Who uses a high lofted driver?

[Stacey_E]

Do you use a 11.5 degree loft or higher? Stand up and be proud. I hit a 12 degree and it's one of the best equipment choices I've ever made. My swing speed is 90+mph (never triple digits) and I have a tendancy to hit level, not on the upswing as so many would advise. A high lofted driver has been great for me. I go 250ish yards total on flat ground with about 210 yards in carry. If I really hit one low the 12* makes up for that, and my balooned shots are still do-able as well.

For the other golfers on the forum hitting high lofted drivers, lets hear your feedback. Whether it's your swing speed, swing dynamics or ball flight preference, let's hear why you decided to go with a higher loft and what your experiences good or bad have been. Thanks all!!

[grantc79]

I play an 11.5 driver.

The lowest I can use now is a 10.5 and 11.5 to 13 seem to fit me perfectly.


I made a post about swinging vs. hitting a couple of weeks ago and it has totally changed my game with my driver.

As a swing I would hit a 9.5 plenty high because I couldn't sustain my lag through impact thus the left wrist would get a little bent and add loft.

After hitting for a few days completely fixed my lag issues a 9.5 now could probably hit most of you in the forehead at the peak of its flight.


Weird how these things work.

[titaniummd]

  Stacey_E said:

Do you use a 11.5 degree loft or higher? Stand up and be proud. I hit a 12 degree and it's one of the best equipment choices I've ever made. My swing speed is 90+mph (never triple digits) and I have a tendancy to hit level, not on the upswing as so many would advise. A high lofted driver has been great for me. I go 250ish yards total on flat ground with about 210 yards in carry. If I really hit one low the 12* makes up for that, and my balooned shots are still do-able as well.

I am trying to find the swing that I seemed to lose this past June-July where it was going over the fence with my 11.5 degree driver. Unfortunately for me, I cannot remember what I did except for the fact that I hit the sweet spot every time with an easy swing and very little conscious effort at weight shift on the backswing. I do remember that my left shoulder was under my chin on the backswing. At that time, it was going 235 yards, carry.

Now, I have been struggling to hit as far, and I only can carry from 210 to 220 yards. I have a slight fade of about 5-10 yards, now. When I try to hit hard, it hooks badly going about 15-20 yards to the left.

[marpr]

  Stacey_E said:

Do you use a 11.5 degree loft or higher? Stand up and be proud. I hit a 12 degree and it's one of the best equipment choices I've ever made. My swing speed is 90+mph (never triple digits) and I have a tendancy to hit level, not on the upswing as so many would advise. A high lofted driver has been great for me. I go 250ish yards total on flat ground with about 210 yards in carry. If I really hit one low the 12* makes up for that, and my balooned shots are still do-able as well.

I recently changed to a higher loft of 9.5*. My previous two drivers were 7.5 and 8.5*.

As i used to tee the ball up quite high. I have since fitted on an x-stiff shaft, adjusted my driver swing plane a touch and i have been getting a better, more consistant result. Finally! For me, it was about getting the correct shaft fitted for my swing. I would suggest to everyone, to get the correct shaft fitted, then worry about what angle suits your game. It sounds like you have sound a winning combination. Congrats! My father has a 12 degree driver, but, he has a senior flex shaft fitted. Everytime i try hitting it, its like the shaft is a piece of string!

[Dub]

I'm currently playing the highest lofted driver I've ever owned and I'm loving it.

10.5 degrees with a shaft that has an active tip that really helps get the ball floating out there nicely.


I've owned others over the years: 6, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5 being the lofts on them.

A lot is the loft and a lot is the shaft.

[immts007]

I play a 12°

I have a friend who has a Tommy Armour something or other with 17° and believe it or not he usually hits it around 240 or 250.

[EquipmentJunkie]

My back up driver (and still my go to driver if I feel I'm having swing issues) is an 11.5* Hibore XL w/ a V2 stiff in it. I am much straighter with it as the higher loft reduces some of the side spin. I think if more new golfers with wen higher lofted drivers they wouldn't be as afraid of the big stick.

[obsessedgolfer]

I used to hit a burner HT, it went very high but in probably missed only 1 fairway a round. Because I play on a junior your where distance is a big deal I switchted it out for a 10.5 degree, yes I gained 15 yards but now I hit about half as many fairways then I used to.

[HytrewQasdfg]

Who uses a higher lofted driver? The SMART golfers.

It's been pretty well documented (over and over again) that the average amateur golfer needs a higher lofted driver (12 degree) to maximize their distance, yet what do you see the most?

I have a video that has tips to help you increase your distance. It has an interview with a ball manufacturer that had done experiments using an iron-byron to see what combination of ball placement, launch angle, equipment gave the longest drive. Their recommendation for face angle to maximize distance? 12 degrees (I was kind of shocked when he said it, but he said when you follow their recommendations for tee height, ball placement, etc..., 12 degrees produced the optimum launch angle.)

This is like shaft flex. Most golfers use a shaft that is way too stiff, but their ego tells them they need a stiff or x-stiff. Ego.

I noticed one component maker doesn't even put the degrees on the bottom of their higher lofted drivers, they use a letter. Probably think it will increase sales.

[aussiemizunoboy]

I have just started to use a Alpha response driver at 15 deg.
I have had the mindset of not using a driver at all cauz i cannot hit them.
This one seems to work for me and gives me confidence off the tee.
Never new that you could get these in such a high loft. It is not the most pretiest driver, very plain looking and the shaft has no fancy artwork as such.
Little bit of offset to help get it in the air and square to club face.
Anyone that has struggled like me with a driver in the past should consider a thriver.

Good golfing to you all !!!

[sam004]

I was using a Callaway BB Ti 454 with 11* and hit good with last yr.
I switched to Callaway X460 tour with 9.5* and I am getting 20+ yds out of most of the time, and it seems to be much staighter. I always thought that a little more loft was better like most of the posts in this thread. I'm haven't quite figured out why the difference for me.

[Stacey_E]

A lot of beginers are told not to hit the driver. They are advised that 3 wood or 3+ wood are better options off the tee. This is because more backspin equals less sidespin. I would say this was true at one time. But now that drivers are 460cc and available in a high loft, I think these are better options. You can just go harder at a 13* grapefruit on a stick than the usual 3 wood size head.

Also the 3 wood has a shorter shaft than the driver, around 43" on average. But the anyone could shorten their driver shaft and reap the same benefits. The shafts keep getting longer on drivers, and this is a great marketing tool. It can slightly increase the club head speed and make that 1 out of 5 center hit just a touch longer. But on the AVERAGE shot, you might actually gain distance ( I did) with a shorter shaft as you will center face the ball more often. One day I'm gonna design a 13* driver stamped with 9.5* and add a regular flex 44" shaft with X-Stiff printed on it. Then I'll sell it on my infomercial with no other options available.

As mentioned earlier by another poster, the shaft may be as important as the loft. I can hit a 10.5 with a regular flex low kick like a ProLaunch or V2 HL. But by combining my 12* with a stiff V2 it's like I have the best of both worlds. The high loft head keeps me in the fairway 73% of the time and the stiff shaft (which is a little too stiff for me by the charts) gives me a ton of control and keeps the flight from balooning.