Question about driver fitting results

Loft and handicap aren't really related. Your loft is set more by your swing speed. 8.5 is a bit low (on average) but my understanding is that pretty much every retail head has a higher loft than the one indicated so your Ping might really be closer to a 9.5.  Looking at your numbers they seem to be pretty solid. I think in the ideal world you  should be launching about 1 degree higher and have slightly (~200) less spin but your numbers are close enough to be in the range of machine error.

Handicap is a crappy indicator of driver loft, just like shaft flex. It's more about your angle of attack, swing speed, and spin that determine it. Also as x129 mentioned there can be some trickery with the loft measurements (such as measuring on an angle, making the sole cause it to sit differently at address, or just plain lying), and some designs play differently than others with the same loft.

If you have a low lofted driver and a high handicap, and can get good results, you have a good swing. A low loft would, if anything, be harder to hit than a higher one; if you can launch the one you have and hit it straight, a higher loft probably wouldn't help. Think of your results as indicative of your swing, not your equipment. If you hit the ball well and consistently, leave it alone I'd say.

If you are worried about swing flaws, get lessons. The G20 is a forgiving driver, which is helpful to any level of golfer. Irons and wedges are more important with regards to correcting your striking to get accuracy. If you play a set of shovels (super forgiving irons), maybe they can hide swing flaws, but the driver is a tool for hitting fairways. Think of the irons and wedges as scalpels, while the driver is an axe. If you can put the ball in play with it, it doesn't matter if you can hit targets so much. (And on the subject of forgiving irons, by the way, I have more of a problem with the stupid loft setups and the massive offset than the higher launch and bigger sweetspot. It forces you to slice to hit them straight, essentially, and distance control is more or less shot to hell.)

In my opinion, yes golf clubbing fitting is very helpful, but it can only help "tune" your swing.  I have a TM R11 which I just do not hit as well as I would like... and I have tried several shafts, some clubs just do not fit some individuals.  It might help if a golf pro helps examine your swing while driving.  I am not the swing advise person, but there is typically a few telling traits leading to a large slice... I'm sure a qualified pro could point out a few items to help rid yourself of a slice.  Best of luck... interested in which driver works best for you.

Personally I feel the shaft has much more to do with ball flight than the head.  I have 4 Ping drivers, a G15 9.5, G15 10.5, and two identical G20 9.5 with identical stiff shafts.  One of my G20's feels like it is a 13.5 and balloons my balls way up in the air (horrible against the wind) while the other feels much lower and closer to the 9.5 rating.  The difference in identical off the shelf clubs is so startling that it has completely changed my outlook on how important it is to get properly fitted before and after a shaft fitting and club purchase.  Personally I would stay away from an 8.5 and stick to the 9.5 and simply get a shaft that gives me good launch monitor results.  After market shafts that are identical to the shafts that come stock with the shaft are world's apart.  If you don't want to spend a lot for an after market shaft, then get a G20 with a tour preferred shaft, that probably is a better choice and has a little better tolerance control.

GregZ,

What the others have said is pretty well on target. But, we would need more info from you to answer your original question - will a low-lofted driver hide swing flaws.

You have a 27 HDCP... are you pretty new to the game? Is your swing still stabilizing? Have you had lessons recently, if so, are they helping?

You have a high driver clubhead speed... Any chance you overswing on your irons, causing control problems at the top?

Flipping the question, if you hit the driver really well but struggle elsewhere, could your driver swing give you clues to improve overall swing?

I recently hit the G20 and it felt pretty good. I have been trying to get the ball to the 13 degree launch angle without adding the extra spin. Something that helped me was getting the aldila rip shaft. It has less torque than most shafts and really has lengthened my drives. It also has made me way more accurate. If you like the G20 check out the titleist D3. I love mine.

103 mph, you might be able to get away with a tour stiff (x-stiff) shaft. But you might be loosing some loading in the shaft at that speed. Might want to try just a stiff shaft.

The loft on the clubhead has little to do with launch angle, you'll get more change if you go from a high kick to a low kick on the golf shaft, as well as stiffness of the shaft. Basically the loft on the club will dictate spin on the ball.

Hi Greg, those numbers you shared from the driver fitting look great, 13* launch with 2800 spin.  

4 inches past the forward toe may be too far forward, play just forward of your left armpit.  Look forward to seeing you on Evolvr