT LOFT IS YOUR DRIVER?
Cleveland Launcher DST Tour Driver

COMMENTS

Golf equipment truths: Why you should rethink your driver loft
Jin-Young Ko, the No. 1-ranked player on the LPGA Tour, swings the driver nearly 30 miles per hour slower than Brooks Koepka, the No. 1 male player in the world. Yet Ko uses a driver with 9 ...
Most Popular Driver on LPGA Tour? Top 50 Player Guide (2021)
To find out we took a detailed look at the driver each of the top 50 players on the LPGA Tour is carrying. PING's G425 LST is the most popular driver among the top 50 LPGA Tour players with 6 players choosing it. Titleist's TSi3 is the next most used model while PING's G410 Plus driver ranks 3rd. 26% of this elite group play a PING driver ...
LPGA Player Driver loft
September 20, 2010. LPGA players hit way up on the ball to get more distance and a perfect launch angle because their swing speeds are so low. PGA tour players hit about 3 degrees down on it to get more control because they basically use the same swing they use for their irons which adds more consistency. Hence they have higher lofted drivers.
What Driver Loft Should Women Golfers Use?
In fact, the average attack angle on the LPGA Tour is +3°. Conversely, on the PGA Tour, it's typically downward, averaging -1.3°. This is why many LPGA players actually use the similarly lower-lofted driver heads as their PGA Tour counterparts, despite swinging 20 or even 30 mph slower than the men.
Fact Check: A Downward Attack Angle With Your Driver Is More ...
Total Efficiency: 2.56 (distance/club speed) LPGA Tour Average Golfer. Club Speed: 94 mph. Attack Angle: 3 degrees (up) Total Distance: 250 yards. Total Efficiency: 2.65 (distance/club speed) The average course length PGA Tour is about 7200 yards. This means the average of each hole is 400 yards. With the average drive traveling a total of 290 ...
3 reasons why you should copy LPGA Tour equipment setups
The driver speeds of average amateur golfers compare more closely to LPGA driver speeds. While PGA Tour players average 114 mph with their drivers — which is incomprehensibly high for some ...
Critical Decision: What Driver Loft Should You Use
Driver lofts for most golf clubs range from roughly 8-11 degrees. For example, the popular Callaway Rogue ST Max driver has three options; 9, 10.5 degree, and 12 degree actual loft. While the TaylorMade Stealth is available in the same three options. Like other golf equipment, these are adjustable drivers on the market.
What is Dynamic Loft?
Dynamic Loft is the amount of loft on the club face at impact and is measured relative to the horizon. ... LPGA Tour. Driver - 15.5 degrees; 6 iron - 23.6 degrees; For a full list of Tour averages, visit TrackMan PGA and LPGA Tour Averages. TrackMan Combine Averages. Male Amateur (Driver) Scratch of Better - 13.0 degrees; 5 HCP - 13.2 ...
Golf clubs of the top 50 LPGA pros (WITB)
The world number one, Nelly Korda, uses the Titleist TSi1 driver with Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6S shaft. Most of these LPGA golfers have different loft settings, but 15 of them prefer to go with the 9 degrees option. Furthermore, 10 players have chosen Fujikura shafts as their preferred option, while 9 others prefer Graphite Design or ...
Rethink Your Driver Loft
Jin-young ko, the No. 1-ranked player on the LPGA Tour, swings the driver nearly 30 miles per hour slower than Brooks Koepka, the No.1 male player (at time of print) in the world. ... In our test, drivers with less loft consistently produced more ball speed, even for low-swing-speed golfers (3.2mph more compared to the 10.5- and 12-degree ...
How Do I Choose a Loft For My Golf Driver?
Differences in loft for LPGA and PGA Tour players: LPGA Tour players, including Jin-Young Ko, often use lower-lofted drivers compared to their PGA Tour counterparts. This is because LPGA players generally have slower swing speeds and benefit from the added launch and carry distance provided by lower lofts. Pros and cons of lower lofted drivers:
Choosing the Best Loft Angle for Your Driver
One of the key factors in choosing your next best new driver is getting the right loft angle. The loft of the driver, between 7.5 and 14 degrees, influences the ball flight's trajectory along with the design, shaft bend, and, among other things, you! Discussing driver loft and how that impacts your ball flight goes much farther than numbers ...
What Loft Should My Driver Be? (2 Major Factors Explored)
On the LPGA Tour, you will find slower swing speeds and high angles of attack with the driver when compared to the PGA Tour. Recently, more and more LPGA golfers are going with less loft as their angle of attack continues to increase. For years, we heard about the importance of teeing it high and letting if fly.
6: Driver loft
The loft of a driver depends how high the ball will fly off the clubface. ... LPGA Tour. 10h ago. Nelly Korda makes it five (!) wins in a row at 2024 Chevron Championship. Nelly Korda.
LPGA Driver loft
Posted March 6, 2014. LPGA players average swing speed is around 93 Mph. Yet they can hit the ball about 250 yards and with a low lofted driver 8.5/9.5. My swing speed is similar to those LPGA players and yet my maximum total distance is 230 yards. I use 10.5 degree and sometimes a 11.5 degree driver.
Nelly Korda Winning Qi10 Max Spec and WITB
Nelly Korda captured her ninth career LPGA Tour win at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club with Qi10 Max driver and TP5x golf ball. Nelly's win in her home town of Bradenton marks the fifth win on professional tours for the Qi10 series of drivers in 2024. ... Loft Sleeve: Standard; Shaft: Mitsubishi GT 60 S; Length: 45 3/ ...
Spin Loft
Average Golfer (14.5) = 18.3 degrees. Bogey Golfer = 18.2 degrees. Female Amateur (Driver) Scratch or better = 17.1 degrees. 5 HCP = 18.4 degrees. 10 HCP = 18.6 degrees. 15 HCP = 20.1 degrees. The standard assumption for spin loft comes from the TrackMan Optimizer. For the driver, a club speed of 94 mph, attack angle of 0 degrees, and optimized ...
What Drives the Senior Tour Pros? Most Popular Driver on Champions Tour
9 degrees is the most used driver loft among the Champions Tour pros for which data is available with 24% setting up with it, including Padraig Harrington. 10.5º is the next most popular loft with 1/5 choosing it. 2023 Tour winner Steve Stricker chooses an 8º driver while 6º is the lowest driver loft used by Brian Gay.
What Driver Loft Should You Use? (Full Chart Based On Swing Speed)
A 10.5° golf driver loft is ideal for beginners and most golfers. If you're new to golf or have a slower swing speed, a driver with a higher loft will suit you better. A higher loft driver is more forgiving since getting an upward attack angle is easier. Less loft allows you to gain more distance and less spin.
Ian Poulter calls for DRAMATIC CHANGE to driver lofts on ...
14 Nov 2021. Ian Poulter calls for change to drive lofts on social media Q&A. Three-time PGA Tour winner Ian Poulter believes that drivers on the PGA Tour should have a minimum loft of 9˚. In a Q ...
Nelly Korda Winning WITB Chevron Championship
Nelly went eagle-birdie on the 17th and 18th holes to force a playoff before making a clutch up and down in the playoff to win her 9th LPGA Tour event. The win marked the first professional win for Qi10 Max driver and Nelly's first win since switching to TP5x golf ball in the fall of 2023. She hit 78% of fairways in the win.
Grace Kim WITB 2024: LPGA Tour's 23YO Phenom's Bag Explored
Priced at around $583, it is equipped with a 9.5-degree loft, which helps her to launch the perfect conditioning with the best stability! For the fairway woods, Kim takes charge with the Srixon ZX ...
Natalie Gulbis driver loft?
Natalie Gulbis Driver Setup: Driver: Taylormade r7 425 TP, 7.5 degrees of loft * ball: Callaway HX Tour Clubhead speed: 95 mph * ball speed: 145 mph * Average driving distance: 251.4 yards. Her swing speed is about the same as the average guy, but the loft on her club is something Long Drivers would use. Can someone explain why it would make ...
Media
Drivers . G430 MAX 10K; G430 MAX; G430 LST; G430 SFT; G430 HL; G Le3; G425 MAX; G425 LST; ... The major winner has three LPGA Tour titles and two Solheim Cup appearances. View Pro . Clubs. Drivers. G430 MAX 10K; ... length, lie, loft and grip type. "The PING Putter line combines modern design advancements with the proven technologies that ...

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Important Information

What Driver Loft Should Women Golfers Use?

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Critical Decision: What Driver Loft Should You Use

Driver Loft Pt 1: Beginner

Most Golfers Need More Driver Loft

Standard Driver Lofts

Driver Loft Pt 2: Advanced

Swing Speed

How to Measure Swing Speed

Attack Angle

Launch Angle

Dynamic Loft

Spin Rates

FAQs About Driver Loft

What loft driver do pros use?

Should I do a driver fitting?

What is spin loft?

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Final Thoughts to Maximize Distance

Golf clubs of the top 50 LPGA pros (WITB)

Analysis and Findings

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What Loft Should My Driver Be? (2 Major Factors Explored)

What Loft Should My Driver Be?

Factor #1: Swing Speed

Factor #2: Angle of Attack

How To Measure Your Swing

The best way to measure your swing is with a launch monitor. The golfer has several options:

Several years go, I decided to take the 2nd option and purchased a SkyTrak , I now have the following information:

I would highly recommend golfers consider their own portable launch monitor to use one of the following ways:

Top 3 Recommended Affordable Launch Monitors:

Next Steps: What Loft Should My Driver Be?

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Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

4 – Practice Frequently

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Spin loft is approximately the angle between the dynamic loft and attack angle

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