Spin and loft of different clubs

[logman]

OK help from the experts out there. So I've got 3 clubs with nearly the same lofts. A 20 degree(460cc head) driver. A 20 degree hybrid(Mizuno clk fli hi). And a mizuno 3 iron at 20 degrees. My question is which one of these separate designs has lower spin. And do I want lower spin.........What I'm trying to ask is does any one of these clubs have an inherent advantage in being straighter to hit ie. is there a something in the design that is less likely to add side spin axis to my shots. I know that my 20 degree driver is the highest in trajectory and the iron the lowest so does that mean the higher Flighted loft will be the straightest???

[LuciusWooding]

The shaft length of the iron is about 39 inches, while the driver is probably 44. If you hit those 2 with the same angle of attack and the same loft at impact, the longer shaft would probably give a lot more spin. But you simply don't strike an iron the same way as a driver and you'd hit it to the moon if you did with that much loft.

Drivers are designed to spin less, but their longer shafts and higher speeds can still put a good bit of spin on, especially with 20˚ of loft. The COR is higher and the sweet spot is bigger than an iron.

You'll probably hit the iron or maybe the hybrid straighter because the shaft is shorter, and you'd get a better flight. The driver would be longer when hit well, but 20˚ is just an absurd amount of loft even for a women's club.

Why are you deciding between those clubs? The real question is whether you have any decent amount of swing speed; if so then the iron or hybrid will perform best and if not then the driver will be needed to hit any kind of length. But they're completely different situational clubs. You're comparing an 80 year old woman's driver and a 20 year old man who plays a low ball with a high swing speed's choice of iron.

Higher shot height is no straighter than low, but high shots can be affected by wind while low shots are tougher to get to stop. Spin is usually dictated by swing speed and quality of strike, and is relative to the loft of the club.

[logman]

Thanks mate, good reply. Why the 20degree driver? Well I broke the mold about 2 years ago and made up a "thriver" type club ....and loved it. And what the Thriver thing made me do is think about Tee off clubs in general. In the same way that the thriver is not about absolute distance but more about hitting fairways, the 20 degree driver is about placement on short par 4's, doglegs, even longish par 3's. I hit the 20 to a 180 meter par 3 the other day, choked down the grip a little and bang. It's suddenly become a super versatile club for me. So the thriver thing made me think about the driver in a different way. So now in the bag are 3 drivers. A newish 47 inch 9 degree bomber , for when I think I can get close to the green and I can hit it with a degree of safety. The Thriver 44 inch 14 degrees. I'm super confident about hitting this one 240 meters and straight. and this 20 degree on a 41 inch shaft. So I don't play any other clubs of the tee from about 6 iron and down . It's made a big improvement in consistency in those long par 3's. I never have to worry about consistent contacts on a long iron or my strange propensity to hook the hybrid........which is where I started this mad ramble.... Is it just because the sweet spot on a 460 cc head is bigger than any other type of club that the ball goes straighter for me.....Is that right?

[Stretch]

Quick answer, yes there are design differences between a driver, hybrid and iron that can affect the curvature of the ball. The main one is that the driver has a horizontally convex face, which helps to counteract the gear effect generated by off-center hits. This "bulge radius" acts to start toe hits (which will hook) further out to the right and heel hits (which will slice) further out to the left -- so that each ends up closer to the center line than they otherwise would have. Irons and hybrids have flat faces, so you don't get this safety net. On the other hand, they also exhibit less gear effect than woods because their center of gravity is closer to the club face.