Adjustable driver (better to turn loft down or up)?

[arturo28mx]

On 8/2/2017 at 10:03 AM, Gary Kay said:

I would buy the driver with the loft you desire. The reason is that with most adjustable drivers when you add loft it closes the face, when you reduce loft the face of the club opens. As a result the club become draw or fade biased. Some setup/address corrections maybe necessary as a result. Buying the club at the stated loft means it's neutral at that setting. Due to this, it's best to test the club and loft you desire on a monitor to make sure it provides the desired results. 

Totally agree

[Elmer]

2 hours ago, Hacker James said:

Better than me.  I am like Ernie Els. He is smooth as silk. I am as slow as molasses.

I have worked to slow my back swing down, smooth it out.
My follow through is fast, hard and violent.
I explode and crush the ball. I have been working on this as it habit, but also can wear me down way to easy.

[WUTiger]

On 2/8/2017 at 0:18 PM, Hacker James said:

... Tom Wishon, prefers fixed lofts also as he discusses on his web page. Why pay for features you would not be using more than once?

I hadn't really thought about the aspect of changing loft also changes the bias. That being said, there are many who tout the virtues of adjustability... 

Two points on adjustability:

1. One reason for the push for adjustability is supply chain efficiency. This helps both manufacturers and golf shops. A local pro says she only carries about half the number of SKUs (stock-keeping units) on hand for long clubs as she once did. She can adjust the loft up or down a little for a driver, and swap out shafts to get the version the customer wants.

2. Draw or fade bias. Some clubs allow you to adjust both loft and face angle. My XR16 Tour driver is set at 10.5*, with an open face. The fitter told me than if can quiet down my hands a little (open face lessens chance of left miss), I can move it to a square setting.

[onthehunt526]

@Elmer

I don't necessarily think the 10.5 loft is a problem... You are going to think I'm off my rocker, but here it goes. You would be better off with a bonded driver with a stiffer shaft and MORE loft. Say 12 degree loft to counteract the lower launch of the stiffer flex. If you are hitting it 260 with a 16 degree launch and getting little roll, perhaps your backspin is too high or your descent angle is too steep. A stiffer shaft should flatten the latter out.

[Hacker James]

Now that I've had the opportunity to actually use an adjustable driver, a couple of things come to mind. 

1. The loft can not be changed, you are only changing lie and face to achieve similar results of an actual loft change. Some would argue that with an adjustable sole plate,(as in the TM R1) you are changing the loft, not so, it only appears that way if you sole the club i.e. the adjustment knob only "tilts" the sole and this is negated once you lift the club.

2. The hosel adapter adds about 3 points of swing weight. This is counter acted by lighter shaft and heavier grip.

3. There does exist possibility of damage to the adapter if you fiddle with it too much.*

Minor points, and the adjustable does offer a bit of flexibility and options, quickly changing shafts e.t.c. provided you have shafts with tips/shaft adapters.

* It appears that I may have damaged my hosel adapter as on one of the settings, there looks like a little cross thread occured. I was able to choose a different setting and I was able to seat the screw. I am going to leave well enough alone so as to minimize any further damage and to preclude my having to buy another adapter as they are hard to find.(at least for my model, which is not the latest).

Still...there is the confidence factor which definitely works for some folks. Placebo effect?  My opinions, yours may differ.

[WUTiger]

On 2/8/2017 at 0:18 PM, Hacker James said:

While they do offer options and can be more or less tailored to your specific needs, once the setting is made, there would be no reason to change and in fact, can not be done during a round of play.

One reason behind adjustable drivers and long clubs has to do with supply chain efficiency for golf shops. If  you can swap out shafts in these clubs, and can adjust the loft and face angles, it means a fitter can customize a club to a golfer with a couple turns of a wrench.

A female club pro told me that adjustable clubs has allowed her to cut by 50% the amount of long-club inventory she has on hand in her shop. 

On 2/8/2017 at 0:27 PM, Jeremie Boop said:

I'm just saying that adjustable drivers make sense if you actually use them in the correct way.

Also, some players make seasonal adjustments. A small-college player I knew would set his FWs at 17° and 21° in the spring, when the turf was thinner and not as cushiony. The extra loft helped his launch off the tighter lies.

Then, come May, he would reset to 15° and 19° for a bit more distance off the cushiony turf.

[Hacker James]

It may be semantics, but there is no such thing as an adjustable loft driver.  You can change "dynamic" loft however, by varying face and lie angles, or how you grip the club, shaft lean e.t.c.  Its not impossible, just impractical as it would entail some sort of device within the head cavity that would permit moving the club face. and there may even be proto types out there than do that very thing. Today's drivers only allow one to change the angles the shaft enters the hosel.  This was done decades ago with the wooden heads by boring "across the hosel".   What's next....maybe gyro inside the club to retain loft regardless of your swing, shaft lean, or whatever...?

Edited May 26, 2017 by Hacker James