Driver loft selection help

[erock9174]

Thanks to anyone who provides some help.

I currently game a Callaway FT-IQ I-mix 13* driver with Fubuki 60 Reg flex shaft.

I like the driver and its helps me to hit straighter drives.  I did notice this weekend while playing in a 4 man scramble that my ball flight is much higher than my teammates and in turn I think I am losing some distance.  Possibly up to 20-30 yards.

My driver swing speed is 82-84 mph on average.  I really dont try to swing any harder as the shot usually ends up bad.  So the more controlled approach works better for me.

With the current setup I see maybe 210 yards on average off the tee which is mostly carry distance.  Longest with roll ever was 240 with it so far but that is few and far between.

I got to thinking, since the I-mix has other available lofts should I go down to say a 9, 10 or 11*?

And if so what loft would you recommend?  they are all roughly the same price on Callaway Preowned.

[MiniBlueDragon]

During my first driver fitting (never hit a driver before that!) my clubhead speed was clocked at an average of 87.8 MPH and I was recommended regular flex and 10.5 degrees of loft on the Mizuno JPX 800 I enjoyed hitting. It gave me a long, penetrating ball flight which averages out at 244yards carry and is closer to 260 now I've started getting used to it.

Your swing speed isn't too far off my own so my recommendation would be to give a 10.5 degree reg flex a shot and see what you think.

Also try different tee heights; I prefer a tee where the ball equator is in line with the top of the face but I get a lot of people trying to get me using longer tees so it could be that your tee height is too much for your swing.

[Up & Down]

I would swith to a different lower loft head to try. This is one of the benefit of those adjustable driver. Why not use it ? The I-Mix head is cheap as well.

[erock9174]

Thanks for the recommendations.

Currently I play the yellow ("4 yards longer" tees).  Since it had a stopper its always at an equal height.  Ball is typically about 1/4" above the head.  So not too high.  I was never a fan of putting 1/2 to a full ball above the tee.

Since they make a 10* and 11* head for the FT-IQ, I guess I will have to decide between those two.  I almost feel like 2 degrees down to 11* might not be that much of a difference.  Maybe I will go with the 10* and see how that works.

[18thbunker]

I recently acquired a new driver myself : Cobra ZL 9.5 stiff. Like you, my swing speed averaged around 88mph. I was all set to pick a Ping G15, 10.5 loft, regular shaft. Then I decided to try Cobra ZL. I like the feedback better on this driver BUT the Cobra driver launches the ball higher than the Ping. Likewise, the regular shaft on Cobra was a bit wippier than the Ping. She let me try the 9.5 degree and stiff Cobra ----- this combination was a better match.

So which loft and which shaft also depends on which brand you are getting. A 10.5 loft on one brand is not necessarily the same on another brand. Likewise the regular on one brand of shaft is not the same as the other.

Get yourself fitted with the driver you want.

[Stretch]

I had a quick look at a fitting manual and at your swing speed (let's just call it 85mph for convenience) you're looking at an optimum launch angle of about 14.5 degrees -- for a max carry of 198 yards. At a level angle of attack, the head loft required to achieve that (factoring in an average shaft bend contribution) would be 13.5 degrees. So basically, you are hitting the ball about as far as you can reasonably expect to already and going down in loft is almost certainly going to cost you distance.

[erock9174]

That was always my thought.  They have a chart at Golf Galaxy that told me I needed to be around that 13-14* loft mark with my swing speed.  Granted other factors like bend point, tourqe of shaft, all play in though I guess.

As somebody mentioned above, a fitting with multiple combos is probably the best idea.

I really like the Fubuki shaft.  Feels like the perfect amount of whip for me.  Since I am on the border of Reg and Senior flex its tough to find the right shaft.  I have tried some seniors which are way too whippy and I spray the ball everywhere.  Also have tried regular flexes that felt like a board and I knew I wasnt loading it properly.  The fubuki's regular flex is a little whippier than most regulars I have tried yet I don't spray the ball everywhere with it.

Originally Posted by Stretch

I had a quick look at a fitting manual and at your swing speed (let's just call it 85mph for convenience) you're looking at an optimum launch angle of about 14.5 degrees -- for a max carry of 198 yards. At a level angle of attack, the head loft required to achieve that (factoring in an average shaft bend contribution) would be 13.5 degrees. So basically, you are hitting the ball about as far as you can reasonably expect to already and going down in loft is almost certainly going to cost you distance.

[Mr. Desmond]

You might want to check the shaft - although the Fubuki is very nice - it's possible that you may need something that doesn't launch as high. ON the other hand, is it high and penetrating flight? or is it high and higher (ballooning and spinning) flight. It could be a ball issue, too. If it's too spinny, you might want to change. Or it could be a swing issue in terms of having too much loft at impact (your front wrist is breaking down at impact, and the back wrist is taking over leading to a scooping effect).

Many factors come into play.

I have empathy for you -- I just traded in a load of clubs and bought 2 drivers at tm preowned -- a 10.5 and 13 in regular flex. I'm carrying two. On the range, the 13 is not too high. But I haven't tried it with real golf balls yet.

[marengo]

Have you ever checked your swing on a launch monitor?  Just asking but your distance seems pretty good for a low/mid 80s SS.  With a lower swing speed, usually you would want a higher launch for more carry.  Not like 17-18* but 14-15 would be perfect.  I had a fitting and my speed is 91* with a 10* launch.  I used a 10.5 supertri and was only carrying it out about 200-210 on my best drives.  It would roll out to 230-240 because the descending angle was only about 10-15*.

I just changed to a 13.5 G15 with a firm regular shaft.  Now I can carry the ball about 230 and get about 260 on a good drive.  I still hit the ball fairly low and I am still searching for a good shaft for my swing.

[MiniBlueDragon]

All these figures are bizarre to me. They either mean the figures above are being remembered incorrectly or the fitting I had a few weeks back was wrong and my current estimates of drive length are also wrong.

The stats I was given on my fitting spreadsheet were:

Carry :        Highest = 250 | Lowest = 223 | Avg = 236
Total Distance :    Highest = 258 | Lowest = 228 | Avg = 244
Club Speed :    Highest = 95.6 MPH | Lowest = 83.5 MPH | Avg = 87.8 MPH
Smash Factor :    Highest = 1.5 | Lowest = 1.31 | Avg = 1.46

(more detailed stuff on my fitting thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/51690/my-fitting-for-a-mizuno-jpx-800-driver)

[Stretch]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

All these figures are bizarre to me. They either mean the figures above are being remembered incorrectly or the fitting I had a few weeks back was wrong and my current estimates of drive length are also wrong.

The stats I was given on my fitting spreadsheet were:

Carry:        Highest = 250 | Lowest = 223 | Avg = 236

Total Distance:    Highest = 258 | Lowest = 228 | Avg = 244

Club Speed:    Highest = 95.6 MPH | Lowest = 83.5 MPH | Avg = 87.8 MPH

Smash Factor:    Highest = 1.5 | Lowest = 1.31 | Avg = 1.46

(more detailed stuff on my fitting thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/51690/my-fitting-for-a-mizuno-jpx-800-driver)

You were fitted on a FlightScope, so the data should be OK unless the settings were juiced. But the numbers do appear really ... optimistic, to be honest.

Looking (just to pick one figure) at your averages of 87.8 mph and 236 yards, I get a max predicted carry of 214 yards on the Wishon chart at 90 mph even with a +4 angle of attack. Dave Tutelman did some robot testing of various fitting programs a while back and some of the data points there are pretty close to your conditions. This is showing: Ball speed, launch angle, spin. Actual carry. Predicted carry under the four programs evaluated. Clubhead speed, loft, angle of attack.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by Stretch

You were fitted on a FlightScope, so the data should be OK unless the settings were juiced. But the numbers do appear really ... optimistic, to be honest.

Looking (just to pick one figure) at your averages of 87.8 mph and 236 yards, I get a max predicted carry of 214 yards on the Wishon chart at 90 mph even with a +4 angle of attack. Dave Tutelman did some robot testing of various fitting programs a while back and some of the data points there are pretty close to your conditions. This is showing: Ball speed, launch angle, spin. Actual carry. Predicted carry under the four programs evaluated. Clubhead speed, loft, angle of attack.

So we've established that either:

a. I'm a robot.

b. For some reason they've given me incorrect data.

I know I requested the data a couple of days after the fitting but as they should have been under my name in the computer I can't see them being mixed up. That means they're artificially high by mistake, they're artificially high on purpose or their equipment is shit.

I know it doesn't stop me loving my driver and playing well with it but it's a bit annoying, especially if the flex/loft are wrong for my swing and I could be getting more out of the club.

I guess I shoulda known by the surprised look on his face when the smash factor came up that something was wrong. *sigh*

[Michael Sherrar]

It is hard to compare data from different sources.  Instead, take ideas and test them yourself.

I recently bought a used Titlelist D3 10.5 driver with a R-flex shaft.  I am on the short side so adjusted the lie to max flat and took 10 swings in the computer bay.  Averaged about 200 yd, which seemed short to me.  I checked the club and saw it was set at 13 degrees, so I reduced it to 12 1/4 and tried again.  220 yards!!  Wow.  This is about what I get on my old Titlelist 10.5 driver, which I had bought after a fitting some 10 years ago.  I then adjusted the driver down to 10.5 and tried again.  230 yards.  This was a definite improvement over my old driver and I am now very happy.  I noted that the new club (Which I bought used for $129) is also 1 inch longer than my old driver and has a swing weight of D2.5 compared to my old one, which was C9.

My next step is to try reducing the loft another step to 9 3/4, then I plan to experiment a little with some lead tape. I am surprised at the high loft angles you guys are talking about.  But if it works for you, great.  I just hope it doesn't get windy where you play ;)

I find experimenting with the clubs makes practice more enjoyable.  Good luck.

[WUTiger]

One thing you might do is an impact test on your driver.

• Warm up to get loose.
• Put impact tape on the face of your driver.
• Hit 12 drives
• See where the impact patterns are

If the patterns are all over the clubface, possibly shortening the shaft would improve your contact. (From the GolfWorks club-fitting matrix).

If you shorten the shaft, each half-inch you trim will lower the swingweight three units. (i.e., D5 to D2)

Also, get a ball-fitting. Lots of people can pick up 10-20 yards - and sometimes more roll - by switching balls.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Michael Sherrar

It is hard to compare data from different sources.  Instead, take ideas and test them yourself.

I recently bought a used Titlelist D3 10.5 driver with a R-flex shaft.  I am on the short side so adjusted the lie to max flat and took 10 swings in the computer bay.  Averaged about 200 yd, which seemed short to me.  I checked the club and saw it was set at 13 degrees, so I reduced it to 12 1/4 and tried again.  220 yards!!  Wow.  This is about what I get on my old Titlelist 10.5 driver, which I had bought after a fitting some 10 years ago.  I then adjusted the driver down to 10.5 and tried again.  230 yards.  This was a definite improvement over my old driver and I am now very happy.  I noted that the new club (Which I bought used for $129) is also 1 inch longer than my old driver and has a swing weight of D2.5 compared to my old one, which was C9.

My next step is to try reducing the loft another step to 9 3/4, then I plan to experiment a little with some lead tape. I am surprised at the high loft angles you guys are talking about.  But if it works for you, great.  I just hope it doesn't get windy where you play ;)

I find experimenting with the clubs makes practice more enjoyable.  Good luck.

Well, there is a point where you get no return from reducing loft.

With an R flex and 10.5 at 45 inches, it's a good setup. And the D3 is not the easiest driver to hit - kudos to you for making decent and consistent contact.

Don't know if you want to work on your swing, or have your clubs correct a fault - but you might want to video and see what your arms and wrists are doing at impact.

I'd also suggest you look at your impact patterns - generally you want to see upper center contact on most drivers...

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by erock9174

I currently game a

Some people seem to "game" their equipment, and "rock" their outfits

Hadn't really heard those terms before

[dbuck]

This seems to be the current vernacular-so much so that Top Flite has a "Gamer" ball.

[dbuck]

To get back on topic, I can't add much to several points that have been put forth. At the OP's swing speed, the specs would seem to be close, but as others have suggested is the flight high and ballooning or high and penetrating?