Do you know what the real loft of your driver is?

[Jenks465]

I went for my first ever real custom fitting today. Not just hitting a load of different clubs and coming up with the best of the bunch, or going to a golf store and hitting 10 shots on a launch monitor like I used to think was a custom fitting, but an actual professionally trained and certified person taking account of all of the variables that are unique to MY golf swing and suggesting the best two or three options for ME personally! The fitting itself was fantastic and i've come away with two awesome new clubs, but most enlightening thing to me was when the fitter measured my current equipment and told me that the 45 inch, 9.5*, stiff flex driver that i've been using for the past three years is in fact a 45.4 inch, 10.7*, extra stiff flex driver!!!!!
I don't know about you but that seemed odd to me, so I asked if this was normal and he said that my driver was a pretty moderate example compared to the majority of "off the rack" clubs he sees! He also told me that half an inch above or below the sweet spot and the loft was 13* and 8.4*. Following this revelation I was just wondering if anyone else knows what the true loft of their driver is?

[youngskip40]

I actually don't know the real loft of my driver, nor do I know the real shaft flex, but I'm actually going for one of these real fittings by a real clubfitter this Saturday.

It will be interesting to say the least. The scariest part is that this applies to every single clubhead and shaft in my bag. My Rifle 6.5's could really be 9.5's and I will have never known. Or my stiff shaft in my 3-wood could be a ladies flex.

Even if, when I go for this fitting, I pay the fee for the fitting and then find out that I beat the odds and that every single club in my bag is dead-on the right loft, lie, and shaft flex for me, the peace of mind and confidence will have been well worth the money.

More than likely though, I'll be pissed at Titleist, True Temper, the guy that "fit" me for my clubs last time, etc. etc. etc.

[Pat007]

who cares? I hit mine just fine.... the less I know, the better...

[Ian]

who cares? I hit mine just fine.... the less I know, the better...

exactly my point

[extremeld]

yes

simple answer but effective

[Crafty]

I try not to get bogged down in the specific specs of my clubs. I like the ballflight I get with my driver, so it's good enough for me.

[elchene]

Hmmm... Very interesting fitting session. I don't know the actual loft of my driver but I know that many OEMs print a lower loft on the club than it actually is. I read that in a Golf Digest. Sweet putter by the way!

[flanagan]

I went for my first ever real custom fitting today. Not just hitting a load of different clubs and coming up with the best of the bunch, or going to a golf store and hitting 10 shots on a launch monitor like I used to think was a custom fitting, but an actual professionally trained and certified person taking account of all of the variables that are unique to MY golf swing and suggesting the best two or three options for ME personally! The fitting itself was fantastic and i've come away with two awesome new clubs, but most enlightening thing to me was when the fitter measured my current equipment and told me that the 45 inch, 9.5*, stiff flex driver that i've been using for the past three years is in fact a 45.4 inch, 10.7*, extra stiff flex driver!!!!!

Maybe your driver is a 9.5, just depends on where on the face he measured it, and whether he measured the "10.7" where the manufacturer measured for the designated loft. Driver faces have "roll" and all drivers are going to have higher loft at the top and less towards the bottom. It's normal.

Not surprised on the shaft information. That's why I ended up reshafting all my new irons last summer, there was a huge difference between the claimed flex and the actual flex. Shows the real advantages of getting fit for your clubs.

[pshizz]

I try not to get bogged down in the specific specs of my clubs. I like the ballflight I get with my driver, so it's good enough for me.

my thoughts as well. Sometimes i get too obsessed with the specs of my clubs. This really throws off my game, i lose confidence etc. I try to buy and get fitted for the best clubs for me, but at the same time not try to worry about it too much.

[Sherlockian]

I agree with several of the posts above, I don't know and dont' care. I got caught up in all of the technology for awhile, then realized I am not good enough to tell a difference in most of it. Shaft flex(stiff to regular) has been the only real change I have made to my clubs and that is due to gaining a spare tire and getting older.

[youngskip40]

At least for me, it's not that I obsess over specs, I just like to know if I'm shelling out over $300 for a driver that I'm getting what I'm paying for.

Debating within about 1 degree of loft on a driver is pretty negligible though. But when you buy a driver with that stiff shaft in it, that is "stiff" because the company weighs it, bends it, and stamps an S on it... not actually testing frequency at all... that's where I want to get a little more specific with what I'm sticking in my clubs.

I had never even heard of or thought about shaft frequency before, I just recently started looking into it, but if it's good enough for virtually everyone on tour to use a "real" custom fitting session to get an edge, it's probably worth looking into for a majority of the rest of us.

Just my opinion.

[Laxplayer201092]

some of the difference can be pretty crazy..

Atleast some companys, like rifle, are pretty accuracte, so those PX 6.0's are 6.0's. Or at the bare minimum they are ALL (meaning the 3-PW shaft) are all the same frequency. Sometimes you get a set of irons, coughDGcough and one iron is a noodle, and the other is a board.

As to answer the question, i do know the real loft of my driver, its 8.7 IIRC. so very close to the 8.5 that is stamped on it. It is one of those things of, i paid for an 8.5 because i want an 8.5. I understand that some people may buy a club with not enough loft for ego, but i really want my clubs to do what they say.

Some clubs, (like Matrix) Offer CPM results, and every shaft is tested and you can match it up to a chart, which you simply check your SS with. Very simple. Buying clubs OTR can be tough, as just because it says, S, on it, doesnt mean it is gonna play to an S.

[extremeld]

R
S
L
X


these dont mean anything as they are not consistent one S can be weaker than the next and they vary so much from manufacturer to manufacturer that you cannot say what a Stiff shaft.

They are only a guide that if you buy a V2 for example the X will be stiffer than the S.

[Island Par]

Wish I didn't check out mine 10.5* stamped on driver, 13* actual

[CosmosMpower]

Wish I didn't check out mine 10.5* stamped on driver, 13* actual

That's not necessarily a bad thing unless you're hitting balloon balls that die and and fall out of the sky. Most people gain distance by going up to around 12 degrees.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Id rather not know..lol

[youngskip40]

No one cares, but at my fitting today I found out that my 8.5* 975J was right on the money at 8.5*.

it's my 15 degree 3 wood that really ended up being 16* and my 19 degree 5 wood was 19.5* with a 3.5* shut face. Welcome to high hook city.

[Laxplayer201092]

No one cares, but at my fitting today I found out that my 8.5* 975J was right on the money at 8.5*.

3.5 shut? geez. i can see 19.5, i mean, thats just a half degree, thats probobly within the parameters, but 3.5 on a titleist? wow..