Tour Players Are Adding Loft

With the game’s premier players going to higher-lofted drivers, average players can make the same switch to benefit them. According to published reports, the average driver loft on the PGA Tour in 2000 was eight degrees. By 2012, that number had crept up above nine degrees, and it may have gone even higher this year. Almost everyone has bumped up their driver loft a bit in the last couple of years. Lee Westwood reportedly moved to an 11.5 degree driver this season. *Why is this happening? Golf balls have changed so much and drivers are designed to match what the golf ball does. The urethane-covered  balls on the market today (as opposed to the old balata balls that spun a lot more), spin a lot less, so you need a higher loft to keep the ball in the air longer. For instance, I gave a lesson to a gentleman who used  a driver with too little loft, and as a result he was hanging back on his back leg, not transferring his weight, in order to “help” the ball up in the air. Unfortunately, a lot of average players think that they have to hit the ball low to add roll to their drives, but in reality you want more carry. The old days of launching your ball like an airplane are over — the tour players launch their drivers high, and the average golfers should too. The same goes for flex of the driver: too stiff a flex with low loft and ball will go low right (for a right-handed player),  and high and left ball flight if club is too flexible. Again, by changing loft and flex of driver you would be surprised at the difference in yardage. I had a women with a nice swing who was using a men’s club with too little loft. I gave her a club with more flex and added loft and voila! — an added 30 yards with no change in her swing, just the driver in her hands. So check out your driver and see if  more loft can help your game. Curious? Stop by SchiavettaGolf Academy and compare your current  driver with one with more loft and/or more flex. You would be surprised of the results!* – From  PGA Magazine 

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